Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 27 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a page of running prose narrative (page 15) from "The Taking of Helen," a Victorian penny dreadful retelling of classical mythology. The text describes Nireus boarding a ship with Menelaus, competing in athletic games, and then attempting to send a secret message to Queen Helen via fishermen on a beach, offering payment in goats and a jeweled silver cup if they will deliver a rayed shell to her.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TAKING OF HELEN 15 “He said, ‘I leave people about, soldiers, even my queen, about. I can get others. But I do not leave things about, for when they go, they are gone.’ I do as he says, Nireus. I do not leave gloves about.” They went on board the King’s ship, the Scatterer, and at once sailed for Port-of-Maidens. On the way and all night long until the morning, Nireus wondered how he could warn his beloved of the death that was drawing near to her. But he could send no message, since Menelaus had him to sleep in the King’s Room. In the morning there were games at Port-of-Maidens, of swimming, leaping, boxing, wrestling, and the run- ning ofmen. Nireusran against the grandson of Aktor, who beat him by twenty yards, over twelve furlongs. After the racing, Nireus bathed in the sea, wonder- ing how he could send a message to his beloved. He had heard the King say that they would not return to the palace till the morning, but stay to feast and to sleep at Port-of-Maidens. On the beach there were some fishers who had been racing their boats. They had starfish, sponges, and rayed shells. One of them had a rayed shell twisted the left-hand way. ‘Friend,’ Nireus said, “if I buy this of you, will you sail with it at once and bring it to the hands of Queen Helen? Iam Nireus of Symé, and I will give you each a milch-goat for the journey, and, for the shell, a silver cup set with crystals. My steward, who is at the palace, will pay you.” CORIICLO® SS} (C(O)