Life, 1904-01-21 · page 5 of 20
Life — January 21, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents "The Higher Law," a German problem play being reviewed or excerpted in Life magazine. The main content shows Act 1, featuring characters including Gräfin von Holzwegen and her maid Emma in a domestic scene. The large portrait depicts Captain Richard Hardly Davis in period costume, identified in the caption below. The smaller cartoon sketches on the right illustrate physical comedy—a man attempting various acrobatic moves with captions like "I'll show you how we used to coast when I was a lad" and "We always started off like this, but—" These appear to mock either the play itself or period German theatrical conventions, using slapstick to satirize the "higher law" theme. The juxtaposition suggests Life was ridiculing this serious dramatic work through humorous commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“THE HIGHER LAW.” A GERMAN PROBLEM PLAY, Characters. ~RAFIN VON HOLZWEGEN. Max von Hoxzwecen. Ema, Maid to the Grafin. Frau Scumior. Herr Staptcouvektor Prana. ACT I. A room in the house of the Grariy Hotzweoex, A room richly furnished, but showing in certain insignificant details a taste rather vulgar as to matters of art. Discoveren : The Grarin is discovered reading. Guavin: (putting down her book): Emma! (Rings a smail bell twchich has been standing motionless on the table.) Emma (opening the door): Your lady: Grarin: Yes. Come here. Has the wash come in? Essa: Yes, Frau Grafin. (Teking a scorkbasket from astonished.) Max: What is ated? Praxc: My pi been told to-day: mother. Max: Then—wi Prac: Your fy dest. son. CAPTAIN RICHARD HARDLY Davis. we aLwars STARTED OFF LIKE Tms, BUT — comicbooks.com