Life, 1914-09-17 · page 9 of 48
Life — September 17, 1914 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks modern diplomats during wartime (likely WWI era, given the context). The top illustration depicts a formal diplomatic procession with banners and officials in formal dress. The text humorously describes how an ambassador today has little warning before war breaks out—he must suddenly flee a posting he's just settled into, leaving behind a signed lease and his wife's new home. The satire emphasizes the ambassador's lack of control and preparation. The bottom illustration, captioned "Sweet are the uses of adversity," shows a soldier in distress, suggesting that wartime hardship affects more than just diplomats. The joke contrasts the ambassador's cushy lifestyle with soldiers' actual suffering in conflict.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
—J| HEROES PPT The Ambassador of To-day A’ ambassador in these days is usually a man who never knows what a’day may bring forth, or that any day may not send him forth. No sooner has he made the rounds in company with a local real-estate agent and signed the lease of some house that his wife has consented to live in, than he gets notice that his government has declared war. With barely enough time to pack a toothbrush and a suit of pajamas in a dress-suit case he hurries over the frontier, there being nobody at the station to bid him a fond fare- well except a company of the enemy's soldiers and possibly a few creditors, ivery ambassador nowadays should carry enough pro- visions to last him a week's journey, and a sleeping-bag. Sleeping on an open plain with nothing but a passport for a pillow, while large bodies of artillery are deploying about you and there is no taxicab in sight, is not a pleasant experience. If you must be an ambassador, therefore, be prepared for the worst. “ SWEET ARE THE USES OF ADVERSITY’