The Wasp — 1914 — page 216: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains narrative text only—no visible cartoon or illustration. The passage describes a ship captain's compromised authority after he's been caught in some kind of misconduct (the text references "Welsh Owen" and a "knife-play" incident where the captain failed to act decisively). The narrative suggests the captain's men have lost respect for him, learning he took "Hellfire Hicks's mistress and wardrobe" without proper authorization. A subordinate named Trimmer recognizes the morale problem but stays silent. The passage concludes with Wells muttering that "The wench has made a monkey of him already." The satire appears to mock leadership failure and the sexual impropriety undermining a captain's command, though without seeing the original illustrations or surrounding context, the specific historical or contemporary references remain unclear.