Life, 1924-03-27 · page 10 of 36
Life — March 27, 1924 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece depicts **King George V** and **Queen Mary** in a domestic scene discussing their efforts to learn American English and customs. The humor centers on the royal couple attempting to understand working-class American speech and labor, presented as absurdly difficult for aristocrats accustomed to formality. The accompanying illustration shows a domestic interior where a man (presumably a father) speaks with a child, with a caption about "Aunt Emily's" appearance and a mule. This illustrates the class humor: royalty struggling with colloquial speech represents the broader cultural gap between British aristocracy and American democratic culture—a common satirical theme of the era. The overall joke mocks both pretensions of nobility and their unfamiliarity with common people's language.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8 - LIFE - When Royalty Takes Up Labor Qcrex Mary: “Noi Kixe Grorcr: “Chee Queen Mary (s HARACTERS: H. M. King Gee Queen Mary See 1 ate Sut Pak Kine Grorcr (holding o, ‘appy to sye », ch wot Room in Buckingham lenly serious): George, may I interrupt the lesson n book to which we really have to go through frequently refers during the Kixc Georce: Hush! my d you. You don't know w s as much as our lives are worth if they don't my dear, try that over Qures Mary ( ir, some one may tingly) > “Hi sye at you are saying ‘ow are you and ‘ow's the missus Kine Gt y good, my dear, except for approve of us, and we must try not to leave one way ice ‘din “and” You = | stone unturned te— eliminate your “d's” or it will sound—er | Quren Mary: But, George dear, can’t we do a bit snobbi r afraid. Now, my dear, go on \ somet ier than this? [ hate learning a irom there new a as it were, at our time of life Quenx Mary: “Me an’ George ‘opes as ‘ow Can't we go to America and be Mover again you find heverythink to yer likin’ an’ that hevery Kine Grorce: But even then, dear, we'd have body's be'iving nice-like to you.” to learn a new Kine Graxce: Splendid, my dear. And now Qurex Mary: That's true, dear the book down a nd let's see if we can Kine Grokce: So, you see, we'd better go on 1 bit ¢ with what we've started and perhaps the new a chat together, shall we? I'll d tolerant when they commence. Here “Well, well, if it ain't tit prove kindly 4 Mrs. ‘Orace, an’ ‘ow’s tricks, ch wot?” } L} ard we're tryin ase them: Queen Mary. “Not ‘arf bad, VM tell the AK CURTAIN Id. ant . Perey Kixe Geoxce (shocked): No, no, my dear STRAIGHT FROM incorrect. Where on earth did THE SHOULD tell the world"? Did Iring that back with him? That's That's altoget Home Reading RS. BROWN: I should like to buy a book that will my hushand at home for you pick er tic American. Ii they heard you s Now beg In't be worth twopence 1 few evenings keep Sook CLERK Yes, ma‘am. sleep or aw “WELL, HOW DID AUNT EMILY LOOK? HAD SHE CHANGED MUCH IN ALL THIS TIME?” “NOT MUCH, SHE STILL HAS THAT SAME MOLE ON HER CHIN comicbooks.com