The Wasp, 1913 · page 19 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is a dialogue scene from a serialized story rather than a political cartoon. The exchange involves characters named James, Burnham, and William Stow discussing a stolen ring that Burnham sold to "the Jew" in Cheapside (a London district). The passage reflects period antisemitic attitudes common in Victorian-era fiction, casually identifying a Jewish character by religion rather than name. The plot concerns Burnham's cowardice—he fired on an unarmed man and is now being exiled to Jamaica as punishment, with Stow delivering harsh moral judgment. Without additional context or images visible on this page, the specific satirical targets remain unclear, though the content demonstrates the casual prejudices embedded in period literature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
18 THE WASP “Civility be blistered!” retorted the other. “My heart burns at the thought of ye—of yer low deeds. _ To fire a pistol at an unarmed man! That was never the Burnham way. And all about a tailor’s wench. And to turn highwayman atop of that! Lord save us!” “Highwayman?” queried James, with a shadow in his pale eyes. “Ye need not deny it,” said Stow. “The ring ye sold to the Jew has been recovered by Sir Ber- tram Wise. The knight of Hanney has sharp eyes and a sharp nose, but he’s in no mind to see the son of yer father kicking his heels in the wind. So ye’re to go out of England, Master James, never to return. Ye’re to go to Jamaica.” Burnham’s courage flinched. He remembered the ring which he had taken from John Trimmer and sold to the Jew in Cheapside. Was he to be transported to those islands of despair? He turned a colorless face and a sickly grin upon the stalwart William Stow. “It’s what ye deserve, and no more,” said Stow, comichooks.com