The Wasp, 1913 · page 40 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **literary excerpt rather than a political cartoon**—specifically a dramatic narrative passage from a serialized story in the satirical magazine *The Wasp*. The text depicts a character named **Burnham** having vivid, drugged dreams where he strangles a man named **Peter Queery**. The passage moves through multiple hallucinatory locations (London lodgings, a Kingston wine-shop, an open boat) before climaxing in Queery's actual death. The narrative suggests **revenge or murder**, with references to **Kitty Trimmer** (possibly a love interest) and drugged punch—implying the killer was incapacitated during the crime but still managed his violent act. Without additional context about *The Wasp's* satirical targets or the larger story, the specific identities and political references remain unclear. This reads as **sensationalized crime fiction** rather than direct political satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 39 to him. In his sleep he dreamed that he had Peter Queery’s windpipe beneath his fingers; and he made the most of his opportunity, you may be sure. But the dream was vastly confused and delayed in its action, for dregs of the drugged punch still moved sluggishly in his blood. Now he and Peter were in his London lodgings, flat on the carpet, and as his fingers gripped Peter’s throat he heard the laughter of Kitty Trimmer. And now they were on the brick floor of a wine- shop in Kingston, and Peter’s face was like a pur- ple bladder. Now he was in the open boat, his fingers still pinched deep in Queery’s throat—and Queery was dead. He laughed in that lifeless, hideous mask, then loosed his cramped fingers and raised his own face to the sky. The stars were gone, and the whole arc of heaven was awash and pulsing with fearful, bright lights. Burnham rose to his feet and shouted to the flaming sky. And all around him the sea was like a sea of fire; and clean-cut against the red Comichooks.com