Life, 1913-08-14 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 14, 1913 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces: **"A Mistaken Ridicule"** mocks a wealthy Massachusetts woman who built a twelve-room doghouse with individual amenities (valets, electric fans, private baths) for each dog. The satire uses mock-serious logic to defend her extravagance: if she enjoys systematic luxury and orderliness, does it matter that her "objects of attention" are dogs rather than children? The joke's bite lies in suggesting that spoiling dogs instead of children is actually *socially beneficial*—a cutting critique of both wealthy eccentricity and misplaced priorities. **"A Dressmaker's Comment on Old Ocean"** presents a brief poetic observation, treating the ocean's waves as fabric design (hem, bias, selvage)—a humorous perspective from someone whose profession shapes how she perceives the world. The cartoon depicts two people in a garden; the dialogue suggests tension between newcomers and nosy locals—likely illustrating social friction during America's early 20th-century migration patterns or urban expansion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Author: y FS, WE LIKE IT HERE IMMENSELY, BUT WE FIND THE NATIVES AWFULLY INQUISITIVE, Neighbor: ye MUSTN'T MIND ’EM, THEY'LL GIT USED TO YE. A Mistaken Ridicule CCORDING to the papers, a woman in Brockton, Mass., has a dog house of twelve rooms, each dog having a room by himself with a valet, electric fans, in- dividual beds, private baths and a special back yard to play in, If we reflect calmly and logically upon this lady’s dog establishmcat why should it necessarily excite derision? Most of us are subjective in our desires and ambitions; the object is of no special consequence, so long as it ful- fills the purpose of permitting us to exercise certain im- pulses born in us. This lady is only obeying a perfectly natural instinct; she is fond of having a well ordered household and her orderly and artistic mind delights in that kind of systematic luxury which conforms to the highest social standards. Is not the fact that the objects of her attention are dogs instead of babies purely inci- dental? And if we believe in design, is it not in reality providential? She may spoil twelve Pomeranians, it is true, but is she not really benefitting society in spoiling dogs instead of children? A Dressmaker’s Comment on Old Ocean A WATERY stuff that, ruffled by the air’s pursuing touch, curls like a hem along the bias beach, and is fettered on its selvage by the foam,