The Wasp, 1913 · page 101 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 101: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *The Wasp* appears to be **narrative text rather than a political cartoon**—it's a serialized story excerpt discussing a character named Burnham in Nevis (a Caribbean island). The passage describes Burnham writing deceptive letters to his father and to fabricated "men of business," characterized as "a masterpiece of impudence and fiction." He's portrayed as manipulative, with a "sardonic squint" and "impish and menacing" demeanor. The text emphasizes his determination to leave Nevis within three months and his willingness to deceive authority figures. Without additional context about *The Wasp*'s specific satirical targets or the identity of "Burnham," the exact social/political reference remains **unclear**. However, the narrative satirizes someone of dubious character and dishonest dealings—likely mocking a real public figure or type known to contemporary readers. The focus on deception to colonial officials suggests commentary on colonial-era duplicity or specific scandal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
98 THE WASP tious agents in London, and so would finally stand exposed before his new friends as a perverter of the truth, at least; but he had strength of mind enough not to let this thought worry him. Three months are as useful as a year to a man of action. He was determined that, whatever his fortune might be at the time, he would be gone from Nevis before the end of three months. This being the case, he wrote to his father as well as to the nonexistent men of business. Burnham’s letter to his father was a masterpiece of impudence and fiction. He penned it with his tongue in his cheek and his eyes glinting with those impish and menacing cross lights which gave him that expression of sardonic squint for which he was later famous. Both letters departed for England two weeks later, aboard a square-bowed merchantman. The governor sent a whole packet of mail, both official and private, by the same ship. The social life of Nevis lacked much in extent but nothing in dash. Government House was the Comichooks.com