Life, 1915-08-19 · page 31 of 48
Life — August 19, 1915 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a whimsical poem-and-illustration piece celebrating the arrival of a wealthy female summer visitor to a rural area. The "Summer Boarder"—a woman of means who rents lodging in the countryside during warm months—is treated as visiting royalty by the local community and nature itself. The satire targets the social dynamics of early 20th-century leisure culture: rural folk eagerly anticipate the money such visitors bring, deferentially greeting her as "Sovereign Lady" and "Midsummer Queen." Even animals and landscape elements are anthropomorphized as preparing elaborate welcomes. The illustration shows a fashionably dressed woman in a striped dress, surrounded by anthropomorphic creatures and people bowing. The joke lies in the exaggerated deference shown to someone who is essentially a temporary tourist, and the romanticized rural setting that locals have carefully curated for her entertainment and comfort.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Summer Boarder “QHE'S coming! She's coming! She's coming!” Old Chanticleer cries through the vale. The Bees are excitedly humming, The Turkey is spreading his tail; The sky puts a lovelier blue on, The meadow brook bubbles with glee; Our Sovereign Lady is due on The Four-twenty-three! Then, folk of the forested regions “Dear Mistress, whose butterfly will is And folk of the fields and the The mightiest force in our world, rocks, You Beetle and Grasshopper legions And Birds of all feathers and flocks And waifs of the alder-hung mazes, Come, gather, betimes, on the green To greet, with devotional phrases, The lane has been bordered with lilies, The ferns have been carefully curled, The daisies are washing their faces, Still bright in crystalline dew; And all of your favorite places Our Midsummer Queen: Are ready for you. “The Thrushes and Wrens in the thickets Shall trill for your morning delight; The Katydids, Bullfrogs and Crickets Shall play you concertos at night; The Squirrel shall frisk for your pleasure ; For you shall the berry be sweet; Ourselves and our rustical treasure We lay at your feet!” Arthur Guiterman, eae pe yh DHA n comicbooks.com