Life, 1910-07-07 · page 23 of 48
Life — July 7, 1910 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a poetic satire on **Debt as an all-consuming evil** affecting every social class. Written in the style of Austin Dobson (a Victorian poet), the lengthy poem personifies Debt as a demonic "Monster" and "Ogre" that tyrannizes rich and poor alike—artists, lovers, workers, priests, even the dead. The accompanying illustrations use the motif "Wild Oats" (a period phrase for youthful excess and irresponsibility). The left cartoon shows "Sowing"—a young couple dining lavishly. The right shows "Reaping"—an older man facing creditors, literally harvesting consequences. **The satire's point:** Financial irresponsibility and debt inevitably catch up with everyone, regardless of status or morality. It's a morality tale warning against living beyond one's means, casting debt not as mere economic hardship but as a supernatural curse. The tone is darkly comic—simultaneously mocking the pretentiousness of both debtors and creditors while acknowledging debt's universal grip on society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oe mn ct Chant Royal of the Wicked Ogre (Being the Plaint of an Ordinary Man After the Manner of Austin Dobson) HEY sing of the ruinous workings of Wine, They wail of the wickedness Women can do; But hark to the chant of a Monster malign, The scourge of the Many and slave of the Few; He lures with a smile and a visage of light, But holds with a clutch that is horror and blight; He gathers his toll from the Grave and the Gay, By Terror and Tyranny holding his sway O’er millions who cringe as they cringe at a Threat! Of demons who persecute, hamper and flay “Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt The Artist who toils for the perfect Design, The Singer of Songs and the Song-Maker, too, The Gourmand whose art is to dine and to dine, The Lovers who cuddle and fondle and coo; The Friends who foregather, the Foemen who fight, All bow to the power and yield to the might Of the despot who strides on his terrible way. Even the children who frolic and play Know the chill breath of his presence—and yet, Few are the Wise Ones who know and who say, “Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt.'’ Dominion he holds over workshop and Mine, The Farm with its Crops and the Ship with her Crew. “The Thief in the Night '’ and the “ Noted Divine,’ The Young and the Old and the False and the True, The People who Act and the People who Write, The Beggar who pleads for a drink or a bite, The Lordliest Waiter who juggles a tray— Debt has them down for the Score they must pay In Money or Labor or Sorrow or Sweat. PAE WAR He seizes the Loot they have gained in the fi “Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt.” The Dull and the Clever, the Coarse and the Fine, The Optimist Glad and the Pessimist Blue, The “Genuine Article,’ also “ The Shine,"’ Alike feel the turn of this Torturer’s screw. And Debt makes a Craven of many a Knight, Robs Prophets of Glory and Scers of Sight, Turns many a Sunset from Golden to Gray, And hitches great Pegasus down to a Dray, Breaking his heart with the Fetters that Fret, Addling the beauty of many a Lay— Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt."" He grins as his Victims revile and repine, He lives out the Old Year and Welcomes the New, He follows from Birth to the Final Decline, And even with Death he is never all through ; The Doctors who treated us, faithfully quite, The Céffin they put us in—ebon or white— The Dominie, present to preach and to Pray The Grass that grows over us, day after day We owe for them all, they are “bills to be met ""; We strive to be free from the Bondage, but N’ “Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt! Envoy My creditors range in a Frowning Array, Camping along all the Pathways I stray; Weary am I and forever beset ; Wherefore I cry—as most other Folk may— “Not least of the Legion of Devils is Debt!" TE Drces —_— SSeS Sate, ete R70 Rares Cae REAPING comicbooks.com