Life, 1928-05-31 · page 31 of 34
Life — May 31, 1928 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: a humorous poem and advertisements. **The Poem ("The Specter and the Spectroscope"):** A Gothic-style narrative parody by Morris Bishop mocks supernatural horror fiction. The ghost of "Earl Cruddlegore" returns to haunt and murder his bride, but discovers modern scientific instruments in her bed instead—a spectroscope, galvanometer, camera. The specter, confronted by rational science rather than romance, despairs and vanishes. The satire targets both melodramatic ghost stories and the era's faith in scientific rationalism as a replacement for superstition. **The Advertisements:** Two hotel and product ads occupy the lower portion. The "Belmont Hospitality" ad praises the hotel's telephone operators for exceptional courtesy—a gentle jab at the era's common jokes mocking telephone girls' rudeness. The dominant Douglass Lighter advertisement emphasizes automatic convenience: "just press the trigger—there's your light," highlighting the modern consumer desire for effortless functionality. The lighter's thinness ("scarce 379 thousandths of an inch") appeals to aesthetic sophistication. Together, the page reflects 1920s-30s preoccupations with technological progress, convenience, and modernity replacing tradition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE pets se. THE Press the trigger... there’s your light Tus ar7as lifts along the Boor; A Silhouette Douglass in triple silvered case $10 at : ‘The owl cries thrice; the lights subside; 9 The ghost of old Earl Cruddlegore ————— Comes stealthily to slay his bride. —— ‘And down the crumbling corridor 0) Dead horror wakes to life again, For wicked old Earl Cruddlegore Must slay and slay what once was slain, The old hound bays; a strange rook caws; Veils hide the moon, by some command; By the high bed it seems to pause, ‘And something shimmers in its hand! But stay! What marvel doth astound The specter! See him mow and grope! Within his lady's bed he's found No lady, but a spectroscope! And where long since he'd murdered her— What specter could forgive it?—he Perceived a galvanometer To test his conductivity! Standard or Silhouette models can be fitted with this Douglass windshield...$1 Slender as a modern watch ++ othe Silhouette Asd where a dozen men he'd changed Donglass To madmen by his demon laugh, A camera was now arranged To tke his spirit photograph, He was a sorrowful phantasm; “This is the end!'* he seemed to say. He folded up his ectoplasm ‘And wailed in weary woe away. —Morris Bishop, in Saturday Evening Post. (20 OOO NN | Belmont Hospitality “Goop Mornrno” Harp working humorists and comedians for years have made a target of the tele- phone girl for their shafts of ridicule. But the Belmont tele- phone operators are differ- Quite naturally youd choose an automatic lighter ent. It’s sort of refreshing to call that hotel and to get the prompt, crisp and_friendly response, “Hotel Belmont, Good Morning” if it hap- pens to. be in the morning. And when you give the name and room number of your party, you'll be connected almost instantly if the person you wish to talk with is in. The same prompt efficiency is enjoyed by guests of the sages. Belmont habitues rightly feel that such telephone cour- tesy is a valuable part of Belmont service. And the Douglass is automatic. Just press the trigger — there's your light! So neatly done, so eas- ily; never a soiled hand or glove. Precisely built, the Douglass Lighter is always dependable. Yet sturdiness and long life do not mean bulkiness. Quite the con- trary. Silhouette Douglasses, tor in- stance, are thin, graceful as amod- ern watch —a scarce 379 thou- sandths of an inch through. You can always tell a Doug- lass; fully patented, they can’t be copied. You'll find Standard mod- els from $5 and Silhouettes from $10 to $1000 — at the better shops. Douglass Fluid is there also, in convenient spouted cans. Sponsored by Canada: HARGRAFT A.W.W. Kyle Co, Wrighy Blig., 3 St. Nicholas St. Chicago Montreal Hotel Belmont hotel for their outgoing mes- ! Park Ave. and 42nd St. At Grand Central Terminal New York City A Bowman Bittwore Horet a a ee comicbooks.com