Life, 1925-04-16 · page 7 of 36
Life — April 16, 1925 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks young American colonists playing at revolution. The narrative follows Tom Rover and friends who, confined to a lighthouse job during wartime, nonetheless practice their "long-distance running." The humor centers on their theatrical patriotism: they attempt the Boston Tea Party but fail (the tea doesn't actually get thrown), then mock the British Admiral with exaggerated "Indian" costumes and whooping. The satire suggests American revolutionaries were performative and ineffectual—playing at rebellion rather than seriously resisting British rule. The "American Evolution" fashion cartoon below appears unrelated, showing changing women's silhouettes. The overall page uses humor to diminish American revolutionary credibility, typical of British satirical magazines toward colonial independence movements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ye Rover Lads in Ye Revolution (Editor's Note: Although the fact not generally known, the 15oth an- niversary of the Revolution coincides, oddly enough, with the appearance of the 1g0th volume of the Rover Boys series for Young Americans. In order to celebrate these two significant cvents in the history of our country, we have reprinted the original Rover Boy Book just as it was written.) RITHEE, Samuel!” Whither, Richard?” “What ho, Thomas, whence ?” “As our readers know by now,” ex- plained Dick, “we have come to Har- vard to start the ‘Rover Lads Series for Young Colonials.” We are the three Rover Lads, and we are known for our happy dispositions and funny faces: ) “Whaddye mean, funny faces?” de- manded Tom. Sunny Dick. faces,” corrected “These old-fashioned S's look like F's, and fometimes I get consufed.” Hurray for ye Rover Lads,” inter- rupted the minute-men, waving their three-cornered hats cheering lustily. “L see by the gazettes,” quoth Sam, in the air and it the British have put a tax on tea” “They can go sit on the tax,” re- torted Tom like a hawk, and every one laughed merrily. “But taxation without representation is tyranny,” objected Dick seriously. Wait! I have an idea,” whispered American THOUGH CONFINED BY HIS JOB TO THE NARROW LIMITS OF AN ISOLATED LIGHT- HOUSE, OUR CHAMPION LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER NEVERTHELESS GETS PLENTY OF PRACTICE! Tom with a twinkle in his eye; and soon his brothers were laughing merrily. Chapter Eighty-Two “Whee !” Yowee |” “Whoops, I'm an Indian!” So whooping, a band of naked sav- ages clambered up the sides of the British ships anchored in Boston Har- bor. “Stop!” cried the British Admiral, r I'll burn the city of Boston!” You can't burn the city of Boston,” cried the chicf of the Indians. Evolution 5 “Why can't I burn the city of Bos- demanded the admiral. “Because, according to history, the city of Boston was never burned!” led!" cursed the admiral; and then, while the band played “The Star- Spangled Banner,” the Indians com- menced to hurl the tea into the harbor. As the last cup and saucer disappeared over the side, the chief of the Indians carefully wiped the red greasepaint from his face. “Tom Rover!” gasped the British ad- miral, and then smiled in spite of him- self. ¢, what a prank!” “Hurray for ye Lads!" shouted the minute-men, waving their three-cornered hats in the air and cheer- ing lustily. But what King George had to say, and how Tom Rover, disguised as Paul Revere, made the famous ride from Boston to Lexington, will all be related in the next volume of this series, en- titled: “The Rover Boys at Bunker Hill; or, How Tom Carved His Initials on the Monument.” And here let us say Good-by. Rover Goop-ny. Corey Ford. Right Off the Reel ACHER: What can you tell me about the battles of Lexington and Concord? Tue Movers Curio: The long shots were pretty good, but I don't care for the way the director handled his masses. comicbooks.com