Life, 1914-04-16 · page 28 of 44
Life — April 16, 1914 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains several brief humorous anecdotes typical of early 20th-century satirical publications: **Main cartoons/jokes:** 1. **"A Mere Trifle"** — A Wellesley College president's joke about a graduate claiming she owes all her knowledge to her dean, with the dean's mock-modest deflection. 2. **Alpine climbers** — A couple ascending a mountain; the woman spots a "long white streak" below, which the man identifies as their hotel bill "overtaking" them—a joke about mounting expenses. 3. **Fire brigade captain** — A local fire captain tells firefighters not to extinguish a fire too quickly because the Mayor is coming and would be disappointed to miss it—satirizing bureaucratic inefficiency. 4. **"Too Many Minutes"** — A Black coachman dislikes church because they "waste time readin' th' minutes of th' previous meetin'"—stereotypical dialect humor. 5. **"A Quiet Departure"** — A prospective servant tells her prospective employer she left her last job peacefully, but the cartoon shows she stole everything and fled while the mistress bathed. The page also contains an Arrow Collar advertisement. The humor relies on wordplay, irony, and character misunderstandings typical of period satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SAT aN A Mere Trifle President Hazard, of Wellesley, told the following at a banquet: “A girl graduate, in taking leave of her dean, said, ‘Good-bye, Professor, I shall not forget you. I am indebted to you for all I know.’ “Oh, I beg of you,’ replied the pro- fessor, ‘don’t mention such a trifle.’ —Ladies’ Home Journal. Aucustus and Angelina were climbing the highest peak of the Alps, and she stood above him some twenty feet. “What,” he gasped—‘ what do you see? ‘ar, far below,” she cried, “I see a long white streak, stretching like a paper ribbon back almost to our hotel.” “Ha, ha!” he ejaculated. “It’s that hotel bill overtaking us."—Tit-Bits. Cartaix or Loca Fire Bricave (to zealous fireman): Here, I say, old chap, don't put the fire out too quickly. The Mayor's coming along, and he'll be awful- ly disappointed if it's out before he gets bere.—London Opinion. “SO THIS IS THE HUMOROUS NUMBER OF LIFE, IS IT? HAR—HAR—HAR Too Many Minutes The negro coachman of a. southern Senator who attends the Episcopal Church, after many invitations from the Senator's wife, went into the church one Sunday morning instead of staying out- side. “ How did you like the service, Jim?” she asked afterward. Not much, mistis,” Jim replied. “That ain’ no church foh me. Dey wastes too much time readin’ th’ minutes of th’ previous meetin’. —Saturday Evening Post. A Quiet Departure Mrs. Smith was engaging a new serv- ant, and sat facing the latest applicant. “T hope,” said she, “that you had no angry words with your last mistress be- fore leaving.’ “Oh, dear, no, mum; none whatever,” the prospective maid replied, with a toss of her head. “While she was having her bath, I just locked the bathroom door, took all my things, and went away as quietly as possible.” —Youth’s Companion, New Governess: When I was your age, I could answer any question in grammar. Gtapys: Really? But then you had a different teacher.—London Opinion. L1vK 1s published every Therday, siasitaneously i the United Sta Vossestions. $9.00 a year in advance Additional postage to forewem cou 7 Union. $1.04 a year to Canada, &2 cents.” "Single current coples, 10 cents. Back tubers, after three moaths from date of publication, B cents." Issves price to 1910 out of print. Ne contribution wit! be returned unless accompanied by ttamped and addresses envelope. Ald Use f responsible for ENE LOIS oF MONT TEMEN OF WISCAICHted COMEFONELOM: Live does met COLLAR is an ultra smart style which expresses the trend of fashion i 2 for ost CLUETT, PEABODY & CO. INC. Troy, N.¥. “Makers of ARROW SHIRTS © LIVE Is for sale by all Cities of the world.” “The foreign trade supplied fro I. Leadon, E. ¢. The text and ilinstrations in LAR are copyrighted. 44 Southampton Row, London, WC. en thon be sent by 200 tealers in Great Britain and may be oitained from beoksel E'S London Office, 1 Reprise Rights in Great Britain apply to 4198 riders of any change of address. “WE'LL REST HERE A FEW MINUTES, HENRY. COMFORTABLE” comicbooks.com