The Wasp — 1878 — page 415: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains the serialized story "Bertie" by Emma Sara J., a satirical narrative about social pretension and class. The text mocks a character named Bertie through dialogue involving Colonel Melhuishe and Captain Hay, who discuss Bertie's affected mannerisms and dubious aristocratic claims. The satire targets Victorian-era social climbing—specifically how individuals of uncertain breeding attempted to gain respectability through fashionable behavior and manufactured connections. References to "aborigines" and dismissive colonial attitudes reflect period prejudices. The story ridicules Bertie's attempts to impress others and his relationship with Miss Cloquisham, exposing the gap between pretended gentility and actual character. At bottom, a separate piece titled "An Old Man's Sorrow" begins, likely continuing The Wasp's social commentary through narrative satire.