Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 42 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose poetry from what appears to be *Albion's England*, a narrative poem. The text recounts classical mythology: Hercules defeats the tyrant Busiris in Egypt and is sacrificed on an altar, bringing rain and joy to Memphis. He then returns to Thebes, marries King Creon's daughter Megara, and attends a wedding feast at Thessaly for Pirithous, where centaurs—drunk and unruly—disrupt the celebration and abduct the bride Hippodame. The archaic spelling and typography (long 's' characters) indicate an early modern or Victorian reprint of older material rather than original Victorian penny dreadful content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- "LDR S 5 "EN GL AND. d For loffe of whom the craftie Queene did often forrowes faine, “Ceafe (Madame) faith Hercules, notlong the time fhall be, Butl his tyrannie {hall end,elfeit giue end tome. a ie forrowes did not tith her ioy,when he had given confent a _Tovndertake that deathfull caske : for death was it fhe ment. Now Herealesin AEgy pt meetes Bufirisand his Crew, ~ When fodainely with rhaine affault on bim the Giant ew: q _ Suppofing to haue dealt with him,as he had done before. ae | Wich other Strangers. Hereules valonely and no more _ Dotake his parr,with skathful! {troakes beftird his Club fo well, In battering of the Tyrants bones,that itrengthleffe downe he fell. _ Then did hekill and chafe away his lewd and cruell traine, Till bearing of no further foe jhe commeth backe againe, ~ And taketh vp the wretched King,t that cryeth out for ayde: And on the Altar, where himfelfe had Strangers often layde, | Himfelfe was made a Sacrifice: and ashisblood did ftaine q The Altar,euen at that fame time there fell a ioyfull raine. With ended drought, and Tyrants death , acommon ioy befell, Andallin Mempbiseotertaine the vnkuowne Champion well : _ From thence returning backe to Thebes he there a while did dwell. Ing Creons daughter Adegara,at 7 hebeshe did efpoule: To cotitenace their wedding feaft did watnor knights,nor prowle 3] Which triumphs ended whé the knights {nould thence depart Bal Pirithous tohis wedi ling bids themall,and names the day {| ~ Wherein to meete at Th2/falie + to sich did all confent,, ‘And atthe time concluded of at Theale conuent, — Amidtt their cheere, the folemne feaft the Ceataures did difqueat: ~ Whom by no meanes the Noblestheare to patience mightintreat.. _ For they an hundred Gyants {trong with drinking whitled well, _ Amoneft their cups,from words to blowes,.and worfer dealings fll: ae rd ( too outragiousatthelatt,fierce EurytistheirGuide) i jj WV coeucrennty they: rauifh then Hippodamethe bride, G Natasa Al : bol = 4