Life, 1904-02-18 · page 7 of 26
Life — February 18, 1904 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces typical of early Life magazine humor: 1. **"Farewell for Forty Days" (Lent)**: A poem mocking religious Lenten observance, suggesting hypocritical piety during the forty-day period. 2. **"A Postponement"**: A brief joke about an editor delaying magazine publication until all contributors' stories arrive—satirizing editorial delays and contributor reliability. 3. **"His Status"**: A humorous exchange between a drummer and village merchant about debt collection, poking fun at traveling salesmen and their financial irresponsibility. The illustration shows what appears to be a theatrical or mining scene with figures and moonlight, likely accompanying the Lent poem. The small illustration of a baby ("Getting Ready for His Birthday") appears decorative. The humor targets contemporary social types: hypocritical religious observance, publishing inefficiency, and transient salesmen.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PAREWELL FOR FORTY DAYS, Lent. ILADY, in sackcloth and ashes, AVL A vargain endeavors to drive, So gives forty days to Repentance— Reduction from three-sixty-five. A Postponement. EDITOR eer magazine) « getting in? St. Peter: Yon paid on publication, didn't you? What's the delay about my 11, some of your contributors are inside and I've agreed to let you wait until all their stories have appeared.” His Status. [DRUMMER : That fiddle-faced, gosling-haired clerk of yours doesn't seem to amount to much, VinLaGe Mercnant: I'll tell you just how little account he is: First place, his name is Cecil—Cecil Strathmore Batts, to give it to you allopathically. Second place, he has written a song, entitled ‘‘ My Dainty Little Blue-eyed Queen,” and dedicated it to a girl who weighs two-hundred-and-several pounds. and when she jumped intoa boat on the pond, one moonlight night. last sum- mer, plunked clear through the bot- tom of it—the boat, you understand. Third place, he is Chief High Giggler, or something of the sort, of the local dancing club, which call themselves the ‘Happy Hoppers."” But, fourth place, the young feller is my nephew, and I'm using some of his Maw’s money in my business here; so, you see, Ican neither fire nor assassinate him. GETTING READY POR Mis BIRTHDAY. comicbooks.com