Life, 1919-04-03 · page 27 of 60
Life — April 3, 1919 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Section:** "Pot-Pourri" is a nostalgic poem by Jean Graham about spring flowers and memories of youth, illustrated with small vignettes of romance and dancing. It's sentimental Victorian verse celebrating "Grandma was a girl" — typical early 20th-century magazine filler celebrating the past. **Bottom Cartoon ("Why Worry?"):** A young woman named Prunella admits she's been corresponding with multiple soldiers at the front (World War I, likely). When her friend Gerty asks what she'll do when they all return wanting engagements, Prunella hopes they'll arrive home "one at a time" — implying she can then decide which to actually marry, or avoid commitments altogether. The satire gently mocks female opportunism during wartime: young women entertaining multiple soldier suitors for attention and letters, with no serious romantic intent. It's light social commentary on romantic fickleness rather than sharp political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“HE cool, fresh scent of lavender Enfolds the twilight ait; \nd from the dust of violets There drifts a pe rare. fhe crumpled rose. And tenderly uncurl— \h, long and long seem to stir 0 they bloomed When Grandma was a girl «Ky THOUGHTS ON SPRING Pot-Fourri \cross the gleaming, firclit foor The shadows come and x0, The ghosts of maids and gallants gay, Who tripped it to and fro, In those dim days of sturdy coach And curls When Grand Three waltzes to one man. ttering fan, . with blushes deep ‘WHY WORRY? There comes the swish of silken skirts, The rush of fly Ah, Youth and Gaiety of « Your very dust is sweet! The firelight dies, the dance is o'er, The old blue jar 1 see Then gently falls the lid Upon the pot-pourri Jean Graham, Gerty: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THOSE FELLOWS YOU HAVE BEEN CORRES ING WITH AT THE FRONT, WHEN THEY COME BACK? YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T BECOME ENGAGED TO ALL OF THEM, Prunella (hopefully): 1 von’t KNOW, THEY MAY COME BACK ONE AT A TIME, comicbooks.com