Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 242 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 242: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Page This is a page of running prose verse from Chapter 47 of what appears to be *Albions England*. Two widows, sitting by a fire, discuss how fashion and behavior have changed over their lifetimes—specifically lamenting the elaborate, costly clothing and adornments now worn by women (including corked shoes, silk stockings, gold-edged garters, embroidered petticoats, periwigs, masks, and feathered plumes). The passage nostalgically contrasts their modest youth with present extravagance, questioning whether such vanity is lawful. **Note:** This is NOT a Victorian penny dreadful but rather early modern poetry (likely 17th century, given the text style and spelling conventions).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SE SRSESH SSES sSrS NSESS0 Se STS ESRe|) 4 7 HE Younger of thefe widdowes (for they aeye| both had thrife been fo) Hiv : ove {| Trotsto the Elders Cottage, hers but little di: fine fttancefro, i ij Theare, cowring ore two flicks a-croffe, burnt ataftnoakie Stocke, Fe They chat how Young-men them in youth,& ‘3 they did young-men mocke, | -Andhow fince three-fcore yeeresa-goe(they aged foure-fcore now) -Men,women,and the world,weare chang,d in all,they knew not how, When we were Maids ¢ quoth th’one of them) wasno fuch new-found -Yeat feru’d I Gentles,feeing {tore of daintie Girles befide, (pride, Then wore they Shooes of eafe,now of an inch-broad,corked hye: Blacke karfie ftockings,worfted now,yea filke of youthiulft dye: Garters of Lyftes,but now of filke,fome edged deepe with gold: With coftlier toyes,for courfer turnes.than vs'd,perhaps,of old, Fring’d and ymbroidred Petticoats nowbegge: But heard younam‘d, Till now oflate,Busks ,Perrewigs,Maskes,Plumes of feathers fram’d, Supporters,Pooters, Fardingales aboue the Loynesto waire, That be fhe near fo bombe-thin, yet the crofle-like feem’s four-{quaire: Some Wines, grayheaded, fhame not lockes of youthfull borrowed Some,tyring Arte,attier their heads wich onely Treflesbaire: (haire:” / Some(groffer pride than which, thinke Ino pafled Age might fhame) By Arte,abufing Nature,heads ofantick’t hayredo fram. | 3 Once lack’t each forefaid Tearme, becaufe was lacking once the toy, ) — And lack’t we all thofe Toyes and Tearmes it were no griefe butioy : But lawfull weare it fome be fuch,(hould all alikebecoy? o Ei ow Jf % Bt li _)) *comicbooks.cor