Life, 1894-07-05 · page 3 of 16
Life — July 5, 1894 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XXIV, No. 601) This page contains several humorous sketches typical of early 20th-century American satire: **"A Cruel Joke"** depicts a spider web trap, mocking a senator from Pennsylvania Avenue who supposedly becomes angry when called "Sugar," changing colors like an angry chameleon before asking questions "in a dignified manner." The satire targets the senator's thin-skinned vanity. **"The Usual Course"** presents a brief exchange mocking politicians' family pretensions—suggesting a legislator's ancestor was merely a truck driver. **"Practical Aunt"** jokes about a woman's qualifications for marrying a poor man, bragging about making cottage pudding. The poem "Something Missing" laments an absent woman's presence in the city. These sketches reflect turn-of-the-century American humor focusing on social pretension, political pomposity, and domestic comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXIV. NUMBER 601. SOMETHING MISSING. KNOW that she is gone away, Because the sodden skies are gray Instead of blue ; Because the sun shines hot and fierce, Or else too cold and weak to pierce The dull clouds through, Because the thronging crowds I meet Wear mournful faces on the street, And downcast eyes ; ‘The horses have a jaded look ; The sparrow chirps from out his nook With restless cries, I know that she is gone away, Because each moment seems a day ; Each day a year ; Because the city lacks that grace Which marks her mere abiding place When she is here ! Jocular Missionary: NOW; THAT'S A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART! Harry Romaine, A CRUEL JOKE. RACTICAL AUNT: Do you think you are qualified to E understand from become the wife of a poor man ? our special Wash- SWEET GIRL: Oh, yes, it’s all fixed. Weare to live ina cottage, \\\ ington correspondent that and I know how to make cottage pudding. “~ if you come up behind a Senator on Pennsylvania Avenue and say “ Sugar!” to him, he turns about with a start, changes from white to red, sputters as if very angry, then pulls himself together and asks, in a dignified manner, what you mean. It may sound like a cruel sport, but the man who in these days would kill a buffalo and spare a United States Senator is no patriot. THE USUAL COURSE. URGLAR BILL: I say, Sam, wouldn't it be a pleasant an’ comfortable thing if there wasn't any iaws agin robbin’ ? SAFE CRACKER SAM (thoughtfully): Le’s git elected to the Legislature. “ ican eee AFTER THE FOURTH. HAT does Barlow ee when he speaks “THE CANNON WENT OFF ALL OF A SUDDENT, MUM, AS HE WUz of his ancestral halls ? A BLOWIN' INTO IT, YOU HAD BETTER PUT HIM TO RED, FOR T THINK “T dunno, Maybe his father was a truck driver.” HIS STUMMICK 1S FILLED WITH POWDER!”