The Wasp, 1918 · page 271 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 271: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be **prose narrative rather than a cartoon**—likely from a serialized pirate adventure story running in the satirical magazine *The Wasp*. The text describes James Burnham, a pirate captain, recruiting new crew members after casualties from a scalding incident. Burnham uses charismatic rhetoric to convince "ignorant and unscrupulous mariners" that piracy offers the gentleman's life of fortune. He promises wealth from forthcoming treasure and frames their next action—overthrowing "traitor" John Trimmer—as justified conflict against a treacherous rival rather than honest men. The satire likely mocks both the pirate romanticization popular in contemporary adventure fiction and the manipulative rhetoric used by corrupt leaders to justify violence and recruitment. The emphasis on Burnham's persuasive "trick of argument" and the recruits' eagerness suggests ironic commentary on how easily men are swayed by promises of wealth and moral justification, regardless of the enterprise's actual ethics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
262 THE WASP One of Burnham’s fellows was dying from a scalded face and throat, and two were slightly © wounded. So the brig’s company now numbered twenty—ten old pirates and ten new. _ James addressed all hands. He had a trick of argument that never failed to convince ignor- ant and unscrupulous mariners that the life of a gentleman of fortune was the only one worth living, and that the sure way of succeeding as a gentleman offortune was to follow James Burnham. He spoke briefly, touched lightly on a few of his most amazing deeds, and referred his new comrades to David Jones, Henry Todd, and others for further particulars. Then he spoke of the work and rewards of the immediate future. He explained that, to overthrow the traitor John ~ Trimmer, they might have to increase their company by a score or so from Trimmer’s crew. - But what mattered a score, more or less, when treasure enough to make five hundred men wealthy for life lay waiting to be distributed ? He was cheered as heartily by the recruits as by the old hands. The honest fellows among the recruits—and there were several such—were ~ - delighted to know that they would not be called upon to fight against their own kind, but against a treacherous pirate. : oe