The Wasp, 1913 · page 144 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 144: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a serialized narrative fiction rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a dramatic scene involving three male characters—Stanton, Burnham, and others—and a woman named Kitty. The plot involves Stanton orchestrating an ambush of his rival Burnham using Kitty as bait. However, Stanton's accomplices have become suspicious of the setup. They confront "Percy" Stanton, accusing him and Kitty of laying a trap and questioning why Kitty didn't resist Burnham's advances if the situation was genuine. The passage ends with a reference to Burnham physically defeating Stanton in combat ("dusted your coat"). The satire targets masculine honor codes and the hypocrisy of gentlemen who engage in dishonorable schemes while maintaining pretense of respectability. The accomplices' moral awakening—rejecting the ambush as ungentlemanly—underscores the contradiction between Stanton's actions and his social status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VIII IS jealousy and hatred of James Burnham had landed Stanton in a very awkward position. Kitty had told him that Burn- ham had asked her to meet him at a certain spot at a certain hour. He and the girl had agreed to make a trap for Burnham; and with this end in view he had brought two younger brother officers along with him, armed with whips. And now these friends of his, suddenly become more or less sober, agreed with Burnham that the only possible thing for Stanton to do, as an officer and a gentleman, was to fight.’ ’ “Confound you, Percy,” said one of them, ‘‘you brought us on a mission that no gentleman should share with another! I’m beginning to think that you and the lady laid a trap for Mr. Burnham. Why didn’t she scream sooner, else? For I'll swear she let him kiss her without a struggle. However that may be, he has dusted your coat for you with 141 Comicooks.com