The Wasp — 1895 — page 354: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains the opening of a serialized story rather than political satire. "His Little Duchess" depicts a cashier at a large drapery establishment who struggles financially while caring for his younger sisters. The narrative focuses on domestic hardship—a girl cannot afford new dresses, customers exploit credit, and the family faces poverty. The story appears social-realist in nature, highlighting working-class economic vulnerability in late 19th-century America. The title's ironic reference to the cashier's sister as his "little duchess" underscores the gap between their modest circumstances and aspirations for respectability. The page also includes an advertisement for Ayer's Sarsparilla, a patent medicine advertised as the "only" sarsaparilla admitted at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.