Life, 1898-07-14 · page 7 of 20
Life — July 14, 1898 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The End of the World" - Life Magazine Satire This is a humorous short story illustrated with satirical drawings. The narrative describes Mr. and Mrs. Fin arriving at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on December 31st, apparently at world's end. The satire appears to mock fashionable Edwardian-era society: Mrs. Fin is dressed in exaggerated high fashion (bell-skirt, ostrich plumes, Gainsborough hat), while Mr. Fin sports formal wear. The humor derives from their concern with preserving wardrobe dignity even as exotic animals (elephant, whale, beaver, silkworms, sheep, tortoise) disembark from a vessel, creating chaos. The joke critiques the vanity of wealthy society—maintaining decorum and proper dress remains paramount even during apocalyptic circumstance. The animals' indifference to their fashionable distress underscores the absurdity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TRIER zs The End of the World. N the 81st of December, xxxx, two figures were slowly approaching the junction of the Tigris and Eupbrates—a man and a woman, last of the human’ race—Mr. and Mrs, Fin. Mrs. Fin was becomingly gowned in a moire anticue bell-skirt, with sun-pleats festooned with Venetian point-lace caught in with a girdle of cat’s-eyes, a loose blouse waist elaborately trimmed with applique, bouffant sleeves, V-shaped corsage, Eliza- bethan collar, and a broad-brimmed Gaicsboro’ hat with black ostrich plumes, Mr, Fin appeared in a frock-coat, double-breasted corduroy waistcoat, diagonal trousers and patent Icather shoes, with a beaver hat. It was midnight. As the couple approached the conflu- ence, a gigantic vessel steamed slowly up the stream and cast anchor at the mouth of the Y. A small gangplank was lowcred, and in less time than it takes to typewrite, a procession of assorted animals made their way down to the shore, two by two, and, much to Mr. and Mrs, Fin’s surprise, grief and mortification, proceeded, with many apologies and with singular naireté, to divest them of their respective wardrobes, An elephant helped himself first to Mr. Fin's ivory- headed cane, An ostrich calmly but firmly appropriated Mrs. Fin’s feathers. A beaver reluctantly deprived the unfor- tunate gentleman of his hat, while a nimble tortoise deftly picked the haircombs and pins from his wife’s head. Mr. Fin, stunned with amazement, made no resistance while a few sheep robbed him of his outer garments; but Mrs. Fin began to be a little shocked when two industrious silkworms began to ravel and wind up her bell-skirt, and a large Mo removed his mohair from the lining. The situation now became somewhat tense, and when a huge but conscientious whale appeared and carefully abstracted the bones from the lady’s stays her embarrassment Mr. and Mrs. Fin, “A gigantic vessel steamed slowly up the stream.” “An elephant helped himselt.** comicbooks.com