Life, 1921-09-15 · page 9 of 34
Life — September 15, 1921 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon at top shows a lady and Captain Henpeck on a beach. The lady compares the sea's changeable moods to a woman's nature; the Captain responds by calling it "despicable" and saying he despises it—a joke about male frustration with female unpredictability. This reflects early 20th-century gender stereotypes portraying women as emotionally volatile and irrational. Below are three separate pieces: "The Lyric Baedeker" (a poem about Edinburgh), "A Much Needed Law" (a brief satirical exchange between an attorney and client about delayed estate settlements), and "Concussion" (a quip about married men's expenses). The humor relies on stereotypes about women's nature, legal incompetence, and domestic financial burden—typical satirical themes of *Life* magazine's era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 15 Lady (poetic): Doesn’t the sea, Captain, with its mutability of temper, its infinite moods and caprices, remind you of a woman? Captain Henpeck: The Lyric Baedeker Edinburgh A BONNY burgh is Edinbro’, the city brave and bright Chat spreads in green and gray below the castle on the height; \nd there on lovely Princes Street the people group in knots To talk about the latest news of Mary Queen of Scots. The castle is a gallant keep and one you're bound to view; \ military pensioner will kindly take you through, ing inexhaustibly the plots and counterplots made it insalubrious for Mary Queen of Scots. You'll see the ancient canongate; you'll see the house of Knox, With churches here and churches there, all strictly orthodox ; You'll see the works of colorists who lavished paint in pots On old and recent likenesses of Mary Queen of Scots. And when amid the gorse and sheep you’ve climbed to Arthur’s Seat (Where Arthur, says the legend, watched his army in defeat), Your eye shall rest on Holyrood and other noted spots, Connected with the tragedy of Mary Queen of Scots. Eggzackly—why, dern the thing! I despises it! You'll see the marble statue of the Wizard of the North, You'll see the cantilever bridge that spans the Firth of Forth— A noble bridge, but when ‘twas done the builders cursed their lots Because it wasn’t patronized by Mary Queen of Scots. A blessing on the bonny burgh and all it holds enshrined, On every house of native rock, on every close and wynd, And send it good historians to clear whatever blots May rest upon the memory of Mary Queen of Scots! Arthur Guiterman. A Much Needed Law Attorney: Some of the most fruitful sources of litiga- tion lie in the settlement of estates of men who have de- layed making their wills until too late. Cuient: Well, sir, in that case I believe there ought to be a law compelling doctors to give their patients ten days’ notice. Concussion Wuart with permanent waving and millinery, a married man’s overhead expenses are considerable these days. comicbooks.com