Life, 1897-07-01 · page 3 of 20
Life — July 1, 1897 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page features a satirical cartoon titled "A Hymn of Peace" (subtitled "By a Confused Frago"). The illustration shows a woman reclining in a chair speaking with a bearded man, likely a doctor, with the caption: "Tell me, doctor, what do you consider an ideal case?" / "A healthy man with an incurable disease." The accompanying poem mockingly celebrates "peace" while cataloging active military conflicts: the Kafir Wars, Turkey's actions in Greece, Spain's conflict with Cuba, and Anglo-Afghan tensions. The satire exposes the hypocrisy of claiming peace exists while multiple colonial wars actively rage globally. The doctor-patient dialogue extends this dark humor: ideal health paradoxically requires untreatable illness—mirroring how "peace" coexists with widespread warfare in the contemporary world.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXX LIFE: NOTHING BETTER. NUMBER 758 “TELL ME, DOCTOR, WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER AN IDEAL case?” ““A HEALTHY MAN WITH AN INCURABLE DISEASE.” ZACE! peace ; ; Let war and sorrow and discord cease, While Turkey is gobbling a piece of Greece! Peace! Oh, let us have Peace! Peace! Let amity reign, While Cuba is being devoured by Spain And the Eagle is flapping his wings in vain, A HYMN OF PEACE. (By a Confessed Jingo.) Peace! Peace! Let the farce be played, While the Kaffir is caught and neatly flayed And the Buccaneer plans another raid. Peace! Peace! Let us smile and wait While the enemy's guns command our gate; We can always cry baby and ar-bi-trate ! Peace! Peace! And there's nothing odd If the Sultan's scourge and the Span- jard's rod And the Maxim Gun mean the peace of God! James Jeffrey Roche. T doesn’t take long to write the biography of the man who never offended anybody. comicbooks.com