Life — December 9, 1897 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This December 1897 *Life* magazine page features a golf-themed cartoon titled "Necessities," with the caption: "The Rev. Dr. Birks has finally overcome the great difficulties of golf. He has a caddy to smoke and a parrot to swear for him." The satire mocks Reverend Dr. Birks (a real clergyman), who apparently struggled with golf's frustrations—specifically the profanity the sport naturally inspires. The joke plays on the contradiction between his religious vocation and the notorious bad language golfers produce. His solution: hire a caddy to smoke (suggesting stress relief) and employ a parrot to curse on his behalf, allowing him to maintain his clerical dignity while still expressing the anger the game provokes. This reflects late-Victorian golf's popularity among the upper classes and clergy, and period attitudes toward both religion and recreational frustration.