Life, 1899-06-29 · page 14 of 21
Life — June 29, 1899 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on Christian Science, a religious movement that gained significant American followers in the late 19th century. The main article "Take Thought for Boston" mocks Boston's embrace of Christian Science—ten thousand converts attended a recent annual meeting—by sarcastically urging Southern states (Texas, Alabama, Georgia) to "save" Boston from this "puzzling persuasion." The satire questions whether Christian Science is fraudulent, breeds lawlessness, destroys families, or has saturated Boston beyond recovery. The accompanying illustrations show two figures (likely representing typical Christian Science practitioners) in domestic scenes, presumably depicting the movement's influence on daily life. A separate piece, "A New Method," is a humorous poem about a woman golfer who closes her eyes while swinging, attributing her unexpected success to avoiding conscious aim—likely a jab at Christian Science's emphasis on mental/spiritual power over material reality. The bottom illustration shows a tiger, captioned as "the man-eating tiger," possibly referencing another unrelated story.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VTEPolletr ‘99. Take Thought for Boston. : (Oe friends in the South, if they have leisure, can make some return for the solicitude with which the good people of Boston discuss their difficult problems, by bestowing some attention on the curious things that go on in Boston. The annual meeting of the Christian Scientists was held there the other day. Ten thousand converts attended it. Christian Science is a puzzling persuasion. What do our friends in Georgia, Alabams, and Texas think about it? Do more persons dic of it than is reasonably toler- “LIFE * able? Is it all bogus, or are there glimmerings of important truth in it? Does it breed lawlessness beyond reason- able limits? Does it destroy the har- mony of too many homes? Is it a nui- sance, and, if so, is it toogreat a nuisance to be tolerated? Finally, is Boston get- ting to be so saturated and bedeviled with it as to require outs:de aid to save her? Rise up, Texas! Awake, Alabama! Don't let Boston go to the intellectual bow-wows und die of malpractice for lack of eloquent, timely exhortation from you. She labors faithfully with you and your problems, Surely you owe her some attention in her straits. A New ' Method. HE'D never gol ed, and we gathered ‘round with solemn looks, but in flendish glee, We'd all been there in the days long gone, and we pictured well whut her stroke would bo; Wo know exactly the way she'd stand, and how she'd manage ber club so now, Wo knew the way she would fun theair, wo SS knew the way she would whack her shoe, And then wo thought, as she took her place, how chunks of turf soon would fly about, And how the ball would lie still and grin, as“ WITWN AN Inc oF mis LIFE.” you havo known them to do, no doubt. But no! Instead of the fun we'd planned, sbo made us open our eyes and stare, . For straight and true flow the little ball, like a rifle shot, through the summer air, I sought her side when the day was dono, and begged her tell me if it were luck That mado her strike with an aim so true, like somo old Scot full of skill and pluck. “ Why, no,” said sho, “but it seemed absurd for me to strike at a thing 80 small, And 60 I closed both my oyes quito tight, and novor aimed at the ball at all!” Wallace Dunbar Vincent, = The Earnest Student: Tuis MUST BE THE MAN-EATING TIORK COMMEDOOKSSEO