Life, 1903-02-26 · page 5 of 24
Life — February 26, 1903 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine "Lenten Verses" Page This page collects humorous poetry about Lenten observance (the 40-day Christian period of penance before Easter). The content satirizes both religious hypocrisy and secular attitudes toward Lenten restrictions. **Key elements:** - **"A Ballad of Lent"** mocks those who claim piety during Lent while maintaining worldly pleasures—particularly flirtation and fashion - **"A Lenten Letter"** presents a prisoner's lament, using Noah's ark as metaphor for Lenten confinement - **"Song of a Sermon"** parodies theological language - **Central illustration**: A demonic/satanic figure, likely representing temptation or sin that believers struggle against during Lent The satire targets the disconnect between professed religious devotion and actual behavior—a recurring theme in satirical magazines. Additional content addresses fashion and women's concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Ballade of Lent. HE days of penance are athand; dens aud men are nobly bent duly planned According to the rules of Lent Away with idle merrim and dances, We play the pious penitent— But only for the Forty Days. Flirtation by Jeannette is banned ; My mood is likewise reverent; To churei And hear th Of deeds undone and time misspent ; We vow re! nd who shall raise ‘The question if it's permanent, Or only for the Forty Days? I go, at her command, ermon, cloqu While self-denial rules the land, The world of fashion must invent Amusements of a ha Vastimes to suit the innocent; The sins we love must now be blent With pie Profound But only for the Forty Days. ‘unless brand— rd to preeedent— Satan, you grumbler, be content ! Though we renounce you and your ways, And think it proper to repent, It’s only for the Forty Days! Frank Roe Batchelder. To Myrtilla. Lent, and yet in party gown linger onward atl Tis Lent ; deserted is the town, Ah! is your lingering a chance? dance. Or do you flout at churehly ways— » do as you are bid crit be, I feel just now Not half so pious as I did. LENTEN VERSES. A Lenten Letter. | “TOR forty days imprisoned in the ark Sailed Noah solitary on the Without so much as one rock or a tree Or star whereby his proper course to mark In torrents fell the rain, Did he but hark He heard the waters laughing in their glee. How lonely was that voyaging, ah, me! How desolate, how dreary and how dark! For forty days I, too, a prisoner Must taste of loneliness, for this is Lent, And Lin vain look forth for one I love. Go, then, white letter and make for ler, And, like the messenger that Noah sent. Be yours to find the olive branch, my Dove! search The Song of a Sermon. A DAM and Exe and the Apple, Garden and Serpent and Tree, Such is the sermon at Chapel Preached to Myrtilla and me: k to the very Beginning, Back to the Parents of yore Goes the good man—to the sinning, Clear to the worm at the core. Stale is the fabulous story, Dall is the clerical prose, Even the sequel of glory Fails to keep me from a doze: There is a ga Only ten minutes away,— This is my dream, aud a decent Sort of a dream for the day. Love's little Eden! It covers Less than an acre—a spot Ample enough for two lovers When all the world is forgo! Love's are the apples that grow the Not interdicted is one ; So with Myrtilla Tl go there After the sermon is done. Feliz Carmen. Needs of Femininity. 7 ES, ladies,” announced the physical culturist, “you will be surprised at the miracles my system can work. It can increase several inche grace, give “But,” interrupts a fair pupil, “our dressmakers can do all that for time. get ur shoulder measurement add to your stature and ou —"” in ne What we want to know is how to 23-inch waist into a 16-inch corset, and a No. 5 foot into a No. 2 shoe, without tak- ing chlorofort <7 OBL! “N to collars and cuffs. comicbooks.com