The Wasp, 1913 · page 124 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 124: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **narrative fiction excerpt rather than a political cartoon**—it's prose dialogue from a serialized story in the satirical magazine *The Wasp*. The scene depicts a tense reconciliation between two characters: **Stanton** (an ensign/military officer) and **Burnham** (apparently a government official). They've reached a grudging truce—agreeing to "forget the past" and maintain a civil facade despite mutual dislike. Each explicitly states they don't like the other, yet promises to keep faith with an unstated "agreement." The satire likely mocks **hypocrisy in public life**: political or military figures who maintain superficial civility while harboring genuine animosity, and who reach backroom deals based purely on mutual self-interest rather than principle or honor. Stanton's immediate return to gambling suggests character commentary on military vice. Without seeing previous pages, the nature of their "agreement" remains unclear, but the tone suggests *The Wasp* is satirizing government corruption or duplicitous dealings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 121 is it to remember and make an unseemly disturb- ance in this peaceful spot?” ’ “Live and let live,” replied Stanton breathlessly. “Forget the past, and act as if we had never known each other before.” “Very good! J am glad to see that you have come to your senses and that I am not compelled to put you out of the way,” returned Burnham. “I give you my word that I shall stand by my part of the agreement so long as you keep faith as to yours. We need not shake hands on it, I think; and I tell you now that, whatever degree of friend- ship I may pretend to feel toward you in the future, I don’t like you.” “And I don’t like you, Heaven knows!” retorted the ensign. “But I’ll keep faith with you, I swear.” Burnham went back to Government House, went to bed, and slept soundly. Stanton went back to barracks, found three kindred souls still busy with the dice, and joined them. He was already a con- firmed gambler. He played until sunrise with bet- _ter fortune than was usual with him. Commichooks.com