Life, 1913-03-27 · page 45 of 60
Life — March 27, 1913 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes editorial content with period advertising. The main substantive feature is Mark Twain's religious philosophy from the 1880s, presenting his skepticism about divine intervention, biblical authority, and supernatural claims—while affirming belief in God and moral law. It reflects late-19th-century freethinker arguments common among intellectuals. The humor appears in a brief anecdote about "Courtesy": a woman enters a smoking car on a crowded train and, unable to find a seat, sits next to a man smoking. She sarcastically suggests men should be gentlemen. He responds by politely *offering her a cigar*—turning her complaint into a clever, deflating riposte that assumes she wants to smoke rather than be sheltered from smoke. The joke plays on expectations about "gentlemanly" behavior and female propriety of the era. The remaining content consists of advertisements for real estate (Grenwolde), hats (Knox), and corsets (Redfern)—typical period commercial messaging emphasizing luxury, location, and fashion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
dward se, ice- obsters, stop of MASS. Mark Twain's Religion (Written in Early ’80s) “1 believe in God the Almighty. I do not believe He has ever sent a message to man by anybody or delivered one to him by word of mouth or made Himself visible to any one at any time or place. I believe that the Old and New Tes- taments were imagined and written by man, and that no line in them was authorized, much less inspired, by God. [ do not believe in special providence. Ii one man’s family is swept away by a pestilence and another man’s is spared, it is only the immutable law of the uni- verse at work. God docs not interfere in such small matters, either in favor of one man or against another. If I break the moral laws I cannot see wherein I injure God. He is beyond reach of injury by me. I could as easily injure a planet by throwing mud at it. The moral laws are man’s laws, not God's. I would not interfere with any man's religion, If it comforts him it must be taken as a valuable possession to him. But [ um not able to believe that a man’s religion makes him anything but what nature made him, no matter what the religion may be."—From Payne's Biog- rophy of Mark Twain, Ir the onion were as fragrant as the rose and as unwholesome as the cucum- ber, it would be more popular than it is. Fascination that impels the tourist to linger amid the hedgerows and by-ways of the English countryside finds its counterpart at Grentwolde Great Neck, Long Island Welly located among extensive private estates, rectly on the waterfront, it commands far reach- ing views of Long Island Sound and delightful inl prospects of the surrounding estates. It presents the manifold advantages of country life, the open air, the water. GRENWOLDE, designed in every sense to meet requirements of a restricted, exclusive com- munity, offers the man who desires a home away from the noise of cities, a home in pleasant sur- roundings, near agreeable neighbors, a greater umber of attractions than does any other resi- dence colony near New York. ‘Several half-timbered houses, (Edward King. Architect) in design and apoointment and appropriate to their saroundings are now building. They will be ready for accu- Pancy in late spring. allowing opportunity meanwhile to arrange interiors to suit particular preferences, . An attractive booklet, fully descri OLDE. ‘ith Boor plans of houses under construction and full diree- tions for reaching the property by motor or train sent on request. Inquires receive prompt and courteous attention. PAUL V. SHIELDS 236 Fifth Ave.,New Yorke Telephone 1926 Madison Sq. * | Seas aR a || PPSae gat i PER ator se. » KNOX Spring Hats are now on sale at agencies _ : in every important city in the world. | Catalogue on Applic: THE KNOX HAT MANUFACTURING COMPANY Wholesale Salesrooms 452 Fifth Avenue, New York Courtesy Being unable to find a seat on the overcrowded train, a large woman went into the smoking car and sat down by the door. The man next to her, absorbed in his newspaper, kept on smoking. . “T was foolish enough to. suppose,” said she, glowering at him, “that some of the men in here at least were gentle- men.” “Pardon me, madam,” he answered politely, offering her a cigar. —The Housekeeper 645 Factory Brooklyn, N.Y. [ Redfern —Corsets The season’s most perfect model. Greater supple- ness, greater fineness of fabric, is the secret of the greater figure grace. Found where all good $3.50 to $15.00 corsets are sold. ‘The Warner Bros. Co. ‘New York—Chicago—San Francisco comicbooks.com