Life, 1908-08-13 · page 19 of 20
Life — August 13, 1908 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines satirical content with period advertising. The main humor piece, "Cipherius Vulgaris," is a Q&A interview mocking social pretension. It depicts a man who was once important in London society but suffered a "faux pas"—he inadvertently revealed something compromising at a social gathering. His social status collapsed immediately; invitations ceased and coldness replaced the previous flattery. The joke targets how shallow social climbing is: his importance was entirely constructed, dependent on others' perception, not actual merit. The irony is that his confederate (likely his bride, from the wedding reference) gained status from the same incident—suggesting he was the convenient scapegoat for their shared transgression. The page also advertises Hunter Rye whiskey as a "tonical stimulant" for summer heat exhaustion, and announces Sherlock Holmes stories returning to *Collier's* magazine—reflecting early 20th-century magazine culture and popular fiction consumption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pepi ris 3 a8 CIPHERIUS VULGARIS” ulcating the virtue of resignation upon ving once occupied a position of high ve sunk to become mere details in the life.) are you? A. Cipherius Vulgaris tis a Cipherius Vulgaris? A, A Common ss this in other words. A. A man of no you always a man of no importance? ym it. Until six months ago I was among the most important men in London. - Q. How can you prove this? A, Ry the way wh as petted, caressed and feted wherever I went 7 Q. Was the decline of your importance izstantane- cas or gradual? A, Gradual. Q. How did it come about? A. T made a faur j, at the date referred to, and have been steadily tige ever since. at was the nature of your fawr pas? A. In Jed moment I gave myself away. you give yourself away badly? .\. Hope- t done in public? A. No, in private. But the facts of the case quickly leaked out and got into all the papers, with the result that my social immediately began to depreciate Q. How were you made aware of this? A. By the marked falling off in the invitations sect me, and ly the indifference, not to say coldness, with which Iwas received in circles where I had once been a pampered and lionized guest Q. Were these consequences very marked? nistakahly: so. Q. Has the declize in your importance been ac companied by a corresponding advance in the im- ce of somebody else? A. It has Q. Who is that somebody else? A. My confederate in the said faws pas. Q. How comes it that the same faur pos which bas $0 diminished your social prestige has, never eased the social prestige of your con- Because, as it happened, my co A. Une 1 everything to gain, whereas I had every- ing to lose by it Q. Did you realize th the time when you com ritted the lapsus? A I was under the ix Q. Was your co cf temporary blindness? A. No. My confederate sas all the while perfectly wide awake. Q. Has the limit of your decline in importance tos been reached? A. I have every reason to cor cole that such must be the case. Q. What leads yeu to this conclusion? A. The fact that when one is already touching the bedrock of in- rificance—as I erate also under the influen m doing at the present momei iis impossible to sink any lower. Q Have you, then, no significance at the present rement? .\. Nore whatever. In fact, at the mome=t of speaking I am—to adopt the language of a:troromy —in a state of total eclipse. Q. Ry whom are you eclipsed at this moment seaki \. hy federate, who, as the cyno sare of all eves, the center of all attractions, and the 1 encomiums, engrosses universal atten: caving ro ore with even half an eye to spare mportart a detail as myself, Is your preserce, revertheless, tolerated? A. Yes: ast toleral Can you show a good reason for this? A. I can an excellent reason for it excellert reason? A. The reason a mere detail, Iam still a detail ind A. The wedding ceremony part is your confederate taking in this \. The part of BRIDE. what part are you taking? A. The part of London Truth, IN THE FRET AND SWELTER OF SUMMER HEAT and its consequent depression, exhaustion, prostratio:. UNTER RYE THE FAMOUS, FAULTLESS, FAVORITE WHISKEY is a superior tonical stimulant Sold at all first-class cafes and by jobbers. M.LANAHAN & SON, Baltimore, Md. CLOG ITOOE PROD OO OK Sherlock Holmes is Coming Back! WO more «reminiscences? by Dr. Watson of he. Great) Detective are to see the light. W The first;one-is entitled «The Singular, Experience’ f<Mr. J. Scott Eccles.” It/willappear in COLLIER’S for August-f 5th, which) will be a ««Suer- tock Houses’?Number), There will be an intimate sketch of: Sir, Arthur Conan Doyle; creator of Sherlock Holmes, of his old teachers®Professor Bell of Edinburgh, who! was”, she“ original of the Great De- tective and: gmany anecdotes, and illustra- tions"ofthe unique’ place in. literature and on, the stage achieved \ by. ‘the Breatest charactér‘t ar fiction since Monsieur, Dupin.”? Hee is)what Collier's ‘Fiction Editor wrote: \ ye Pa AY “1 think I can safely says that itis one of th moit remarkable detective stories of modern times. Not only isthe plot novel, but the author brings to this tale all of the atmosphere of mymery abd the extraordinary character drawing whieh! long ago made bim famous, /I consider the story a great anet for aay periodical. It is one of those cases where an author wins success along a cértain line, creates a band of Imitators, drops out for a time, and then comes back as “ sbow just bow, good be really was. / ie f Colliers Thal } Natiénal Weekly! i Sherlock Holnes“Number™ Adgist 15th | ‘A pew, Abe better way. engve core, looeen trait fran the peel. auld a teaspoonful of ABBOTT'S HITTERS to haifa grape fruit and sugar to suit taste, Gives exquisite Bavor and adds zing and tonic effect of the fruit. ‘things will enjoy grape Miviatare of Gowns and Hats from the August Number of DRESS the recognized authority on fashion—‘‘the most beautiful magazine of our times,” $5 A YEAR Published in connection with ‘‘ Les Modes"? of Paris, the fashion authority of the European courts, Darss treats of smart gowning as an art. It portrays in the most beautiful and artistic manner the newest ar smartest of sartorial creations in Daris and New York. 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