Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 137: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. Hi Mi PANN A A i} bil } j ii] Za Z wis! —— @) S om | ‘2 -_— -% - > Ts a "iggy M47 «6 ES P, e400 “4 the very utmost—his bankers had sent him an in- timation that his account was most unsatisfactory and there was scarcely a money-lender in the Tuscan capital who was not the holder of bills and bonds bearing Ramorino’s name, and on which a ruinous interest was accumulating. This amount of difficulties would have been sufficient to goad Ramorino’s mind almost to madness: but yet it was not the full sum of the troubles which were now harassing, torturing, and indeed agonizing him. Those were difficulties which might be staved off for a period—patched up here, alle- viated there—with the hope of complete redemp- tion ultimately through the turning-up of some lucky chance. But there was an embarrassment of a far more grave and serious nature staring him in the face,—a difficulty which could not be post- poned for even forty-eight hours. He stood upon the very verge of a precipice, into which he must inevitably plunge headlong unless the speediest Wo. 68.—AaneEs. 129 ga ZZ bh Timik LYE: L lip (LLL 7) GUNN = MYUY Ys TEs D ZZ ZI LLAS ELIDA’, A INS NYS MD, F777 CZ oy —_ Wes aamF, LIZZ, PLY, \ : S ( 3 Ww Ss Ss = SX ~ S rz Os. TLEAL Lo LL ta s oR Ov YS AW oo's ) Yee SD; 7 MU succour arrived. But whence was such assistance to come, unless it were the work of a miracle ? We will describe as succinctly as possible the awfully perilous position in which Count Ramoe rino found himself placed, All the numerous clerks and employés, agents and subordinates, in the department of the police, received their salaries monthly, Every four weeks the Minister of Police drew the requisite amount from the Minister of Finance. Count Ramorino had just drawn this amount; and it had vanished from his grasp at the gaming-table. In the desperate hope of retrieving his shattered fortunes, he had plunged himself further down in the vortex of ruin. The Minister of Finance was a statesman of the most scrupulous exactitude and precision in all the affairs of his department: every one knew that punctually as the clock struck all demands on the Treasury were certain to be paid: Count Ramorino could not therefore throw upon the You. IL, co 5} > (©) lNOOLK