The Wasp — 1896 — page 240: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The cartoon depicts a woman on horseback encountering another woman on a country road, with the caption asking: "How do you account for the extreme nervousness of the bridegroom at the wedding last night?" / "He had been married before." This is a straightforward joke about remarriage. The satire suggests that a man marrying for a second time would be nervous—implying he has experience with marriage's difficulties or his first marriage ended badly. The "gossip by the wayside" framing presents this as the kind of casual scandalous speculation women might exchange while encountering each other socially. The accompanying text discusses business matters regarding Mr. Jerry Lynch and mining interests, unrelated to the cartoon's content.