Life, 1922-03-16 · page 9 of 34
Life — March 16, 1922 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a humorous short story and illustration about two men debating whether to propose to a woman named Anne. The dialogue centers on whether it's "safe" to ask someone to marry you—the men argue about whether directness or caution is better when proposing. The accompanying illustration shows a man in a hat and coat speaking with two women on a street, likely depicting a scene from the story. Below the illustration is a caption joke: "He draws pictures for advertisements, doesn't he?" "Yes. But he's also an artist."—a mild satire on commercial illustrators who consider themselves above commercial work. The page reflects early 20th-century attitudes toward courtship and marriage proposals, presenting romance as a somewhat anxious, strategic endeavor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OB,” said young Mr. Newlands B to his friend, after a somewhat solemn silence, “when you—I mean, if you'd made a fool of yourself about a girl, and you'd got to a point where you wanted to leave off, you know, what did you—I mean, what would you do?” “Go it harder,” returned young Mr. Despard, taking his cigarette out of his mouth just long enough to answer and then ing it back again. “Harder?” echoed Mr. Newlands, in surprise. “If possible,” pard. This reply seemed to stun his host, who leaned back upon the sofa and consi cred it with closed eyes. don’t you think, old man,” he resumed, coming to after a moment, “—not that I want to contradict you, you know—but don’t you think that’s pretty dangerous?” “No,” said Mr. Despard. “Safest thing you can do. Nothing’s safe. But that's the safest, and don’t you make any mistake about it.” “You're sure it wouldn’t—hang it all! It's rotten to say, but how can I put it? You're sure it wouldn’t tend to draw her on?” Bob Despard suddenly sat upright to fix his friend with the round eye of wisdom, “Weren't you ever told not to pull your hand away when a dog might be going to bite you, or a cat to scratch?” he demanded. ‘Well, then!” He relaxed again. “Oh,” said Mr. Newlands. “That's it, is it? I see. You think if you thrust a thing at them they don’t want it, cven to bite, and if you draw it they do.” don’t think it, Jimmie,” said Mr. d, impressively, “I know it. hy, it stands to reason. What makes them bold? The hope we're going to cha-e them.” “!t wouldn’t take much chasing to tire some of them,” observed Jimmie, gloomily, You're wrong, old dear,” declared Bo). “I know it takes courage, but try it. Rush ’em off their feet. Leave ’em breothless. It’s my belief they’d run fas’ and far if we only hunted them igh. But do we? Seldom. We're ous. And what makes us cautious? The fear that they want to be caught. Now, don’t you believe they don’t know that. They do, and, of course, they're hell-bent to prove they're not . catching. Well, then, what fol- concluded Mr. Des- LIFE - How Old Was Anne? “What?” murmured the hypnotized Jimmie. “Why, either they turn round and rush you till you run like a turkey, or they nab you first and then drop you to show they didn’t want you.” “Where did you get all this dope?” inquired Mr. Newlands, deeply im- pressed. . Mr. Despard’s eloquence seemed sud- denly stilled. He surveyed the point of a well-polished boot in silence for an appreciable second. “Anne and I rather thrashed the matter out yesterday,” he admitted. “Anne? Anne Effingham?” Bob nodded. “Why, I—why, she—” “I know. She told me yesterday that i ih you were running for your life.” “She did, did she?” cried Mr. New- lands, magnificent in rage. “Just let her wait till to-morrow! I'll show her what it means to run for your life!” “No you don’t,” interrupted Mr. Des- pard, firmly. “Hands off! My advice was for future use—for the next one, you might say. Anne and I are en- gaged.” C.D. Requited Wishes T first she asked for love And I loved her. Later she asked to be thrilled And I thrilled her. Yesterday she asked for happiness And I left her. \ lh \ spegy \eonreney FAO “He draws pictures for advertisements, doesn’t he?” “Yes. But he’s also an artist.” comicbooks.com