Life, 1903-07-30 · page 5 of 24
Life — July 30, 1903 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Last Word"** (top cartoon): A newly married couple at church is intercepted by the pastor, who insists his church is "the church of the place" for gaining entry to society. He lectures them that rejecting his church means committees, theater obligations, and sewing circles—all tedious social duties. The satire targets Victorian-era class pretension: the clergy's gatekeeping role in respectability and the exhausting social obligations marriage demands, particularly for women. The joke is that avoiding church doesn't escape society's demands; it simply redirects them elsewhere. **"Papa's Summer Vacation"** (bottom cartoon): Shows a man doing a headstand, apparently during leisure time. The caption suggests domestic chaos or indignity during vacation—likely mocking how men's supposed leisure becomes undignified or comedic. Both pieces satirize social conventions and marital/domestic life in Victorian America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
99 The Last Word. ‘Ras: youthful couple who had just moved ~ into the suburban town stood irreso- lutely at the door of the church. His Imperial Majesty, gracefully con- cealing his cloven foot’behind a flower bed, smiled pleasantly at them from the rustic seat near the entrance. “Pardon me," he said pleasantly, “buat I wouldn’t go in there.’” “Why not?’’ chorused the man and his wife. “You'll find it some- what of a bore. You" — addressing the man, “ will be put on committees, and have to pass the plate. If you go to the theatre too much, have a wine supper occasionally, or are seen on the links on Sunday morning, you'll have it rubbed into you. And you" — addressing the woman, ‘‘ will have to be- long to sewing circles I. that you don't care for, ILL! qld 7 and foreign mission socie- ea ties which you don't be- lieve in,” “I never thought of that,’’ said the man. “Nor I,”’ said the woman, “* There's a good deal of humbug about it,’ said His Majesty. ‘And besides, it’s expensive. They are begging all the time. It’s pew rent, and the church debt, and the choir, and incidentals— there’s no end of it. Better stay out." “ We will,” exclaimed the man and the woman simultaneously, and prepared to withdraw. But at this moment the pastor, who had overheard the conversa- tion, appeared on the scene with onut- * stretched arms, “My dear friends,” he observed, with the utmost confidence, ‘ please allow me to observe that my church is the charch of the place. And it is only through my church that you can expect to get into society."” And they hurried in precipitately. Tom Maxson, At the Agency. RE yon a good cook and laun- dress?” * Do Oi look loike twins?” Papa's SUMMEN VACATION. comicbooks.com