The Wasp, 1913 · page 77 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 77: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be **narrative fiction rather than political satire or editorial cartoon**. It's a serialized story titled "The Wasp" depicting a dramatic boat scene: Burnham and a young man named Todd are rowing toward Charles Town while the governor's daughter rests under a sail. The intense heat causes Todd to collapse at the oars. Burnham, showing restraint and compassion, tells Todd to stop rowing and rest—notably suppressing an oath out of respect for the young woman's presence. The passage emphasizes character through action: Burnham's concern for propriety and kindness, Todd's physical exhaustion, and the harsh environment. Without additional context about this particular Wasp publication's date and editorial stance, I cannot identify specific political references or determine if "the governor's daughter" or other figures carry satirical meaning beyond the narrative itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
716 THE WASP The boat was then swung around and run into deeper water. .Burnham and the lad scrambled aboard and manned the oars. They pulled toward Charles Town, at a distance from the shore of about half a mile. There was some briskness to the wind, but the heat from the downglaring heavens and upglaring sea was terrific. (The governor’s daughter dozed in the shade of the tented sail. The man and the boy breathed heavy- ily as they pulled on the oars. .The sweat hopped out on their skins and ran like quicksilver. Their eyes shrank from the encompassing shimmer and glow, and when they turned their faces to the island it rocked and swayed in their sight as if a giant of earthquake shouldered the bases of its green hills. The lad Todd failed in his stroke. Burnham turned and glanced at him, and saw that he had sagged forward across the grip of the oar. An oath trembled on the man’s lips; but he remembered the young woman in time to restrain it. “Unship your oar and lie down, lad,” he said kindly. Comichooks.com