Life, 1923-12-13 · page 10 of 36
Life — December 13, 1923 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate comic sketches satirizing domestic life and social class: **Top sketch:** An aunt instructs a young niece on household cleaning—scrubbing knees and using a brush—depicting the working-class domestic duties expected of poor children. **Bottom sketch ("A Matter of Taste"):** A butcher tells Mrs. Murphy he'll provide anything in the shop, and she replies she won't "git away wid it," suggesting she lacks money to purchase meat. This mocks working-class poverty and the butcher's condescension. **"Christmas Bells" poem:** A sentimental piece contrasting Christmas joy with domestic hardship—telephone interruptions, fire engines, and warnings about tree candles—satirizing the gap between holiday ideals and grimy urban reality. The page satirizes working-class life, poverty, and the gap between social pretense and actual circumstances in early 20th-century America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“HERE IS YOUR TOWEL, AUNT MARGARET—AND HERE IS THE BRUSH—AND SCRUB YOUR KNEES A MATTER OF TASTE Butcher: you KNOW, MRS. MURPHY, I'D GIVE YOU ANY- THING IN THE SHOP. “KNOW YEZ WOULD, BUT YEZ WON'T GIT AWAY WID IT.” Christmas Bells ELLS are Christmas, ringing glad Greetings to each maid and lad. Ting-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling ! That is the fre rse version of the telephone, Shrilly insistent; And a voic “Is this Forlorn nei-un—foe-er—th-r-r-ee—nei-un? No? ’Scuseitplease !” Grr-r-r—Grr-r-r—Grr-r-r ! And so on, and on, and on, Indicating the dumbwaiter buzzer tuning in On every available wave length, With a gruff warning climbing the shaft: “The superintendent told me to tell you They won't be no garbage collected to-day. Merry Christmas!” Clang-clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang! The fire engines! : Heavens and whatever antonym springs to mind; They've stopped outside. And a familiar voice in a familiar tone: “T told you, dear, to be more careful About the candles on that tree.” Bells are Christmas, ringing glad, If they fail to drive you mad. James K. McGuinness. comicbooks.com