Life, 1915-12-02 · page 59 of 100
Life — December 2, 1915 — page 59: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces from Life magazine: **"Tommy's Dream"** (top): A humorous illustration showing a soldier's fantasy of surprising his family with a fortune on Christmas Eve. The joke hinges on modern social change: when he arrives, his mother attends a **birth-control association meeting**, his father pursues an **ammunition factory investment**, and his sister reads **Arnold Bennett** (a contemporary modernist author) aloud. The punchline—the long-lost brother leaves without announcing himself—satirizes how families have become too preoccupied with modern concerns to notice his return. This mocks both new social movements and commercialism eclipsing traditional family values. **"Liabilities of Kings"** (bottom): A brief political commentary on World War I, noting that Britain's King George suffered a riding accident. The piece darkly suggests other European monarchs—Constantine of Greece, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and Wilhelm II of Prussia—face greater risks of literal downfall, alluding to the war's political instability and the ultimate fates of defeated monarchies.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TOMMY'S DREAM “sayt The Stranger [ was Christmas Eve. The lights of the cottage gleamed out fitfully through the falling snow as the long-lost son, who disappeared twenty years ago and had been given up ever since, appeared at the door, holding in his hand a bag containing the fortune that he was bringing home to He paused for a moment upon the threshold A boy of fifteen came his parents, and then cautiously rang the bell. to the door. “Good evening,” said the stranger politely, “I am your long-lost brother. I've heard about you, but you don't recognize me, as you weren't born when I left home.” “Won't you come in?” said the boy politely. “I think I've heard your name mentioned.” The stranger held on to his bag and looked eagerly about. GO AN’ TELL KITCH’ AN’ JOFFER I'VE GOT A CHRIS’MAS PRESENT For 'hM!” “Where's mother?” he asked cautiously. “Ata meeting of the local birth-control association.” “And father?” “Making out a prospectus for an ammunition factory, with a view to getting his friends to subscribe to the stock.” “And sister?” “ Reading Arnold Bennett's latest book aloud to the cook.” “Then tell em, please, that I didn’t call.” Liabilities of Kings HE King of England, by his horse’s fall, has had the hardest jolt so far of any royal person in the war. But the war is not over yet. Constantine of Greece, Fer- dinand of Bulgaria and William of Prussia are all liable to fall farther and be worse hurt than King George. comicbooks.com