Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 206 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 206: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a page of running verse poetry from *Albions England* (Chapter 37, Book 7), printed in early modern English with archaic spelling and typography. The text depicts a supernatural narrative: an angelic figure (appearing to be a demonic entity) deceives a character called "Moole," offering earthly pleasures and granting wishes. The narrator accepts and requests wings, which the angel provides. The narrator then attempts flight at twilight with newfound wings, but discovers they are leather-like and inadequate. A swallow encounters and mocks the narrator to other birds, forcing retreat into hiding. The passage concludes with the narrator lamenting their transformed, degraded condition and inability to reverse their shape.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a ven eit “AUB BI ONS 5 'E EN IOL A} iD. | Dre heard vs sand vnhid himfelfe,and fhinde in rich array, A And feem’d a glorious Angell,and full gently thusdid fay. (much, T ‘hat {lancrous blind bace-minded Moole,friend Moufe,deceiues thee And prates of me, of Hell,and Earth more than is fo or fuch: B eleeue him not but rather do beleeue thine eyes,and fee Ifany earthly pleafure i is vntripl'd heere with mee. Then fhewde he {ights(which fince I found illufions to beeayy:s O F greater worth than Earth affords,or I haue Arcto fay : Nay,inore,he bids me aske what fo I would,and I fhould haue it: < Then did I paufe,bethinking what wasrareftI mightcraueit. ~ | My Holes were ftor’d with corne and croomes,on Earth I walkt at will, Andi in her Bowels now had feene indifferently my fill, \ pon it,nor within it,not fufficing to my pride, perce winges,fcarce asked when they grew on either fide. - Short leaue I tooke,& mounting left the Hell-God and the Moole, And foared to the open Aire through many a fory hoole, ‘Tewasat Twilight,and the Birds were gone to routt, but I lochaured with the noueltie of flight)vnweared flye, A nd hadthe Sunne been vp,I ween(fuch pride bewitche my wit To Egel-fie niy felfe)I had affayd to foare tot: , Not fecing that my limber wings were Leather-like vnplun’ de, But at the Dawning alfo I of wing-worke {till prefum’ de. T ‘he {wallow(ahd I weene it was this Sallowes father)he aw as earlieft vp, with hiro I met,and he admired me. Thild bim pine wiftly he (uruaies me round abour, And laftly knowing who I was,did giue me many a out, And fled to tell the other birds what vncouth Fowle was bred, Who flockt to fee me,till w ith gibes and girds | witht mebded. 1 hen, fhifting out of. (i ight,I hung till Twilight in a hoole, Transformde,derided, hunger- {pent sana(iminding fill the Mooie) - In vaine I witht reducement of my thape,and (which was worfte) M iy bap was harder than to owne in that diftrefle a Cruft. i ] en ° =