Life, 1895-10-17 · page 5 of 20
Life — October 17, 1895 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 245 This page presents "A Final Day Dialogue," a satirical piece mocking various American cities and their characteristics through stereotypical voices. Each section features a different city—Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Louisville, Denver, and Galveston—with representatives pitching their town to an arriving immigrant named Gabriel. The humor relies on exaggerated regional stereotypes: Boston's intellectual pretension, Philadelphia's quietness, New York's brightness, Chicago's roughness, and so forth. The lower illustration shows "Tony Duffy's Oration," depicting street-level working-class dialect and immigrant culture. The satire critiques both urban boosterism (cities competing to attract settlers) and American regional stereotypes popular in this era. The crude dialect transcriptions reflect period attitudes toward working-class and immigrant speech patterns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A FINAL DAY DIALOGUE. GABRIEL. SCORHE golden gates are open now : And, glittering like a gem For your eternal wearing, stands The New Jerusa- lem. NEW YORKER. ‘* Before I take a mansion in Your city bright and fair, I'd like to ask you, Gabriel, if The 400 will be there?” CHICAGOAN, ‘I'd like to ask before I stop And register with you, Is it as ‘live’ a town, old man, As I'm accustomed to?” - LIFE: BOSTONIAN., ** I'll come, but let me tell you now, That always I'll expect Your city to be well supplied With beans and intellect.” PHILADELPHIAN, “I'm half afraid to try your town Until I've made a test : Will you assure me it’s a place Of quiet and of rest? BALTIMOREAN, “* Dear Mr. Gabriel, let me ask, Before I enter in, Am I to get, three times a day, A dish of terrapin?" WASHINGTONIAN, “* Dear sir, I'd like to ask of you, If to your shady pools, And pleasant fields, I've got to come By civil service rules.” “ Fellers! De gang has lost its pup ! “+ He scrapped wid a bull tarrier an’ got it in de neck. had a head on to him wot wuzalmost hooman. Der Wanderbilts or Asters didn't have de plunks ter buy dat pup—dat’s straight. me up; don't jolly me—not on yer life. we'll plant him, TONY DUFFY’S ORATION. He wuz a torrowbred, a +e ATLANTANG ** Blow, blow your trumpet, I will not heed the sound, Unless your watermelon crop Is ripe the whole year round.” LOUISVILLIAN, “* Say, Colonel, do I, if I come, Get, in your glorious clime, A horse-race every other day, And whisky all the time?” DENVERIAN, ** Just count me out, old chap, I've heard Your streets were paved with gold. Tf you can’t furnish silver streets, I'll stay out in the cold.” GALVESTONIAN, ** Ta ta, old fellow. Not this morn. The other way I'll roam. N.J’sn.g. The other place Is something more like home.” W. J. Lampton. dandy; a t'ree times winner way up to de limit. He Lain’t a'talkin’ troo me hat; I ain't a’givin’ guff; I'm a’givin’ it to yer straight—he wuz a corker. He wuz way up in G—are yous wid me? His deat’ has broke Yous wot has lungs chip in wid a song; suthin’ sollum : Fellers, I'se lost me grip; me name is Dennis—I'm all broke up. ‘Ole Dog Tray’ or ‘Sweet Maree,’ an‘ den Tl go chase merself an’ have a game o' craps. S'long !" comicbooks.com