The Wasp, 1913 · page 345 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 345: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **literary excerpt rather than a cartoon or satire**. The page presents prose fiction, likely a serialized story in the magazine. The text describes **Master Gunner Fitzwalter**, a naval officer serving under **John Benbow** (a historical English admiral). The passage establishes Fitzwalter's character through physical description—meticulous in dress, disciplined, quiet, and devoted to his duties commanding five guns aboard a warship. A character named **Du Casse** (a French naval commander) is mentioned as a rival force to pursue. This reads as historical naval fiction, possibly depicting a 17th or 18th-century naval engagement. The reference to Benbow, who was a real historical figure, suggests this may be fictionalized history or adventure fiction serialized in *The Wasp*. Without visual cartoons present, this page functions as **text-based entertainment content** rather than satirical commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
338 THE WASP fight your guns, that is all I ask. I’m in no posi- tion to look a gift-horse in the teeth. I am short of men, devilish short—and Du Casse is some- where to the south, with five ships and four frigates, and I must be after him.” So James was given command of five guns on the upper deck, forward, on the starboard side. Though the discipline of the flag-ship was like iron, rules were few; and so it happened that Master Gunner Fitzwalter messed as frequently with the midshipmen and junior lieutenants as with his brother master gunners. He always wore linen; and, moreover, his linen and his lace were always scrupulously clean. The humble Todd saw to that. His coat was of decent blue, his breeches of spotless white, his stockings of black silk. He wore no wig, but his hair was always neatly tied and freshly powdered. He might have worn a full-bottomed wig for all John Benbow would have cared—so long as he attended to his duties. At his side he carried a straight, slender sword with a silver hilt He talked little, read much, and nursed his five guns a Comichooks.com