Life, 1891-02-26 · page 12 of 14
Life — February 26, 1891 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 132: Political & Social Satire This page contains three separate satirical pieces from the Gilded Age: **"As the Sun Sank Low"** mocks the Christian Union's claim that most college students are religious believers. The text cites President Thwing's statistics showing varying percentages of Christian students across colleges—Harvard having the lowest (one in five to seven). The satire's point: the more educated a man becomes (Harvard being the most prestigious), the fewer believers there are, suggesting that higher learning and religious faith are incompatible. **"Narrowed Down"** references the "McAllister 400"—Ward McAllister's famous list of New York's social elite. The joke suggests this exclusive circle has dwindled to just one person. **"Where There's a Will There's a Way"** depicts five portly gentlemen in various contorted positions, apparently demonstrating flexibility or determination—the caption suggests finding solutions through persistence, though the specific reference is unclear. All pieces exemplify *Life* magazine's characteristic upper-class social criticism and gentle mockery of American institutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AS THE SUN SANK LOW. Christabel (pointing to shadows): ViD0CQ, AREN'T WE ALMOST TALL ENOUGH TO GET MARRIED ? "THE Christian Union is responsible for this: As to the prejudice against colleges, President Thwing (who, by the way, was lately inaugurated as President of Adelbert University, the Western Reserve College), declares that it is a hideous blunder to be- lieve that the prevailing religious mood of students is that of Mr. In- ersoll, More than half the men in American colleges are, he asserts, hristians, and he quotes from statistics of a dozen or more leading in- stitutions to prove this. Thus: At Amherst, at least two-thirds of the students are Christians; at Williams, about one-half; at Harvard, one man in every five or seven; at Dartmouth, not far from one-half; at Brown, also about one-half’; at Yale the proportion is somewhat less than at Brown, but considerably more than at Harvard. ‘What does this mean? That the more a man knows the less he be- lieves? Harvard has the lowest average, one in every five, which seems to indicate that a young man cannot experience money and religion at the same time. NARROWED DOWN. ad HEY say the McAllister goo has dwindled fearfully.” "So?" “Yes. Got downto one. McAllister is the one.” ‘*MEBBE YOU DROPPED THIS PURSE, MISTER ?” “DEAR ME, YAAS; AND I THINK YOU'RE VERY HONEST.” “*No, 1 AIN'T; ONLY THERE WASSEN'T NUTTHING IN IT.” WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY. comicbooks.com