Gratia's Trials — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

GRATIA’S TRIALS. CHAPTER: I. THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS, The bland October sun had just dipped behind the misty blue of the far-off range of the Catskills ; the sound of the river in the valley seemed unwontedly loud and distinct, as it mingled with the chirp of crickets and the weird cry of the katy- did, and the scarlet woodbine-trailers on the south end of the old farm-house shone through the twilight, as if their leaves had been dipped in blood. : It was a curious brown building, that same farm-house, with a high, steep roof, that descended so low as almost to touch the top of the door in front, and formed curious architectural angles in the rear, while an immense stone chimney rose out of its center, and gray plastered squares marked the locality of the kitchen fire-place, and the cavern-like oven at its side. Two huge clusters of box grew on either side of the door-yard path, and the little wooden gate was shaded by a single maple tree. ; A tall girl of fifteen stood leaning over the gate, her hair blown away from her face by the chill evening wind, her cheeks _ glowing with peach-like color, and her brown eyes almost vailed by their white, drooping lids, whose long lashes were just a shade darker than her auburn tresses. Her dress, of some brown material, was coarse in texture and unattractive in color, comicboo cS (e(@) =