Life, 1896-08-27 · page 10 of 18
Life — August 27, 1896 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 158 This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical content: 1. **"The Secret Combination"** (top left): A poem by Ellis Parker Butler about a woman whose locked heart Love has finally opened—a romantic metaphor about overcoming emotional barriers through persistence and clever manipulation of one's feelings. 2. **"The Appointed Hour"** (left margin): A brief poem about romantic anticipation and devotion. 3. **Two cartoon figures** (center-right): Two well-dressed men in top hats appear to be discussing cigars, with dialogue suggesting one smoked expensive cigars. The satire likely mocks pretension or social posturing about luxury goods. 4. **"A Suitable Description"** (bottom right): A humorous personal ad describing a woman's physical and personality traits in mechanical/clinical terms, satirizing how people were described in matrimonial advertisements of the era. The McKinley Company animal illustration below appears to be unrelated advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*LIFE: THE SECRET COMBINATION. ER heart she locked fast in her breast Away from molestation ; The lock was warranted the best, A patent combination ; She knew no simple lock and key Would serve to keep out Love and me. But Love a clever cracksman is And cannot be resisted; He likes such stubborn jobs as this, Complex and hard and twisted, And though we worked a many day At last we bore her heart away. For Love has learned full many tricks In his strange avocation; He knew the figures were but six In this, her combination; Nor did we for a minute rest Until we had unlocked her breast. First, then, we turned the knob to ‘ Sighs,” Then back to ** Words Sincerest,” Then * Gazing Fondly in Her Eye: Then ‘Softly Murmured * Dearest;’” Then, next, * A Warm Embrace,” we tried, And at “A Kiss,” the door flew wide ! Ellis Parker Butler. THE APPOINTED DURING THE RECENT HOT SPELL. HOUR: pt: Shure the air itsilf is hot enough, “BELLUVVED Serin’ i A Win, T dieNot let alone stirrin’ it up wid thim say 1 witt pe dummed oilectric fans. ABLE TO MEAT YER TER DAY. 1 GOT A ORFUL LIK- ishment than is virtue its own re- ward, Wesutlvest, “1 SMOKED TWO DOLLARS’ WORTH OF CIGARS YESTERDAY.” “OF YOUR OW: “yes.” “FORTY CIGARS! THINK OF IT!" WINDER SO AS TO g A SUITABLE DESCRIPTION. ey ee P 667 OME, old man, tell me what your fiancee “yours TIL 3 ier? DETH, . " is like.” “ARTHUR.” E 3 “Well, she is a high-grade girl with a ninety-six expression; weighs 112 pounds and has the nar- rowest tread I ever saw. Her voice has a tone that is all its own and her heart is built likea watch, her disposition is perfectly adjustable and her temper comes with a cuindag abeteetes Many points of singulsTTy which make it posably the most brake, ane oe ei the ious abimal ta natare, as well aaone of the most bdeoun The two " cyedullsare entirely Independent ip their action by which the ailnialisenabieg ~SOTt tO be frightened be tim ‘e.leek at two obleots te cpppeite direction oa 7K: savage World. cause life isn'tall asphalt.”