Life — August 11, 1921 — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

vhat oing e it very lotte prial pro- The itial car- per- ‘ood od 1ont rior rice ited as lan, y it ‘ing in- and uch no ket ing gro the ble ved ar- ew ice, to- ent August 11 Tokens By Berton Braley STRAIN of music on the breeze, A breath of roses in the air, Cool shadows underneath the trees And long remembered moments there; A handkerchief, a lock of hair The crumpled program of a dance, In these there lies enchantment rare, These are the tokens of Romance! A bit of verse that chanced to please, A little jest that lovers share, Some quaint and silly fantasies Of youth and spirits debonair; Moonlight on water and the snare Of eyes that mingle in a glance, True sweethearts one and all declare These are the tokens of Romance! There are no lovelier things than these That make life lighter far to bear: Sighs, smiles and tender coquetries, The ring you hide away—or wear; The whispered word, “Sweet, do you care?” The touch—the sudden kiss, perchance, These weave a spell beyond compare, These are the tokens of Romance! Envoy Lovers who tread life’s thoroughfare Look blithely on the world’s expanse And say of all things, everywhere, “These are the tokens of Romance!” All, All Are Gone, the Old Familiar Facades OWADAYS when it is hard for the casual observer to distinguish Somebody’s Mother from Somebody’s Daughter, it is not a surprise that houses as well as humans are disguising their age. Victorian brownstone mansions that later sank to boarding-house seediness now renew their youth as the “Gauguin Studios” or “Haddon Chambers”; drab office buildings, yielding to a sudden ac- cess of sand, take on new complexions as talcumy white as those of the flappers passing by. Beauty doctoring to build- ings must have become quite an art. It takes skill to know how to eliminate the dark lines under tired window sills, re- duce protuberant bay windows. Only a trained chisel can remove a superfluous ornament in a way that will guarantee against its reappearance. We are shocked, though, at the bra- zenly commercial character that certain sedate houses -have taken on in the gid- ‘dier part of town. Buildings that were formerly quiet residences, keeping them- selves retiringly back from the bustle, and modestly shielding themselves with brown balustrades, now shamelessly come forward as close to the line as they dare, meeting the idle stroller halfway, not with lowered shades, but with broad plate-glass assurance, and perhaps dis- playing ultima lingerie. We cannot but feel that buildings thus bedizened in the effort to keep from be- ing neglected, will not command the same reverence that used to be inspired by the mossy old manse or the messy old mill. With all due respect to Edith Wharton, theirs is not the Age of Innocence. Would the old home seem as homely to you, after it had been exterior deco- rated? Would it be as dear? Oh, much dearer—as the real estate agent will tell you, or your own broker. Lawton Mackall. The Diving Lesson Pipe It IMINI, a British island, is only forty miles from the Florida coast, and Mr. Bryan complains that it is a smuggling station through which intoxi- cants are introduced into these constitu- tionally arid states. That’s ashame! Isn’t it! But if there were a pipe-line from Bimini to the shore of this continent, relief might come to Florida without scandal. If Mr. Flagler were alive, he’d see to it. Lip Service es HY are a chorus girl’s lips like most books?” “Because they’re red, I suppose.” “No. Because they’re borrowed.” T always pleases his neighbors to see a man get what he deserves. comicbooks.com