The Wasp, 1913 · page 16 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be a literary excerpt from a serialized story titled "The Wasp" rather than a political cartoon. The passage describes a man named James in a deteriorating room—abandoned by servants, with overturned furniture and a crushed fan. James becomes agitated, curses those who've wronged him, and dramatically drinks brandy before throwing the bottle across the room. Without additional context or visible illustrations on this page, I cannot identify specific political figures or satirical targets. The text suggests themes of abandonment, desperation, and emotional instability, but determining whether this represents actual political satire or social commentary requires more information about the story's broader context and the magazine's publication date.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 15 The room had not been touched in two nights and a day, for even the maid servant had deserted him. Blobs of wax and black wicks topped the candlesticks. Cards and dice lay on the table. Kitty’s fan, a painted thing that he had given her, Jay_on the floor. Its frail sticks of fragrant wood had been crushed by a boot-heel. The heavy fur- nishings looked tawdry in the sunlight. James sat up suddenly and smiled around him with a sinister grimace. “To perdition with them all, and may the evil one get his twist on the heartless little wench!’ he cried. A tall bottle of green glass, half full of French brandy, stood among the cards on the table. He extended his right hand slowly, grasped the bottle, drew it to him, set it to his lips, and drained it. He flung the bottle violently across the room with an oath; it splintered against the wall and fell to the carpet in a dozen tinkling fragments. Then he settled back in his chair and glowered straight before him. Comichooks.com