Life, 1895-03-21 · page 6 of 18
Life — March 21, 1895 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 182 This page contains two distinct elements: **"The Test" (poem)**: A brief poem about love's authenticity, appearing above a decorative "Bookishness" header. **"Some Remarks Suggested by Mr. Chames Caden"**: The main text praises E.W. Townsend's book *Chimmie Fadden*, noting its fourteenth edition and popularity in New York and beyond. The piece humorously addresses concerns that a "local product" about a "flowery boy" wouldn't merit publication, but celebrates its success. It discusses how Americans appreciate "real character"—citing examples like Artemus Ward and Mark Twain—and notes that *Chimmie* is already quoted on the street alongside classic literary figures. **Lower illustrations**: A domestic scene showing what appears to be a conversation about dress reform, and below that, "The Wonders of America: A Review of the Naval Reserve by Its Commander," showing a naval vessel. The page promotes Townsend's work as authentically capturing American urban character.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TEST. OVE, if true love, is jealous of its love, And sacred keeps Love's tokens from the rabble ; But love, if false, its falseness soon will prove, For all its sacred secrets forth ‘twill babble. SOME REMARKS SUGGESTED BY MR. CHAMES FADDEN. =. W. TOWNSEND, the author of “ Chimmie adden ™ (Lovell), once said that he was afraid that people away from New York would not care for such a peculiarly local product as his Bowery boy, and therefore he had doubts about a large sale for it if he made it into a book. It is announced that the book is now in its fourteenth edition. Perhaps most of that large sale has been inand around New York, but we doubt it. The New York Sun, in which the sketches first appeared, is probably more quoted by other papers in the country than any other journal. C/zmmze was no doubt domesticated in Texas and California, through the local press, long before he took on the more serene dignity of book covers. Chames always had the faculty of making himself thoroughly at home in whatever company he found himself. Mr. Townsend can, of course, thank the Sun for making the success possible, but he must also reserve a large share of his gratitude for Chzmmze. Americans always appreciate what they call “a real character "—somebody with knots on him that they can catch hold of. It is a very human trait to remember what is eccentric—and Chimmie fills the bill. The same sort of thing makes the success of Mulvaney, Jack Oakhurst, or Huckleberry Finn, I've been told that among certain men, down on the Street and not given to literature, Chzmmée is already quoted as they would quote Travers or Chauncey, or Uncle Rufus in the old days. That is a test of popularity, just as sure as when you hear a messenger boy “JOHN, DEAR, WE MUST TAKE UP SOME KIND OF REFORM THIS YEAR. Now, IF I TAKE UP DRESS REFORM, WHAT WILL You TAKE?” * CHLOROFORM.” You may feel that at any rate you have struck something that is fundamental. , * + UT, as the astute Chames would say, “ Ye're givin’ me guff. Get down to bizness or chase yourself off.” I don't mind telling him that I like him for his wonderful audacity and the readiness of his resources. Great generals have been made by those qualities alone, even without the Duchess to aid them. LiFe believes that Ciémmée deserves all the friends Droch. whistle a Harrigan tune. I've little doubt that Mr. Braham does not feel sure that he has hit it, until he hears his latest air at least three times from Thirty-third street to Madi- son square, along Broadway. Joseph Jefferson once told a friend that he always looked a house over till he found the least interested face, and then he played right at that face. When he got it, he knew he held the rest of the hou . All these things have little significance for the man who follows literature or any other profession on the “Art for art's. sal principle—but even a wise man will not despise this kind of popularity, It is con- siderable of an achievement to get hold of many kinds of men through a trait of human nature that they possess in common, THE WONDERS OF AMERICA. A REVIEW oF THE NavaL RESERVE BY ITS COMMANDER.