A Parisian Romance — page 108: what you’re looking at

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

A PARISIAN ROMANCE, 99 “Monsieur is gaining every day,” was the calm | reply. Ambroise was a well-trained servant and, when occasion demanded, knew how to play the role of Ananias, without flinching. | The baron grinned and nodded approval of this opinion, “No! no!” he said, modestly, however. “I am simply holding my own! simply holding my own, Ambroise. But, even that is a great deal.” And once more, staggering a little, he slowly raised the weights into the air. It must be confessed, with all due deference to the mighty king of the Bourse, that physically he was not a model of strength or beauty. When dressed, his figure was passably good, thanks to his tailor’s judicial padding of the chest and shoul- ders, but en deshabille, he looked pitiably weak and shrunken. As he stood, with the dumb-bells uplifted, his arms and legs trembling violently and his breath coming in short gasps, a hearty voice behind him exclaimed: “Bravo! Superb! The Hercules Farnese!” The baron started, and the dumb-bells fell with a crash from his nerveless grasp. “ Mon Dieu!” he cried, angrily. “What do you mean by startling one so?”- Then, as he turned and saw who the new-comer was, he added more amiably, “Oh! is it you, doctor?” EomichookstGo im