Life, 1894-02-01 · page 8 of 14
Life — February 1, 1894 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Some Valuable Animals" — Life Magazine Cartoon Analysis This three-panel cartoon satirizes human behavior by depicting a man attempting to catch what appears to be a duck or waterfowl near a brick wall with a window. The title "Some Valuable Animals" ironically equates the man's clumsy, undignified efforts with animal behavior. The accompanying article "Questions of the Hour" critiques whist players—specifically those who treat card games with excessive seriousness and pseudo-intellectual pretension. The satire mocks enthusiasts who convert trivial pastimes into overly complex "scientific" pursuits, viewing their persistence as ridiculous rather than admirable. The cartoon visually reinforces this theme: just as the fumbling man pursues the bird uselessly, so too do whist devotees chase meaningless intellectual validation through a simple game.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
> DIDEE * UESTIONS OF tue HOUR WHY IS THE WHIST PLAYER AN OBJECT OF RIDICULE ? om [7 is largely because of his solemn persistence in try- ing to convert a trivial amusement into a scientific study. When he can bring himself to regard whist as a game of cards, instead of an important intellectual problem, he will have taken a long stride toward a reasonable view of himself. ‘The most depressing characteristic of this enthusiast is his curious persistence in the belief that good whist requires a high order of intelligence. The passing years leave him still ignorant of the fact that the chief requirements for the best possible game are a good memory, close attention, and a slavish observance of a multiplicity of childish rules, These very rules, which forbid the exercise of the higher faculties, are the joy and sunshine of the whist player's life. Every card, as played, should convey some meaning to his partner or to his adversaries ; and the knowledge and observance of these many signs excites a gentle ecstasy. The man of originality and courage is not likely to succeed at whist. He would stand no chance beside the punctilious lover of detail, whose idea of sport is that every action should be governed by an iron rule. Perhaps nothing has done more to bring ridicule upon the whist player than his effort to look with contempt upon other games, unless it be his inability to realize that the cut and dried monotony of his own pastime renders it unbearable to persons of livelier faculties. But a thoughtful providence has so organized our enthusiast that he can never digest certain facts of this nature; a benefit it is impossible to exaggerate, as much of his enjoyment consists in the belief that he is doing a very clever thing. Although this game is obviously a refuge for those who lack the boldness and mental agility for other competitions, it by no means follows.that the whist lover is always a fool; for while he is not overweighted with originality, he frequently dis- plays a fair intelligence in the other affairs of life.—/. A. Af. HAD NOT BEEN TO CHICAGO. EACHER (in a physiology lesson): ‘The next. process in digestion is called chymification. During this, the food is turned around and around in the stomach. ToMMY TRADDLES: Please, sir! Is that what they call the danse du ventre? TH widower about to remarry is the most unselfish of mortals. He seldom thinks of Number One. > SOME VALUABLE ANIMALS. comicbooks.com