Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 217 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 217: what you’re looking at
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# Analysis of Page **Page Type:** Running prose text (verse narrative) **Content:** This is a page from *Albion's England*, a historical poem, showing verse about charitable giving and clouds as metaphors for different types of alms-givers. The text uses extended metaphors comparing clouds to different classes of people who give charity—some clouds bring helpful rain, others cause harm, some give to the undeserving poor. The passage culminates with a statement about an "Orphant King" whose uncles maintained the realm's stability through religious devotion but whose kingdom began to decline when they fell into dispute. The work appears to be early modern English poetry (not Victorian as assumed), marked by archaic spelling and blackletter typeface typical of 16th-century printing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oi b“— 8 Ie ie ~ ALBIONS ENGLAND: He aye , tae c pe Sf eo begger 2 themfelues and theirs : fay fuch are foolith fice. Some Clouds haile downe their Raine, beat flar, hurt, & helpe notthe | » Thatis,vpbraid who they releeue,& hold théferuile bound. (ground: #4 nl ae bd % ‘ Some Clouds give Snow, that ligh ts and lies amoyfture moyftles fo , Doe thofe thar pkgs God helpe,a and nothing elfe beftoe. Some Cloudes doe thewre into the Seas: fay fuch do giue to fuch Whom Almes makeidie,or belike torecompence as much. Some Clouds with ligttuing, \ ~~ thunder, 8 lowd winds drip downe their -Thati is,piue fildom almes,& hob proclaim’ d & feen,ere taine.(raine: - Some Clouds retayne but forme of clouds, with figure black as Coales — - Thatis,looke bigg Say alfo wharfoere we giue to fehotnert it bee, oO e,Examine long, but Sersptunre/f their doale, Som gracious Cieinds (hed tem prate Shewres on thirftie earth indeed: Thatis,the Orphant, Widdow, Thrall,fuccour,protect and feed. Though giuen in fight of men,ifnot becaufe that men fhould fee, — Batwith Deuotion, yas a worke teach Faith thar cannot fever, | God for fuch cheerefull Almes will be our bounteous Almner euer. Say make 1 not asit weare a Quelt of quere ere Yee giue, _Butgiue yee Almes as men be poore,not as poore men doe liue. - Prouided common Beggers nor difordered Loffels,who Men know pronided for,or can but labour none will doe, Then whom doe fay(for fo is footh) no Creatures worfe defarue, Take you no Orators for them ,but that they hang or ftarue. And thus for this. Our Ouertureto it reduceth mee : The Vneles of this Orphant King,fo long as they agree, - Vphild Religion King ,themfelves,and Realme in happie ftate: Which then began to ruinate when they begun debate. Fa’ al (SO) him ; book ~_—*. 3 : ~ “ > Seiad