out of the store on his way to the saloon , stoppedstopand gazedgazestupidly at the shining mass of hair she baredbarewhen she tooktakeoff her veil ; two thick braids , pinned about her head in the German way , with a fringe of reddish-yellow curls blowingblowout from under her cap .
It was possible , I reflectedreflect, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene , of the details of the picture , would be sufficient to modify , or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression ; and , actingactupon this idea , I reinedreinmy horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling , and gazedgazedown -- but with a shuddershuddereven more thrillingthrillthan before -- upon the remodelled and inverted images of the grey sedge , and the ghastly tree-stems , and the vacant and eye-like windows .
We satsitdown ; and for some moments , while he spoke not , I gazedgazeupon him with a feeling half of pity , half of awe .
Stephen , an elbow rested on the jagged granite , leanedleanhis palm against his brow and gazedgazeat the fraying edge of his shiny black coat-sleeve .
There was also a cat in a willow basket , from the partly-opened lid of which she gazedgazewith half-closed eyes , and affectionately-surveyed the small birds around .