The Wasp, 1913 · page 43 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **narrative prose, not a cartoon**. It appears to be from a serialized story in *The Wasp* magazine titled "The Wasp," following a character named James Burnham during an encounter with a shark at sea. The text describes a dramatic moment: Burnham spears a shark, which escapes, then he observes the dawn breaking over the ocean. The prose is deliberately literary and romantic—contrasting the beautiful sunrise imagery with the underlying danger (the "fanged shark" lurking below). Without additional context or images, it's unclear what *The Wasp's* satirical point might be. This could be a dramatic serial story mixed among the magazine's typical political cartoons and satire, or the satire might emerge in subsequent installments. The excerpt itself reads as straightforward adventure fiction rather than social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
42 THE WASP spearwise and plunged it straight down at the great fish. The blade struck, and the shark darted away, with a swirl of water that rocked the boat, into the watery gloom beyond. James Burnham gazed slowly around him. The sun was not yet above the horizon, but the clear ‘flame of it shone like a tide of molten glass be- tween sea and sky. Above this clearest radiance, lay a band of tenderest pink. The sea to the east- ward sparkled and glowed with silver and gold and rose. To the southeast, and not more than three miles away, the swelling sails of a little brig blushed like the petals of a pink rose. Her hull, transfigured by the morning gleam, transfused with the shim- mering of wave and air, glowed upon the seas like an opal. The whole scene was a picture fit for a child’s wonder-book; and it was hard to believe that this same sky had glowered wide with naked heat but a few short hours before, that the. fanged shark swam and waited under that marvelous glimmer Comichooks.com