Penny Dreadfuls, 1812 · page 71 of 258
Psyche, and other poems — page 71: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents "Canto III" of a narrative poem, printed on aged paper with visible foxing. The text is a sustained verse meditation on Love personified as a gentle, noble spirit—describing his virtues (tears softer than April showers, innocence supporting his throne) in the opening stanza, then contrasting these qualities against earthly obstacles in the second stanza: vanity, fraud, suspicion, jealousy, passion, ambition, and avarice all work against Love's benevolent reign. The poem appears to be moralizing or allegorical rather than the sensational content typical of penny dreadful serials, though without further context it's unclear whether this constitutes the entire installment or is embedded within a larger narrative.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CANTO IIT. OH, who art thou who darest of Love complain ? He is a gentle spirit and injures none ! His foes are ours ; from them the bitter pain, The keen, deep anguish, the heart-rending gtoan, Which in his, milder reign are never known. His tears are softer than the April showers, White-handed Innocence supports his throne, His sighs are sweet as breath of earliest flowers, Affection guides his steps, and peace protects his bowers. But scarce admittance he on earth can find, Opposed by vanity, by fraud ensnared, Suspicion frights him from the gloomy mind, And jealousy in vain his smiles has shared, Whose sullen frown the gentle godhead scared ; From passion’s rapid blaze in haste he flies, His wings alone the fiercer flame has spared ; From him ambition turns his scornful eyes, And avarice, slave to gold, a generous lord denies, \ ’ - conicloooks.comnn