Penny Dreadfuls, 1866 · page 237 of 400
Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 237: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis This is an **illustrated page from a Victorian penny dreadful serial**, showing both a wood-engraved illustration and running prose text below it. The image depicts a scene titled "[DICK TURPIN ASTONISHES OLD MATTHEW]" showing two men in what appears to be a bar or inn—one in military dress holding a glass, the other in civilian clothes with a plate. The text describes Dick Turpin riding his horse Black Bess across ploughed fields at night when a parish constable suddenly shouts at him to stop, threatening to "take you up." The passage emphasizes the moon's dim light and Turpin's predicament as he realizes the field's heavy, waterlogged condition makes escape difficult. This is installment No. 202, with No. 203 promised for the following Monday.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
5 a ~ _ ‘ a $$ — = * | Fax a... A g . “ > - Pir. . Po ty 4 PP * lee an - *,. kh edie: > A ‘ , - — : mee Fai. - ~ > © a x ‘. - [ at ff ty d, Nal oY Ng wun Mins wl fori Lh: MOEN VAM “ly RS | ae a WHA, Hale mw 7) OAR TERe YY ’ WA ‘ WO) 5, harlow f ; y See + <A — S, fly Se -Vo—S Po Ls ' ‘4 J ab ie! age WEES SF Se TAGS. Rd pea ot | het ees « ry. ee ite Se = Re *e t, eet ? 7 * : , . an « a . « oe af Jp wed - , * ~- " 7 cs ~ Me en ey es . AS ae ab ; - 3 , ; ; ae — es - xin “an 7 : as , - #.. oa 2 . THF KNIGHT OF THE ROAD, 1609 ara is WEY ~ Ae NAO SS. SSSR a [DICK TURPIN ASTONISHES OLD MATTHEW. | Despairing at last of coming to a conclusion just at present, he exclaimed : “On, Bess, old lass—forward! Now there’s plenty of time before us, and I must trust to chance to put something in my way.,”’ Just then Black Bess was crossing a smooth, well- kept meadow of vast extent. Coming to a low hedge, which divided it from another field, she rose freely in the air, and alighted in safety on the other side. « But the manner in which she came down made Dick aware of something which he might have ascertained before, had not his thoughts been so preoccupied. This was that the second field had been ploughed up, and, owing to the rain which had lately fallen, was now in a very heavy condition indeed, 8 discovery, however, was not made until too late, No. 202.—Buack Bzss, . 4 No. 203 will be Published next Monday. for such was theimpulse Black Bess had gained, that it was impossible to rein her up all at once, Dick could see the opposite side of the field, and find- ing there really was not far to go, he resolyed to push on rather than turn back, All at once, however, a loud voice struck upon his ears. ** Hoi—hoi!’’ cried some one—* hullo, there! What are you doing? Turn back—turn back, I say, or I will take you up!’’ Dick looked in the direction from which these sounds appeared to come, and then he caught sight of a stout man, attired in the dressof a parish constable, running hastily towards him, Although the moon was not shining, yet a certain por- tion of her light found its way from the clouds, and so diffused a kind of dim radiance over the earth, so that PRICE GCoOmicbools Gor