Life, 1898-07-21 · page 3 of 20
Life — July 21, 1898 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 43 **Top Cartoon:** A man and woman sit apart on a sofa. The caption reads "ENCOURAGING" with dialogue: "He: I EXPECT THAT BEFORE LONG I SHALL BE FAR AWAY. 'FARTHER THAN YOU ARE NOW.'" This satirizes an unhappy marriage where the husband expresses his intention to leave, which the wife apparently welcomes—she's not trying to stop him. **Lower Content:** Includes a poem "In Old Three-Decker Days" by Rufus Cyrene MacDonald (likely period verse about naval warfare), a definition of a "PHILOSOPHER," and two jokes labeled "PARKER" and "DARKER" about frugal wives and male admirability. **Bottom:** A sketch of children with toys, captioned "The Boston Baby"—appears to be social commentary on parenting or child behavior, though the specific reference is unclear today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ENCOURAGING, He: 1 EXPECT THAT BEFORE LONG 1 SHALL BE PAR AWAY. “PARTHER THAN YOU ARE Now??? In Old Three-Decker Days. N old threo-decker days of yore, With brazen guns and boarding frays, We smote the foe on sea and shore, In old throo-decker days. The boson now pipes newer lays; The soaring sail is seen no moro; Gono aro tho tapering masts and stays. From steel-clad forts our huge guns roar; We fight in scientific ways; And still wo conquer, as before In oid three-decker days. Rufus Cyrene MacDonald. PHILOSOPHER is a man who, having dis- covered that 2+2=4, makes a noise about it. Thrift. PASSE: My wife has the most extravagant ideas of economy. Harker : How so? “She sent me a telegram last week while I was in Philadelphia that cost me a dollar and a half, just because there were only three of my stamped envelopes left.” MAN always admires one woman for having qualities which he loves another woman for not having. TRO The Boston Baby: AW, REGINALD, IT 18 NOT SO MUCH THE EXCESSIVE DISATTOINTMENT OP NOT GETTING THE SET OP TRSEN ON WHICH MY TeaRT WAS SET, BUT I FEEL KEENLY THE INSULT CONVEYED IN PRESENTING ME WITH THESE CHILDISH AND PARTICULARLY UNINTERESTING PLAYTHINGS!