Life, 1904-02-25 · page 13 of 26
Life — February 25, 1904 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains several distinct satirical pieces: **"In Lent"** (poem): Mocks the performative piety of wealthy people during Lent—particularly women who affect poverty and simplicity while secretly coveting luxury goods like fine gowns. The satire suggests their religious devotion is shallow vanity. **Letter from "T.B. Reed, M.D."**: Criticizes the trend of wealthy patients undergoing unnecessary appendectomy surgery (the "cutting craze"). Reed sarcastically suggests rich men simply bribe surgeons to avoid operations, mocking both the wealthy and surgeons' eagerness to operate. **Editorial commentary**: Satirizes the Emperor of Morocco for bribing President Francis (likely referring to the St. Louis World's Fair) to stop writing letters, and jokes about Yale researchers experimenting on deserters to determine starvation limits—implying both are absurd situations. The overall tone ridicules medical fads, wealthy pretension, and international absurdities of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE season of sackcloth and ashes You vow that your life shall be simple, Has dawned, and the brightest of e: To veil worldly flashes, have lowered their A coif A shut out the blue of the skies ; But think of the gowns the nuns wear! You feel so depressed and blase. eo days of prob H you capture your halo at last over a dismal-eyed lover aks just his hy his fast; wholly should But, sweet saint, lest killa Poor sinner who hoy amilla, pray try to be to repent And loves you, stilla Mere maid ton tain extent Erie Moore, A Letter. DITOR NEW YORK LIFE, Dear Sir: Apropos of the death of Wm. ©, Whitney in the hands of the surgeons, I want tosay that of wil the wit and scathing sarcasm you have employed tn your valuable Journal on the tragic subject of appendicitis, you have not sald half enough against the cutting craze. In the hands of good phssictans (or even conserva. tive old grandmothers with their liberal doses of oll and patient perseverance in poulticing), operations for appendicitis are unnecessary, It might be Well to suggest, however, that wealthy men present the surgeons with a liberal check at once, with a request to be excused from the operation. Sincerely yours, T. B, Reed, M.D. Minpierows, Ono, Febrnary 3, 1904 W* heartily sympathize with the Emperor of Morocco, who gave twenty mule-loads of small silver, worth fifty thousand dollars, to the St. ‘ ~ Yim, Louis Fair, on condition that President Nose Cla Co _,. Francis should stop writing letters to P him. He does not know where St. t & va { Lonis is, and praises Allah that he has no atlas. We also sympathize with the three deserters from the Yale diet squad of In Lent. soldiers, on whom Dr. Chittenden has been experimenting to find out how much food a man can go without in a given time. The three deserters dis- covered in advance of the Professor what was the limit of their capacity to Camilla, what fe live on a measured insufficiency of Hor innooeé sla We albne, maple-sugar and chicken-feed. won and thatis To forfeit the blisses of bonbons and Too much of a good thing, or too kisses. little of a good thing, are alike abhor- And dwell, like a hermit, alone. Tent to nature And tain toa convent would fare,— nd a wimple would set off that dimple, ess this is! comicbooks.com