Life, 1894-09-13 · page 12 of 16
Life — September 13, 1894 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This Life magazine page contains three distinct pieces: **"Bachelor Life"** (top): A poem satirizing the complaints of unmarried men who romanticize domestic life (meadows, moons, boats, women) while traveling extensively ("Hull to Bigorre," "Shanghai to Yeddo"), only to conclude bachelorhood is tedious anyway. The joke: bachelor complaints are self-pitying and contradictory. **"Misled by a Friend"** (middle): A cartoon showing a woman who accepted a marriage proposal under false pretenses. The humor plays on miscommunication—she thought the man was "all right" based on a friend's recommendation, but he apparently wasn't. **"For Gripmen"** (bottom): Satirical mock-rules for Broadway cable car employees. Life exposes the *actual* practice of conductors ignoring passengers by sarcastically listing unofficial rules that contradict the company's stated policy—mocking both the transit company's hypocrisy and employees' deliberate disregard for service standards. The final rule about passengers dragged on pavement is dark humor criticizing reckless negligence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
172 * LIFE - «. AAAS |v SIMPSON. BAcietor life is a bore. LOAN OFFICE O for a maid and a meadow ! Ils BOWERY: I've hunted from Hull to Bigorre, I've hunted from Shanghai to Yeddo ! O for a maid and a meadow ! O for a lake and a moon ! oT ee Alas! ‘They're no nearer than Yedd pesseaeey Alas! They're no nearer than June. BACHELOR LIFE. O for a lake and a moon ! A boat and a wee woman in it! Alas! They're no nearer than June. And had she a heart, could I win it? A boat and a wee woman in it? I'm afraid [ would pull for the shore. Her heart?) Ah, I never could win it. But—bachelor life is a bore. “A SHORT TALE OF THE WAR” MISLED BY A FRIEND. “WHat! HARRY WALTON PROPOSED TO YOU, AND YOU ACCEPTED HIM?” “Wuy, I THOUGHT HE WAS ALL RIGHT. FOR GRIPMEN. T is hard to believe that such a rule as this can have any possible relation to the Broadway cable cars, but we understand it exists and is owned by.the company. “Rule 27.—Conductors, drivers and gripmen are required to keep a careful lookout on both sides of the street for people who wish to ride, and to bring the car to a full stop for every person who signals, “ This rule is imperative, and violations of it will be punished by sus- pension or dismissal. The only exception allowed will be when a car is considerably behind time and another car follows within one hundred feet. Drivers and gripmen may then motion persons signalling to take the next car.” If there is such a rule why not show it to the conductors You TOLD ME YOU MAD ACCEPTED HIM.” and gripmen? Why keep it a secret? Or does the super- intendent let them read it once in a while in order to empha- size the necessity of ignoring it ? The cnly rules which seem to be respected are these : Conductors and gripmen shall neither slow up nor stop for any per- son who appears capable of jumping. If a gentleman gets aboard with no sprains, dislocations or out- ward bruises, it shall be the conductor's duty to curse and insult him for unnecessary delay. The gripman shall be fined for loss of time, When a would-be passenger is thrown to the pavement and slides or is dragged on his face for a distance not exceeding twenty feet, the con- ductor’shall be discharged if he brings the car toa full stop. asked s0g00 comes isage in Ken fasten the cri fakey =a A Great | She ha “After totalk “there