Penny Dreadfuls, 1912 · page 48 of 118
The Medea — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running dramatic dialogue from what appears to be a classical translation rather than a Victorian penny dreadful. The page presents a confrontation between Jason and Medea, with a Leader (chorus) interjecting. Medea accuses Jason of betrayal and deceit in his marriage, while Jason defends himself and Medea responds with bitter recriminations about his abandonment of his aging foreign wife. The text is formatted as stage dialogue typical of dramatic literature, numbered page 32, with character names in capitals preceding their speeches.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
32 EURIPIDES LEADER. Lord Jason, very subtly hast thou twined | Thy speech: but yet, though all athwart thy will I speak, this is not well thou dost, but ill, Betraying her who loved thee and was true. MEDEA. Surely I have my thoughts, and not a few Have held me strange. To me it seemeth, when A crafty tongue is given to evil men Tis like to wreck, not help them. Their own brain Tempts them with lies to dare and dare again, Till . . . no man hath enough of subtlety. As thou—be not so seeming-fair to me Nor deft of speech. One word will make thee fall. Wert thou not false, ’twas thine to tell me all, And charge me help thy marriage path, as I | Did love thee; not befool me with a lie. JASON. An easy task had that been! Aye, and thou A loving aid, who canst not, even now, Still that loud heart that surges like the tide! MEDEA. That moved thee not. Thine old barbarian bride, The dog out of the east who loved thee sore, She grew grey-haired, she served thy pride no more. Gomicboo cS (E(0)