Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 56 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 56: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis This is a page of running prose from *The Taking of Helen*, a Victorian penny dreadful (page 44). The text depicts a dramatic scene in which Helen is hidden in a cupboard by a servant girl while two princes—Paris and Nireus—conceal themselves from an approaching soldier in the courtyard. The soldier attempts to summon the girl (named Myrtle) by singing a crude song comparing her unfavorably to "Queen Helen," then calls into the house seeking her. The passage emphasizes suspense and danger as the characters evade detection.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
44 THE TAKING OF HELEN ‘““Come,” Helen said to the girl. ‘‘ You will slip me into some cupboard, will you, with your dresses? I am not very big.’’ The girl led Helen swiftly away into the darkness of the house. Paris stamped on the floor. ‘That girl would sell us all for a silver pin,” he said. “‘T’ll bring her back.”’ _ “She would die for any of us,” Nireus said. ‘‘ Besides, you have to trust her now.” “Thanks to you.” “Do not let us quarrel. Listen. There is a soldier in the courtyard.”’ Someone was indeed in the courtyard and coming to the door with a load that bumped upon him. The two princes backed into a storeroom to avoid being seen. The man came right up to the door, and gave a whistle of invitation, in the hope of calling the girl. As it failed, he sang some lines of a song. “There was a girl called Towzel Head, Her eyes were bright, her lips were red. Queen Helen, naked in her bed, Was not so fine as Towzel Head.”’ As even the song failed to bring the girl, the man came right up to the door, looked in and called to her. ‘Are you there, Myrtle? Are you there? Where have you got to? Are you entertaining all your fine friends?” He listened for half a minute, then muttered to CORNICLOOKS»EO