The Wasp, 1913 · page 279 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 279: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a narrative passage rather than a cartoon, presenting a character named Alexander defending his disreputable brother James to an audience of gentlemen. The context involves maritime crime: James has apparently turned to piracy or smuggling (the "hellish trade"). However, Alexander argues for a measure of redemption—James once heroically assisted the ship *Tartar* in a naval engagement against a French vessel, with help from a white schooner. James communicated his identity via a bottled letter, but Alexander's wife (then his fiancée) destroyed it to protect the family reputation. The social satire centers on class anxiety: the gentlemen pitied Elizabeth for marrying "a Burnham," suggesting the family name carried shame. Alexander's plea essentially argues that even criminals deserve *some* credit for honorable acts, however rare—a nuanced defense that likely mocked Victorian attitudes toward morality and redemption among the disreputable classes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ee ~ Q74 ‘THE WASP gentlemen even pitied Elizabeth for having married a Burnham. James was a black disgrace to his family. James deserved hanging by the neck. But, by Heaven, there was something to be said in James’s favor! “T suspected something of the kind,” said Alex- ander. “I knew that James had gone wrong. -In fact, I knew that he had—had taken to this hellish trade. You have all—heard about the Tartar’s fight with the French twenty-two, and of the white schooner that came into the affair and saved the sloop? That_was this same brother of mine. He threw a letter aboard in a bottle, with his name to it; but Scovil kept it quiet, for my sake. I showed the letter to my wife—she was not my wife then— and she destroyed it. He came to the help of the Tartar—and, though he deserves hanging a dozen times over, he has that affair to his credit. That is all, gentlemen. You will forgive me, I know, for attempting to show that this infamous brother of mine is a shade less infamous than other murderers and robbers. I thank you again for your considera- tion.” Comichooks.com