Life, 1919-05-08 · page 8 of 46
Life — May 8, 1919 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes financial hardship and male vulnerability. The top cartoon shows a couple in intimate conversation, captioned "How the Soulful Lovers Expect to Spend Fifty Years of Matrimony"—mocking romantic ideals. The main story "Touched" depicts a businessman accosted by a highwayman demanding "Hands up!" The victim complies while recounting his financial disasters: lawyer bills, increased rent, decreased salary, and a vanished bank account. He laments being robbed repeatedly by legitimate institutions before the highway robber appears. The bottom illustrations contrast this with the old saying "You can lead a horse to water—but!" The satire's point: the victim is already so thoroughly financially "touched" (robbed) by modern life that an actual highwayman seems almost redundant.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOW THE SOULFUL LOVERS EXPECT TO SPEND FIFTY YEARS OF MATRIMONY Touched “LIANDS up!" commanded the business-like highwayman, The victim laughed as he complied. “The joke is on you,” he asserted, chuckling. “1 just paid a large bill sent me by a lawyer for aiding me in filling out my income-tax schedule. A month ayo my landlord increased my rent. My son has returned from France, and cannot find a job. Yesterday my salary was decreased, and to-day the bank in which I kept the remnant of my money went to the wall. I've been looking all night for one of you chaps. 1 want to learn the hold-up business.” Weeping bitterly, the bandit handed over his revolver and vanished into the darkness. “YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER— comicbooks.com