Life, 1920-10-07 · page 23 of 56
Life — October 7, 1920 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of early 20th-century American humor: 1. **"Ballade of Embers"**: A poem by F. Gregory Hartswick cataloging signs of autumn's arrival—from weather changes to social activities (hunting, new plays, returning to city life). It's gentle, observational humor about seasonal transitions among the middle class. 2. **"Noah" cartoon**: Shows a man sitting on a porcupine (twice), with the joke being his repeated misidentification of it as an oven. The humor derives from slapstick absurdity and the character's obliviousness. 3. **"The Process of Becoming Convinced"**: A satirical story about a man's persistent telephoning of a woman who repeatedly refuses him. He initially interprets her refusals as "coquetry" (playing hard to get—a contemporary dating assumption), but eventually learns her rejections are sincere when she finally accepts, then makes excuses. The satire critiques men's presumptuous attitudes toward women's stated preferences. The page reflects period attitudes about courtship, gender dynamics, and the urban leisure class, with humor ranging from poetic observation to slapstick to social satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ballade of Embers BY sunburned necks and shoulders tanned ; By brisker winds and milder rays; By high-piled clouds and stubbled land; By longer nights and shorter days; By snapping birch logs’ friendly blaze; By wives returned from country cheer} By new fur coats and closed coupés— By these signs know that fall is near. By sporting extras closely scanned, By dinner coats and new-born plays; By aged corn and limas canned; By deeper blue on lakes and bays; By skylines blurred in swimming haze ; By vans piled high with household gear; By buckwheat cakes and pork entrées— By these signs know that fall is here. By oysters eaten all unbanned ; By wood-smoke in the forest ways; By golf where tennis held command; By rings returned and “Noes” for “Yeas”; By heated talk and party fray: By turkey wing and roasting car; By somewhat less a Miss displays— By these signs know that fall is here, By evenings dim with pensive grays; By mornings brisk and cool and clear; By newer zest in God his praise— By these signs know that fall is here. F. Gregory Hartswick. OME people look down on the people whom they think inferior to them. But I look down on the people who think A , ' . . . i Noah: oven! o-v-ven! THAT's THE SECOND TIME I'VE SAT ON ONE OF they are superior to me. THOSE INFERNAL PORCUPINES ! The Process of Becoming Convinced VERY day he called her over the tele- phone. Every day she refused to see him But his experience with women had taught him to understand their coquetry, and he knew that her refusal was not sin- cere. One morning when he telephoned she said that she would be glad to see him, but she was engaged for the day The next morning she was sorry to have to miss him again, but she did not have a minute free. And the next day she wished that he had telephoned sooner, for she had just engagement. Would he please He did not call again 6 burglar whom head caught ta Kis Garuge? RoW, YOU GE RUS ato wasn His experience with women taught him THAT CAR, OR I'LL CALL THE POLICE that her refusal was sincere, comicbooks.com