Life, 1919-12-25 · page 22 of 37
Life — December 25, 1919 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces typical of early 20th-century American humor: **"Pride and Prejudice"** mocks social hypocrisy through a woman's inconsistent descriptions of her four children—boasting to strangers and her husband, but apologizing to a potential hired cook, revealing she values others' opinions over honesty. **"One Better"** is a brief joke critiquing English literature: someone suggests that comparing a man's swearing to a "trooper" is outdated; instead, he swears "like the heroine in an English novel"—implying that female characters in contemporary English novels were depicted as profane or crude. **"Mere Memories"** nostalgically catalogs vanished economic practices and affordances: five-cent apple pie, cheap restaurant meals, merchants extending credit, and domestic servants earning minimal wages. The final line about milk prices suggests inflation concerns. The bottom cartoon illustrates "Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" through children's play, likely contrasting innocent joy with the commercial/social anxieties discussed above.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pride and Prejudice “] HAVE four children,” she said To the woman she had just met at tea, “ Four darling babies, ing Watching them grow up.” She spoke proudly and it is fascinat- “T have four children,” she wrote To her best friend, who lived at a great distance ; “Four little darlings, Who are all my happiness.” aly. She told this pre ‘our children, John! Just think!" She said to her husband. “Isn't it wonderful!” She spoke proudly. “LT bave four children,” she said To the cook she was trying to hire “I know it's too large a family I'm sorry.” She spoke apologetically J.P. G. One Better OBB: Millington has got so he swears like a trooper. Noca: That isn’t a good simile any more, old man. Why don’t you say he swears like the heroine in an English novel? What It Spells Candles. Toasts. Holly. Music. Relatives. Abed. “MERRY CHRISTMA idlacstion. Sleep! “OH, GO TO ——— rprises. Mere Memories * THE triangle of apple pie, about half the size of first base, one could buy for a nickel. The blackboard bill of fare that featured nothing but five-cent and ten-cent attractions The invitation that used to appear in small-restaurant windows: “All You Can Eat—Twenty-five Cents.” he bottle of wine that went with a dollar table d'hote dinner, The grocer who, when you paid your monthly bill, gave you a sack of mixed candy. The amiable, old-fashioned merchant who, when you happened to be a few cents short of the purchase price, used to say, “ Never mind; that’s close enough.” And the apple-cheeked hired girl who enjoyed doing the cooking, general housework, washing and ironing—for three dollars a week ! T'S about time to draw the chalk line in the price of milk, “LIFE,” LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS comicbooks.corpy