The Wasp, 1913 · page 254 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 254: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a serialized fiction story rather than a political cartoon. The text describes a naval chase involving three ships: a brig, a sloop, and a schooner identified as the *Wasp*. A character named Scovil spots the *Wasp*—apparently a known vessel—approaching during an engagement with what he calls "the Frenchman." Scovil expresses frustration that the *Wasp* will merely observe the conflict rather than participate, leaving "no pickings" (plunder/prizes) for her crew afterward. Without additional context about *The Wasp* magazine's publication date or the source material being serialized, I cannot identify the specific historical naval engagement or political allegory this may reference. The italicized ship names and period language suggest 19th-century maritime fiction, possibly involving privateers or naval warfare, but the exact satirical or political point remains unclear from this excerpt alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 249 SEE ERE SSS en NSEC SRS The brig had the heels of the sloop, but the chase _ promised to be a long one. Several hours before “noon a third sail appeared on that vast stage, this one over the shimmering horizon to leeward. It grew swiftly, working up the wind toward the chase. To -Scovil’s anxious glass it soon disclosed itself as a schooner, low and spotless, white of hull, and heavily sparred. The schooner came on until she was within half a mile of the sloop. Then she swung to the right and fled away across the wind. The curious and anxious watchers aboard the Tartar could see the gaily besashed and armed fellows on her long decks and the gleam of the big, unjacketed gun in her bows. “Tt is that confounded Wasp, as I live!” ex- claimed Scovil to a middy at his elbow. ‘“We’ve found her at last; but I fear me we'll derive little satisfaction from the discovery. She'll hang off and onto watch the fun, I suppose; but there’ll be no pickings for her after the Frenchman has done with us.” “The Frenchman has to catch us before he can ~ Comichooks.com