Life, 1894-06-07 · page 7 of 16
Life — June 7, 1894 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains literary content rather than political cartoons. The main illustration shows a woman admiring her reflection in a mirror—a visual accompaniment to the poem "To Narcissa" by E. P. Train, which playfully addresses a vain woman. The humor derives from the classical allusion: Narcissa echoes the mythological Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. The poem ironically claims the speaker won't flatter her, yet does so throughout, noting her "sweet lips" and "blue eyes" while pretending to be "framed in such a wise / To reflect the truth." The page also includes several comedic prose sketches about Irish voting habits and hotel mishaps—typical of *Life's* light satirical approach to everyday social situations rather than hard political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TO NARCISSA. | is a mistress, passing fair, Loves me well—aye, that I'll swear ! For of all the joys she knows, None such rapture keen bestows, As an hour's commune with me, Spent in speechless ecstasy. Her sweet lips, too modest far To admit such folly are; But her blue eyes, grown more bold, Make confessions manifold, As into mine they smile, Seeking homage to beguile. Do I flatter her ?—Well, no; She is fair, I tell her so. For I'm framed in such a wise To reflect the truth—not lies, Yet, to compliment a lass Natural is to French plate glass. E. P. Train, THE IRISHMAN’S PENNY. ATHER O'ROURKE: Michael, my son, I hope you vote as I do. MIKE FINNEGAN: An’ how does your rivirince vote ? FATHER O'ROURKE: Oh, I vote as I pray. MIKE FINNEGA’ Och, it’s for money, thin. Yis, your rivirince, Oi am wid yez. THOUGHTFUL FOR EACH OTHER. was declared dead a decade ago. But Stevenson, Crockett, Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle have found that it still commands a very respectable audience. Droch. NEW BOOKS. UNDERCURRENTS. By Richard B. Kimball. New York: G. W. Dillingham. Courtship and Marriage. By Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, New York: G. W. Dillingham. Uncle Bob's Baby. By Wilbur Fisk Brown. New York: G. W. Dillingham. A Senator at Sea. By George F. Duysters, New York : G, W. Dillingham. Why Men Like Married Women. By Fannie Batchelder. New York : G. W, Dillingham. Sharps and Flats. By John Nevil Maskelyne. New York: Longmans, Green, and Company. sett Story of Margrédel. New York and London: G. P, Putnam's Sons. Bill Nye's History of the United States, Mustrated by F. Opper. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. _ According to Reason. By Mrs. Wm. Starr Dana, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, Lot 13. By Dorothea Gerard. New York: D. Appletonand Company. A Costly Freak, By Maxwell Gray, New York: D, Appleton and Company. DA: I've been wondering all day why you weren't invited to the Bigelows. Kitty (sweetly): And I've been wondering why you were. KEPT THEM AWAY. S UMMER HOT PROPRIETOR: It's singular there are no more young people here this year. CLERK: Notat all. PROPRIETOR: Why isn’t it ? CLERK Didn't you advertise that the back piazzas would be lighted by electricity ? SHE DIDN’T SCARE. ARSHALL: What the mischief is the matter with you, Raymond ; been held up by some highwaymen or have you been in a railway disaster? RAYMOND: Well, I can’t say I have done either. Last night I just hid under the bed to scare my wife. pees oe —_- vee comicbooks.com