Life, 1924-02-28 · page 7 of 36
Life — February 28, 1924 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a mock-heroic poem parodying Norse sagas and adventure narratives. The story follows Eric, a young chieftain seeking the "sacred bludgeon" (mystic object) to win Princess Pjilsa's hand. His quest involves wandering lands and seas searching for "that elusive pate-caresser Wotan wore." The satire mocks both romantic adventure tales and their overwrought language. The illustrations show Eric's bumbling journey—he's repeatedly tricked by Knaves offering false objects, and returns empty-handed with only "a can of lard." The humor lies in deflating grand epic conventions: the "Big Stick mystic" search becomes absurd; the quest prize is ridiculous; the hero fails comically. This appears to be general literary satire rather than political commentary, ridiculing flowery saga-style storytelling popular in early 20th-century entertainment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE ERIC’S EPIC bold young chieftain under old Canute the Pink and he loved the Princess Pjilsa —he was too lovesick to think. Old Canute admired headwork and preferred some brain with brawn, so he bade the ardent Eric come before him one gray dawn. “Listen, Eric!” said His Highness. “Lend an ear! Get on your toes! If thou want’st to wed my daughter thov must’st beat her other beaus! Dost thou know Wotan’s Nut-Cracker, with its thongs and copper bands? It is somewhere, saith the legend. I would like it in my hands!” “Sure, I know the sacred bludgeon!” cried our hero, in a sweat. “Sure, I know it well — from hearsay— but LI haven't seen it yet. “IT shall scour the world and find it! I shall bring it back to thee!” Forth he started on his journey, full of pep as he could be. Knaves would sometimes try to fool him —offer him a spurious club, but our hero spurned such trash and dubbed along. He was a dub! ‘Round and round the world he journeyed; ambled, rambled, scrambled on; hither now, and next day, thither. (If not thither, Lands and lands he combed completely, and seas galore, always seeking pate-caresser it was yon.) Far he hunted a that shillely. Far he wandered. Farther yet! Long he sought the Big Stick mystic —like a fool But he came back election bet. empty-handed. Canvte met him in the yard, pointing to the club in question leaning on a can Of lard. “That's it!” Eric shouted hoarsely "Sure!" said Canute. "You're bereft of Pjil’s hand, however, for ‘twas there, behind you, when you left!” seas and seas that elusive Wotan wore. comicbooks.com