The Wasp — 1893 — page 264: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The cartoon titled "Trials of a Lawyer" depicts two men in a law office. Mr. Pullett (the lawyer, seated) is being visited by Mr. Foote, who asks "Am yo' Mistah Feet?" Pullett responds that he'd "laik yo' to ged me outer of a chickin stealin' scrape, if yo' won't tax me too much." The humor relies on a pun: Foote/Feet sounds similar, and the client's humble request for legal help with a petty crime (chicken stealing) while worrying about costs satirizes both the desperation of poor clients and the mercenary nature of lawyers. The dialect suggests working-class characters, typical of period satirical humor targeting social class distinctions and the legal profession's indifference to modest clients' predicaments.