Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 185: what you’re looking at

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

ALFRED DE ROSANN. 177 6 The moment I entered the wood, instead of has- tening towards the middle as quickly as I could, I turned immediately to the right; and seeing a dense thicket close by, I concealed myself within its friend- ly mazes, sagely concluding that when the Gendarmes went to search the shady labyrinth of trees, they would not look in the mere outskirts for the object of their visit. Seated upon some dead leaves, I put my right hand to my forehead, and my left hand to my hip, as i§ my custom when I am about to debate within my own mind on any important matter— such as the various dishes that ought to compose the different courses of a diner sotgné, or the articles in the bill to which I could best add a few extra franes without exciting the suspicion of a guest—and began seriously to consider what steps I ought to take in my present forlorn predicament. Having reflected at least three hours without coming to any positive decision, save that I must look out for a dinner, which I should have had no objection to cook myself, if any one had supplied me afk ae oe and materials, I left my thicket, and walked slowly into the recesses of the wood. Presently, to my joy and delight, a cottage met my eyes. I moved towards it, and stood ten minutes at the door without venturing to knock. At length it suddenly opened, and a little girl made her appearance on the threshold. She was startled when she saw me; I, however, addressed her in that gentle tone which I can assume at pleasure, and re- quested somewhat to eat. My piteous harangue was, however, cut short by the sight of a blear-eyed old woman, with a pipe in her mouth, puffing away like a steam-packet. She did not, however, mean to in- terrupt me ; but merely stepped forward to listen. I renewed all my plaintive and touching representa- tions, declared I wasa soldier who had been at Algiers, and had just returned froma dreadful campaign. The little girl, with a certain comical expression of coun- tenance, asked me if the province of Madagascar were not in a state of revolution, and if the king of China had not made war against the French. These ques- COMMUCLIOOKSS (E(0)