Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 47 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is page 35 of running prose from a Victorian penny dreadful titled *The Taking of Helen*. A young lad from the Curlews approaches a man named Nireus to ask a favor: if Nireus travels to Lord Halys' estate, would he mention seeing the lad to a girl who lives nearby? The lad reveals he left the area because the girl married the grieve (estate manager), and he asks Nireus if he saw the grieve's wife—described as having short brown hair and meeting eyebrows. Nireus denies seeing her, and the lad departs to rejoin his comrades waiting for daylight.
📄 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 35 The lad from the Curlews came up to the cart and saluted. “Begging your pardon, sir,’ he said, “but would you be going up to Lord Halys’ again, to the Curlews?”’ “Not again,’ Nireus said. “I hope to sail to-day.” “Tf you should be going, sir (for things fall out very differently in life from what one plans) perhaps you could tell someone that you saw me.” “Gladly, if I go there,’ Nireus said. ‘‘Do you mean your mother?”’ “No, sir,” the lad said. “It was not my mother whom I meant. But a girl who lives near there. There’s no place like that place, is there, sir?’’ “No place in the world.” “For if it is lonely, itisfree. It is free, isn’t it, sir?”’ ‘As free as the birds above it.”’ “T was a great fool,’ the lad said. “But there was a girl up there. She married the grieve, so I came away. I could not stay there after that.”’ “T am sorry that you had that trouble.”’ ‘“T suppose you did not see the grieve’s wife, sir, while you were there? She had brown hair, cut short, like a boy’s, and eyebrows that met.”’ “I did not see her,’’ Nireus said. ‘“No, of course you would not have, sir. Thank you, sir.’ He saluted, turned his horse, and mixed again with his comrades, who were loitering there for daylight. | CORNICLO® SS) (CO)