The Opposite House: A Novel — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

56 The Opposite Flouse. calm, pure, devout expression. She was thinking. What was the subject of her reverie? The roses poured forth a fragrance as exquisite as if they could guess her thoughts, bent low over the girl’s golden head, and whispered into her ears happy ideas of love and the fresh foliage of spring, of the handsome man who lived in the house opposite, and who had such sparkling eyes and so lofty a brow— the man who stood so long at the window to catch a glance from her, and who absorbed all her thoughts, whose name was Gerrald, and whom her mother hated because he bore it ! Just at that moment the door softly opened, a flood of lamplight streamed into the little room, and Marie suddenly started up and took a few steps toward the door: “Oh, it is you, Aunt Verja !” A woman’s slender figure glided into the little room, and, holding the lamp aloft, exclaimed, in clear musical tones: “ Aha, here is our little enthusiast! Yes, just as I imagined, alone among the roses, in a dark room. Good heavens, my dear, what a pity that I didn’t bring some gentlemen with me; there would be a dozen duels to-morrow on account of this charming idyl! But your house is too horribly dark. I don't understand how you can stand it, child. I should have been frightened to death long ago.” ComicbooOoks.c©