Life, 1908-04-02 · page 32 of 44
Life — April 2, 1908 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a **completed short story** (marked "THE END") about a woman named Ilyria who adopts her neighbor's unwanted baby by trading it to Miss Perkins in exchange for Miss Perkins's cats. The satire targets **early 20th-century sentimentality about animals and pseudo-philosophical attitudes toward pets**. The joke's sting: Ilyria treats the human infant as casually as a possession to be swapped, valuing the cats—which she romanticizes as "inscrutable spirits"—over human responsibility. The narrator's moment of harsh judgment ("You were content to give him away!") is undercut by Ilyria's serene satisfaction, suggesting the story mocks people who elevate animal companionship above human duty. The surrounding **advertisements** (Peerless automobiles, Dean's wedding cakes) are unrelated commercial content typical of Life's format. The bottom **cartoon** shows two men in conversation; the caption's incomplete exchange ("spent a week in Philadelphia"/"When?") appears to be a separate, unrelated joke whose punchline isn't visible.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
who had been purring at her feet, suddenly jumped into her lap, letting is wonderful, spreading fur brush her cheek. 0 need,” said Hyria, “for Rameses to speak. He knows! Ie And so it happened that the next afternoon late, when I came home from my work in the gathering twilight, there was ne Ilyria to greet me. She had evidently been detained on her mission. While I waited for her I meditatively wandered out among the cats. There they were—short cats and tall cats, fat cats and thin cats, cats of quality and a few that, like world waifs, had strayed in—for none was too humble to be welcomed by Ilyria. After all, I pondered, was not Ilyria right? Who shall say but what these solemnly sedate and dignified creatures, sitting serene, are not, after all, the inscrutable spirits that bind us to an unknown and higher life. And who shall say but our petty affections, all our mere parental outbursts, are only souvenirs of a past age, a survival of animal instinct? Suddenly there was a sound. Ilyria had come back. Her soft step on the gravel recalled me. I clasped her hands in mine and gazed into her radiant eyes. “You have done it!” I said. “The baby has gone.” “Yes. Miss Perkins has taken him. She was delighted.” A momentary depression came over me. Perhaps I had smoked a Zi cigar too many during the day. Perhaps my primi parental mere The Peerless — animal instinct had momentarily come to the surface. iP “And you!” I exclaimed, almost harshly. “You, Ilyria. You were = ‘ content to give him away!” is a Silent Car But Iyria only smiled jn return—a confiding, transcendental smile, as she waved her arm toward the driveway. An express wagon was approaching. It was loaded with baskets. And from these baskets came a heterogeneous volume of sounds— meows, howlings, splutterings, spittings and feline wailings. “Of course, I didn’t give him away!” said Ilyria. “I have exchanged him for Miss Perkins’s cats.” This quality has been developed to a high state of perfection and for its superiority in this respect, the Peerless is now famous. Its silence, absence of vibration and easy riding qualities, as well xcellence of its mechanical construction, appeal to all who Write for Catalogue Q, which fully describes the Peerless Models. THE PEERLESS MOTOR CAR COMPANY, 2449 Oakdale Street Member A. L. A. M. Cleveland, Ohio THE END ( Ne ddi ing Cal neal Box eS Out-of- town n Weddings We offer a very attractive line of specially made boxes marked with handsome monograms of exclusive design and filled with wedding cake made from an original recipe which bas been favorably known for nearly seventy years. We have special favors for the members of the bridal party and orna- mented bride's cakes containing novel gifts, also place cards, cases far the tees, etc. Prices will be sent on request . AND I SPENT A WEEK IN PHILADELPHIA.” “WHEN 2?" 2 FIFTH AVENUE — tstantisneo 1839 NEW YORK & [ene comicbooks.com