The Wasp, 1918 · page 287 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 287: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains serialized fiction rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a scene of apparent criminal intrusion: a character named James Burnham follows another man (Stanton) into a dilapidated building in a poor neighborhood, then sneaks upstairs toward a room where a woman is heard sobbing. Burnham deliberately disguises himself as drunk before entering. The passage emphasizes the squalor and decay of the setting—"mildew and poverty, of rags and misery"—typical of 19th-century urban slum depictions. Burnham's calculated deception and lack of sympathy ("He felt no pity for the cripple") suggests he's planning some form of exploitation or revenge. Without seeing previous installments or the full narrative, the exact social commentary is unclear, but the story appears to explore themes of urban poverty, moral corruption, and predatory behavior in tenement districts—common subjects in *The Wasp's* satirical fiction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
278 THE WASP — reeling way, with the bearded seaman still on - his track. James noted the incident with Satis- ~ faction, for it suggested to him a plan of conduct for the future. He-felt no pity for the cripple. James must have followed his unsuspecting guide a matter of half a mile through alleys ~ and streets, crooked, narrow, and mean, before | the journey ended. Stanton entered a black | doorway. Burnham heard him stagger heavily up a shaking staircase and beat upon a quaking’ door. The portal opened, a woman cried out faintly and fearfully, and the door was shut with a bang. | - James hesitated for a moment, then entered the house and went noiselessly and cautiously up the decrepit stairs. The damp air of the | place smelled of mildew and poverty, of rags ~ and misery. With his widespread hands | Burnham felt the broken stair-rail on one side | and the broken plaster of the wall on theother. | He saw a thread of light under the door on the _ first landing. | He stood listening to the sound at half-sup- | pressed sobs from: the other side of the door; | then, swiftly assuming the gait and facial ex- — j pression of extreme alcoholic intoxication, he >| pushed open the door and d staggered acrOSS they : | : ootesae n