The Wasp — 1914 — page 264: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page appears to be a literary excerpt rather than a cartoon. It depicts a dramatic scene involving military officers named Scovil and Alexander (Burnham), who receive an official letter bearing the Burnham family arms in red wax seals. The passage describes Alexander's emotional collapse upon reading the letter—his face becomes "colorless as death," his jaw sags, and he clutches the letter in apparent distress. Scovil reacts with concern. Without additional context about *The Wasp* magazine's publication date or the specific historical event being referenced, I cannot definitively identify which political or social scandal this satirizes. The military setting and formal correspondence suggest it may reference a court-martial, dismissal, or dishonorable news of some kind affecting a prominent family.