Life, 1905-10-19 · page 13 of 30
Life — October 19, 1905 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate pieces: 1. **"Life" (by Bernard Shaw preface)**: A short play excerpt about class and poverty. The preface sardonically notes that playgoers attend his plays because they find them funny when he intends social criticism—suggesting audiences miss his satirical point about "the humorous" versus "the tragic" in life. 2. **"Ancient" (by Tom Mason)**: A dialogue between a kitten and mother pussy about family lineage. The mother cat boasts their "great-grandfather was in the Spanish war"—likely referencing Spain's colonial conflicts. The accompanying sketch shows a woman and man in what appears to be a modest interior, though the exact social commentary is unclear from the image alone. Both pieces appear to satirize social pretensions and class assumptions of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 459 nowhere in sight. Then she drew herself up with the air of Tue Doc (looking pathetically up to her): 1 am very a queen. hungry. Never,” she exclaimed, ‘shall I permit my pure Tue Woman (alias Mother Hubbard, smiling kindly, patrician blood to grow cold! Have I lived ina Harlem — keeping herself well in hand): Well, dearie, you shall flat all winter for naught?” have enough—your fill for once, What say you to a ten- But even as she spoke, she tipteed to the window of Old derloin of beef, garnished with vegetables? To a tender Mother Hubbard's four-hundred-thousand-dollar cottage, fowl, basted to the point of rapture? To a nice dish of given to her by Henry Lifter, king of the grafters, andthe lump sugar, topping off with a delightful shin-bone? sight she saw made her shake like an aspen leaf, or even Ture Doe (kis mouth watering at the thought): AW! two. You are too good! Can it be that you have all this in Mother Hubbard had just been to the cupboard, and was mind for me? returning empty-handed, Tur Woman (playing with his feelings, and gloating Her dog was the fiercest one in the neighborhood. He him): And more! Do I not hate thee enough to had just returned from a private sanitarium, pronounced ve thee well?) Am I not a woman, and therefore to be incurable. Pearl well knew that if he got out, all would believed? Wait. In—yon—cupboard—- be over, Transfixed with terror, she waited. Tur Doo (frantic with joy, his tail vibrant): Is what? There was no bone for the dog, whose cruel, ugly, hellish Tur Woman (her eyes feasting on his expression, as fangs snapped ever and anon, she goes to the cupboard and swiftly returns, thrilling lenly Mother Hubbard started toward the front door, Am with a look): Nothing! “ Harold,” murmured Pearl, “ where art thou?" Tur Doc: Fiend! Then, as the door swung open, she felt a hot, fetid breath Tue Woman: Fudge ! on her strangely beautiful face. (Curraiy.) “T should have went before,” she murmured, as she Tom Masson. sank back in the arms of her savior, who, unbeknownst to : her, had been fixing the plumbing in the laundry, and now Ancient. spring, sprang, sprung to her rescue ! HE KITTE Do we come from an old family, mother ? Motner Pussy : Yes, indeed, my child! Why, your PREEACE great-grandfather was in the Spanish war, and just be- COULD explain myself if I would, but it is better to fore he fell he exclaimed, ** [ regret that T have only nine By Berxarp Snaw, have the world disbelieve in me. The playgoers flock to. lives to give to my country my plays because they dislike me so, and think Iam funny when I am simply untree to myself, Let it beso, There is money in it. To me there is nothing more tragic in life than the humorous, nothing more humorous than the — tragic. Here's another. Act I, An Exglish home. Horrtble furniture, horrible brics\-brac, horrible books, horrible pic- tures, horrible everything. In one end of the room is a door, Beyond the door ts a cupboard. Ut ts half open, and contains a secret. This secret és known only to one of the two persons occupying the room: a noble dog, and a woman—the un- pleasantest work of God. On the whole, it #s an extremely nauseating group, only the dog relieving the situation. He is, as usual, half famished. The woman watts her oppor- SE HEG YOUR PARDON, YOUNG MAN, BUT WOULD YOU MIND LETTING HELEN GO TO BED AND HAVING Mi: tunity. stv UP WITH YoU THE REST OF THE SIGHT 2” comicbooks.com