Life, 1901-04-25 · page 13 of 22
Life — April 25, 1901 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces targeting American attitudes and behavior: **"In Paris"** mocks American tourists abroad, suggesting they're identifiable by speaking French poorly or with an American accent—implying Americans abroad are culturally awkward or pretentious. **"Constitution" joke** references the America's Cup yacht defender, sardonically suggesting it was named "Constitution" as a reminder that "to the victor belongs the spoils"—criticizing American competitive ruthlessness and materialism disguised as patriotism. **"Inverted Fables"** inverts traditional moral hierarchy: a deer hunts a defenseless, unarmed man and boasts about it, then tells his fawn the deed will seem brave once he's older. The moral critiques this reversal—what appears cowardly (hunting an exhausted, unarmed opponent) gets rebranded as courage through power and perspective. This likely satirizes American imperialist or colonial attitudes of the early 20th century, where dominant nations justified conquest as heroic despite overwhelming advantages. The artwork shows the deer, weapons, and hunting scene in Victorian satirical style.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
YANKEE, inclined to be slow, meant To conquer that fault, and at Rome ent- And purchased the spur of the moment. In Paris. ae OW do you know she is an H American?" “T heard her talking French.” 1] WONDER why they named the new cup defender Constitution?” “ Probably as a reminder that to the victor belongs the spoils.”” 353 The New Psychology. ered hippity hop A curio shop, R.G.W. Inverted Fables. Ix THe Lanp oF tHe Ovont-to-Be. * NY OW,” said the Big Buck Deer to his eldest born, ‘I will show you a sight that you never saw before, and I am so proud of that I feel like walking around on my hind legs all the rest of my life.”” “Why !” said the fawn, “it is a man,as I live !"" ** Yes,” said the fawn’s proud parent, dragging out the carcass from behind a tree, ‘‘and now, likea little good deer, run and get me my sharpest knife, while I skin him and prepare his head as a dining-room or- nament. And shall I tell you how your papa did such a brave deed? Then listen, my son. This morn- ing, in company with my faithful bloodhounds, I tracked the man through the forest, drove him into the lake, having first ascer- tained that he was un- armed, and then, as he was swimming about almost exhausted, I put forth in my canoe and shot him at leisure in a nice vital spot where it wouldn’t show." MORAL. “But, papa,” said the fawn, ‘‘the man had no chance at all against your skill and science. I don’t see anything brave or to be proud of.” “But you will,” said the Big Buck Deer, “ when you get to be as big as I am.” TH E love-letter of an Englishman— ol comicbooks.com