Life, 1911-04-20 · page 14 of 52
Life — April 20, 1911 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several dog-themed pieces satirizing human nature. The main poem "Dog Sense" (by Wallace Irwin) tells of a faithless wife whose heartlessness only the family dog perceives—the dog "knew" what the man couldn't see. It's a sentimental commentary on loyalty and intuition, with the tragic implication the man eventually dies by suicide. "Poor Dog" inverts this: it sarcastically catalogs human vices (lying, cheating, drinking, swindling) that dogs lack, ending with the joke that dogs wouldn't even object if called human. "During the Service" is a brief joke about excessive ecclesiastical decoration in churches—using eagles, owls, and various birds to ornament reading desks and pulpits. The scattered illustrations show dogs in everyday situations. The overall theme celebrates canine virtue against human moral failing—a common early-20th-century sentimental trope.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
. 778 MAN there was and he had a dog, And the man was a good-for-naught, Till he mended his life and married a wife And settled down—he thought. Full well he acted a husband's part As his wife to his breast he drew; For he didn’t know that she hadn't a heart— But the dog—he knew! Now the man he went from his home at morn And he kissed his wife farewell, Though her lips were chill as the winter rill— But how could the husband tell? And he smiled as he looked at the morning sun While the breath of the spring he drew. For he didn’t know that his day was done— But the dog—he knew! So the man came back to his home again, His home that was black and cold. The hearth was dead and his Love had fled And the man was suddenly old. But the dog crept close to his master’s knee And the breath of affection blew. 50d,” said the man, “has forgotten me,” But the dog—he knew ! So into the world the man walked forth And the dog at his heel did go. They hungered or fed on bitter bread And no man shared their woe. Till they found him at last by the river's side Drenched with the morning dew, Nobody knew how the man had died. But the dog—he knew! Wallace Irwin, THE VIVISECTOR ADROAD The Real Reason DAM sat down, “I am the greatest man in the world,” he said to himself; “the wisest the biggest financier and captain of industry; I hold LEADING A DOG'S LIFE During the Service oD I wonder why they always have an eagle holding J up the reading-desk? Situ: Give it up. Jones: Why don’t they do the thing up brown while they're about it and have a screech owl on the pulpit, a reed bird on the organ, warbler and humming bird on the choir stalls, a dodo bird on the alms basin, and a stork on the baptisme] font. Poor Dog O often we call a man a dog when we wish to reproach him, And yet, a dog Doesn't lie, Doesn't swear, Doesn't cheat, Doesn't drink, Doesn't smoke, Doesn't swindle, Doesn't flirt, Doesn't borrow, Doesn't pretend, And wouldn't even resent it if called it a man, all the records from the hundred-yard dash to the Marathon; my wife is the best dressed woman in the world; I am the best dressed man. too good to be true; I will cat of the fruit of the tree of Evil.” Miss Pugg: po you KNOW, ANASTASIA, Gadzooks, I am iF 1 DIDN'T SEE THAT You'Re WEARING NOTHING ELSE BUT YOUR NATURAL SKIN, I'D SAY THAT YOU LACED. comicbooks.com