The Wasp, 1913 · page 263 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 263: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be a satirical letter rather than a cartoon. "Scovil" reads a communication from "James Burnham" to his brother Alexander, likely a fictional or pseudonymous figure. The satire targets James's shameless hypocrisy: he claims to have abandoned the "exportation of rum and sugar" for a more gentlemanly maritime occupation, yet his language ("following at sea...the same gentlemanly calling") strongly implies he's now engaged in **piracy or smuggling**—activities his family founder apparently practiced "on land in the days of old." The joke lies in his self-deception and family pride: James frames criminal activity as an honorable tradition and "considerable success," while dismissively rejecting Miss Elizabeth as beneath his "tastes." This mocks both pretentious class consciousness and moral hypocrisy among the wealthy. The specific context—references to Nevis, Captain Nash—remains unclear without additional historical information about The Wasp's targets.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
258 THE WASP This is what Scovil read: “My DEAR ALEXANDER: “T am glad to have been of some service to you and their gracious majesties to-day. I regret that my affairs made it necessary for me to leave Nevis before your arrival. Be good enough to give my warmest and most respectful regards to Captain Nash and his charming daughter. “Miss Elizabeth is beautiful and clever, but of too superior a type of woman to greatly appeal to me. My tastes are low, and that’s the truth. When you next communicate with our honored father, kindly let him know that his devoted son James is estab- lished in an-occupation much better suited to his inherited talents than the exportation of rum and sugar. He will doubtless be pleased to hear that I am following at sea, and with considerable suc- cess, the same gentlemanly calling which the founder of our family followed on land in the days of old. “I have the honor to remain, my dear Alexander, your affectionate brother, “JAMES BURNHAM.” Comichooks.com