Life, 1895-09-19 · page 7 of 16
Life — September 19, 1895 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 183 This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical content: **Top Illustration**: A domestic scene captioned "Here is the account of a man who had four wives, and he is to suffer for it. What, again?" The image shows a man at a table with a woman, apparently depicting marital discord or infidelity consequences. **"An Appeal" Poem**: A dramatic verse by C. Thomas Dursall where someone begs a spouse to return their "appetite" and restore lost domestic comfort—a humorous complaint about a partner's coldness or neglect affecting household contentment. **"The Reality of It" Joke**: A professor defends Newton's physics by claiming his "unstable inequilibrium" results from an "anterior force"—a pun using scientific terminology to humorously explain personal chaos, likely referencing marital or domestic turmoil as the "force" disrupting equilibrium. The page satirizes marriage, domestic life, and relationships through various comedic lenses.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN APPEAL. HEAR me, cruel-hearted thief, This is my last appeal to you ! Here read the cause of all my grief, And see the mischief that you do. You took from me my tender heart, hough you it could no profit bring— Now mine is but an idle part ; I have no heart for anything You robbed me of my healthful sleep, To me the night no more brings rest: Your haunting graces round me sweep Whene’er my troubled pillow’s pressed. You stole my appetite away, Alas! I can no longer eat : ‘The dining hours that sweetened day Havelost thecharm that made them swect. Give back, give back all these again, And you I will forever bless ; For me to live with none were vain, While you can surely live with less. Or if a part you wish to keep, I yield perforce unto your might ; So hold you then my heart and sleep, But O, return my appetite ! C. Thomas Duvall, THE REALITY OF IT. ROFESSOR: When Newton said “ Every mass of matter is in a state of stable equilibrium unless acted upon by an exterior force,” he was crazy. “ Crazy, sir?” “ Crazy! upon by an ¢xterior force!” Now, I'm in a state of unstable hicquilibrium from being acted BaR RELIEF.