The Wasp, 1913 · page 177 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 177: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is narrative text, not a cartoon—it appears to be from a serialized fiction story titled "The Wasp" in this satirical magazine. The passage describes a privateer or pirate captain named James Burnham who has captured a white schooner. He deliberately leaves the vessel unnamed for superstitious luck, though his associate Trimmer skeptically dismisses such notions. Burnham eventually names the ship "the Wasp," joking it will sting "fools"—likely a self-aware reference to the magazine's own title and satirical mission. The text suggests this is adventure fiction, possibly set during naval conflicts (mention of "Burnham's fight with Percy Stanton" suggests a duel or combat story). The Wasp magazine apparently serialized popular fiction alongside its satirical content. Without seeing illustrations or knowing the publication date, the specific historical context remains unclear.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
172 THE WASP then looted and scuttled the ship. She proved a rich prize. Two weeks later he had an opportunity to careen and scrape his schooner and to paint her. He painted out the vessel’s original name and, for luck, let her go without a name. And this whim had proved lucky. He had taken many ships and lost nothing more valuable than a score or so of his men. “She is called the Wasp,” said Burnham. “A good name for her, from the point of view of the fools she stings!’ “There’s no luck in a name,” replied Trimmer doggedly, ‘‘so.don’t you give her one, Jim. Now tell me what deviltries fetched you to these parts. Pass the rum and the water-monkey first.” The white schooner continued to lie in the hidden basin until the morning of the third day after James Burnham’s fight with Percy Stanton. Sea- men posted in treetops on the surrounding hills kept a sharp and wide lookout. Burnham devoted these days to a close study of the nameless schooner’s Comichooks.com