Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

52 ALFRED DE ROSANN. him and a dozen others at Lyons—and there he is now for anything that I know.?’’ ‘What was he condemned for?”’ inquired a con- vict. ‘For the small mistake he made about the old ruin in the neighbourhood of Lyons, you know,’’ answer- ed Belle-Rose. “T carinot say that I recollect the circumstance,” observed the other. ‘Then I will recall it to your memory,’ continued the facetious and talkative Pierre. ‘ You must re- member’ that at a little distance from Lyons are the remains of a very old castle, which formerly belonged to some ancient family whose name I have forgotten. At the present moment the four bare walls are alone standing; and a poor farmer some years ago became proprietor of them together with the half-acre of land upon which they are situate. One day a gentleman called upon the farmer and offered to purchase the ruins and the space of ground they occupy, asserting that he was a distant connexion of the family from which the property had passed away, and that he was desirous it should not be possessed by a stranger. The farmer was delighted at thus being enabled to dis- pose of that which to him was entirely useless, and a bargain was speedily concluded. The sum of five hundred francs was the price offered—and that of a thousand was immediately tendered; whereupon the overjoyed farmer hastened with the gentleman to Ly- ons, where they sought fora notary to draw up the necessary deed.—‘ You will probably do me the favour —for the sake of the honour of our family’—said the gentleman to the notary—‘ to represent in the deed that I have paid fifty thousand francs for the land, in- stead of a thousand; and your fees shall be reckoned in proportion ?’—‘ Certainly,’ replied the notary: and the document was drawn up accordingly. No sooner had the gentleman thus obtained possession of the ruins, than he hastened to Paris, called upon a money- lender, exhibited his title-deed, and demanded a loan EOMMic OoO<SaEo) in