Life, 1906-08-23 · page 7 of 20
Life — August 23, 1906 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes courtship and romantic strategy among the wealthy. The main story features Van Twiller advising his friend Castleton on how to approach a woman named Sandhurst. Castleton is anxious about proper conduct, fearing missteps. Twiller counsels patience and "delicate advances," suggesting Castleton use Twiller himself as an intermediary—a "proxy"—to introduce himself safely and gauge her interest first. The two cartoons below mock marriage motivations: the left shows a couple who married for perceived wealth (neither actually had money); the right depicts a remarriage between divorced parties, suggesting they wed again out of familiarity rather than genuine affection. Both captions humorously undercut romantic ideals with financial or practical reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘bie A PREMEDITATED PROXY AN TWILLER gripped his friend Castle- ton’s arm hard as the prettiest girl at Sandhurst passed them a short distance ahead. “There she goes!” he said excitedly. “Isn’t she fine? The worst of it is, old man, that I’m crazy about her, and haven't got the nerve totell her. Been here a couple of weeks, too. Never realized before how little I knew about women. Devoted myself too much to busi- ness, I guess. How I envy you your experi- ence. Now you would know just what to say to a girl like that! You've been drifting around so much in society.”” + “Well, I don’t know that that is so much to my credit,” laughed Castleton. “But if I can give you the benefit of my experience, I’d be \ only too glad. By Jove! She is pretty!” \ “She's splendid, I tell you; quite out of the ordinary—that is, she seems so to me! Now what shall I do? How shall I act? What shall I say? When you're in love with a girl, what’s the proper thing?” Castleton mused. ‘That depends,” he said. ‘‘There is no set rule. One has to be governed by circumstances. I should approach her gradually, and then, by certain delicate advances, come to the point. Of course, my dear boy, it all depends on one’s temperament and the way it is done. A false step at the wrong moment would be fatal. I don't always succeed. Dear me, no! But I’ve at least learned what to avoid and I know all the openings.” Castleton twirled his mustache. ‘Of course,” he continued, “it is, in a way, a matter of temperament—this getting on with a girl. It’s done by instinct.” “You fill me with despair—and envy.” “Don't be discouraged. In time, you'll do as well as I. You’ve been occupied with other things. You can’t expect to learn it all in a day. Keep your confidence, even though at first it seems hard.” “But I simply can’t do a thing. And, of course, she doesn’t understand how I feel. Give mea pointer. Tell me what you would do. I say’—— He gazed earnestly at his friend. “You're only going to be here a day, so you're safe. I'll introduce you, and do you give me a lesson.” “You mean””—— Van Twiller considered. ‘‘There’s a bunch of rocks down WHY THEY MARRIED HE THOUGHT SHE WAS WEALTHY, SHE THOUGHT HE WAS, TOO, NOT THINKING EACH OTHER A GRAYTER. THEY FOUND OUT BETWEEN THEM THERE WASN'T A SOU— SO THEY LAUGHED AND LIVED HAPPILY ArTER! NCEY AND EVELYN SMARTE, DISREGARDING GOOD TASTE AND THE Cost, COT MARRIED AGAIN—AN AFTAIR OF THE HEART— THEY WERE TIRED OF BEING DIVORCED! comicbooks.com