The Wasp, 1913 · page 10 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains literary text rather than a political cartoon. It appears to be from a serialized story titled "The Wasp," depicting a scene where a gentleman named James Burnham observes a prisoner procession that includes John Trimmer, "the son of the tailor of Wantage." The passage describes prisoners being transported by barge down a river in harsh conditions. Burnham and Trimmer exchange a brief, sardonic greeting ("A merry voyage to you, John!"), suggesting social acquaintance despite their opposing circumstances—Burnham as a free gentleman, Trimmer as an imprisoned convict. The text emphasizes the prisoners' misery and the brutality of their transportation, but without visible illustrations on this page, the specific satirical or political targets remain unclear from the image alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ERE Cite Ona A tore are ene Uae eo a THE WASP 9 poe ESSA aS SS CA ee He looked on at the cruelest sight to be seen that day in all England with a-cool and ironic glance. Yet his interest was somewhat quickened upon be- holding a known face in that pitiful procession. It was a thin face, but still a square one—the face of John Trimmer, the son of the tailor of Wantage. The black and tortured eyes of the jailbird met the pale-gray eyes of the gentleman in the doorway. “A merry voyage to you, John!” cried Burnham, with a wave of the hand. “And the same merry voyage to you, Master James Burnham!” the malefactor cried back. The procession passed on amid groans, curses, jeers, and the clank of iron. At Billingsgate these children of despair, these damned shapes and stricken souls, were put into barges and ferried out to the waiting brig. They were lowered to the bal- last in the brig’s hold, in the stench of the foul bilge water. An hour later the Good Cheer—with all the elements of hell save fire in her hold—went down the river with the ebb tide. James Burnham returned to his lodgings in Swan Comichooks.com