Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 167: what you’re looking at

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

ie ALFRED DE ROSANN. 159 betrayed by Edouard, and was guillotined but so short a time ago. Every one sleeps—Belle-Rose sleeps— all eyes in this house are closed save mine; and I can- not sleep. The idea of that old. man—with his gray hair—and they did not respect those hoary locks— but they severed his head from his body! And here am I, like the hero of some romance, shut up in a haunted chamber, and afraid of my own shadow; not even like the hero—for the first thing universally done in such situations is to examine the apartment—an operation I have not yet had the courage to per- form.”’ 3 Pleased with the idea, which partially renovated his sinking spirits, De Rosann seized the candle, and walked round the room on tip-toe. On each side of a spacious fire-place were large cupboards, with doors carved in an antique style, standing half opened, and revealing the dusty shelves within. Alfred -cast a hasty glance into the first; but, as he expected, found nothing. He then proceeded to the second, and was about to retire after even a slighter investigation than he had bestowed on the former recess, when a small bundle of papers, entirely covered with dust, met his eyes. A sudden idea struck him—rapidly as the flash of lightning darts across the vaulted heaven. He placed the candle on the mantle-piece, for table there was none; and having assured himself that Belle- Rose slept, he drew the packet from the corner wherein it lurked. A thick piece of parchment, that had already materially suffered from the damps, en- veloped a quantity of papers, many of which were half destroyed by age or vermin: several of them were, however, still legible, and one or two existed entire, having escaped the tooth of the mouse, and the undying hand of time. De Rosann cast a hasty glance over the first that came to hand—the word “ Dennr- VILLE”’ met his eye! Nota doubt that these were the documents of which Francois made mention in his tale, remained in his mind; and he hailed the possession of those papers with an internal satisfac- COMMICLOOCKKS. EO 5}