Life, 1922-06-01 · page 12 of 34
Life — June 1, 1922 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a humorous sketch and a comic dialogue piece, not political cartoons. The upper illustration shows two well-dressed figures at what appears to be a seaside estate, with a sailor ship visible. The dialogue reveals class anxieties: one character explains he maintains a naval presence on his Sound property to uphold his social position—he's "no sailor" but needs the appearance of wealth and naval connections. Below, "Twin Bed-Time Stories" presents a newlywed couple's bedroom banter after a bridge party. The humor centers on marital conflict: she quotes etiquette rules he violated publicly; he deflects by accusing her of wearing an unflattering feather duster. The satire targets both rigid social conventions and domestic squabbling over propriety and appearance—quintessential early 20th-century middle-class anxieties about maintaining respectability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Dives: Well, no, I never go out in her. I'm no sailor. But—er—when one has an estate on the Sound and—er—you understand—one’s position to maintain— Lazarus: Oh! Naturally—naturally—one needs a Navy. Twin Bed-Time Stories After the Bridge Was Over CENE: The Newleighs’ bedroom shortly after the couple have retired. In Bed No. 1, Mrs. Newleigh may be seen propped up on her elbow casting a penetrating glance in the di- rection of Bed No. 2 in which Benedict lies. Bep No. 1: Benedict! (No answer.) Benedict, are you asleep? Bev No. 2: How could I be asleep? This is the noisiest bedroom I ever saw. Bep No, 1: Why, you horrible thing! This is the first time I have spoken. Bep No. 2 (conciliatingly): I didn’t mean you, of course—elevateds and things like that. (Hopefully) Good night. Bep No. 1: It isn’t good night until you tell me what pos- sessed you to double Mrs. Hampton’s one no-trump at the bridge party this evening. If it hadn’t been for that—and her making it—I would have won the prize. Bep No. 2 (sleepily): Just playing according to Elwell, that’s all. Thought you knew the rule. Good night. Bep No. 1 (Mrs. Newleigh sits upright in her indigna- tion): Rule? RULE? It says especially in Florence Ir- win’s book you gave me to study that you should NEVER double one no-trumps. NEVER! Did you hear me? Do you think I can sleep after you have belittled me in public during the evening and then tell me again in our own home what a simpleton Iam? Oh—OH... (Whoever is running the curtain should realize that it is time for it to be lowered.) Bep No. 2: Yes, dear. I could have heard you down- stairs. Good night, pet. Bep No. 1: Benedict, sometimes I feel as if I could just beat you. I (snuffling) d-don’t believe you wanted me to win that prize. Bep No. 2: Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't care much. Didn’t think that bunch of phoney cloth flowers would be any use to you—or anybody else. Bep No. 1: I knew it. I knew it. You wanted Mrs. Hampton to win. You wanted HER to wear them. Bep No. 2 (Benedict is mildly interested): Oh—you wear them, do you? I thought they were a new kind of feather duster. I’m sorry—but it was according to rules, you know. You should have bid two on your longest suit. Bep No. 1 (with exasperation): You made me learn out of a different book so you could quote rules I never heard of at me. I know the real reason, though. You wanted to humiliate me before the people there. And you agreed with them when Mr. Hampton said I was talking across the board too much. Bep No. 2: But you were. You aren’t supposed to say, “Oh, I hope you aren’t counting on me; I’ve never seen such hands” just before I bid. Good night, sweetheart. Bep No. 1 (frenziedly): Good night? GOOD NIGHT! T.H.L. comicbooks.com