Life, 1916-12-07 · page 51 of 94
Life — December 7, 1916 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of satire: **"The Apple Tart"** (main story): A poignant tale by Charlotte Becker about a WWI soldier on furlough who jestingly compliments a dwarfed, elderly waitress's apple tart, saying he'd marry whoever made it. The twist reveals she made it herself—she's the woman he was unconsciously describing, now aged and worn. It's sentimental wartime fiction exploiting post-war soldier nostalgia and class dynamics. **"Safety First"** (bottom right): A brief comic where a child misinterprets a religious halo as a car tire, conflating spiritual imagery with automobile safety concerns—a gentle joke about modern industrial concerns replacing traditional religious understanding. **"Hustlers" and "The Call of the Mistletoe"** (top and bottom illustrations): Satirical drawings mocking con artists and holiday social conventions through exaggerated characters and behaviors. The page reflects early 20th-century American magazine humor mixing sentimentality, social observation, and gentle domestic comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Apple Tart HE young soldier, just back on a furlough, looked gaily about the dingy little restaurant. N “Bring me all you have and plenty of it!” he called to the dwarfed little person who came forward to serve him, She must have been at least fifty, but her queer little gnome-like face, all eyes and mouth, gave her the air of a wistful, old child. “My eye! but you've got the Victoria Cross,” she mur- mured excitedly, as he sat down at the table. “ How'd you get it?” “IT didn’t do much,” he laughed, “just something they happened to like out there. And I only got a scratch, but they've given me a fortnight’s leave, so I'm on my way to Devon. It's cer- tainly good to taste English GRR PEALE ¥ OT ouwayh alee a SSS Ras THE CALL OF THE MISTLETOE tutlult beef again, and I could marry the lass that made this apple tart.” She stared at him strangely. “T can see her,” he went on, jestingly, “young and sweet and buxom, with yel- low hair, and great big, blue eyes Can't you find her for me?" She stared at him a then suddenly burst into un- controllable sobbing. “It won't do you no good,” she quavered. “/ made that apple tart.” ain, Charlotte Becker. Safety First ITTLE Bennie was look- ing at a picture of Elijah going to heaven in a chariot of fire. Pointing to the halo about the prophet’s head, Benny exclaimed: “See, mamma, he's carrying an ex- tra tire.” I> SA_& an?