Life, 1923-01-11 · page 5 of 36
Life — January 11, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Content:** A poem titled "An Invitation" (credited to R.N.) and an illustration labeled "The Skeptic." **The Poem:** Debates whether to dine alone or seek company. It questions whether wit or conversation matters without an audience, ultimately inviting someone named "Falstaff" for the evening—a literary reference to Shakespeare's jovial character. **The Illustration:** Shows two figures looking at a dentist's sign advertising "TEETH EXTRACTED WITHOUT PAIN." One figure appears skeptical or uncertain, which explains the cartoon's title. **The Satire:** The cartoon mocks the common advertising claim that dental extraction could be painless—treating this dubious promise with gentle humor. The skeptical expression of the onlooker represents the reader's own reasonable doubt about such exaggerated medical marketing claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MLE An Invitation HALL I go in and eat and sit It’s far from jocund to dine ov And drink alone the acrid wine, Alone, and sip our smuggled drink; Where all the cracklings of my wit There’s too much empty time for doubt, Will fall on no one’s ears but mine? And too much tendency to think. We may not give a tinker’s dam If I can find in this dull town For friendship in the usual sense, One single chirping, merry wight, But no one makes an epigram Then be he saint or sage or clown, Unless he has an audience. His name is Falstaff for to-night. The Skeptic comicbooks.com