Life, 1899-02-23 · page 6 of 20
Life — February 23, 1899 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 146 This page contains poetry and satirical illustrations reflecting early 20th-century urban life and social commentary. **"Lent in Town"** by Kate Masterson is a poem lamenting the emptiness of city life during Lent—when wealthy residents leave for country estates (Lakewood, Aiken), leaving the city spiritually and socially barren. **The Willie Waldo Wood cartoon** appears to satirize wealth disparities, describing a wealthy woman whose husband's labor made her superior to neighbors—likely mocking class pretensions and the nouveau riche. **The Philadelphia illustration** shows what appears to be a theatrical scene with dialogue about stage performance, likely referencing contemporary theater or vaudeville. **The celestial imagery** at top (the sun and moon as faces) suggests philosophical commentary on constancy versus change. The overall tone critiques urban materialism and social artificiality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
146 Lent in Town. AST are the joys of yesterday; The city will not waken, ‘one has gone to play rol or at Aiken, nu sean the dining-room t, and eke of Sherry; miliar lights the gloom Or makes the prospect merry. Oh, for a drift of living rose Across the Lenten grayness, ter and the love that flows 1 stupid ev For ono bright h Tu give a prin But nothing Except a horseless hansom, There is no bloom on old Broadway, That mart of gayest bubble; Beneath impe To find the zht but trouble, Along the tar- venue, Some spectre arsuing, The cud of memory you chew, For ob, there's nothing doing! Kate Masterson. Woman who did what the could Was Mi WillieWaldo Wood . She gave aV tothe Bazaar Anderied“ How awful good la It washerHuthand and hisLabors That madeherbetterthanher Neig PHILADELPHIA. “BUT YOU GOT A PRETTY GOOD HAND ON THAT GAG oO YOURS IN THE sxcoND act.” “Tuzy'D JUST BEGUN TO Lava THEN AT TUR JOKES IN THE inst act.”