Life, 1904-12-03 · page 9 of 22
Life — December 3, 1904 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two cartoon panels satirizing female social types, paired with an essay on worry by Tom Masson. **"If Mother's a Peach"** (left): A portly woman with a hat and cigarette represents a desirable mother-figure. The caption suggests if your daughter isn't pretty and you are a peach, men will notice you instead—a barb at mothers competing with their daughters for male attention. **"Beyond Mere Conjecture"** (right): Shows women gossiping about inspecting a potential wife. The joke concerns assumptions about character based on appearance and family traits—suggesting people judge marriage prospects based on superficial observations rather than substance. Both panels mock early-20th-century social anxieties about women's appearance, courtship, and family reputation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
me = SS =n IF MOTHER'S A PEACH. IP YOUR DAUGHTER'S NOT PRETTY AND YOU ARE A PRACH, AND THE MEN GLANCE your WAY, DON’T YOU KNOW, TT's YOUR DUTY TO RIG YOURSELF UP IN A STYLE ‘THAT WILL GIVE LITTLE DAUGHTER A sHow I Worry. 'T is a melancholy fact that few people worry systematically. They are apt to concentrate their worry in spots, and then, when the reaction sets in, they are positively gay. Each one of us has worry enough to last a lifetime, if it is but properly distributed. We dress and eat and sleep more or less regularly, and we should certainly worry with the same consistency, There are some people, especially those who are poor, who claim they have no time to worry, they are so much occupied, But this is only be- cause they do not make time, Worry need not be the exclusive privilege of the rich. It is open to all who are willing to devote the care and attention to it that it deserves. One of the best times to worry is about five in the morning, when the vitality is at its lowest. If it is hard to BEYOND MERE CONJECTURE, IP YOU BRING HOME TWO COOKS FOR YOUR WIFE TO INSPECT= ONE 18 UGLY, THR OTHER'S A PET; ‘THE QUESTION COMES UP, WHICM WILL DEAR WIFIE CHOOSE— BUT IT WOULDN'T BE SPORTING To BET! wake up at this hour, use an alarm clock. Lie as rigid as possible, with your hands clasped, and your teeth set, and your eyes fixed. Do not make the mistake, as some do, of facing your troubles, because oftentimes, when they are faced, they disappear, and thus worry doesn't get afairshow. Instead of this, brood on them vaguely. In this way you will gradually develop a kind of inward terror, which is a great help to worry. Practice doing this every morning at dawn,- At first it may be hard, but by and by the habit will be- come fixed, and then you will not have to chide yourself afterwards because you were losing so much time worry- ing as you ought. Another great help is to cultivate your imagination as much as possible. Remember that the immediate present, with its sense of security, will soon pass, and that the future, with all kinds of trouble, is coming. Try to imagine some of the things that may happen, and by doing this systematically, you will find that it is possible never to be wholly out of a good stock of worry, and by putting your faith in imaginary troubles, you will never be at a loss, Do not worry too hastily; for if you do you may recover too rapidly and lose your equilibrium, But go at it calmly, slowly and persistently. In a short time you will find that you are worry- ing almost without any effort. But even then do not allow yourself to be too much elated over your success, For if you do, the very object that you have striven so hard to achieve will be defeated. Allow yourself only a proper feeling of pride and sense of true dignity; otherwise, your capacity for worry may be too much restricted by your satisfaction in your own development. Tom Masson. comicbooks.com