Life, 1896-11-26 · page 8 of 24
Life — November 26, 1896 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page contains a narrative illustration rather than political satire. The text describes a man awakening from a nap beneath an antediluvian fern to discover a woman gazing at him. The illustration depicts a mastodon (prehistoric elephant) in a cave setting with the caption: "A MASTODON, HURRYING PONDEROUSLY, YET JOYFULLY ALONG." The content appears to be from a serialized story in *Life* magazine, likely a fantasy or science-fiction narrative. The mastodon illustration suggests the tale involves prehistoric or fantastical elements. Without additional context or preceding pages, the specific plot and characters remain unclear, though the romantic tone suggests this is a dramatic fictional work rather than political commentary or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
394 But a surprise was awaiting him, and it came in a novel way. Early one after- noon, our hero, yielding to a heavier drowsiness than usual, reclined in the cool shade of a fern— an antediluvian fern, about a hundred feet in height—and fell straightway into a deep slumber. When he awoke the sur- prise was there! She was close beside him, leaning over and gazing down into his face, and he, in un- speakable rapture, looked up into an- other pair of human eyes. Fearing it a dream, he blinked and looked again. It surely was the prayed-for girl! Her eyes, surprised and timid; the delicate contour of her face and neck; the luxur- iant locks that grazed his cheek as she bent forward — all filled him with a gentle ecstasy. He smiled; she re- turned the smile, and, either from em- barrassment or alarm, edged further away. Still sitting among the flowers, she watched him in- tently, as if trying to comprehend the sit- uation. As for him, so great was his joy that he found no words to express it, He continued, how- ever, to manifest his intense delight by a series of welcoming smiles, but these at last were disconcert- “A MASTODON, HURRYING PONCEROUSLY, YET JOYFULLY ALONG.’ comicbooks.com