Life, 1927-10-20 · page 16 of 48
Life — October 20, 1927 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains three distinct pieces: 1. **"In Praise of Domesticity"** (poem by Baron Ireland): A satirical poem mocking those seeking adventure while the speaker chooses domestic life and earning "thirty a week." 2. **The cathedral woodcut illustration** with caption "Little Boy: you can't come in here! my father hires this pew" — satirizing wealthy parishioners who essentially "own" church pews through financial contributions, excluding the poor from worship spaces. 3. **"Mrs. Peps' Diary"** and **"At the Ball Game"/"The Common Lot"** sections: Humorous domestic and social vignettes depicting everyday middle-class life, relationship frustrations, and class consciousness. The page's overall theme mocks genteel pretension, class divisions, marital discord, and the gap between romantic ideals and mundane reality—typical early 20th-century Life magazine satirical content targeting middle and upper-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
At the Ball Game VIRST SPECTATOR good player? Is he a Srcoxp Spectator: Ts he good? Why, he’s the highest-bribed base- ball player in the world! Little Boy: you can’t come iN uere! My PATHER hires THs PEW. The Common Lot SHE: How did you ever find out ‘7 that you had such an ailment? I understand that’ even your best friend won't tell you. He! Oh, I have plenty of enemies. In Praise of Domesticity THERE be those who crave a life on the wave At the helm of a schooner bold. Some yearn for the buttes of the Bitter Roots And some for the Alpine cold. Some hie away for far Catl Some for the south of France, And for the some are inspanned Transvaal land In search of the sprite Romance. Well, let them roam. home! They may It's for home I’m strong and will be I'm staying at stray Romance who As I'm earning thirty a week. Baron Ireland. Hes. Reve Diary September My husband, poor 1 wretch, at such obvious- 28th hy casual pains to keep me from going into the library be- fore he should leave the house that I did grow suspicious and marched therein, and Lord! the great stumbling through the darkness, had barged into the bridge table bearing the jigsaw puzzle on which I am engaged and knocked it all to. the floor. Some catastrophes are liter- ally beyond words, but I did manage to burst into tears, whereupon I did receive an offer to settle out of court for whatever the defendant had on him, which turned out to be eights dollars, small recompense for the time I spent on finding the tail of one of the caps. Then Mistress Wright come to rub me, and I did conf to her that if I were fishwives’ given three wishes, one of them would be to own her. Indeed, I have never understood the misdi- rected compassion for those who must depend upon paid companion- ship, for, albeit I am so healthy as to mystify the chirurgeons, I) am strong for pillow-smoothing and ob- ject-fetching and should like nought better than to be constantly at- tended by a trained nurse, and as I have wrote down before, one of my ceptions of Heaven is free mas- and an unfailing supply of cracked ice. And oftentimes it is far (Continued on page 34) comicbooks.com