Life, 1897-07-22 · page 15 of 20
Life — July 22, 1897 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **The New York Sun's** false reporting that Queen Victoria was blind. The poem mocks both the Sun's sensationalism and its motto "If you see it in The Sun it's so." The joke: Queen Victoria, despite having perfect vision, reads The Sun's absurd claims about her blindness and becomes so distressed that she ironically weeps—making the false report seem validated. The satire targets the Sun's irresponsible "yellow journalism," which published unverified cable-dispatches from England as fact. The lower cartoon ("Pearls of Etiquette") appears unrelated, depicting a woman maintaining composure amid a mishap—likely another satire on social pretension. **Key context for modern readers:** This reflects late-19th-century press criticism of sensationalist newspapers that prioritized striking headlines over accuracy. The Sun's motto—essentially "if we print it, it's true"—was itself a satirical target of Life magazine's editorial perspective.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: AN ODE TO BLINONESS. [‘' Zhe New York Sun,” under its assertive motto, “If you see it in The Sun it's so," has recently published numerous cable-dispatches contending that England's Queen ts totally blind. Such imaginative Journalism, while not worthy of emulation, at least merits recognition in some way. Perhaps it deserves no worse fate than to be immortalized ina poem.| “y! E Prince he bared his noble head and knelt before the Queen. He gazed into her downcast eyes, with melancholy mien. “Oh! mother mine,” the Prince began, “‘ Victoria, the Great"— (He paused, ‘twas on his lips to say: ‘*Why don't you ab- dicate ?")— “*Our cousins from across the pond they say your cyes are dim.” Her Majesty said not a word, but sternly looked at him. “They say I'm blind?—it cannot be; but ho! the guards, away! Fetch me Zhe Sun, the morning Sun, the Sun that came to-day. And straightway Wales he scampered off, and straightway he returned, He made such haste that all the folks were very much concerned. The Queen she grabbed the paper up—the Prince he cried: “But hold! Dear mother, you have not your specs; I pray thee, not so bold.” Disdainfully she shook her head, ‘I cannot wait,” she cried, And then her Uncle Dana’s sheet she critically eyed. When suddenly she gave a sob, and bowed her head quite low, “T'see itin Zhe Stes she said, ‘alas! I fear ‘it's so." HOBON. HOLDING HER ROAN. AN 7 PEARLS OF ETIQUETTE. IT IS THE CORRECT THING TO DE PERFECTLY AT YOUR EASE, WHATEVER LITTLE ACCIDENT MAY HAPPEN,