Life, 1894-09-06 · page 10 of 16
Life — September 6, 1894 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 154 This page contains two distinct sections: **Upper section**: A poem "To a Fayre Mayde Upon Her Wearinge Red Slippers," credited to Joe Russell Taylor. It's a conventional romantic verse praising a woman's feet and ankles—typical Victorian-era gallantry that mixes classical allusions (Atlanta, Terpsichore) with flowery language about "red slippers" and "gay ankles." **Lower section**: A drama review of "A Crazy Quilt," a play by Paul M. Potter. The critic praises the production's theatrical mechanics and carpenter work, discussing how the play uses stage illusions to create novelty. He argues the public will patronize such entertainment if it's competently executed, even if artistically modest—essentially defending popular theater as worthwhile commercial entertainment despite lacking high artistic ambition. The illustration shows what appears to be a stage scene with figures in period dress.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
154 TOE A FAYRE MAYDE UPPON HER WEARINGE ‘RED SLIPPERS. ENEETH youre gowne youre dayntie feete Tone fcarlette flippers {mall & necte Attracte myne eye: inne a dym [pace Beneeth y® {kyrtes of {nowie lace, Red {tockyings & red flippers {weete ! Feete like Atalaunta’s, as fleete, Feete like Terpfychorie’s toe beat Light meafure, or toe lead y* race, Beneeth youre gowne ! Not even y® wycherie of youre face, Not even youre whyte-draped liffom grace Uppon y® velvette parloure-feat, Can keepe mye glances fhie & fleete From thoie gay ankles cfoft inne place : Beneeth youre gowne ! Joe Russell Taylor. A CRAZY QUILT. O better illustration of the purely mercantile spirit which governs the stage and those who minister to its wants could be produced than the play that has been written for Mr. Sothern by Mr. Paul M. Potter. “The Victoria Cross" is simply a case of a carpenter taking old boards to.make a new box. By skiJful sawing and planing and fitting of old material he has pro- duced a contraption which will doubtless serve its purpose of making a con- veyance whereby money will be made for the man- ager, actor and playwright. As a contribution to literature or art it is not worth consideration. The reason is easy of 7 understanding. If the American public will patronize this sort of entertainment, it is the sort of jf entertainment it will get. If Mr. Potter can sell patch work of other people's ideas he is not going to overwork himself for originality. If Mr. Sothern’s artistic ambition soars no higher than mediocrity, and the public is willing to pay him for it, he drives an easy bargain. > LIFE: “Say, ME AN' MY PAL WANTS TER PUT OURSELVES IN HOCK UNTIL TIMES 1S BETTER. WOT'LL YOU GIVE US ON US?” “ The Victoria Cross " “ Ours,’ is not a bad jumble of * The Girl I “The Siege of Lucknow,” “ The and the beautiful chromos about hanging the mistletoe, which are to be found in every Christmas number of every English illustrated publication. The element of probability is prominent on account of its entire omission, and the humorous factors in dialogue and situation appeal strongly to the memory of the audience. The scene is laid in India, and the generous use of bamboo and other Oriental materials in the stage-settings lend an air of novelty to well-known and long-admired situations. As the action is entirely within-doors amid the luxurious trap- pings with which dainty ladies surround themselves, the Lyceum ideal is not departed from, and grim-visaged war is not permitted to intrude his actual presence on the stage of this polite playhouse. Of course there is a little rifle-firing from long-range guns, but it is not obtrusive and only the explosion of the remarkable underground mine, which shoots General Strathallan on the stage, thereby accounting for his unaccountable appearance at the right moment for dramatic purposes, is at all rude or unladylike. In such a play one would not expect to find any great réles and expectation is not disappointed. Mr. Sothern: is, of comicbooks.com