Life, 1885-08-13 · page 1 of 16
Life — August 13, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Near Enough" - Life Magazine, August 19, 1885 This cartoon satirizes clergy discount practices. A woman asks a confectioner if he offers reductions for clergymen. When he says yes, she claims eligibility because she's engaged to a theological student—close enough to clergy status, she implies. The joke targets two things: (1) the commercial practice of giving discounts to clergy, treating religious status as a commodity, and (2) the woman's absurd logic in stretching "clergyman" to include a mere student. The caption "Near Enough" mocks how loosely such benefits could be claimed or interpreted. The cartoon reflects 19th-century American skepticism toward both religious privilege and female opportunism, presenting the scene as a candy shop transaction where spiritual credentials become mere bargaining chips.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
diel eens. peptide deta piel eet enorme: a Sacra atlantic 8 ha Tipo aot nati F pert eke Megat ony — -——_—_—— = ee a, TT NEW YORK, AUGUST 13, 1885. : Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. sganerereu: NEAR ENOUGH. She: DO YOU MAKE ANY REDUCTION TO CLERGYMEN ? Gallant Old Confectioner: ALWAYS; ARE YOU A CLERGYMAN’S WIFE? She (blushing): OH, NO; | AM NOT MARRIED. G. O. C. (becoming interested): DAUGHTER, THEN? She (blushing deeper): NO; BUT 1—I AM ENGAGED TO A THEOLOGICAL STUDENT.