The Wasp — 1889 — page 163: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains **three separate short humorous anecdotes** rather than political cartoons. The central illustration depicts "An Even Thing" — a domestic scene where a man interrupts his wife kissing another man, establishing marital infidelity as the joke's premise. The three stories mock: 1. **General Sherman's trained eye** — a soldier's tall tale about Sherman recognizing a deserter 2. **Plain Prince Bismarck** — the Prussian chancellor's plainspoken manner and diplomatic bluntness 3. **An Even Thing** — illustrated marital discord played for comedy The bottom section includes anecdotes about theatrical manager John Stetson, theatrical casting, and General Grant in Japan. These are **social humor pieces** targeting recognizable figures and everyday situations, typical of 19th-century American satirical magazines focused on local personalities and social foibles rather than electoral politics.