Life, 1922-02-16 · page 5 of 34
Life — February 16, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a portrait of **Clare Eames**, labeled "La Vielle Noblesse" (The Old Nobility). Below is a poem by George S. Chappell critiquing the concept of royalty as "obsolete." The satire contrasts the elegant, classical profile drawing with a poem dismissing kings and queens as "foolish and effete," arguing their "glory die[s]" while they're reincarnated. The closing question—"The Princess proud?"—appears skeptical of aristocratic pretension. This likely reflects 1920s-era anti-monarchist sentiment following World War I and various European revolutions. The pairing of Eames's refined portrait with anti-royalty verse creates ironic tension, perhaps suggesting that even refined individuals cannot escape criticism of the outdated nobility system itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Clare Eames La Vielle Noblesse "Tes say that Royalty is obsolete, That Kings and Queens are foolish and effete And all their gorgeous panoply a cheat : So cries the crowd. And yet, methinks, they waste their silly breath, For how can all that glory die the death While you re-incarnate Elizabeth, The Princess proud ? “Le roi est mort!” There is no answering “Vive Le roi !” The proletarians‘believe Queens are extinct and no one seems to grieve; Oh, dear! Oh, dear ! And yet, somehow, I feel that all the plots Of revolutionary polyglots Can never conquer Mary, Queen of Scots, While you are here! George S. Chappell comicbooks.com