Life, 1919-09-25 · page 11 of 40
Life — September 25, 1919 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous narrative about a motoring mishap. The story describes taking a dog named Stocky on a car ride that goes awry when the dog jumps out near a farmhouse. The two illustrations show: (1) a domestic scene where someone is showing the lady antiques inside a farmhouse, and (2) a car stuck in mud or damaged during rain. The satire targets early automobile culture—specifically the unpredictability of motor trips and the social awkwardness they create. The caption "Henry, don't forget to roll up your cuffs" adds gentle humor about the messy realities of motoring in this era. The joke ultimately mocks how a pleasant outing can quickly deteriorate into disaster, with the dog serving as the catalyst for the day's complications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LI An Off Day HE joy of motoring depends quite largely ‘f upon the one you take with you. A * lady of the right temperament is often Dep a pleasant accessory, if her conversa- tion is agreeable and intermittent enough to enable one to dodge hay wagons and buggy-riders successfully. But I generally like to have along a dog, in addition to the lady, especially if he be a dog who likes to have me take him along with me. I have a friend who has a dog named Stocky, a wire-haired individual with a placid exterior in front, but a tail that suggests cer- tain possibilities. It was agreeable for this dog recently to go along with the lady and myself. In fact, he jumped incontinently into the motor as we were starting off, and it was quite evident from the start that he proposed to enjoy himself to the full, He put his paws on the side rail, as a man might do who was looking for submarines on the starboard bow. The curtains intervened with his view, however, and the lady insisted on my stopping the car and turning them up. After this had been done, the dog promptly moved over to the port side, and nothing that either of us could do would make him change back again. So I had to stop the car once more and put up the port curtains. We had gone off into the interior, where the road was sandy, so we decided to turn around. Coming to a con- venient farmhouse, I nosed the car into the yard. While I was engaged in this proc jocky saw a nice wl hen reposing peacefully under elderberry bush, deep in henly meditation. He made a graceful spring and landed on the hen’s back. The hen did not stop to adjust her “HENRY, DON'T FORGET TO ROLL UP YOUR CUFFS” “JOUN, WILL YOU LOAN MEA LITTLE MONEY? IT FROM THE VERY FIRST MONEY YOU GIVE ME LL RETURN carbureter, but rose almost immediately in the air, landing on the top of an apple tree. Stocky circled around, cursing grandly, while I circled around after him. I finally got him, and hurried him ‘k into the car just in time to avoid the farmer. We came hack at last to the state road, where the lady saw in the dim distance a sign which read “ Antiques.” Pushing Stocky down into the bottom of the car, I fol- lowed the lady meekly into the alleged antiques were displayed. Sor farmhouse where the ething told me, while I was hastily looking over a pair of brass candlesticks, that all was not well in the outside world—that vast space where so many things are occurring all the time. coach-dog had been lying 1 moment that I discovered him, Stocky, who had gotten out of the » was bearing down on his starboard quarter. Before I could reach the scene he had taken a large bite out of his back. The coach-dog resented this familiarity. The scene tl followed, as Harold Bell Wright would say, “bafiled description.” A large efully on the grass. At the Eventually Stocky was separated and his main parts readjusted. Once more we started out. The lady had managed to tie him to the rear seat of the car with a hand- kerchief. comicbooks.com