The Wasp — 1892 — page 531: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains **six satirical short stories/anecdotes** rather than visual cartoons. The pieces mock various social types and situations: 1. **"Royal Courtesies"** - Satirizes Bismarck and Emperor Wilhelm II through crude jokes about donkeys and jackets, suggesting the German leader's crude humor and the Emperor's tolerance of it. 2. **"She Paid Her Fare"** - Mocks working-class pretension and materialism, depicting a streetcar conductor collecting fares from poorly-dressed passengers. 3. **"She Liked Cheese"** - A satirical tale about a wealthy woman purchasing expensive cheeses, poking fun at upper-class affectation. 4. **"Semper Fidelis"** - A poem about an old man's devoted wife, presented somewhat mockingly. 5. **"His Noble Career"** - Satirizes social climbing and dishonest business practices. 6. **"A New Man, But Unchanged"** - Criticizes habitual drunkenness as unchangeable character flaw. The humor relies on class commentary and social observation typical of 1890s American satire.