Penny Dreadfuls, 1865 · page 79 of 204
Rose Mortimer; Or, The Ballet-Girl's Revenge — page 79: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an illustrated page from the penny dreadful "Rose Mortimer; Or, The Ballet-Girl's Revenge" (page 73). The upper half contains a wood-engraved illustration depicting an interior scene with a woman in distress kneeling before seated figures, while three other figures observe from a doorway. Below the image, under the heading "[FOUND DEAD.]," runs prose narration describing a desperate swimmer attempting to reach shore while supporting an unconscious girl, struggling against exhaustion and slippery conditions as he tries to pull both of them to safety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ROsE MORTIMER 3 OR, THE BALLET-GIRL'S REVENGE. yD - “i a i NK <5 aur \ \ © ~ s\ TESA, <Z ee ae ae FF See 73 SSQXxr SS SS N SS ZEEL (ahhh Z Y fl LESS IL Va) i ZN } i i ) ' | LP i "I ~ C Sh, fy \ M({| BZ =e Ayer LEE LEZ Vir A) bei Tr, EEE_ COA “ E_ —N = =e ~ [FOUND DEAD.] The river’s bank was not more than ten feet off— nay, not so much. As many strokes would bring him safe to land. Boldly, then, he struck out with his one disengaged hand for shore. Little, and fatally slow, was the progress he made. Still he kept to it. Half a dozen strokes had lessened the distance by one-half, and he grew faint. It could not be that he was doomed to failure, and worse—to death, after having achieved thus much. No, no—that would be too cruel, too horrible by far. His breast heaved up and down, and the agony in the bold swimmer’s face was painful to behold. na CONCH OO But two strokes more. He sank a little. Now his whole body was nearly immersed. His head went under once, but still he held the res- cued girl aloft. : Then he rose up, with a prodigious exertion, made a wild dash at the bank, and touched it. The hold was painfully slippery. His grasp, too, lacked force, and the slimy weeds slipped through his fingers. ‘Ah! cried the desperate swimmer. . One more effort failed, when anidea occurred to him. He resigned his hold of the bank, and suddenly ap- plied both hands to his insensible burden. <S) nil