Life, 1909-08-19 · page 10 of 28
Life — August 19, 1909 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces. "Vibratory" is a romantic story about kissing by moonlight, satirizing sentimental Victorian literature through excessive repetition of the phrase "kept on kissing." "A Hiatus" mocks the "religion" of utilitarianism and commercialism, particularly German efficiency crazes. A Boston vendor pitches a "Brotherhood of Man" subscription service—a complete, guaranteed system for one year—as if human brotherhood were a product to purchase. The satire targets how consumer capitalism and mechanized thinking reduce meaningful human connection to marketable commodities. The accompanying illustration of a woman with a child emphasizes the domestic context where such empty commercialism conflicts with genuine human relationships. This reflects early 20th-century American anxiety about industrialization's spiritual costs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“say, JOCKO, SUPPOSE YOU CARRY HIM TOR A waite,” tr. Not ON YM NO ORGAN-GRINDER. your Tin-tyPE! Vibratory ISS met"? The moon shone over the waters. No one was near. There was no reason in heaven or earth why such a simple and direct request should not be immediately complied with. He leaned over, therefore, and kissed her. Then there was a silence, broken only by the sound of the waters breaking on the beach, “ Kiss me again! I: was perfectly obvious that if it was reasonable and right that it should be done once then in all consistency it should be done again, Such a situation required no concentration of energy in thought to define. He, therefore, bent and kissed her again. And again there was silence as mentioned before. “Keep on kissing me! ’? Why not? If a thing is right, then it is right constantly repeated. This is one of the most potent laws of logic And so he obeyed. This time the mentioned before—was other sound wavy, som except lence—except as broken by an- rather continuous, rather nittent. Moments passed. “1 SAY, PAPA, WHILE WE'RE UP HERE WOULDN'T IT BE POLITE TO CALL ON cop?” “ Kiss me faster! ”” Then it was that the youth sprang His pride bad been hurt. There is, even in nature, a limit to all things, “What do you take me for,” he mut tered, “a six-cylinder motor car A Hiatus YY new religions, madam? ”* The Boston vendor bowed polite- ly to the lady of the house, who looked somewhat doubtfully. “What have you to-day?’? she asked at last. “A fresh line of utilitarian principles, just over from Germany. A complete and well rounded Brotherhood of Man, guaranteed for one year. A nice line of altruistic specialties, one of them some- “Christianity with removed.’ Some Nirvana A job lot of Buddhist dogm: And Eliot's patent unadulterated free- for-all working hypothesis.’’ “That all?’ I can let you have any number of the old, orthodox kind—still used by st folks. Done up in new packages, with the same old labels, however.” No, thanks.”” Can't I interest you in anything at thing new, entitled the sting novelties. al have come “Not at present. But if you anything really new you might around in a couple of weeks.”” “But, my dear madam, how are you going to subsist in the meantime?" “Tam going to visit relatives in New York.” comicbooks.com