The Wasp, 1913 · page 34 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page depicts a tavern conversation about piracy, likely set in a colonial American or Caribbean setting. The men discuss notorious pirates—apparently "Major Deck" and "Hellfire Hicks"—and their agents who operate among respectable society. A character named Burnham listens intently to gossip about how pirate operatives infiltrate elite circles (one allegedly posed as a tutor in Bermuda before stealing Dame Murdock's jewels). The satire mocks both the romanticization of piracy as a "gentlemanly occupation" by drunk gentlemen and the anxiety that dangerous criminals hide within respectable appearances. Peter Queery soberly notes piracy's ultimate consequence: execution. The passage satirizes loose talk in taverns and the paranoia about hidden subversives in colonial society—a recurring theme in 19th-century American satire about criminality and social trust.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pS OSCR GREASE SC ee a THE WASP 33 val’s methods are not so modern. He touches noth- ing but British shipping; and he has been known to square up to more than one sloop-of-war and fight for the glory of it. A very gentlemanly occupation, I assure you!” “But there’s hanging at the end of it,” said Peter Queery. “Not if you retire before you are caught,” said another. : Every one had an opinion to advance on the sub- ject; and, as a number of the gentlemen were well along in their cups, much was said that was not exactly to the point. But Burnham gave attention to everything. He was thirsty for information. “Ten to one there’s an agent of Major Deck’s at this very. table,” remarked a thin young man with a yellow face. “And one of Hellfire Hicks’s, too, like as not. Very respectable-appearing men, these pirates’ agents are. There was one who lived a whole year with the governor of the Bermudas as a tutor. He got away one night with Dame Mur- dock’s pearls and diamonds, and they couldn’t find Comichooks.com