Life, 1922-09-28 · page 5 of 36
Life — September 28, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece adapts a tale from *Scheherazade's One Thousand and One Nights* to critique Middle Eastern governance—specifically, it appears to reference the Sheik of Irak (Iraq) and Haroun the Caliph. The narrative mocks a corrupt vizier (minister) who has robbed the imperial treasury and abused his position. Rather than face justice, the vizier offers excuses to appease the angry ruler. The satirical point: the minister's excuse proves "worse than the crime" itself—a commentary on how officials deflect accountability through elaborate justification rather than accepting responsibility. The illustrations depict courtly figures in period dress, emphasizing the orientalist framing common to early 20th-century American satire about non-Western governance and corruption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
lu" “ry Ma" SG eo. 8 y Nf, The Vizier’s Apology iY ]; / Scheherazade’s One-Thousand-and-Fourth Tale } ~ ING, Muse, of the anger of Haroun the Caliph Aroused by complaints of the Sheik of Irak! “The scoundrel !” he thundered, “we'll clap him in jail if We don’t drop him overboard, sewn in a sack! “The villain has robbed the imperial coffer, And witnesses charge him with every abuse; And think of the fellow disdaining to offer Our Clemency even a shred of excuse!” ‘Perhaps ‘twere as well,” said the Minister, smiling, “To stifle our anger and wait for a time. Excuses, like charges, are framed for beguiling; Besides, the Excuse may be worse than the Crime.” “What nonsense!” cried Haroun, the monarch effulgent, “To hint that the Fault can be less than the Plea!” “Perhaps,” purred the Minister, blandly indulgent, “T'll prove to your Highness that such it may be.” The very next morning, superbly attended By eunuchs in dozens and emirs in pairs, With grandeur befitting the nobly-descended, The Caliph descended the glittering stairs: When, daring unspeakable woes and disasters And rage that devours its prey like pilaff, rhe Minister reached through the marble pilasters And wickedly pinched the imperial calf! \ghast at an outrage so shockingly sinister, “Dog!” gasped the Autocrat, “what do you mean!” ‘What a mistake!” wailed the profligate Minister; “Pardon! your Highness,—I thought ’twas the Queen !” \nd then, by another experience wiser, The Caliph with graciousness truly sublime \dmitted the fact that his faithful adviser Had made an Excuse that was worse than the Crime. s A. G. comicbooks.com