The Wasp — 1887 — page 269: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts Stewart Menzies—likely a public figure or politician of the era—portrayed as a fraudulent "mind reader" or fortune teller. A crowd of well-dressed men in suits and hats gathers around a billboard listing various fees for services like "Little Pete Paid," "Boss Buckley," and "District Attorney," with prices ranging up to $4,500. The satire suggests that Menzies, represented as "Bishop the Mind Reader," is essentially a charlatan promising to divine or influence outcomes for corrupt purposes—implying bribery or payoffs. The congregation of suited figures represents powerful interests purchasing his services. The cartoon mocks both the fraudulent nature of such schemes and the complicity of those willing to pay.