Penny Dreadfuls, 1912 · page 88 of 118
The Medea — page 88: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description 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 scene from Euripides featuring Jason and a Leader character. Jason initially expresses concern for his children's safety and indifference to a woman's fate, but the Leader then reveals devastating news: Jason's sons have been killed by their mother's hand. Jason's final lines express shock and anguish at this revelation. The text is formatted as stage dialogue 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.
72 EURIPIDES JASON. Ye women by this doorway clustering Speak, is the doer of the ghastly thing Yet here, or fled? What hopeth she of flight? Shall the deep yawn to shield her? Shall the height Send wings, and hide her in the vaulted sky To work red murder on her lords, and fly Unrecompensed? But let her go! My care Is but to save my children, not for her. Let them she wronged requite her as they may. \ I care not. ’Tis my sons I must some way \ Save, ere the kinsmen of the dead can win From them the payment of their mother’s sin. LEADER. Unhappy man, indeed thou knowest not What dark place thou art come to! Else, God wot, Jason, no word like these could fall from thee. JASON. What is it?—Ha! The woman would kill me? LEADER. Thy sons are dead, slain by their mother’s hand. JASON. How? Not the children. . .. I scarce under- stand. ... O God, thou hast broken me! GOMING boo cS (E(0)