Life, 1896-12-03 · page 3 of 26
Life — December 3, 1896 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three distinct humor pieces from *Life* magazine (Volume XXVIII, No. 727). **Top image**: A theatrical scene caption references "Miss Poplin" and "Miss Clara," suggesting a stage production. The joke involves romantic rivalry or comparison of actresses' attractiveness. **"Her Wish"** (left): A poem by E. H. Graham Dewey depicts three maids discussing their desires—wealth, love, or both. The humor lies in their conflicting priorities and the third maid's existential longing for "something to long for." **"The Struggle Over"** (right): A brief satirical exchange between Wheeler, McScorcher, and Hattterson about a man named Wobbles who's financially struggling and can't afford his bicycle payments. The joke mocks working-class financial desperation. **Right illustration**: A decorative sketch labeled "The Play's the Thing" (Hamlet reference) shows theatrical masks, unrelated to surrounding text.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXVIII ntiqne, 8, KS, ine, lle, “sO YOU TOLD MISS POPLIN THAT YOU THINK HER PRETTIER THAN 1 Voung Tutter (hastily): BUT YOU MUSTS'T THINK ANYTHING OF THAT, MISS CLARA! 1 NEVER DID THIN HER WISH. HREE maids together sat one eve And chatted, in the gloaming, Of what they'd wish for, most of all, Through all their fancy roaming. The first one said, and heaved a sigh, “Could I have one wish granted, I'd long for wealth; I am so poor, Tis what I've always wanted.” “But I have wealth,” the second said, “And still I'm sad and lonely; And so I long for lover true, Who'd love me for love only.” “And I have wealth and lover both, Yet I don’t think it wrong or Wicked,” the third one said. ‘But, oh! I long for something to long for!” E. H. Grakam Dewey. THE STRUGGLE OVER. HEELER: Wobbles acts like a man who has nothing to live for. McScorcuer: No wonder; he has just paid the last installment on his bicycle. OU can make lots of headway sometimes by.admitting you are wrong when you are not. MEMORIZED. CATEEBSON: I suppose you are pretty familiar with the country from New York out to your subur- ban home? Hatrerson: Yes, I know every inch of the advertisements. “THE PLAY'’S THE THING!" — Hamlet. comicbooks.com