The Wasp — 1879 — page 396: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page combines satirical aphorisms with a "Literary Review" section and poetry. The left column features humorous one-liners mocking various professions and social types: dentists filling vacancies, conductors knocking down dimes, auctioneers, miners, aging jokes, and drunk ryos (likely a local reference). The tone is Victorian-era everyday cynicism—poking fun at workplace corruption and human foibles. The main content reviews *Mrs. Grantley's Idea*, a novel criticized for promoting the "doctrine that a hole in one's stocking may be the result of an accident." The reviewer dismisses this as pretentious moralizing dressed up as progressive thinking, mocking both the author's gentility and her focus on minor domestic concerns. The page reflects typical Wasp satire: irreverent social commentary targeting both working-class corruption and middle-class pretension.