Life, 1898-11-24 · page 14 of 20
Life — November 24, 1898 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains five separate satirical pieces typical of early 20th-century Life magazine humor: **"The Philosopher"** mocks working-class aspiration—a poor man fantasizes that wealth's only value would be experiencing multiple lives simultaneously, suggesting the wealthy's pleasures are repetitive and hollow. **"A Sudden Change"** ridicules upper-class hypochondria: a man catches cold from a mere five-degree temperature shift, implying excessive delicacy. **"Overheard in the Pasture"** uses an old army mule seeking funds to write a war article as satire on post-WWI memoir-writing—the joke being only the mule will read it, suggesting such veterans' accounts lack genuine audience interest. **"Filtered Information"** satirizes gossip distortion: a message passes through intermediaries until only trivial cigar-ash details remain, commenting on how rumors become diluted. **"Their Path in Life"** contains sharp gender satire: a man worries women's progress might lead to equality ("walking in our shoes"), but his friend retorts they're already dominant ("walking on our necks")—mocking anti-feminist anxiety about women's rising social power.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
StANKIWS. a 4 THE PHILOSOPHER “WHAT'S THE USE O° BEIN’ RICH? YER CAN ONLY DRINK AND SMOKE JE} 80 MUCH, ANYWAY, BUT IF YER COULD BE FOUR OR FIVE PELLERS AT ONCE, WHY, THEKY'D BE SOME PON IN BEIN' RICH, AND I'D WORK PUM IT.” A Sudden Change. ICHMOND: How did you catch such a severe cold? Bronxporoven; Our janitor got drunk and allowed the temperature to rise to fifty-four degrees, The sudden change was too much for me, OVERHEARD IN THE PASTURE. The Old Army Mule: AY, JACK, GIVE HE A QUARTER; 1 WISH TO PCRCOASE GONE PENS, INK AND PAPER. I FIND I'M ABUUT TUE ONLY VETERAN Wn er WRITTEN A WAR ARTICLE, AND 1 “BUT WHAT BENEFIT DO I DERIVE FROM THIS? “ol, YOU'LL BE THE ONLY ONE THAT READS IT. Filtered Information. TD hesayany- thing about me?” “Ho ?— well, yes, t he did mention you?” “What 'd ho say?" “He spoke of your having been there.” “ How 'd he know it?” “Ob, he know.” “Ob, come! What ‘d he say?” NoT MUCH SHOW FOR MAUD MULLER THESE Days. “Shall I really tell you, Rob ?”” “ Go on ; do go on!” “Oh, my! Well, dear Rob, he came in just after you went out, and there was a cigar stump on the table and cigar ashes on the floor, and he said, ‘Great Heavens, Louisa, has that young creature been hero again? My, he'd smoke in church! It scoms to be the rule with all these modern boys to smoke wherever there's no sign up. Why don’t you teach bim manners ?’” “Was that all?” “Almost all, dear; but ho did say that if you succeeded in life you'd grow up to bo one of those fat little men who ride down Fifth Avenuv in victorias, with thelr wives, and emoking cigara.” “and what did you tell him, Louisa?” “I didn’t tell him, dear, Hp did tho talking.” Their Path in Life. “ OMEN,” ho said, “are 80 quick- witted, And take such forward views, Will they eventually be fitted For walking in our shoes? “Tho question really makes mo dizzy.” A friend bis musing checks— “Well, yes—they might, if thoy wero not busy Walking on our necks.” Madeline 8, Bridges.