Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 239 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 239: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Content Analysis This is a running prose page from **Albions England** (Book 9, Chapter 46), containing narrative verse rather than a penny dreadful. The text retells the classical myth of Narcissus and Echo: a vain youth falls in love with his own reflection at a fountain, while Echo, a nymph who loves him unrequited, attempts to win his affection through stealth and mimicry. When Narcissus discovers his beloved is merely his shadow and leaps into the fountain to drown, Echo's voice echoes his calls mockingly. The passage concludes by noting that Narcissus's shadow and Echo's voice continue to haunt the world—presenting the myth as a cautionary tale about pride causing plague-like destruction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| | en ALBION “No Nymph fo bie but witht dee howbeit all in vaine: ‘ Who,proud of Natures plentie,hild all others in difdaine : ‘ (Belgeuing that his fhadow wasa Nym oh,and f pake indeed,) 6 hie GLA ND. His felfe-loue wrought his felfe-lofle,& his beauty prou'd hisbaine, ¢ . Till God, who had created Man the faireft Creature, (Howbeit buta fhadowof his proper Feature, | More differing far than Sun-{hine fr6 the Spins felfe-fubftance pure Nareiffws ouer-{corntull pride not longer would indure, e But fro his forme, that pleas’d him moft,his plague did thus procure.) As this fame fond felfe-pleafing Youth flood ata Fountaynes brym, , And proudly fees his {hadow theare,admiring euery lym, | Eccho,an amiable Nymph(long amorous ofhym, But louine vnbeloued)now,at leaft to pleafe her Eye, Conuiaies her felfe,vnfeene,into a Thicket ioyning by, And thear, as ns wich ore: gone with loue as he ore-gone with pride, She hears, atid fees,and would haue pleas’dthree Senfes more befide, And nothing more than every part-thus ftealth-feene, liked her, 4 And nothing lefle than hidden with ynhidden to conferre, f{ For well it had contented then in more then fight to erre, » | Although not meanely did his{corne gainft ither ftomacke fterre. Meane while the Lad(fuch power hath pride mens Senfes to aii My Doats on his fhadow,now fuppos'd to be a Subftance true: And laftly wowes fo formally in words and geftures {weete, _ That Eecho found his error :and,he faying Let vs meete, © Let’s meete,quoth Eccho smockingly: which, hearing he with fi peed i | Did leapei into the Fountaine, whear that Gallant,drowning thus, ath left example how like pride may caufe like plague to vs, a How fmooth-tongu’d Eccho, that for him in al,faue voice,did pines). To quit his fcorne,baind other Foolesalike vain-glorious fine, ck By {moothing them, iS Na/oes tale no purpofe here of mine, But how Wareiffs fhadow and this Ecchos voyc e(though they Hane long bene dead)hauntnow the World, is it we mieane to Pas | i book