The Wasp, 1913 · page 359 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 359: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a letter from Admiral John Benbow praising a gun captain who died heroically during a four-day naval battle against M. du Casse. The satire's point emerges in the final paragraphs: Benbow commends the officer for fighting "like a hero and died like a gentleman"—**despite** acknowledging the man's questionable past ("however he may have fought and lived in the past"). The joke targets Victorian hypocrisy about redemption and respectability. The "distinguished device tattooed on his back" likely signals the man was a convict or social outcast, yet wartime heroism supposedly erases his previous character. Benbow's formal, sympathetic language—"God have mercy on his soul"—ironically elevates someone society would normally disdain, mocking how war conveniently rebrands disreputable men as patriots when they're useful. The satire critiques both military necessity and middle-class moralism about social standing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
352 THE WASP cause of his ability and devotion to duty, I pro- moted him to the command of all the heavy guns on the starboard side of the upper deck of my flag- ship before we came in touch with M. du Casse. “His work throughout the four days’ battle was of the highest order. He was killed by a shot from the enemy on the morning of the fourth day. He died almost immediately after receiving the wound, fearless to the last, but without hope of the Divine Mercy; yet I cannot think that his prodigious ser- vices to queen and country during those four ter- rific days passed unappreciated by Almighty God. “However that may be, sir, I am glad to be able to report that, in my humble opinion, the gun cap- tain with the distinguished device tattooed on his back, just beneath the blade of the left shoulder, fought like a hero and died like a gentleman—how- ever he may have fought and lived in the past. God have mercy on his soul! “I have the honor to be, sir, “Your humble, obedient servant, “JoHN BENBow, “Admiral of the White.” Comichooks.com