The Wasp, 1918 · page 63 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 63: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be **prose fiction rather than a cartoon**—specifically a narrative excerpt from a serialized story. The text describes a character named Burnham discovering an unconscious young woman who has fallen from her horse, recognizing her wealth (indicated by her gold-handled whip) and high social status on an island. The passage's satirical point, typical of *The Wasp*'s style, appears to be **social commentary on male self-interest and class consciousness**. Burnham's relief at finding the woman alive is explicitly stated as being "for his own sake rather than for the lady's"—a cutting observation on masculine opportunism. His satisfaction upon realizing she is "a person of considerable importance" suggests satire of how men's behavior shifts based on a woman's social rank and wealth. Without identifying the story's title or author from this page alone, the narrative seems designed to mock mercenary attitudes and the intersection of romance, class, and economic interest in Gilded Age society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
54 THE WASP swooned. He saw that one side of her white — skirt was soiled with red earth, and guessed that she had met with an accident while riding. The handle of her little whip was of solid gold: therefore she must be a person of considerable importance in the island. His face cleared and his eyes brightened with satisfaction. He knelt, raised her limp form gently with his right arm across her breast, and turned her so that he could see her face. He saw that she was young and attractive, though of a startling pallor. Her eyes were closed and she seemed not to breathe at all. A thin trail of blood moved slowly upon her white forehead from a small, bruised cut. Burnham pressed a hand against her left cae | and felt the faint stirring of her heart. He was mightily relieved at that, but for his own sake rather than for the lady’s. He lifted her bodily _and carried her to his resting-place in the edge of the whitewood grove, where Henry ‘Todd continued to slumber heavily. Burnham lowered the uhronseens young ae to the sand and bathed her face and hands with the water from the brig. He had no spirits to administer, but she opened her eyes at THD oeKs com |