Penny Dreadfuls, 1900 · page 100 of 142
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and the Salaman and Absal of Jami — page 100: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a page of running prose poetry from what appears to be a Victorian literary work titled "Salámán and Absál." The page contains two distinct poetic passages: the first a brief three-line stanza about seduction, followed by a longer italicized poem describing how a woman named Zulaikha builds a mirror-lined chamber to surround a man named Yúsuf with her image, then summons him and removes her veil to tell him a tale of love. Throughout the passage, Yúsuf cannot escape seeing Zulaikha's reflection wherever he looks. The text is ornately formatted with decorative floral borders typical of Victorian printing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SALAMAN AND ABSAL. She went about soliciting his eyes, Through which she knew the robber unaware Steals in, and takes the bosom by surprise. Burning with her love GULAIKHA Built a chamber, wall and ceiling Blank as an untarmsht morror, Spotless as the heart of Y tsur. Then she made a cunning painter Multiply her vmage round tt ; Not an inch of wall or ceiling But re-echoing her beauty. Then amid them all in all her Glory sat she down, and sent for Yusur—she began a tale Of Love—and lifted wp her veil. Bashfully beneath her burning Eyes he turn’d away ; but turning W heresoever, still about hom Saw Zvuvaikua, still ZULAIKHA, | Still, without a veil, ZOLAIKHA. } (C(O) MIGDoOo <S (CO) mn