Life, 1903-10-01 · page 13 of 36
Life — October 1, 1903 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains three distinct pieces of satirical humor: **"The Courtship"** (top): A romantic poem/illustration about spring and love, with traditional sentimental verses. It appears straightforward romantic content rather than satire. **"Cipher"** (left column): A satirical commentary on the "Beirut affair"—apparently a diplomatic incident where encoded messages were misunderstood. The joke lists absurd consequences of this misunderstanding: cable companies lose business, missionaries lose "one chance to make trouble," and the Administration loses "firm attitude." The satire mocks how governments and institutions overstate the importance of such incidents while also gently ribbing missionaries for their troublemaking tendencies. **"An Axiom to Fit"** (right column): A brief humorous exchange where a struggling aphorism-writer can't devise a witty saying about comic opera. A friend offers: "Comic Opera—Man composes and woman exposes," playing on the double meaning of "exposes" (reveals/performs). This is gentle gender-based humor typical of the era. The page blends romantic poetry with political and social satire characteristic of Life magazine's approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Suddenly discovers, With a happy start, Something in its beat that Never was before, Seeming to repeat that Love is at the door. Cipher. HE Beirut affair clearly illus- trates the importance of cipher 9, in diplomacy. Se) Had not the dispatches been Si@B5 in cipher, they would not have been misunderstood. This would have entailed the loss : 1, To the cable companies and the people who coal our warships abroad, of business; 2. To the missionaries, of one chance to make troubl THE COURTSHIP. Spring was made for blisses ; ‘Then it ts the vine Shows its fragrant kisses,— None so sweet as mine Gathered from the lps that Shame the rose and more, Whence the secret slips, that Love is at the door. 3. To us, of one thrill of patriotic pride ; 4. To the Administration, of oue firm attitude. In short, a loss at the very lowest calculation incalculable. An Axiom to Fit. ‘THE writer of aphorisms is tugging at his beard and glowering sav- agely at his manuscript. “What's the matter?’’ sympathizing friend. “T've been studying for two hours asks the Spring was made for plighting Lovers’ troths and vows, When the buds are lighting In the garden boughs; Then it was I heard that Message, sweet, of yore,— From your lips the word that Love is at the door, Feliz Carmen on an aphorism that might be applied to a comic opera.” “And you can't think of anything?” asks the friend. “No, First I tried to work in some- thing about ‘facts and figures,’ but did not seem able to make anything of it.’” “Tell you a better one,” smiles the friend, with the air of a man who can think these things offhand at apy time. “Go ahead “Comic Opera—Man composes and woman exposes. comicbooks.com