Life, 1895-05-02 · page 7 of 18
Life — May 2, 1895 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 289 **Top Image:** "The Wonders of America—Sunday Morning in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia" depicts a moonlit forest scene with numerous figures engaged in intimate encounters among the trees—a satirical commentary on public moral behavior and discretion (or lack thereof) in American parks. **Bottom Cartoon:** "Not Exactly There" shows four well-dressed men at what appears to be a hotel. A Senator Biggun announces he'll pay in advance and behaves properly, assuring the clerk the establishment needn't worry about guests' "bad character." The final caption—"That no more of his verses will appear until after his death"—suggests this is satirizing a specific political figure known for scandalous poetry or writing, implying his morality is questionable despite his reassurances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WONDERS OF AMERICA. SUNDAY MORNING IN FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA, folks indulge in. The young man simply ma break for the affections of the old general's wife. He is mighty nice about it—works up to it through zsthetic Picture shows and moonlight boating at Newport, and swell dances, and all that sort of thing. But he struck a stone wall when he discovered that in America the swagger set are apt to combine “the luxury of Pompeii with the morality of Plymouth Rock.” This is a great pity, for a novel of this kind is a great deal better for being real “ spicy" and dis- playing itself in paper covers. As it is, nothing Tes s a dead happens but an assortment of heartaches, and the reader who wants his money's worth must fall back upon the admirable technical details of high life in New York and Newport for satisfaction. Droch. NOT EXACTING THERE. —— Bisces (pompously at Western hotel): 1am Senator Biggun— CLERK: That's all right. We care nothing about a man’s bad character at this house, so he behaves him- self here, and pays in advance. THAT NO MORE OF HIS VERSES WILL APPEAR UNTIL AFTER HIS DEATH.” comicbooks.com