Life, 1893-11-30 · page 13 of 18
Life — November 30, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several brief, unrelated jokes typical of Life's satirical format: **"The Test for Opticians"** mocks women's makeup by suggesting a near-sighted man's inability to distinguish rouge and powder from natural skin is actually a sign of poor vision—implying women's cosmetics were obvious and heavily applied. **"Pro Bono Publico"** offers absurdist transit humor: removing seats from crowded elevated trains to fit more passengers is presented as a "simple device"—obvious nonsense offered as serious urban planning. **Other jokes** involve domestic situations (babies, lending money) with no political content. **"Poker Term"** appears to be a caption for a fishing illustration, making a pun on "filling" (the card term). The large illustration at top shows a social gathering or garden party where a figure appears to be displaying themselves dramatically. The caption suggests someone claimed to study French in Paris but apparently failed—a mild jab at pretension or incompetence. These are lighthearted, topical humor pieces rather than substantive political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
He: THAT CAD BEHIND US SAYS VENT TO PARIS TO MASTER THE FRENCH LANGUAGE, She; Wett. You Can Ste THE FRENCH LANGUAGE HAS THE TEST FOR OPTICIANS. E: Fuller is very near-sighted. SHE: But he saw a lady standing in the car when you and the other men appeared not to, HE: Exactly. He couldn't tell rouge and powder from the natural color. PRO BONO PUBLICO. IMPSON: There's a very simple device by which the elevated roads are going to accommodate a great many more passengers than they carry now. ROBINSON: What is that ? SIMPSON: Remove the scats from the cars, R, NOOPOP: My baby cries all night. 1 don't know what to do with it. Mr. KNowitr: I'll tell you what I did. As soon as our baby com- menced to cry, I used to turn on all the gi That fooled him, “He thought it was broad daylight and went to sleep. ILLY: I believe that Gussie de Hoppy is losing his senses, Jim: That's about the most charitable thing I ever heard said of Gus. BADLY WORSTED, ASKED Jans for a fiver, And he wrinkled up his brow ; “I don't lend less than ten,” said he, “*And I haven't that much now.” POKER TERM. comicbooks.com