The Wasp — 1894 — page 264: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, with one central cartoon illustration. The cartoon depicts two figures in conversation: a man in a suit and bowler hat speaking with a fashionably dressed woman. The caption identifies them as "Colonel Laguna" and "Mrs Haight," with dialogue suggesting gossip or scandal—the Colonel reports Brown of Oakland is "charged with four eyes," while Mrs. Haight responds with mock concern about what he'd say about himself. The joke appears to be **social satire about gossip and hypocrisy**: the woman expresses shock at the accusation while hinting that the Colonel himself has personal flaws worth discussing. "Four eyes" was period slang mocking eyeglass wearers, suggesting the humor relies on petty, appearance-based ridicule among San Francisco's social elite. The surrounding advertisements promote local businesses: liquor, laundry services, beer, and patent medicines typical of 1890s-era publications.