Life, 1909-03-04 · page 29 of 44
Life — March 4, 1909 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a fictional story satirizing **extreme ennui and wealthy idleness**. Two bored wealthy men—Henry Hope and Arthur Van Camp—read a newspaper prediction that New York will be destroyed by a natural catastrophe in early August. Rather than dismiss it, they decide to travel to witness the destruction, reasoning they have nothing to lose and can't afford to miss such a spectacle. The satire targets the **moral bankruptcy of the ultra-wealthy leisure class**: these men are so depleted of purpose that a rumored apocalypse becomes merely entertainment—a thrilling diversion from their pointless existence. The cartoon shows a demonic figure escaping New York (depicted as a globe), with the caption "Will Be Back Shortly," suggesting inevitable destruction. The joke is that their willingness to witness catastrophe reveals how disconnected they are from normal human concerns—they view even mass destruction as an amusing curiosity rather than tragedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WILL BE BACK SHORTLY’? The Destruction of New York ENRY HOPE lay at full length on the bluff of the West End of the Island of Nantucket, gazing idly and wearily up at the sky. In the offing lay his steam yacht, which had borne him there a few hours before. Henry Hope was twenty-five years old, and there was practically nothing left for him to live for. He had been ever; where. He had seen everything a sensation but he had experienced And, now, in the depths of a world-in- tense boredom, he lay looking up at the sky. Beside him sat Arthur Van Camp, his friend, the one who usually accompanied him. Arthur held in his hand the half torn sheet of a Sunday paper, which he was reading Suddenly he looked up and said, half laughing : “T see that New York is to be de- stroyed this month by a tremendous con- vulsion of nature. Here's the account, or prediction.” “When is it to be? ’? said Henry “Why, it’s supposed to be pulled off in the early part of August." “What day is to-day?” “The fifth.” “Well, got to happen soon."* Arthur smiled, lazily, as he threw the paper away, and the wind, catching it, blew it along the cliff. “It would be a pity if we weren't there to see it,"” he said. “So it would. I hadn't thought of that."" There was a considerable silence. Then Henry Hope raised himself on his elbow “It would be a pity,’” he repeated, “if we weren't there to see it."” His friend looked at him skeptically You haven't any idea that it’s going to happen, have you?" he said “That isn't the point at all. The point is, that even if the chances are millions to one against its happening, we don't want to miss it. Good Heavens. man, do you realize what that would mean? Why, we would kick ourselves all the rest of our lives.”” “So we would.”* “Just think, here we are with abso- lutely nothing to do. Let's believe it, and be on the spot anyway. We can't lose anything."’ “We might lose a good deal."’ said comicbooks.com