Life, 1928-03-08 · page 13 of 43
Life — March 8, 1928 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humor pieces typical of early-20th-century Life magazine's satirical style. **"Two Gentlemen of the Cloth Call a Spade a Spade"** depicts two clergymen gossiping about their congregations and scandals—a satire on hypocritical clergy who preach virtue while engaging in worldly criticism. **"Pessimist's Version"** shows a romantic couple where the woman warns the man to "rub it in"—a cynical joke about inevitably difficult relationships. **"Quips of the Old Block"** describes children's birthday party mishaps, satirizing young people's awkward behavior and social failures, with lines like "Never again!" suggesting childhood embarrassment. The humor relies on observational social comedy about human weakness, hypocrisy, and social awkwardness—themes central to Life's satirical mission.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PMA NNN, N.S Two Gentlemen of the Cloth Call a Spade a Spade “WELL, by the Lord Harry, it’s old Enoch himself!” “Why, hello, Eliphalet! My glory, haven't seen you for an age!” “Still full of the old Ned, eh, Enoc! 2” “The same graceless scamp I used to be, Eliphalet. Only the other day I scandalized my congregation by preaching a sermon on fishing. I pointed out that Simon himself was a fisherman—and a_ gosh-hanged good one, too, I'll warrant.” “My parishioners wouldn’t stand for such nonsense, Enoch. They'd raise Hail Columbia.” “How is your flock, Eliphalet?” “Oh, I'm a little worried about the youngsters in the fold, Enoch. They don’t give a tinker’s cuss about any- thing any more.” “Tut-tut! You'll just have to re- mind them that they'll go to the hot place if they keep it up... .Jeerusa- lem! Here it is six o'clock, and I've got to buy some deviled eggs for din- ner. I must run, Eliphalet.” “Good-by, Enoch. Come around some time and see the work we're doing over in Hell's Kitchen.” N.R. J. ESSIMIST’S VERSION: Love cankers all. He: That's a nice lipstick you have on. Sue: There you go. Always wanting to rub it in, “Joe, it says here that another Captain went down with his ship. What do you suppose is the big idea of doing a thing like that?” “Ob, that? Just a publicity stunt, Babe; just a publicity stunt.” Quips of the Old Block THE little boys were leaving Betty Jane's birthday party and Betty’s mother stood at the door of their Flatbush home bestowing farewell glances and smiles here and there. “How did you like the party?” she asked Tommy Tyler, son of the famous dramatic critic. “Adequate, just adequate,” an- swered Tommy. “Your réle as hostess was played quite well, though I believe Mrs. Brown's performance last Thursday afternoon carried more conviction. Kitty as the maid was splendid, and her voluntary serving of second portions of ice cream was excellently carried out. A pleasant afternoon indoors with the Flatbourgeoisie.” “The party opened strong,” said Jackie Green, son of the pros- perous stock broker, “and speedily rose to a new en- joyment high for the year. Weakness set in when the bears sug- gested playing the don- key party game and con- viviality dropped a few points, resulting in a de- cided hilarity slump.” Bobby Risbane, the added: “Tots lukewarm about fiesta. Juvenile celebrants damn party with faint praise. ‘Never again!’ they ex- claim in unison. Mrs. Jones turned despairingly to the last youngster. nd you, Mas- ter Tewksbury Levin she asked. “It was the party I ever wuz at,” answered the eight- year-old. ‘The eats were eee and I'll be a !!%$!*|| if I ever come to your house again!” The senior Levine drove a taxicab! Arthur L. Lippmann. Ste: When I'm talking you might at least listen. headline writer's son, He: Yeah? And send applause cards? comicbooks.com