The Wasp — 1895 — page 400: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features satirical commentary on San Francisco society figures and moral topics. The left column mocks a "prominent Bohemian" recently returned from China with pretentious literary aspirations—specifically critiquing his poem "Beautiful Spring" as derivative and his self-published work as unmarketable. The right side contains gossip-style commentary on local figures: Miss Oldmaid, Miss Van Ness, and Dr. Griswold (a dentist reportedly susceptible to romantic manipulation). The text also discusses Susan B. Anthony's Mormon polygamy activism and comments on urban morality, specifically warning about unchaperoned young women and men meeting in darkness. The overall tone mixes literary pretension-deflation with period-typical moralizing about propriety and behavior.