The Wasp — 1879 — page 410: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains satirical commentary on lawyers and the legal profession rather than specific political figures. The illustrations—labeled "Justice," "Sharks," and what appears to be scissors—accompany text critiquing lawyers as fundamentally dishonest practitioners who exploit legal complexity for profit. The satire argues that lawyers deliberately obfuscate laws and create unnecessary cases to maximize fees. References to "crooked nails" and "freak jurisprudence" suggest lawyers intentionally make the system confusing. The shark imagery depicts them as predatory. The text also discusses capital punishment philosophy and horse thieves, but the primary satirical target is the legal profession itself—portraying lawyers as parasitic middlemen who profit from society's need for legal services while actively making those services more complicated and expensive than necessary.