Life, 1895-03-21 · page 5 of 18
Life — March 21, 1895 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 181 **Top Cartoon:** A satirical "scheme" depicting a giant carnival wagon pulled by horses, labeled "TO THE NIGHT" with cherubs and decorative elements. The caption explains it's a device "by which enterprising citizens may command the attention of those who sever read the society column"—mocking the obsession with society page coverage and the absurd lengths people will go to for publicity. **Bottom Section:** Contains two unrelated pieces: a sketch captioned "The Boss" showing a speaking-pipe mystery, and "A Lullaby from the Block"—working-class poetry by John H. Lewis about urban life, followed by a brief comedic dialogue ("Couldn't Hear Himself") about a neighbor's discouraged dog. The page satirizes both high-society vanity and everyday urban humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Dennis (a green hand, and to whom the speaking pipe ts an unexplored mystery): V'D GIVE ME MONTH'S WAGES TO FOIND OUT HOW THE DIVIL THE BOSS IVER MANAGED TO SHQUEEZE HIM SELF INTO THAT BIT IV A POIP! “THE Boss,” A LULLABY FROM THE BLOCK. "WAN t' sleep, Chimmy. T'll sing youse a song An’ rock youse, so close yer eyes now ; Mudder's out washin’, but she won't be long, So husheeby, hol" still yer row. Dare, take yer nigger doll, squeeze her up tight, She's wantin’ t’ go t’ sleep, too, Dat's d’ kid. Now isn’ dat out t’ sight. Wot's dat youse wants? Me sing t’ you? Get on t’ dat now. I was bluffin’ youse, see ? Dat kid’s more den fly fer his size. Dare’s no use a-talkin’ he’s dead on t' me— Dare isn’ no green in his eyes. Wot shall I sing youse? Youse got me dead now, T ust t' know more den a heap But can’t t'ink 'f one—doncher care, anyhow— Cheewiz, 'F d’ kid ain't t’ sleep. John H. Lewis. COULON’T HEAR HIMSELF. ORRESTER: Your dog has quit barking at night it seems. LANCASTER: Yes; he got discouraged, I sup- pose. We have twinsat our house now, you know, comicbooks.com