Life, 1900-06-21 · page 15 of 20
Life — June 21, 1900 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration depicts a romantic scene with a woman reclining on a striped chair, confronting a man. The caption presents their dialogue: he accuses her of leading him on despite knowing he loved her; she replies that without his love, she couldn't have done so—a cynical joke about female manipulation in romance. Below this is "An Abbreviated Romance," a satirical poem mocking melodramatic love stories. A young officer courts "sweet Mabel" through music, but she ignores him for an older, grizzled captain who impresses her with tales of battle—suggesting women prioritize status and adventure over genuine affection. The final prose piece humorously references the late Robert Bonner allegedly hiding $70,000 in bonds between magazine pages. Life jokes that *Life* magazine itself is so popular and frequently read that hidden money would inevitably be discovered there—a self-promotional jest about the magazine's circulation and readership engagement. The page satirizes romantic pretense and female materialism while subtly advertising Life's own popularity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
He: NOW COULD YOU LEAD ME ON, WHEN YOU KNEW ALL THE TIME I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU “WHTY, IP YOU HADN'T BEEN, OW COCLD I HAVE DONE IT?" 535 night, he is frost bitten. Should he wander after dark, footpads rob him. of what Iittle the hotels leave. After the footpads flaish, the hotel turns him out, then goes after the footpad. Hotels charge Waldort prices for Bowery accommodations, Each day four ot! compantes are formed, and ten barrels of oll pro- duced. Gold mines are abundant, gold bricks more 80, It 1s the graveyard of theatrical troapes, Most of its citizens find tt con- venient to date their pedigrees from the day of crossing the State line; ‘and many adopt the same course tn. Tegard to thelr names. Mr. Black at Boston becomes Mr. White here. To say “a requisition has come” would empty any hall, There is some Eastern capital here, Principally cityand county fandsand trust funds. ‘astern Tourist, An Abbreviated Romance. TCO sain sweet Mabel's hand and heart The young licutenant pressed his suit By means of music's pleasing art. But while he softly played the flute Sweet Mabel merely played the Lieut. ‘The grizzled captain came and told How in the battle he had scrapped, Then made a sudden sortie bold, And Mabel, in his arms en- wrapped, Confessed the climax now was Capt Willis B, Hawkins, T= report that the late Robert Bonnerconcealed seventy thousand dollars in Government bonds between the leaves of a magazine in- spires a natural curiosity to learn which of the maga- zines it was that Mr. Bonner considered a safe receptacle for securities. It never has been safe to keep money be- tween the leaves of Lire even in bound volumes. Thousand-dollar bills so placed as an experiment have in every case been promptly and permanently discovered.