The Wasp — 1895 — page 93: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains several society gossip items and anecdotes rather than political cartoons. The illustrations accompany brief satirical vignettes about San Francisco's upper-class social scene. **"A Fatiguing Duty"** depicts a police officer assigned to morgue wagon duty, complaining about various prominent citizens he must transport—a man, engineer, doctor, and "old man"—reflecting on how society's notable figures eventually require the same service. The text mocks wealthy socialites' behaviors, romantic entanglements, and pretensions. One anecdote ridicules Dr. De Marsville (a physician) and another critiques Dr. Highspire (described as an eloquent preacher) for mistakenly attending the wrong evening social event. The satire targets San Francisco's elite's social vanities, romantic drama, and how even distinguished citizens are ultimately subject to life's mundane realities—the page's consistent joke.