Gratia's Trials — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

GRATIA'S TRIALS. | 93 affair; but all enjoyment of the season at Long Branch was over, so far as she was concerned.- Alberta's star of bellehood had nearly set, or, if it still shone, gave forth so feeble a glimmer that no satisfaction could be thereby obtained. All the bouquets, cards, and invitations to drive, ride, or walk, were for ‘‘ Miss Gratia Falconer” now, instead of ‘‘ Miss Falconer,” as of old. Alberta, forced un- willingly into a sort of secondary position, began to weary of the sea-side gayeties, and to persecute Uncle Ralph to issue the fiat for the return to the city. ‘‘Tt shall be as Ida says,” said Mr. Miller, patting the little girl’s curly head. ‘‘I’m sure the sea-side air is not doing Ida any good,” said Mrs. Falconer. ‘‘She looks paler and thinner than she did when her papa went away.” ‘« How is it,.Puss?” asked Uncle Ralph. ‘‘Shall it be go, or stay ?” ‘©T don’t know,” said Ida, fixing her great black eyes gravely on space. ‘‘What do you say, Gratia ?” ‘‘T should like to return to New York, for,my part,” said Gratia, quietly. “*Then we will go back on Monday—that will be the middle of September,” said Mr. Miller. So, to Mrs. Falconer’s intense disgust, Gratia became the arbitress in this question, as in so many others, ‘< But we can easily teach her to find and keep her proper place when once we are in our own home,” said Alberta, con- solingly. GComicbooks (Eo)