Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

ALFRED DE ROSANN. 169 met their eyes, may be well conceived ; nor did the gastronomer, on his part, omit a few ejaculations, ex- pressive of wonder at being thus discovered by his two guondam acquaintances. A more ludicrous scene cannot be easily imagined. They all three stared at each other with their mouths wide open, un- decided whether to put an end to the ridicule of the situation in which they found themselves by a hearty laugh, or by immediate questions and answers of ex- planation. Champignon, particularly, would have excited the risible muscles of the most sedate and saturnine being in the world. His small gray eyes were dilated to an unusual extent, so that his very forehead was contracted into a thousand wrinkles ; pieces of straw and hay were mingled with his un- kempt hair; his lips apart “ grinned horribly a ghastly smile,’? like Milton’s Death, displaying two rows of large white teeth, almost reaching from ear to ear. He had raised himself to a sitting posture the moment his tegument of hay was mercilessly kicked off him. His hands were lifted up in mute marvel, and his legs were crouched under his corpulent person. It was impossible to gaze at him without a smile ; but Belle- Rose, who was the most unceremonious man in ex- istence, did not content himself with so simple a re- laxation of his now serious countenance ; he burst into aloud laugh, to the additional confusion of the gas- tronomer ; and as we naturally exhibit more feeling and sincere sympathy in a fellow-creature’s mirth than in his distress, De Rosann soon imitated the facetious Pierre, and regaled himself at the expense of Cham- pignon, in repeated shouts of hilarity, which brought tears to his eyes. ‘Nothing could have been better!?? exclaimed Belle-Rose ; “I would not have lost this sight for all the world”? ~ ‘Your jocularity would have been more adroitly placed, methinks,” returned Champignon gravely, ‘Safter a substantial breakfast. An empty stomach is not good to Jaugh upon.” VOL. I.—15 CORMICLOOKS (C@