Life, 1926-03-18 · page 38 of 44
Life — March 18, 1926 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes advertisements with humorous poetry. The main satirical content is "Ballade of the Irate Parent-Bard"—a poem lamenting how a writer's private study has been converted into a nursery. The joke targets early 20th-century domestic life: a creative intellectual's sacred workspace invaded by family obligations, particularly childcare. The poem uses formal verse structure ironically, as the speaker's literary sanctuary becomes a "milk disbursery" filled with "rattles and bottles." The secondary poem, "Nell Leaves for the Big City," satirizes small-town naiveté—a mother in rural Indiana warns her daughter about urban temptations while ironically recalling beating her with a razor strop. The dark humor contrasts the mother's protective intentions with her brutish methods. The page's advertisements (Roger & Gallet cosmetics, Hawaii tourism, Dollar Steamship Line) represent typical 1920s consumer culture targeting affluent readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE Be sure that the powder in your compact is absolutely pure. Roger & Gallet face powders have held the distinct preference of culti- vated and beautiful women the world over for more than one hundred years. Compacts now Le Jade Gleurs d’ Amour Shaded in Blanche, Rosee, Natu relle, Rachel, and other tints. ROGER & GALLET 709 Sixth Avenue Canadian Agency: Emil 103 tue St. Francois-Xavier, Montreal colorful little book of Pi ic Complimentary on request. Ballade of the Irate Parent- Bard WAS lord a third-floor room; I was king of a cozy cell Where I wove on my lyric loom t and villanelle. am I forced to quell Ode and so N w enthroned in my versery my | te Rules a ruthless pretender...hell! They're using my den for a nursery! from the traffie’s boom, hill smell, Proudly free from the hausfrau's Far and sa Faintly* sweet with a I broom, These the charms of my sanctum: well, Now the family break the spell My moans attract but a cursory Glance as they rush in and out pell mel, They're using my den for a nursery Where once resided my facile plume Rattles and bottles and cradle dwell My furniture, stripped of its sombre fume, aw bears the palest of pink pastel Thus they've converted my cita a milk disbursery! ler that I rebel? They're using my den for a nursery Is it a wor Prince, pipe down!—that raucous yell Has shifted my gears in reversery Can't you see that I think it’s swell They're using my den for a nursery? D. Plume. Nell Leaves for the Big City WAS pretty young when I left home but I wasn't green. Ma told a me everything. [ remember her words as we stood in the depot in Kokomo and the train was just get- II ting in. one thin she said, “promise me mise me you'll always keep up your membership in the Camp: fire Girls.” Poor, dear, illiterate, igno rant Ma. I can see her now as she stood there in her house dress and the run-down shoes she'd been wearing since long before we got t liever in the Campfire € e gas stove. Ma was a great be rls and do nated a pound of fudge to the general fund cach year, I swore T would do as she wished. “My child, you make me very happy. Th ing moment. Why, it don't seem no s is a very touch time since I used to whale you black and biue with your father’s razor strop.” Then the train. I watched as long as I could Sometimes I lic awake at night and am haunted by that scene. Dear old Kokomo, If I had only been satisfied On the train there was a traveling sales- man with spats an a fancy vest Bob Landry | way, | five weeks and $400 or $500 will give Summer Smiles this Winter”? 9 9 awall Smiles bubble in Hawaii! Come and live among these laughing Hawaiians. Here within easy reach lies an Eden of balmy summer—only 5 or 6 days by queenly ocean liners from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancou- ver or Victoria, B.C. Book direct through your nearest rail- teamship or travel agency. Four to you a vacation that will linger long in | memory. Swimming, surfboarding, golf, deep-sea fishing—endless entertainment. Modern conveniences and comforts; moderate liv- ing costs. For descriptive, colored brochure and detailed information, write now— HAWAII TOURIST BUREAU 7 McCanw Btoo., 451 Monrcomery St., AWAIT, US. Ae Roundthe World is via the Orient Qe From San Francisco every Saturday a magnificent President Liner sails for Hawail, Japan, China, Manila, Malaya, Ceylon, India, Egypt, italy, France, Bos- ton and New York. Every fortnight these liners sail from Boston and New York for the Orient and Round the World via Ha- vana, Panama and Calif Commod- jous,and providing world-famous cuisine. Information from ticket agents or 604 Fifth Ave., New York City Robert Dollar Bidg., San Francisco STEAMSHIP LINE comicbooks.¢om