The Opposite House: A Novel — page 41: what you’re looking at

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

36 Lhe Opposite Flouse. her family, and lets her own child pine for its sake? You, Barbara, are the only one who understands me, who knows how it hurts to have no heart in the breast; nothing but an escutcheon, where other people can love and feel! You have loved, and you were happy! Isn’t mamma wrong, Ancestress Bar- bara, when she says: ‘Love is an illusion, but noble blood is a sacred possession?” And draw- ing a long breath, Marie pushed her fair locks back from her brow and turned toward the window. “Who knows, perhaps she occupied my little room up here and handsome Zacharias Gerrald looked out of the opposite window—”’ She did not finish the sentence, but, with sudden terror, bent over her roses and gazed across at the merchant’s house, at whose window she saw a stranger, whose face was handsomer and more at- tractive than any which she had ever beheld. Locks of fair hair clustered thickly over his brow, and his dark eyes were fixed mournfully on the sky—Traugott Gerrald. He turned his head—his glance wandered to the gray house, rested on the window filled with roses, and, starting in astonishment, he stared at the lovely little face, whose large blue eyes were fixed so timidly and inquiringly upon him. His own eyes grew brighter, the flush on his brow deeper, Who was she? ComicboOoks.c©