Life, 1921-02-17 · page 10 of 34
Life — February 17, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a dramatic play scene titled "A Stormy Harbor," depicting a domestic crisis involving a newborn baby. The left column contains dialogue among family members—a nurse, parents, and Aunt Jane—discussing an ill infant requiring medical attention. The accompanying illustration labeled "MILITARY TRAINING" shows soldiers in combat positions on what appears to be a hillside or fortification, seemingly unrelated to the play's domestic plot. The juxtaposition appears satirical: the play depicts civilian anxieties about childbirth and infant mortality (genuine period concerns), while the military illustration suggests Life magazine's commentary on military readiness or training. The contrast between intimate domestic drama and military preparation likely critiques societal priorities or reflects early 20th-century American preoccupations with both domestic welfare and military strength.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE BABY: What time is it? Nurse: Noon. Basy: I'm gry as a wolf. Nurse: Have pa- This is reception day. And 1 want you to look your prettiest and act your best. Your father is coming home Aunt Jane is coming with your cousin Kate. Basy: Um. Well, hand me that bottle. I must prepare myself for the worst. (A long silence ensues, broken only by occasional gurglings.) Bany:. I must say I feel better. If you will excuse me, nurse, I'll roll over and take another nap. Just tell ‘em from me that I'm not at home, will you? Say I have suddenly been called out of town. Mortner ( ring): Nurse: All right. (Enter the baby's father. He comes in on tiptoe, walks over to the crib and after making sundry faces at the baby dangles a watch in front of his eyes.) Fatner: By Jove, he is a corker, isn’t he? It's too hot in here. You've got him smothered. hun- tience. early. How is he now? I heard of a case the other day where a child was suffocated to death Does he need all those clothes? Motuer: Of course he needs clothes. (She starts to pick him up.) Nurse: He has just had his bottle, I — Motner: Dear old sing. (Snuggles him.) So you wanted to see your muzzie, didn’t 00? (Changes him from one shoulder to the other.) Basy (aside to nurse): Well, I should regurgitate! Fatiter: Let me take him. I know how to handle him. (The transfer is made.) Motner: Be careful, dear. Don't let his head drop. (Father promptly lets baby's head drop, but rapidly recovers.) Fatner: He certainly is gaining. He must have taken on a couple of pounds since yesterday. There! There! Don’t you know your dad? Of course he knows me. You can't tell me he doesn’t know me. (Baby begins to ery and father flops darling him down.) Say, nurse, you ought not 10 let people handle him. Bad thing. Aunt Jane (entering breathless with cousin Kate): We right in. I knew you wouldn't mind. Oh, there he is!’ What a wonderful baby! Do you know, he looks more like John every day came A Stormy Harbor Isn't he—lovely! What tiny Would you mind if Elaine saw him? She's waiting downstairs. Bay (aside to nurse): I knew it! They never come alone. Fatner: Certainly. Bring Elaine up. I want everybody to see this kid, and then they will believe us. (Elaine, a school friend of Kate's who has been waiting outside, bursts in.) Evaine: Oh! Oh! Oh! Isn't he a— darling! May 1 take him up? Kate: Oh, no! Let me first. I'll be very careful, Auntie. I know how. Faturr: There doesn’t seem to be any- thing the matter with his lungs. Etaine: I think I could have taken him up. I love babies! Motuer: Give him to nurse, Kate. Aunt Jane: No, let me take him. It’s so easy to handle a baby if you only know how. (She grabs him with a feminine flourish and begins to walk up and down with him. She takes him over to the window and shows him the geraniums.) Kate: hands. MILITARY TRAINING. Zare, zare, now ee’s a goochy, Per ochy s you'd better take him, nurse, He hasn't been overfed, has he? to overfeed them. More comes from overfeeding than underfeeding. Fatuer: Well, I believe in giving ‘em all they'll hold. It’s the only thing that will make ‘em grow. (The nurse takes the baby and puts him gently in the crib.) It’s so easy trouble Basy: Can't you get rid of them? | have a violent pain coming on. Nurse: I'm sorry, but I can do noth- ng. I am only a paid employee here Basy: My young life is nothing to them, is it? Well, I'll get even with them! Scene: The same. Time: Midnight. Basy: Ow! Yoo! Hoo! Yooooey! Nurse: There! I'll give you some hot water and that will make you fcel better. (Enter father mother, pale with fright, in their night clothes.) Fatuer: I've telephoned for the doctor and he ought to be here Can't you do something for him? Motner: Oh, John dear, what shall we do? I was afraid, nurse, that you didn’t know how to feed him. Basy (between gasps, to nurse) : I'll fix ‘em! Nurse: And I'll lose my job. Basy: It was Aunt Jane that gave me the final throw down. My, but this is Oooh! Ooooey! (Enter doctor, suddenly.) Motner: Oh, doctor, him? Doctor: My dear madam, there’s noth- ing whatever the matter with this baby. Let him cry. It will do him good. I'll call around in the morning. Fatuer: I knew it was nothing. Motner: If it hadn't been for you I would have been sure it (They retire serenely.) Bany: Well, I've broken up their rest and cost them about ten dollars. I hope this will teach my parents a lesson. and any minute. Are you sure the doctor is coming? awful. can you save was nothing. Nurse: member, you are the first. Basy: Will they ever learn? Nurse: They may, but not unless they have three or four more like you. Bany: Well, I hope they won't—for the sake of the other possibilities. It won't, I assure you. Re- T.LM. comicbooks.com