Life, 1902-08-07 · page 13 of 22
Life — August 7, 1902 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of satirical content: **"A Sea Turn"** is a humorous poem about a romantic proposal aboard a steamship that fails when the vessel hits rough seas and the suitor becomes seasick—a common trope in maritime romance stories that Life playfully subverts. **"Nullo Discrimine (nit)"** satirizes British imperial attitudes toward Indian allies. It references the Maharajah of Jaypoor's coronation attendance, where British diplomats allegedly insisted Indian representatives wear "knee-pants or nothing" rather than traditional skirts—despite Britain's "most favored nation" trade status with India. The title (Latin for "without discrimination") is ironic: Life argues Britain *does* discriminate, treating Indian allies as subordinates. The closing rhetorical questions mock Britain's hypocrisy about blood relations and shared interests while imposing cultural humiliations. The numbered cartoon illustrations (1-8) appear to be visual jokes keyed to page 119's answer key, typical of Life's contemporary-figures guessing game format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 417 Life’s Esteemed Contemporaries. If you can't guess who they are, look on page 119, so TO NEW YORE 4 800 MILES A Sea Turn. [POS the steamer's deck they met, Midway across the ocean. Calm was the sea as could be, yet ‘The ship was full of motion. By day he read to her, and when The stars were bright above her, Between the hours of nine and ten He learned to play the lover. Of course the little romance grew, Until there came the moment When there was nothing else to do, But find what Yes or No meant. He braced himself as best he could, His pulse was firm and steady, And while his appetite was good He found the words were ready. He sought her by the taffrail where She lingered—lovely dreamer! He took her hand ; he called her fair; When, suddenly, the steamer Rose proudly up and took a plunge,— This happens in all sea-tales,— And Love—well, Love threw up the sponge: We won't go into details. Feliz Carmen, Nullo Discrimine (nit). “TN connection with the persistent re- port that the Maharajah of Jaypoor was to have worn skirts at the coro- nation, it is impossible to forget that the intimation to our representatives was knee-pants or nothing. Does the ‘‘ most favored nation ’’ clause in our treaties with Great Britain mean anything or not ? Is blood, after all, thicker than water? T is only our small miseries that we 4 tell to the world. 8. comicbooks.com