The Count of Monte Cristo

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"I will."

"The family began to get accustomed to their obscurity. Years rolled
on, and amongst the descendants some were soldiers, others diplomatists;
some churchmen, some bankers; some grew rich, and some were ruined. I
come now to the last of the family, whose secretary I was--the Count of
Spada. I had often heard him complain of the disproportion of his rank
with his fortune; and I advised him to invest all he had in an annuity.
He did so, and thus doubled his income. The celebrated breviary remained
in the family, and was in the count's possession. It had been handed
down from father to son; for the singular clause of the only will
that had been found, had caused it to be regarded as a genuine relic,
preserved in the family with superstitious veneration. It was an
illuminated book, with beautiful Gothic characters, and so weighty with
gold, that a servant always carried it before the cardinal on days of
great solemnity.