Life, 1897-03-11 · page 3 of 20
Life — March 11, 1897 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Welcome Guest" - Life Magazine Analysis This satirical piece depicts "the New Fad" arriving in America, personified as a shabby, somewhat disreputable figure. The top cartoon shows three men in conversation about pickpocketing and judging, with money as motivation—suggesting the newcomer's questionable character. "The Welcome Guest" poem mocks American naïveté and hypocrisy. The "New Fad" claims ancient origins and has come "to stay," while an "erudite, cultured miss" welcomes him despite his obvious unworthiness. The satire critiques Americans for embracing fashionable trends uncritically, even when they're morally dubious. The final line—"I'm glad that the fools are not all dead!"—reveals the bitter joke: foolish people will always exist to accept whatever fashionable nonsense arrives. The specific "fad" referenced remains unclear without additional historical context.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NUMBER 742 -——— \ “WHY DO YOU PICK Pr “POR THE SAME RE “wat DO You Mt “RECAUSE THE YOU ACT AS JUDGE.” MAN 2” MONEY IN 17." THE WELCOME GUEST. HEN the New Fad came to this land one day, “cif He smiled to the crowd in a _ confident way, And the New Fad said: ‘'] have come to stay. “I was born a century, maybe, ago— At the time they thought me a trifle slow — I wasn’t remarkable then, you know, ‘I'm as old as you,” and he raised his hat To the Yankees prone (for they all lay flat— As a nation they're noted for doing that). “I'm as old as you; on my native shore They've long since thought me a fearful bore, So I'm glad I never met you before.” Then up spoke an erudite, cultured miss, And she said ‘It affords me consummate bliss To welcome our guest,” and they cheered at this, Then the New Fad smiled to himself, and said : “Wisdom, no doubt, will always spread, But I'm glad that the fools are not all dead !” Tom Masson, comicbooks.com