Life, 1899-11-02 · page 8 of 20
Life — November 2, 1899 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Modesty of True Greatness" This article praises Major J. B. Pond, apparently a prominent figure of the era, for remaining humble despite his accomplishments and public recognition. The text suggests Pond has been so self-effacing that even famous people like Ian Maclaren didn't fully recognize his contributions to American culture. The two cartoon illustrations below appear to be humorous commentary on Pond's modesty—depicting anthropomorphized creatures (possibly representing pride or vanity) in uncomfortable or awkward situations, with captions "I SHOULD SMILE!" and "SAY, (BIG) I'M BLOWED IF EVER I TAKE ANOTHER DROP." The satire suggests that true greatness manifests through restraint and self-deprecation rather than self-promotion, a value the magazine appears to celebrate.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
348 False Syntax. AID the teacher of the grammar class To which our boys belong, “ The horse and cow is in the fleld, Now, what in that is wrong?” “The cow and horse is in the fleld,” Spake one, in nanners versed ; “ Because, you know, 'tis moro polite ‘To mention ladies first.” The Modesty of True Greatness. OR some time Lire has noticed that among all the great men of this con- tinent and world, there is one who has kept himself so far in the back- ground that it seems nothing short of a cruel injustice that his resplendent vir- tues, his pleasing aplomb and his accumulation of culture, acquired little by little through constant contact with his patrons, should have been so scantily recognized. Let us then, even at the risk of bringing the blush to his cheek, sing the praises of Major J. B. Pond, whose self-effacement, in the light of his great services, bas been of such a rerfiark- able nature, To those grossly ignorant ones who have never heard of Major Pond, we will say that no celebrity has ever visited this country for years, or probably ever will visit this country, except under his kindly auspices, When it is stated that Ian Maclaren was guided from town to town under his direction and first intro- duced to the American people, some idea of his services may be gathered. 1 SHOULD SMILE! THE CADDIE'S NIGHTMARE. In the extreme northeast corner of our continent, on a rugged promontory, Major Pond has erected an observation house, and there, with a long telescope fixed to his eagle eye, he sweeps the Atlantic Ocean for sight of some stranger. When his personal services are engaged with a foreign celebrity, his faithful assistants are at this post, never ceasing in their vigilance. Thus, night and day, a constant watch is kept up, and no one escapes, No Scotch author, however humble, no English novelist, however remote, has ever been known to land on SAY, (Ric) 'M BLOWED IP EVER I TAKE ANOTHER DROP.” comicbooks.com