Life, 1893-12-28 · page 32 of 53
Life — December 28, 1893 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"Our Chamber of Horrors: Papa's Christmas Presents"** (top cartoon) depicts a Victorian family chaos scene—children and adults in disarray amid holiday decorations and gifts. The title satirizes how children's Christmas presents often create mayhem rather than joy, a common domestic complaint. **"A Variation"** presents a poem about women's nature—conventional Victorian sentiment about how familiarity breeds indifference in romance ("embrace, then pity, then endure"). **"Light on an Idiom"** is a joke: A foreigner asks what "thick as..." means; a New Yorker explains by reference to overcrowded NYC ballrooms—topical humor about urban congestion. **"Under the Mistletoe"** plays on courtship anxieties: A man asks his fiancée if anyone kissed her before; she offers reassurance, but the caption notes George remains uncertain—satire of male insecurity and the inadequacy of such promises. **"A Retired Minister"** (photograph) appears unrelated—likely an illustration for another piece. The page mixes domestic humor, social observation, and romance satire typical of early 20th-century American magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OUR CHAMBER OF HORRORS. PAPA'S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. A VARIATION. . BOY writing a composition on “ Extremes,” says that “we should endeavor to avoid extremes, especially those of wasps and bees.” OMAN is formed with such bewitching mien, That, to be loved, she needs but to be seen; But seen too oft, and of her love too sure, We first embrace, then pity, then endure. LIGHT ON AN IDIOM. GNER: What do you mean ng that things are “as thick EW YORKER: I mean they are packed as close as people in a private C} ball-room in New York. UD hwy UNDER THE MISTLETOE. H Darling, I hesitate to ask it, and yet I must know, Did any one ever kiss you before ? Sie: Oh, George, how can you doubt me? 1 bring you a heart as fresh and ardent as your own, (George doesn't know whether to be satisfied or not.) \ RETIRED MINISTER. comicbooks.com