The Wasp, 1913 · page 250 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 250: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This passage appears to be from a serialized narrative rather than a standalone cartoon. It describes a scheme where a ship called the *Wasp* is disguised to resemble John Trimmer's schooner, then sent to sea to damage Trimmer's reputation through piracy or misconduct. The text reveals the plot's manipulation: "Slim Sam" befriends James Burnham while verbally attacking the absent Trimmer, calling him dishonest and self-serving. This is classic satirical portraiture of duplicitous behavior—praising one person to their face while sabotaging another's character behind their back. Without seeing the illustration or knowing the magazine's date and local context, the specific identities of these figures remain unclear. However, the satire targets hypocrisy, maritime fraud, and character assassination—presumably referencing real San Francisco shipping disputes or political rivalries of *The Wasp*'s era (likely late 19th century).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP : 245 a secluded harbor, and the work of painting her hull snow-white to the water-line was commenced. Her name was painted out and she was touched up cleverly here and there so as to look exactly like Trimmer’s schooner. She soon put to sea again, and immediately set about adding to the-terrible reputation of the Wasp. Slim Sam treated James Burnham with the ut- most friendliness and respect; and while he patted James with the palm of his hand, figuratively speak- ing, he constantly slapped the absent Trimmer with the back of it. He talked a great deal about John Trimmer. He was sorry to have to confess that Trimmer was not only a hog, but a dishonest hog. Trimmer thought of nothing but lining his own nest. He distrusted John Trimmer ; and so on, and so on. Comichooks.com