Mezzoni the Brigand — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

60 MEZZONI THE BRIGAND. mation. The basement where it was said to be was securely locked, being only accessible by an iron door, and his master kept the key, permitting no one to enter there at any time. As to the size of the jar, Beppo knew not exactly how he had got the impression, but it was said to stand nearly or quite as high as a man’s head, and, when first opened was full to the very brim with gold and precious stones, dug from some royal depository within the ancient walls of Cumee, that once famous city, the ruins of which are still visited by travelers, about a league from Naples. A city which flourished a thousand years before the advent of Christ upon the earth. This was by no means a very improbable story, as immense wealth had been gathered from tombs of the ancient Greeks, whose dead were burned and their ashes buried in mural urns, together with a large share of their earthly riches, in the shape of gold and precious stones. Altogether, a mystery hung over Alberto Corrello which the Neapolitans could not fathom. He was handsome enough to attract the eye of many a lovely, titled lady, and it was known that many such had modestly tried to engage his favors, but Alberto seemed to care for none of them. Bely- ing the temperament of his countrymen generally, he appeared to be of stone rather than of flesh and blood. Wine could not warm him, nor woman at- tract him; at least, this was what the tongue of pub- lic gossip said, and appearances certainly sustained the theory. “There goes Alberto Corrello,”’ said one young fel- low to another, as they stood smoking before the royal palace. Comicbooks.co