Life, 1905-07-20 · page 19 of 28
Life — July 20, 1905 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of satirical content: **"At the Well"** (main poem and illustration): A romantic narrative poem depicting a young man's encounter with a woman at a well. The sketch shows the scene in period dress. The poem's humor lies in the woman's final line—after the man kisses her, she suggests he'll be thirsty again tomorrow and may "want another drink," implying she'll return for future romantic encounters. It's gentle satire on courtship rituals and male desire. **"Time's Devouring Hand"** (bottom cartoon): Shows a newly married couple where the bride reflects that in four days they'll have been married a whole week. The caption's darkly humorous point appears to be satirizing the rapid dissolution of marital bliss—suggesting that marriage's honeymoon period is fleeting, consumed quickly by time. The accompanying illustration "Multum in Parvo" (much in little) depicts what appears to be a domestic figure, possibly commenting on married life's realities versus romantic expectations. Both pieces use humor to deflate romantic idealization.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 89 At the Well. NCE in youth I chanced to wan- der Through a fragrant, flowery dell, And that day I came upon her, Fairy goddess at the well, By her stood an earthen pitcher, And her arms and feet were bare ; She was using Nature's mirror, Twining blossoms in her hair, , While I stood and gazed upon her, m the brink. “ Maid or nymph,” at last I queried, “ May Task you for a drink?” She had risen fr Then her eyes grew big with wonder, And a smile began to tease All her dimples into showing “+ Help yourself, sir, if you please, ” As she spoke I felt her magic O'er my lazy s And I drew the maiden to Kissed her, kissed her dimples deep. creep, Then she frowned, took up her icher, And had gone a little way— When she turned, then hesitated Laughed, and dropped her eyes to “1 shall come again for water On the morrow, and { think, Sir, you're so thirsty, uw may want another drink,” Helen Marvin, , 7 TIMES DEVOURING HAND The Bride: JACK, DAKLANG, JUST THINK [IN POUR DAYS FROM THIS WE WILL HAVE BEEN MARRIED A WHOLE WEEK MULTUM IN PARVO, comicbooks.com