The Wasp — 1895 — page 394: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents a satirical short story illustrated with sketches. The narrative depicts a social encounter where a young man attempts to court a woman, with emphasis on class dynamics and romantic awkwardness. The story mocks Victorian courtship conventions through dialogue revealing the man's clumsiness and the woman's sharp wit. References to Oxford, the Empire Club, and domestic servants suggest upper-class British social settings being satirized. The accompanying illustrations show the woman in fashionable dress and the couple in various awkward moments, emphasizing physical comedy and social pretension. The page also includes an advertisement for Ayer's Sarsaparilla, a patent medicine marketed as a "blood purifier"—typical of era advertising making broad health claims. Without clearer identification of specific historical figures, the satire appears directed at romantic incompetence and class pretension generally rather than particular individuals.