Life, 1917-07-05 · page 30 of 40
Life — July 5, 1917 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on Russian Imperial family conditions during the Russian Revolution era. **"There's Such Divinity Doth Hedge a King"** mocks Czar Nicholas II and his family, who were under increasing confinement at Tsarskoe Selo Palace. The cartoon depicts Russian civilians watching the royal family doing menial farm work—planting potatoes—a stark humiliation for autocrats. The accompanying dialogue, written in exaggerated Russian-accented English (adding "-sky," "-ovitch" suffixes), ridicules the family's incompetence and irrelevance. References to "Nick" (the Czar), "Alexandrevna" (likely Tsarina Alexandra), and the "little Romanoff boy" emphasize their vulnerability and loss of power. The other items on the page are unrelated lighter satire: a piece about wedding gift debt, and a joke about poor singers attempting "The Star-Spangled Banner." The overall effect is darkly comedic commentary on the Imperial family's downfall during revolutionary upheaval.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
30 “NRE * Letter-Boxes \ TRAPPED like martyrs with thongs of iron ° - a To walls of brick and posts of steel, Their metallic maws heavy with mysterious messages, They flap their iron lips from day to day, Hungry and forever unappeased of life. Green-clad sentinels on the outposts of hope and grief, Sphinxes that dream of the riddles flung into their hearts, The letter-boxes stand as things apart, brooding on the fatalities of written speech, AANA Benjamin De Casseres, “There’s Such Divinity Doth Hedge a King” The Czar and his family are planting and hoeing potatoes in the park of Tsarskoe Selo Palace. Soldiers and civilians alike line the fence to the estate and watch every movement of the royal family. —News item. IRST RUSS CIVILIAN: Nick is the little guysky with the beardovitch. He acts as though he were afraid of breaking his hoe-off. Seconp Russ Civitan: Yes, indeedsky! If he expects potatoes to grow in that patchoff, he is kiddingsky him- selfovitch. t | Tuixo Russ Civittan: He could do a great deal betteroff { if he did his diggingsky with a manicure setsky. “HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS” Fourth Russ Civitan: If he is a farmersky, I am . | John D. Rockefellervitch, ing to use the weedervitch! The weeds must think that | First Russ Civittan: See the little Romanoff boy try- they are having their backs scratched. HH FourtH Russ Civitan: Who is the damesky with the hat over her left ear? She looks like the breaking up of a hard summeroff! ) Seconn Russ Civittan: That is Alexandrevna, thou fool! She is hunting for potato bugsovitch, Fourtu Russ Civittan: I don’t believe she could tell a potato bugovitch from a tango lizard. She looks numbsky above the shoulders. Tuiro Russ Civitan: What can you expectoff from a person who has had to live with a lobsterovitch like Nick Romanoff for over a quarter of a centuryoff? It’s enough | to drive anyone battysky! First Russ Civitt. Isn’t he an insignificant looking chumpovitch! If his potatoes take after him, it'll need a peck to make a meal for a rabbitoff! (Etceterasky, etceterasky, etceterasky.) Too High a Standard ERRET: I hear that Shortcash, who married the banker’s daughter last winter, is in desperate financial straits. | Yaoitton: I’m not surprised. He probably has been trying to live up to their wedding presents. i HANH ENLUAVATLATAGU BUELL TY J Be the rules of conduct during the war should be added _pQrTrait oF a mAn who(,got maD aND fir?d His this: . XtenQrApher8—., geTting out AN (! imPgrtant $ No person with a vocal range of less than two octaves letTER %., should attempt to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” comicbookgeqra)