2.04: Highwayman Dick Turpin is trapped like a rat! Or is he? — Lord Londonderry in the haunted castle! — Johanna rushes to her destiny! - The Penny Dreadful Variety Hour: An Early Victorian Feast of Crammers and Moonshine!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
A tip top evening to all you anglers, pinks of fashion and
nights of the brush and moon. I'm your host, Finn JD John,
welcoming you back to the chafing crib.
It's another Sunday night and that means it's time once again
for the Penny Dreadful Radio Hour.
So unload your stumps and top off your clankers with something
heavy and wet, sluice your ivories like a real act pirate

(00:33):
and swivel your knob my way for another rare noggin of prattery
in the form of the Penny Dreadful Radio Hour is upon us.
Like Hector the dog on a bloody handed Barber, The Penny
Dreadful Radio Hour is the show that carries you back to the
sooty, foggy streets of early Victorian London when the latest
batch of the story papers hit the streets.

(00:54):
Not the fancy ones that cost a whole shilling, but the cheap
scrappy ones that cost a penny. The ones the iron doublets and
laced women call penny bloods orpenny dreadfuls.
Yeah, that's right, The good stuff that like a flicker or two
of light light blue, maybe a little rough, but does the job.
Here's what we've got in store for tonight.
First up, it's chapter 53 of TheString of Pearls, or The Barber

(01:17):
of Fleet St. starring of course,Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber
by James Malcolm Reimer. This dreadful first started
publication in 1846. In this chapter we see Johanna
growing maudlin and overwrought and starting to wallow in self
pity. She is very nearly unbearable,
certainly for us and even for her best friend, Arabella

(01:39):
Wilmot. Arabella suggests maybe they go
for a walk to blow off some steam.
Johanna pounces on the idea and insists on walking directly to
Fleet Street to walk back and forth past Sweeney Todd's shop
door and wring her hands. Will he notice them?
What will happen if he does? Next, we've got chapter 15 of

(02:00):
Black Bess or the Night of the Road, starring, of course,
highwayman Dick Turpin. This one is by Edward Viles and
it started publication in 1866. In this chapter, a large party
of policemen bursts into the room where the thieves are
holding court and go straight toTurpin and sees him.
They're obviously mostly interested in him and could care

(02:22):
much less about all of the othercriminals in the room.
A wild scuffle ensues, in the course of which Turpin manages
to get to the door and, seeing the front door guarded by 4
cops, dashes up the stairs to the bedrooms.
Will he be able to get away ontothe rooftops or will he be
trapped upstairs in this house like a rat?
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(04:30):
And now it is time for Chapter 53 of Sweeney Todd, tonight's
first Flash Academy vocabulary word up the spout.
Add a Pop Me Benjamin up the spout to make rent just in time
for the code snap. Give it a guess.
After the story, you'll find outif you were right.
So where are we? Last week in Chapter 52 of

(04:50):
Sweeney Todd, Sir Richard Blunt descended fearlessly into the
vaults below St. Dunstons Church, trying to
investigate the source of the ferociously awful stink coming
up from underneath. None of the other folks that
came with him wanted to come after him, but after he
threatened the church warden to report his cowardice, the latter
reluctantly agreed to follow, and then went ahead and coerced

(05:12):
the Beadle, Mr. Otten, into coming along.
They were moving pretty slow, going down the stairs into the
vaults, so Sir Richard forged ahead with the torch, apparently
deciding the two were more trouble than they'd be worth,
and they were left in darkness. The church warden, panicked,
grabbed the beetle by the ankle.Both of them tumbled to the
bottom of the steps. Murder, murder, thundered the

(05:34):
beetle in a stentorian voice as the two of them struggled to
rise and flee, succeeding only in impeding each other.
You know, like lobsters pulling each other down from the rim of
a pot. Up in the church, the noise
alarmed Mr. Vickley, the overseer, so much that he ran
into the street to bring a constable.
Fortunately, he ran into Crotchett, who escorted him back
inside, quieted him down, and then descended into the vault to

(05:56):
help Sir Richard, whom he met returning from his foray back in
the church. Crotchett noticed Sir Richard
was ghastly pale and offered himsome Brandy to brace him up.
Clearly he had seen something down there, but he claimed he
had seen nothing. He offered to wait for any other
member of the party who wanted to go below and look about and
confirm that assessment. But nobody wanted to go.

(06:18):
So Sir Richard asked the Workmanto replace the stone.
Then he pulled Crotchet aside and gave him strict orders.
No one was ever to be allowed tobe in Sweeney Todd's shop alone
again. And then he went to Downing St.
to give the secretary of the state a full briefing on what he
saw there. We were left at the door.
So we didn't get to hear what hetold the Secretary of State.

(06:40):
But we'll find out pretty soon. But not today in today's
reading. This chapter is going to change
scenes back to Johanna. Here we go, Chapter 53.
Johanna rushes to her destiny. Johanna had enough confidants

(07:02):
now. Her father, Colonel Jeffrey, Big
Ben and Arabella Wilmot all knewthe sad story of her love.
It will be a hard case if among so many counselors, she hits
upon the worst a most truly hazardous course of proceeding.
But then it is a fault of the young to mistake daring for

(07:23):
ability, and to fancy that the course of proceeding which
involves the most personal risk is necessarily the most likely
to be successful. Colonel Jeffrey was, of all
Johanna Oakley's advisors, the one who was most likely to
advise her well. But unfortunately he had told
her that he loved her, and from that time, with an instinctive

(07:44):
delicacy of feeling which no onecould have to greater perfection
than Johanna, she had shunned him.
And yet the reader who knows theColonel well, knows that quite
irrespective of the attachment that had sprung up in his bosom
for the beautiful and heart stricken girl, he would have
played the part of a sincere friend to her, and stood
manfully between her and all danger.

(08:05):
But it was not to be. From the moment that he had
breathed to her the secret of his attachment, a barrier was in
her imagination, raised between them.
Her father evidently was not onewho could or would advise
anything at all energetic. And As for Big Ben, the
conversation she had had with him upon the subject had been
quite sufficient to convince herthat to take him out of the

(08:28):
ordinary routine of his thoughtsand habits was thoroughly to
bewilder him, and that he was aslittle calculated to plot and to
plan in any emergency as a child.
She would, indeed, have trembledat the result of the
confidential communication to Big Ben, if she had been aware
of the frightfully imprudent manner in which he had thrown
himself into communication and collision with Todd, the

(08:50):
consequences of which glaring act of indiscretion he was only
saved from by Sir Richard Blunt entering the shop, and remaining
there until he been was shaved. Under all these circumstances,
then, Johanna found herself thrown back upon her old friend
Arabella Wilmot. Now Arabella was the worst
advisor of all, for the romanticnotions she had received from

(09:14):
her novel reading imparted so strong a tone to her character
that she might be said in imagination to live in a world
of the mind. It was, as the reader will
recollect, to Arabella Wilmot that Johanna owed the idea of
going to Todd in boys apparel, ameasure fraught with frightful
danger, and yet to the fancy of the young girl, fascinating upon

(09:35):
that very account, because it had the appearance as though she
were doing something really serious for Mark and gestry to
Arabella. Then Johanna went after Ben had
left her, and finding her young friend within, she told her all
that had occurred since they last met.
What shall I do? She said.
I tell my tale of woe, and people look kind upon me, but no

(09:56):
one helps me. Oh, Johanna, can you say that of
me? No, no, not of you, Arabella,
for you see I have come to you again, but of all the others I
can and may say it. Comfort yourself, my dear
Johanna, comfort yourself, my dear friend.
Come now, you will make me weep too, if I see those tears.
What shall I do? What shall I do?

(10:18):
Yeah. Now I am putting on my things.
And as you are dressed, we will go out for a walk.
And as we go, we can talk of theaffair.
And you will find your spirits improved by exercise.
Come, my dear Johanna, don't yougive way.
So I cannot help it. Let's go.
We will walk around Saint Paul'schurchyard.
No, no. To Fleet Street.

(10:39):
To Fleet Street. Why would you wish to add to
your sorrows by again looking upon that shop?
I do not know, I cannot tell you, but a horrible species of
fascination draws me there, and if I come from home, I seem as
if I were drawn from all other places towards that one by an
irresistible attraction. It seems as though the blood of

(10:59):
Mark and Gestry calls aloud to me to revenge his murder by
bringing the perpetrators of it to justice.
Oh, my friend, my Arabella, I think I shall go mad.
Johanna sunk upon her knees by achair and hid her fair face in
her hands as she trembled with excessive emotion.
Arabella Wilmot began to be really alarmed at the

(11:19):
consequences of her friend's excited and overwrought
feelings. Oh, Johanna, Johanna, she cried.
Cheer, hop, you shall go when you please, so that you will not
give way to this sorrow. You do not know how much you
terrify me. Rise, I implore you, we will go
to Fleet Streets and such is your wish.
After a time, Johanna recovered from the burst of emotion that

(11:40):
had taken such certain possession of her, and she was
able to speak more calmly and composedly to her friend than
she had yet done during that visit.
The tears she had shed and the show of feeling that had crept
over her had been a great reliefin reality.
Can you pardon me for thus tormenting you with my grief?
Said Johanna, Do not talk so, rather wonder how I should

(12:02):
pardon you if you tell your griefs elsewhere.
To whom should you bring them but to the bosom of one who,
however she may air in judgment regarding you, cannot air in
feeling. Johanna could only press her
friend's hand in her own, and look the gratitude which she had
not the language to give utterance to.
It being then settled that they were going to go to Fleet
Street, it next became a matter of rather grave debate between

(12:25):
them, whether they were to go asthey were, or if Johanna was to
again equip herself in the disguise of a boy.
This is merely a visit of observation, Johanna.
I will go as I am. Very well, dear.
They accordingly set out, and asthe distance from the House of
Arabella Wilmot's father was butshort to the shop of Sweeney
Todd, they soon caught sight of the projecting pole that was his

(12:47):
sign. Don't be satisfied, said
Arabella, by passing twice, onceup Fleet Street and once down
it. I will, said Johanna.
Todd's shop was closed as usual.There was never an open door to
that establishment, so that it was, after all, but a barren
satisfaction for poor Johanna topass the place where her

(13:08):
imagination, strengthened by many circumstantial pieces of
evidence, told her Mark and Jestry had met with his death.
Still, as she had said to Arabella before starting, a
horrible sort of fascination drew her to the spot, and she
could not resist the fearful attraction that the outside of
Todd's shop had for her. They passed rather rapidly for

(13:29):
Arabella. Wilmot did not wish Johanna to
pause, for fear that she would be unable to combat her feelings
and make some sort of exhibitionof them in the open street.
Are you content, Johanna? She said.
Must we pass a game? Oh, yes, yes, again and again.
I can almost fancy that by continuedly looking at the place
I could see what has become the fate of Mark.

(13:52):
But this is imagination and folly.
It may be so, but when the realities of life have become so
hideously full of horrors, one may be excused for seeking some
consolation from the fairy cave.Arabella, let us turn again.
They had got as far as Temple Bar, but they again turned, and
this time Johanna would not passthe shop so abruptly as she had

(14:13):
done before. And anyone to see the marked
interest with which she paused at the window would have
imagined that she must have somelover there whom she could see,
notwithstanding the interior of the shop was so completely
impervious to all ordinary gazers.
There's nothing to see, said Arabella.
No, not yet. Huh?
Look, look. Johanna pointed to one

(14:35):
particular spot of the window, and there was the eye of Sweeney
Todd glaring upon them. You're observed, whispered
Arabella. It will be much better to leave
the window at once. Come away.
Oh, come away, Johanna. Not yet, not yet.
Oh, if I could look well at thatman's face, I think I ought to
be able to judge if you were likely to be the murderer of
Mark Ingestry. Todd came to his door.

(14:57):
Good God, he is here, said Arabella.
Come away. Come, never, no, perhaps this is
providential. I will, I must look at this man,
happen what may. Todd glared at the 2 girls like
some ogre intent upon their destruction, and as Johanna
looked at him, a painter who loved contrast might have indeed
found a study from the wonderfuldifference between those two

(15:19):
human countenances. They neither spoke for some
moments, and it was reserved forTodd to break the silence.
What do you hear? He cried in a hoarse, rough
voice. Be off with you.
What do you mean by knocking at the window of an honest
tradesman? I don't want to have anything to
say to such as you. He he did it, gasped Johanna.

(15:40):
Did what? Said Todd, advancing in a
menacing attitude while his faceadopted the most diabolical
expression of concealed hatred. Did what stop him?
Stop him, cried a voice from theother side of the street.
Stop poison. He's given me the slip, and I'm
blessed if he won't pitch into that ere Baba stop him.
Paison, Paison. Come here, boy, come here.

(16:02):
Oh, Laurie's nabbed him. I knew he would as sure as a
horse's. I'm legging to gammon a bacon my
eye won't there be a row? He's nabbed the Barber like
ninepence before the Osler at the bullfinch, for it was from
his lips that this speech came, could get 1/2 of it uttered.
The dog, who was known to the readers by the name of Hector,

(16:22):
as well as his new name of Paisen, dashed over the road,
apparently infuriated at the sight of Todd, and rushing upon
him, seized him with his teeth. Todd gave a howl of rage and
pain and fell to the ground. The whole street was in an
uproar in a moment, but the Osler, rushing over the way,
seized the dog by the throat andmade him release Todd, who
crawled upon all fours into his own shop.

(16:45):
In another moment he rushed out with a razor in his hand.
Where's the dog? He cried.
Where's the fiend In the shape of a dog, Old Odd, said the
Ossler, who held Hector between his knees.
Old Odd. I've got him, old chap.
Get out of the way, I'll have his life.
No, you won't, Humph, cried a butcher's boy who was passing.

(17:06):
Why, that's the same dog as saidthe Barber had done for his
master, and never collected, never such a lot of half pence
in his hat to pay the expenses of burying him.
You villain, cried Todd. Go to blazes, said the boy who
killed the dog's master. Who did it.
The people began to laugh. I insist upon killing the dog,

(17:29):
cried Todd. Do you, said the Osler.
Now this, your dog is a particular friend of mine, and
so you see I can't have it done.What do you say to that?
Now, old stick in the mind, if you walk into him, you must walk
through me first. Only just put down that razor,
and I'll give you such a whopping big as you are that
you'll recollect for some time. Down with the razor, Down with

(17:53):
the razor, cried the mob, which was now every moment increasing.
Johanna stood like 1 transfixed for a few moments in the middle
of all this tumult, and then shesaid with a shudder, What ought
I to do? Come away at once, I implore
you, said Arabella Wilmot. Come away.
I implore you, Johanna, for my sake as well as your own.
You've already done all that canbe done.

(18:14):
Oh, Johanna, are you distracted?No, no, I will come, I will
come. They hastily left the spot and
hurried away in the direction ofLudgate Hill.
But the confusion at the shop door of the Barber did not
terminate for some time. The people took the part of the
dog and his new master, and it was in vain that Sweeney Todd
exhibited his rent garments to show where he had been attacked

(18:37):
by the animal. Shouts of laughter and various
satirical allusions to his beauty were the only response.
Suddenly, without a word, Todd then gave up the contest and
retired into his shop, upon which the Osler conveyed Paisen
over the way, and shut him up inone of the stables of the
Bullfinch. Todd, it is true, retired to his
shop with an appearance of equanimity, but it was, like

(18:59):
most appearances in this world, rather deceitful.
The moment the door was closed between him and observation, he
ground his teeth together, and positively howled with rage.
The time will come. The time will come, he said,
when I shall have the joy of seeing Fleet Street in a blaze,
and of hearing the shrieks of those who are frying in the

(19:21):
flames. Oh, that I could with one torch
ignite London, and sweep it in all its inhabitants from the
face of the earth. Oh, that those who are now
without my shop head but one throat, how I would cut it.
He caught up a razor as he spokeand threw himself into a

(19:41):
ferocious attitude at the momentthat the door opened and a
gentleman, neatly dressed, looked in saying, Do you dress
artificial hair? Oh my gosh, you guys, this
chapter is the worst, most unflattering picture of Johanna
in the whole book. The first it opens with her

(20:03):
whining to Arabella. I tell my tale of woe.
People look kindly at me, but nobody does anything like
girlfriend. Say what?
Cousin Ben, listen to your tale of woe and did something.
And almost got murdered for nothing.
That's not good enough for you? Also, exactly what kind of help

(20:24):
does she think anyone can provide?
Help me find out if BAE got smugged by this Barber.
Oh, he totally did. My heart tells me he did.
Or maybe my heart tells me he sank in the ocean or something.
Anyway, there's nothing I can dobut help me anyway, and you're a
bad person if you don't. I really dislike this version of

(20:44):
Johanna. It's like Johanna vacillates
back and forth between the strongest and most courageous
woman in London and being just the most hopeless love fool of
all time. But anyway, I don't know how
Arabella puts up with her. You know who she reminds me of?
Bella Swan in the first few chapters of New Moon.
If you've read that book, if you've read the Twilight books,

(21:06):
she was moping around and doing dangerous and self-destructive
stuff so that Edward would have to come back and rescue her,
basically taking herself hostage.
That's a little unfair to New Moon, actually.
I don't want to pile on to that whole thing either.
I consider Stephanie Meyer, a really underappreciated author.
Kind of funny, really. She's so good at voicing A
naive, slightly alienated high school kid with the superpower

(21:29):
of force of nature class stubbornness, people have
interpreted that character as anunironic self insert and called
this a wish fulfillment story. I guess the movies didn't help
too much with that misimpression.
But yeah, don't get me started. So, yeah, Arabella is like,
let's walk this off. And Johanna's like, great idea,
Let's walk down and stare into the front window of the shop of

(21:52):
the man I think murdered my boyfriend until he comes out
with a razor in his hand. And when he does, she
practically accuses him in the street out loud because
apparently she just can't help herself.
Well, luckily we have lots more chapters in which Johanna can
regain our faith in her intelligence and good sense.
But if we had much more of this kind of thing, I might be

(22:13):
inclined to close the book in disgust.
Who wants to vicariously inhabitthe consciousness of a
protagonist who is this dumb? But fear not, this is Johanna at
her worst. At her best, she is.
Well, just you wait. In the next chapter, the
customer who wants artificial hairdressed guides Todd to his
lodging house, which his wife runs on the doorstep.

(22:35):
Todd learns the gentleman who needs his peruk dressed is John
Mundell, the money lender Todd pawned the pearls off on for
8000 lbs several chapters ago. Sweeney Todd is in a tight spot
now. What will happen when Mundell
sees Todd? Will he recognize in him the
ugly but elegant Duke who pawnedthose priceless but unsellable

(22:56):
pearls and then Morris off like a summer's Zephyr?
What will happen if he does? We'll find out next time.
Well, we'll partially find out. This scene plays out over 2
chapters, but we'll get there before you know it.
Finally, let's get Professor Flash's official definition for
our first vocabulary word up thespout.
I had to pop me Benjamin up for spout to make wreck just in time

(23:18):
for the cold snap. It's a slang phrase for having
an article at the Pawnbrokers inHock.
Pop means the same thing, so this one is kind of doubling it.
You might have heard that Pop goes the weasel is a reference
to having to pawn a flat iron, and then that may be true, but I
think it more likely refers to pawning a coat.
Weasel meant coat in rhyming slang, which is basically the

(23:40):
new cool slang lingo that was adopted after coves like Pierce
Egan introduced all the flats and tulips to Flash.
By 1840 it just wasn't the same.Flash had been like a cool
secret code, but how cool could it be when all the green bags
and shop lobbers were pattering it too?
So a new slang lingo for the cool kids was necessary, and

(24:01):
rhyming slang was it. By the way, green bags are
lawyers and shop lobbers are dressed up flops.
I will probably dig into rhymingslang after I run out of flash.
It is harder, actually. The idea is you take a thing
that rhymes with the thing you're referring to and figure
out the thing that naturally goes with it, and use that word
instead of the word you're slanging.

(24:22):
You follow me. Of course you don't.
I wouldn't have followed that either.
Let me give you an example. You want to ask what time it is,
but you can't just say what's the time love like a basic
bitch. No, you're a cool slang Slinger.
So time rhymes with lime limes go with lemons.
So you could say what's the lemon and lime love?
But that would be a little too on the nose, wouldn't it?

(24:42):
So you drop the lime part and just say what's the lemon love?
That's rhyming slang. Or I had to make rent.
So pop goes the coat becomes I had to make rent.
So pop goes the weasel and stoat.
And from that you get pop goes the weasel.
My personal favorite rhyming slang word term is trouble and
strife. The word that rhymes with is

(25:03):
wife. And so instead of saying quick,
hide the cards, boys, my wife iscoming back, you can say mixing
in little flash because we're cool like that.
Quick stove of books, lads. Here comes trouble.
I like this one especially because I've been calling
Natalie my wife trouble as a sort of jocular pet name ever
since I first heard Buck Owens song Hello Trouble.

(25:24):
So it was a fun coincidence. Isn't this fun?
And by the way, if you, like me,watched It's Bloody Cold, the
Dead Ringers spoof video of the James Blunt one hit wonder song,
you're beautiful. And if you haven't, you should
pause this podcast immediately and look it up on YouTube.
Search for the Dead Ringers. Bloody cold.

(25:44):
Anyway, if you watched it, you may have noticed an odd line in
it. Morrissey keeps telling me James
Blunt is rhyming slang. If you didn't know what rhyming
slang was, you probably thought that was just a quirky line, you
know, kind of funny. But The thing is, you thought
rhyming was a verb. James Blunt is rhyming
something. That something is slang.

(26:06):
But if you knew what rhyming slang was, you knew that line
was actually a compound noun andthat what that line actually
meant was James Blunt is a rhyming slang term for something
that rhymes with blunt. If you knew you were rolling on
the floor when you saw that, andmaybe the next time someone cut
you off in traffic, you stuck your head out the window the the

(26:27):
right side because you're driving a right hand drive car.
If you got that reference and hollered and a drive you stupid
James, and they had no idea you just called them a no, not not
going to say it. I want to avoid having to put an
obscenity tag on this episode. But you know where I was going.
James Blunt is rhyming slang. Whoever wrote that line deserves

(26:47):
an Oscar. Now let's talk about the
Terrific Register. Last week, we got a taste of a
tiny snippet of anecdote from the Terrific Register.
It was a weekly magazine crammedwith stories of the most
sensational nature. The Register dates from before

(27:09):
the penny dreadful heyday. It started publication in the
early 1920s and was collected into a giant 800 page tome in
1825. And it's that collection that
I've gotten hold of in digital form.
I've also gotten my grubby little mitts on a digital copy
of a marketing flyer that they put out.
The publisher did, probably in 1823 or so.

(27:32):
At that time they were charging a whole tuppence for each copy,
according to Kate Ludlow, an editor at the UKF, the History
Press, who in the early 2000 tens edited a whole series of
tales from the Terrific Registerbooks published by the History
Press. As a schoolboy, Charles Dickens
took a copy of the Terrific Register every week, and he

(27:52):
later recalled how it frightenedmy very wits out of my head for
the small charge of a penny weekly, which, considering that
there was an illustration to every number in which there was
always a pool of blood and at least one body, was cheap.
Kate is not kidding and neither was our old friend Baz.
The flyer I mentioned, which I am going to start off by reading

(28:14):
to you, has a really quite graphic illustration on it of a
man tied down supine. Well would appear to be officers
of the Spanish Inquisition torture him with hot branding
irons. Speaking of which, there is a
strong anti Catholic sentiment that comes through loud and
clear in many of these stories, so just be aware of that.

(28:34):
It's also, there's some anti-Semitic hints as well, but
you know, 1825, you're going to find that kind of thing.
You will no doubt remember the Terrific Register story from
last week, which was a little bit edgy.
The one about, well, it was quite edgy actually, the one
about the pious hypocrite praying on impoverished St.
girls. The one I have queued up for you

(28:54):
today though, is kind of meek and mild for the Terrific
Register. It's a ghost story.
Don't worry, we'll get spicy or fair soon.
Before we get into it, though, I'm going to read to you the
advertising copy from this little flyer from the early
1820s. As I mentioned, this
introduction appears beneath thewoodcut of a nearly naked man
being tortured with hot irons while a soldier in Spanish armor

(29:17):
and two robed priests look on approvingly.
It reads as follows. Address.
It has been observed that whatever relates to man must be
interesting to man. While we admit this as an
obvious truth, it must also be admitted that there are some
circumstances with which he may be surrounded, some things in
which he may be engaged, some events in which he may be

(29:40):
involved much more calculated torouse attention and affect the
feelings than others. It appears to us that those
awful calamities by which he is frequently overtaken by the Fiat
of heaven, or the resolves and decrees of bloody minded men,
are of this description. The afflictions which our fellow
creatures have been obliged to embrace, and the manner in which

(30:02):
they have conducted themselves in their extremity, have always
been objects of natural curiosity, and deep and
melancholy interest, and ever will remain so, while man is
made of penetrable stuff. Sympathy is the characteristic
of our better natures, and he whose mind is rightly
constituted, whose heart, to usea homely phrase, beats in the

(30:22):
right place, must, from the verynecessity of his nature, joy
with the joyous, and sorrow withthe sorrowful.
Sensible Of this truth we were satisfied that a work in a cheap
form, that presented the public from time to time with a body of
human misery, such as was never before brought under one head,
would excite a general and a lively interest, and meet with

(30:43):
their sanction and support. Our expectations have not been
disappointed, for a patronage has attended our efforts, we
believe unprecedented. That's quite a sales pitch.
A body of human misery such as never before was brought to
under one head. So then, on the obverse side of
this flyer, we have the contentsof the 1st 8 numbers.

(31:06):
Contents of #1 Dreadful execution of Damien's for
attempting to assassinate Louis,the 15th King of France, with an
engraving. The Jews leap.
The marine Spectre, an account of a family who were all
afflicted by the loss of their limbs.
Universal pestilence. Punishment of the canout in

(31:27):
Russia. Immolation of human beings.
The cruel infanticide. Force of imagination.
Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, the Radiant Boy, an apparition
seen by the late Marquis of Londonderry.
We're doing the Radiant Boy today.
Anecdote concerning the execution of King Charles the
First. Extraordinary instances of

(31:48):
second sight. Horrors of a guilty conscience.
Apparition of Martial Sachs. Awful legacy.
Contents of #2 Horrible murder of a child by starvation with an
engraving. Miraculous escape from the
Inquisition. A murderer discovered by
touching the dead body. Miracle in favor of innocence.

(32:09):
Superstitions of the Hindus. The broken heart.
A brand from the burning recovery of a woman who was
hanged for murder. The rusty Nail.
Contents of #3 Engagement between a sailor and a shark
with an engraving. Ancient punishment of cutting
off of the hand. An infant restored to life after

(32:31):
apparent death. Female intrepidity.
The dreadful plague of London. General State of London and
suburbs. Horror of a mother at her
child's infection. Assassination of Demetrius, one
of the czars of Russia. Gratitude of a Jesuit.
Singular suicide. Fatal fulfillment of a nativity
with his son. Cast by Dryden.

(32:52):
Fatal effects of fear. Spanish depravity.
Murderers. Discovered by a cat.
And I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the shark
story and the cat story most of all here.
Maybe I'll just go ahead and skip ahead.
I don't have to take these one at a time.
So yeah. But today we're going to go for
something a little bit more tameand start off with today's

(33:14):
article, which is titled The Radiant Boy.
Here it is The Radiant Boy, an apparition seen by the late
Marquess of Londonderry. It is now more than 20 years
since the late Lord Londonderry was for the first time on a
visit to a gentleman in the north of Ireland.

(33:35):
The mansion was such a one as spectres are fabled to inhabit.
The apartment also, which was appropriate to Lord Londonderry,
was calculated to foster such a tone of feeling from its antique
appointments, from the dark and richly carved panels of its
wingscot, from its yawning widthand height of chimney, looking
like the open entrance to a tomb, of which the surrounding

(33:58):
ornaments appeared to form the sculpture and entablature.
From the portraits of grim men and severe eyed women, arranged
in orderly procession along the walls, and scowling A
contemptuous enmity against the degenerate invader of their
gloomy Bowers and venerable halls, and from the vast, dusky,
ponderous, and complicated draperies that concealed the

(34:19):
windows, and hung with a gloomy grandeur of funereal trappings
about the hearse, like piece of furniture that was destined for
his bed, Lord Londonderry examined his chamber.
He made himself acquainted with the forms and faces of the
ancient possessors of the mansion, as they sat upright in
their Ebony frames to receive his salutation, and then, after

(34:40):
dismissing his valet, he retiredto bed.
His candles had not long been extinguished, when he perceived
a light gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopy
over his head. Conscious that there was no fire
in the grate, that the curtains were closed, and that the
chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few minutes
before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally

(35:01):
entered his apartment. And turning hastily round to the
side from which the light proceeded, saw, to his infinite
astonishment, not the form of any human visitor, but the
figure of a fair boy, who seemedto be garmented in rays of mild
and tempered glory, which beamedpalely from his slender form,
like the faint light of the declining moon, and rendered the

(35:23):
objects which were nearest to him dimly and indistinctly
visible. The spirit stood at some short
distance from the side of the bed.
Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving him, but
suspecting that he might be imposed upon by the ingenuity of
some of the numerous guests who were then visiting the same
house, Lord Londonderry proceeded toward the figure.

(35:45):
It retreated before him as he slowly advanced the form with
equal paces, Slowly retired, it entered the gloomy arch of the
capacious chimney, and then sunkinto the earth.
Lord Londonderry returned to hisbed, but not to rest.
His mind was harassed by the consideration of the
extraordinary event which had occurred to him.

(36:05):
Was it real? Was it the work of the
imagination? Was it the result of imposture?
It was all incomprehensible, he resolved in the morning, not to
mention the appearance, till he should have well observed the
manners and countenances of the family.
It was conscious that if any deception had been practiced,
its authors would be too delighted with their success to

(36:25):
conceal the vanity of their triumph.
When the guests assembled at thebreakfast table, the eye of Lord
Londonderry searched in vain forthose latent smiles, those
conscious looks, that silent communication between the
parties by which the authors andabettors of such domestic
conspiracies are generally betrayed.
Everything apparently preceded in its ordinary course.

(36:47):
The conversation flowed rapidly along from the subjects afforded
at the moment, without any of the constraint which marks a
party intent upon some secret and more interesting argument,
and endeavouring to afford an opportunity for its
introduction. At last the hero of the tale
found himself compelled to mention the occurrence of the
night. It was most extraordinary.
He feared that he should not be credited.

(37:09):
And then, after all due preparation, the story was
related. Those among his auditors, who,
like himself, were strangers andvisitors in the house, were
certain that some delusion must have been practiced.
The family alone seemed perfectly composed and calm.
At last the gentleman whom Lord Londonderry was visiting
interrupted their various surmises on the subject by

(37:31):
saying, The circumstance which you have just recounted must
naturally appear very extraordinary to those who have
not long been inmates of my dwelling, and not conversant
with the legends of my family, and to those who are, the event
which has happened will only serve as the corroboration of
the old tradition that has long been related.
Of the apartment in which you slept, you have seen the radiant

(37:54):
boy. Be content.
It is the omen of prosperous fortunes.
I would rather that this subjectshould no more be mentioned.
And here the affair ended. Finally, it's time for our last
dreadful of the evening, Black Bess, starring highwayman Dick
Turpin. For this story, good old

(38:16):
Professor Flash is going to furnish us the definitions of
all the Flash Can't words in theintro Remember them?
I wish to tip top evening to allyou anglers and pinks of fashion
and Knights of the brush and moon.
And invited you to unload your stumps and top off your clankers
with something heavy and wet. Sluice your ivories like an act
pirate and swivel your knob my way.

(38:38):
I mentioned that the iron doublets and laced women call
our stories Penny bloods, which I added are like a flicker or
two of light light blue in as much as they may be a little
rough, but do the job. You know most of these already,
but just in case, I'm going to unpack a lot at the end of our
story. Speaking of our story, what
happened last time in Chapter 14of Dick Turpin?

(39:01):
That was the chapter in which Dick Turpin arrived at the
Thieves Rookery in Soho and brought his prisoner, Sir
Theodore Houghton before the family.
They promptly put him on trial, running a sort of imitation
justice show with him. Turpin recounted his treachery,
as he called it, on the highway and then a well dressed thief
named Gentleman George came forward to tell his story.

(39:24):
George was once Sir Theodore's law clerk, but fell in love with
his daughter, and dared, lowly as he was, to aspire to her
hand. When this came to Sir T's
attention, he of course fired George forthwith, but gave him a
check for £250, on condition that he go far away and never
return. George took the check, cashed
it, and went to Liverpool to take passage to New York, But

(39:47):
just as he was getting under way, he was arrested on charges
of forgery. Sir T having perjured himself so
that he could save his daughter from her lothario at less
expense by having him hanged rather than paying him off.
Found guilty and sentenced to hang, Gentleman George escaped
from prison and was forced thenceforth to make his living
in the underworld as best he could as a thief.

(40:10):
Upon hearing this testimony, thechairman of the family meeting
asked Sir T what he had to say. Sir T blustered and shouted that
it was all lies without further elaboration, so the chairman
called for a verdict in the entire room, pronounced Sir T
guilty as hell, and the chairmansentenced him to be hanged.
What will happen? Is this the end for Sir Theodore
Houghton? And who's are those soft

(40:33):
footsteps I hear padding up to the door of the chamber where
his trial is being held? We'll find out right after this
short break. Welcome back to the Penny

(40:57):
Dreadful Radio Hour. Where were we?
Ah yes, queuing up. Chapter 15 of Dick Turpin.
Chapter 15. The officers capture Dick Turpin
at the three tons. No one spoke for some seconds
after the sentence was thus pronounced, so Theodore strove

(41:19):
hard to make some articulate sound, but in vain.
Horror had possession of his soul.
He knew his guilt, and he felt that the hour of retribution had
at last arrived. He clasped his hands together in
an agony of mute supplication. It was the chairman who broke
the silence. Who will be his executioner, he
said. A man rose instantly.

(41:42):
That will I, he said, for I havesuffered much injury from this
most unjust judge. I will carry the sentence into
effect, and so give a warning toothers who has a rope.
Several pieces 5 or 6 feet in length were handed to him.
He tied them all securely together.
Half a dozen iron hooks were fixed in the roof, and to the

(42:02):
largest of these the man made fast one end of the rope, the
other end he made into a noose. The next operation was to pinion
the miserable prisoner, and in spite of his desperate
resistance and frantic shrieks for mercy, this was quickly
done. A chair was placed immediately
beneath the hook, and Sir Theodore was forced to stand

(42:23):
upon it. Then the rope was adjusted round
his neck. The expression on his face was
awful to see the family start looking on in grim silence.
Help, Help murder. Murder, screamed Sir Theodore in
a cracked voice, for the so close presence of death restored
him his voice. Help, help, mercy, Mercy.

(42:45):
Confess then while yet you have time.
I do, I do. The charge was wholly false.
I got it up to avenge the wrong he had done me.
What he told you was true. Release me, Release me.
Now that you have confessed to the perpetration of so horrible
a crime, you shall die, said theChairman.
We can feel no doubt as to your guilt, and shall carry out the

(43:07):
sentence without compunction. No, no, save me, save.
The chair was suddenly knocked out from under him, and the
sentence checked upon his lips. He gave a desperate plunge and
struggled slightly. Then all was over.
So Theodore Houghton had met with the reward he had merited.
I have him, I have him. Surrender, surrender her, cried

(43:29):
several loud voices at this moment, as a large party of
police officers dashed headlong into the room, while half a
dozen at least, clung to Dick, and before he was conscious of
what had occurred he found himself overpowered and a
prisoner. The attention of everyone
present had been so riveted uponthe fearful termination of Sir
Theodore Houghton's life, and soabsorbed by the terrible

(43:51):
narrative of Gentleman George, that the whole of them were, in
the manner of speaking, quite deaf and blind to any extraneous
circumstances. And so the police officers,
whose measures had been very carefully taken, were actually
in full possession of the entirepremises before the lawless
company had any idea that they were menaced by danger in the
least. Even Turpin, watchful as he

(44:13):
usually was, had been unable to resist the powerful interest
which the exciting tragedy produced in every breast.
Indeed, so intense was it that his breath came short and thick.
In fact, he, as well as all the rest, was spellbound.
The sudden eruption of the officers, however, and their
loud shouts of their leader in amoment to rouse the slumbering

(44:33):
activity immediately all were ontheir feet, and a desperate
struggle immediately commenced, and several of the family,
seeing our heroes so surrounded,sprang forward to attempt his
rescue. So Theodore Houghton was, of
course, well known to all the officers, for his severe
sentences were made everywhere notorious, and as soon as they
recognized him half a dozen rushed forward to cut him down.

(44:56):
They were too late, though, to save his life.
The fall was very sudden, and the magistrate no inconsiderable
weight, the effect of which two circumstances was that his neck
was dislocated. The officers were not long in
discovering this, for when they set him up so that they should
have a chance of reviving a little, his head lolled about in
every direction. So soon, then, as they

(45:17):
ascertained that life was reallyextinct, they left him and
turned towards those who had sprung upon Turpin.
They had every need of their aid, for they found it a most
difficult task to keep their hold upon their prisoner, and
defend themselves at the same time from the violent assault
that was made upon them. Already Turpin had got one of
his arms free, and was dealing heavy blows which made his

(45:38):
captors shrink. When the other body of officers
reached the excited, struggling mass, the numbers were about
equal. The yelling, shouting and
swearing were tremendous. Give him up, Give him up,
shrieked an officer mounting on the table.
Give him up and you shall hold. Go free.
It's only him we want. We're bound to have him.
So give him up at once. No notice whatever was taken of

(45:58):
this speech. Then this officer, who is
doubtless one of those in command, grew furious when he
found himself disregarded, and ran toward the end of the table
near which the struggle was now taking place.
We have before had occasion to remark that this table in the
thieves kitchen was composed simply of 1 plank.
This was supported on three trestles.

(46:19):
When the officer rushed forward so suddenly to its extremity,
his weight tilted it up, so thatdown he went on the floor in a
moment and was buried under nearly an avalanche of pewter
pots. Blood was trickling from his
head and face when he again roseto his feet, but heedless of the
hurts he had sustained, he dashed like a maniac into the
thickest of the fight. Turpin, too, was injured in many

(46:40):
places, but struggled desperately, for he resolved not
to be taken alive. Without an effort he got his
other arm free. Upon seeing this, the officers
redoubled their endeavors. Turpin was an immense favorite
with all the family, and there was scarcely one of them who
would not willingly have laid down his life to render him a
service. Therefore they fought most
gallantly in his behalf. They knew the motive which had

(47:02):
brought him there. Feeling that the issue of the
conflict was very uncertain, Turpin commenced slowly to
retreat to the door, intending, if once he could get into the
passage, to make a bold rush forescape.
The family divined his intentionimmediately, and so too did the
police officers, but the former made such a sudden attack upon
the latter that they had Much Ado to defend themselves.

(47:24):
Two men only interposed between Turpin and the door he was so
anxious to reach. Turning around sharply upon his
heel, he, by a well directed blow, laid one prostate and
sprang past the other, who, however, grasped and tightly by
the skirts of the coat. Dick placed his hands behind him
and plunged forward. Many rapid footsteps followed
him. The doors guarded, exclaimed

(47:45):
Dick involuntarily, as his eye fell upon four men standing near
it. Surrender are we fire, they
cried upon seeing him approach. Never, said Dick, and as he
spoke he ran up a narrow flight of stairs, which were close at
his left hand. The next instance, several of
the officers who had disengaged themselves from the fray, which
was still going on in the kitchen, came along the passage
and sprung up the stairs after Dick, who, however, had made

(48:08):
good use of the brief start which he had obtained.
He was already at the top. He saw then several doors, all
of which were closed. Without pausing to choose, he
placed his hand upon the fastenings of one just opposite
to him, and opened it. Always profound darkness within.
Very dimly, though, and as if a curtain had been drawn across
it, Turpin saw the outline of a window.

(48:31):
He hastily secured the door. He heard the officer stamping up
the staircase. Rejoiced at having successfully
eluded them so far, he crept forward on his hands and knees
towards the window. For he judged that to be the
likeliest means of avoiding a collision with whatever
furniture there might be in the room, which, for aught he knew
to the contrary, might be a bed chamber and occupied by someone.

(48:52):
The room was very limited in itsdimensions, and he very quickly
reached the window and drew the curtains from before it.
Bang, bang, bang, bang came fourheavy blows upon the panel of
the door. Dick flung open the window.
It was one of those diamond pained casements opening like a
door and permitting easy egress.Just below him Dick saw the

(49:12):
roofs of some buildings, and he dropped down upon them.
I fancy, he said, I shall be able to make my way into some of
the courts, and then, very likely I shall get free.
While speaking he slid down the tiles, and, as expected, found
himself only about 10 or 12 feetfrom the ground.
Grasping the gutter with his hands, he quickly, but yet
carefully lowered himself, and then dropped to the earth.

(49:33):
No sooner did he reach it than the window through which he had
just passed was dashed open, andseveral persons scrambled out of
it onto the roof. Turpin found himself standing in
a narrow alley, but hearing his pursuers so close behind him,
did not pause for breath, but hastily wiped the perspiration
from his face and set out at topspeed. 1/2 shout, half yell from
the rear told him he was alreadyseen.

(49:56):
He quickened his speed. The alley he was traversing, he
knew, would take him into DudleySt. and he was in hopes could he
gain it, that he would, by the intimate knowledge of the
locality that he possessed, succeed in baffling his
pursuers. Oh, how he wished for his Bonnie
steed when he did reach it, and looked up and down to assure
himself that no enemy was insight.

(50:16):
How easy then would have been escape, but now there was every
prospect of his being hunted through the streets on foot.
Stop him, stop him, he heard hispursuers cry.
Stop him. A highway man £1000 Reward.
The sounds came upon his ears with great distinctness.
He ran across the street and down another, turning into Soho.

(50:37):
But the shouts of the officers had aroused the neighborhood,
and there was quickly a crowd athis heels, which increased in
numbers every moment. In as direct a line as he could.
Turpin made his way toward the Oxford road, as Oxford St. was
then called, with the vague ideaof reaching the country filling
his mind. He had trusted, by doubling the
corners of the streets suddenly,to get out of sight of his

(50:58):
pursuers, and then seek shelter and concealment in a house.
But they were too close upon histrack for this hope to hold
possession of how long? And the whole of his energies
were bent on running at a swifter pace than they a
considerable distance had already passed over, and Turpin
began to show signs of exhaustion.
His breathing was painful, and he staggered more than once.

(51:18):
He felt quite sure that he couldnot much longer maintain his
present speed, and unless suckerof some kind presented itself in
that quickly, he must abandoned all idea of getting free from
those who were hunting him. He passed by many a turning on
his routes, down which he was afraid to turn lest it should be
a yard and have no outlet. If he once went down one of
these he would be caught like a rat in a trap.

(51:40):
Presently he saw a street which he recognized with a throb of
delight. It was a very short one, and he
plunged down it and round the corner to the right and then to
the left. His pursuers were out of sight.
He redoubled his efforts. Half a dozen turnings more and
he was in Oxford Rd. It is a very difficult matter to
imagine one of the principal andmost crowded thoroughfares in

(52:02):
London, a quiet country Rd. bounded by trees and meadows.
And yet such was Oxford Street at the time of which we write.
Dick could hear the voices and footsteps of the crowd, but he
could not see their forms. On the other side of the way,
and near a gate in a garden wall, was a servant in livery,
leading a horse by the bridle and apparently waiting for
someone. A godsend, said Dick.

(52:24):
I shall be free now. He rushed across the road as he
spoke, and before the servant knew at all what was going to
happen he found himself sprawling on the ground.
Turpin was seated in the saddle.In an instant he doubled up the
reins and struck the horse sharply across the shoulders.
It was a thoroughbred animal, unused to blows, and it reared
and plunged violently for several moments, then set off at

(52:45):
a tremendous gallop. The foremost of his hunters,
though, were fairly in the Oxford Road.
Before the horse started they set up a loud shout of anger and
disappointment. To their surprise, as well as
turpents, who happened just thento turn his head, 10 or 12
officers who had been chasing him on foot swept around the
corner well mounted. They had passed some livery

(53:05):
stables on their way, and from them obtained the cattle.
Their stoppage was what had caused Turpent to gain upon
them. As he did, they were in full
sight of their prey. Very fortunate indeed was it for
Turpin that he had been lucky enough to obtain possession of a
horse. The odds were now, if anything,
in his favor. The officers came along at a
good rate. It was a beautiful steed upon

(53:26):
which Turpin was mounted, though, of course, very inferior
to his own mare, and was no doubt highly prized by its
owner. He made his way due West.
At length, after a gallop of about four miles, Turpin rained
up his steed upon the brow of a hill and looked behind him.
The mounted police were just at its base, and good as was the
speed he had made, he had not apparently gained a dozen yards

(53:48):
upon them. Those fellas must have got hold
of some first rate cattle. This one already seems to show
signs of distress. Oh, for my own mare, Black Bess,
were she beneath me, I would laugh at their efforts.
While speaking, he had urged hishorse to fresh exertion.

(54:09):
Well, there's not much to discuss in this chapter.
It's a pretty straightforward chase.
It is a little odd, though, thatthe death of Sir Theodore
Houghton is just kind of tossed in there.
It's weird that even with a freshly murdered VIP having been
lynched almost literally before their eyes and a room full of
Underworld characters ready to be boxed up and trucked over to

(54:29):
Newgate to swing for it, the cops still lie down in pursuit
of Turpin, letting this panel ofBatman villains just cheese it.
I guess Dick is just that important, more important than
the entire London underworld. So what's coming next?
Well, in the next chapter, whichwould be chapter 16, Dick Turpin
is in a bit of a tight spot. He slipped away from the highway

(54:51):
and hidden the darkness of a hedgerow, turning the stolen
horse loose with a slap on the rump.
But the grabs are closing in until wait.
Is that the Spectre horseman again?
He looks just like Dick. He's dressed just like Dick.
Who could he be? Is he really a Spectre?
Can't be. The cops can sure see him, and
they're racing away after him. Will he lead them away from

(55:13):
Dick? Is he Dick's friend or his foe?
We shall see. Finally, let's unpack our flash
can't lesson. I wish the tip top evening to
you anglers, Pinks of fashion and Knights of the brush and
Moon. It's easy enough, anglers are
smash and grab jewel thieves, pinks of fashion are dashing men
about town. And you know what a night of the

(55:34):
brush and moon is by now. I hope I invited you to unload
your stumps and top off your clankers with something heavy
and wet and then sluice your ivories like an act pirate and
swivel your knob my way. Your stumps are your legs, so to
unload them is to sit down. Clankers are pewter drinking
pots. Heavy wet is a reference to
strong ale. Sluicing your ivories means

(55:54):
taking a drink as ivories are teeth and an act pirate is a
robber who operates on the wateralong the Thames or in port.
An actor is a tidal current. I mentioned the iron doublets
and laced women who call our stories penny bloods or penny
dreadfuls, which I added are like a flicker or two of light
light blue in as much as that they may be a little rough but

(56:15):
do the job well. Iron doublets are the fire and
brimstone type Parsons laced women are virtuous women,
although if that's a reference to bodice lace it seems off.
Note I've noticed in Victorian art that often very unvirtuous
women like to laced up bodices. Specifically Misses Lovett,
although she's not Victorian obviously but and she doesn't

(56:38):
have much of A love life but shecan't seriously be called
virtuous. Also laced bodices make every
woman look about 10 times hotter.
So I'm pretty sure the Victorianladies who paid the bills by
looking as hot as possible we'realso laced women.
But this might be a question fora historian of Victorian
costume. Maybe the ladies in the era when
laced women became a term were all sporting Empire silhouette

(57:01):
rags and only the old battle axes still wore stays and lace
UPS. Maybe it's a reference to how
people dressed a generation before, Like a 60s hippie
talking about grey flannel suitsand meaning a disapproving old
dad type guy with a buzz cut andsteel rimmed glasses.
I wonder if our modern referenceto straight laced harks back to
this one. I always thought it was a

(57:22):
reference to shoelaces, but I don't really know.
Anyway, I'm not the slang police, so let's move on.
A flicker or two of light blue is a glass or two of gin.
I stuck the other light in thereso that the poetic meter would
work. Well.
That polishes off this episode of the weekly Penny Dreadful
Radio Hour. I do hope you will join me again

(57:43):
next week, Same Spring healed time, same spring healed channel
for our next show. Speaking of spring healed stuff,
we've got Chapter 15 of Spring Healed Jack the Terror of London
by Edward Coats, which started its publication run in 1867.
Coming next time, we also have Chapter 15 of The Black Band or

(58:04):
The Companions of Midnight by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, which
first started publication in 1861.
I can't wait. In the Black Band, we open up on
Lolota Vitsini, the star of the ballet, relaxing at her
Arlington Street house, being sad because Lord Lionel Brothers
Bang didn't come to the opera that night.
She clearly has developed a bad case for him, which is

(58:27):
unfortunate for her because as we know, he's terrible.
Then Lord Lionel races up to herhouse in a cabriolet.
He has a proposal for her. Come away with me to some
foreign land, and we will pose as husband and wife.
Will she say yes to this scandalous proposal?
But soft. Whose step is that outside the

(58:48):
chamber door? Is that Colonel Mephistopheles?
How did he get in here, and whatwill he think of this plan?
Will he be willing to allow his rich vassal to do such a thing?
Usual here in Chapter 15 of Spring Heeled Jack, Jack has
swum up to the small boat with the unconscious body of poor

(59:08):
Ellen Folder and handed her overto two rough sailors aboard, who
take her from him and invite himto climb a board after them and
join them in a glass of grog. Instead, Jack swims back to the
barge to retrieve his cloak. There's no sign of the barge
guard and Jack hopes he was not drowned.
Then he is hailed by a trio of river police.
They are, of course, eager to arrest him.

(59:29):
Will they succeed? There are three of them, and
he's been swimming around all night.
We shall see. All that, plus more flash.
Can't. Words are coming your way next
week at Dick Turpin's scragging hour 537.
That's 1737 Military Time next Sunday Eve.
Thanks once again to our sponsorfor this episode, Raid Shadow

(59:52):
Legends Cow Clicker Legacy Edition, the biggest mobile cow
clicking game of our time, totally free.
Check it out today. Our theme music is a version of
Golden Slippers, A minstrel showsong written by James A Bland in
1879. This version is by Seattle old
time band $4.00 Shoe. For more of their music, see

(01:00:15):
$4.00 shoe.com. That would be the number 4, the
word dollar, followed by the number shoe all crammed together
into one word all lowercase. Penny Dreadful Story Hour is a
creation of pulp lit productions.
For more details, see pulp-lit.com and to get in touch
with me, hit me up at finn@pulp-lit.com.

(01:00:35):
Thanks again for joining me me nabs.
It is time for us to Morris off like Dick Turpin after catching
a glimpse of a red Wescott down the lane for the Penny Dreadful
Radio Hour. I'm Finn JD John signing off.
So now fair 4th and fill up the rest of the week with hoity
toity tip top stuff.

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2.04: Highwayman Dick Turpin is trapped like a rat! Or is he? — Lord Londonderry in the haunted castle! — Johanna rushes to her destiny!

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}2.04: Highwayman Dick Turpin is trapped like a rat! Or is he? — Lord Londonderry in the haunted castle! — Johanna rushes to her destiny!