The Wasp — 1888 — page 119: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three distinct sections: a poem titled "Catch On?", a short story called "A Stab in the Dark," and "The Seat" — along with extensive period advertisements. The poems and stories appear to be satirical commentary on social types rather than specific political figures. "Catch On?" mocks various character archetypes (queer people, the scheming businessman, the chattering woman), using humor to criticize social behaviors. "A Stab in the Dark" discusses dubious medical quackery and fraudulent cures—a common target of Gilded Age satire. The advertisements (Schramsberg wines, memory tonics, catarrh remedies) are themselves inadvertently satirical, promoting dubious patent medicines typical of the era's largely unregulated marketplace. Without visible illustrations or specific political references, this appears primarily a humor and advertising compilation rather than focused political satire.