Life, 1896-06-25 · page 5 of 17
Life — June 25, 1896 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 511 This page contains several humorous short pieces typical of early 20th-century satirical magazines: **"The Summer Arm"** — A poem by Wallace Dunbar Vincent about an arm that becomes strained or injured during summer leisure activities, causing the narrator anxiety about finding proper rest. **"The Power of Spaghetti"** and **"The Story of a Magazine"** — Brief comic anecdotes with accompanying illustrations showing men dining or in conversation, appearing to satirize social pretensions and human vanity. **"The Law and the Scorcher"** — Discusses bicycle police ("cycle-cop") pursuing reckless cyclists ("scorchers"), framed as a humorous commentary on modern law enforcement and the growing bicycle craze. **"Persistent"** — A short joke about a bill collector's persistence even after a debtor's death. The illustrations are simple line drawings typical of the era's magazine humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE THE SUMMER ARM. [Nor 4 NEW compLatyr.] S oft as summer comes around, While sitting in a boat or car, I view with much alarm Upon the news intent, A certain mystic malady I'm shocked to find the way my poor That settles in my arm; Afflicted arm is bent— It doesn't burn, or pain, or ache, As soon as I'm not looking, or Or feel rheumatic thrills, My thoughts are called away, And yet with keen anxiety Around the seat that’s next to me My mind it always fills. That arm begins to stray. THE POWER.OF SPAGHETT. You see how troublesome it is A STORY OF AN ITALIAN DINNER TABLE. To have an arm like mine, That just as soon as summer comes Begins to bend and twine; I think I'll have to go away And search from cast to west Till I have found some small waist-place Where my poor arm can rest. wal it Wallace Dunbar Vincent. - AKA HE ™ ea faa) —— Hans up, THE STORY OF A —EE MAGAZINE AND a j V4 es 4 rata THE LAW AND THE SCORCHER. A MAN. NE of the blessings that contem- CERTAIN rich porary humanity owes to the young man, * bicycle is the current newspaper para- whom a University . graph which tells how the bicycle-po- had just given the . = ja liceman—vulgarly known as the cop- freedom of the world, em on-wheels—pursued and captured the decided he would be- lawless and disdainful scorcher, The come famous. race between the Going to the nearest lunatic asylum he , scorcher and the cop secured the release of the patient whose glows with sport and intellect was most hopelessly distorted. At i Fa bristles with hair- a neighboring eye infirmary he procured a ‘ ¢ breadth escapes. Jus- person of absolutely inaccurate vision. ’ i tice is always tri- With the assistance of these two—one as umphant, so the editor, the other as art director—he started ar moral effect of the a New Magazine. stories is good. It was a huge success. Nobody under- y = == stood it and everybody bought it. z OW lucky it is He was famous. < there are no But he lost both his mind and his eyes Ss > taxes on air-castles! from trying to read his own magazine, The moral of which is that you may buy an infirmity, but you cannot bribe it to stay away. Percival Pollard. PERSISTENT. HAT bill-collector is still downstairs, sir.” “Didn't I tell you to say to him that I died quite suddenly half an hour ago?” sir; but he says he would like a few moments’ conversation with the corpse.” | comicbooks.com