The Wasp — 1895 — page 420: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This sketch depicts two men in conversation—likely a vagrant or unemployed person (left) and a more prosperous gentleman (right). The caption "MADE HIM TIRED" suggests the vagrant is pestering the gentleman for money, perhaps with a sob story or panhandling pitch. The humor relies on class dynamics and the era's attitudes toward poverty. The well-dressed man's fatigue suggests he's heard such appeals repeatedly—a commentary on urban poverty and begging that was apparently common enough to be tiresome to potential donors. The cartoon satirizes both the desperation of the poor and the callousness of the wealthy toward repeated charitable requests, reflecting early 20th-century anxieties about urban poverty and transience.