The Wasp, 1913 · page 210 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 210: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains no visible cartoon or illustration—it's prose dialogue from what appears to be a serialized story in *The Wasp*, a 19th-century American satirical magazine. The passage depicts a conversation between a character named Burnham and a first mate ("Slim Sam") aboard a ship. The mate explains that the captain (Trimmer) has grown weak and fearful due to romantic involvement with a woman smuggled aboard—violating company rules. The mate cynically observes this weakness invites further trouble from crew members like Welsh Owen, who recently committed violence (a knifing) but escaped punishment. The satire likely critiques how romantic entanglement compromises leadership and enforces shipboard hierarchy. Without knowing the larger serial context or publication date, the specific social commentary remains unclear, but the passage emphasizes maritime discipline and the danger of rule-breaking aboard vessels.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 205 if I am a parson’s son. Excuse me, I’ll just lie down an’ take a nap.” Slim Sam plucked Burnham by the sleeve and drew him away from the group squatting about the door of the galley. Burnham wondered, for though he had frequently felt the first mate’s darkling glance upon him he had never before been ad- dressed by him. “Trimmer made a mistake,” said the mate in a curiously thin and gentle voice. “He loosed his grip; he weakened. He let Welsh Owen go unpun- ished after the knifing, though yesterday he would have struck him down with his own hand. He is afraid ; and, once a man shows fear of trouble, trou- ble courts him. It is the wench, doubtless. He is a fool about women. He turned a blind eye to Welsh Owen so’s not to draw attention to himself and the woman. It is against the rules of our company to keep women aboard this schooner—and a wise rule, too!” “And yet the incident seemed to pass unre- marked,” replied Burnham. Comichooks.com