Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 41: what you’re looking at

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

ALFRED DE ROSANN. | 33 ing of swords, and the heavy tread of boots in the passage, made his blood run cold within him; and when he saw the Gendarmes enter his room, he fell upon the floor, forgetful of his innocence—overcome by the horrors of his situation, and erying, “ Mercy! Mercy !” But the functionaries of the law had no power to Spare nor to condemn; they were merely charged to secure his person, and lead him before a high autho- rity, whose duty it was to investigate the grounds of the accusation brought against the prisoner, and either commit him to a gaol, or restore him to liberty, ae- cording to the importance to be attached to first ap- - pearances, Arrived at the office of the Commissary of Police, the Gendarmes introduced De Rosann to the private cabinet in which the magistrate was seated. A long and painful investigation then commenced. De Ro- sann endeavoured to recall his scattered ideas ; but his replies were frequently so vague and contradictory, his looks so wild, and his countenance so distorted with terror, that ere half the examination was con- cluded, the Commissary was almost eonvinced in his own mind that the accused was guilty of the crime —and that crime was Forgery ! The unguarded ex- clamations he had uttered at the moment of his cap- ture, the useless supplications he had made to the Gendarmes to suffer him to proceed alone to the Commissary’s office, to trust to his honour, and not to ruin his character by an exposure—all these cir- cumstances appeared sadly to the unfortunate youth’s disadvantage ; and when coupled with the damning fact that the bills were in his own hand-writing, they seemed to combine an overwhelming evidence against him. He was accordingly consigned to the safe-guard of a prison, while the Commissary forwarded the proces-verbal, or indictment, to the Procureur du Roi. We shall not dwell at any considerable length on this sad portion of our tale: we shall draw a veil over the sorrows of Eloise, and the afflictions which De COMmicoooks