ut beauty which had power and much
masculine strength; nowhere did it degenerate into flaccidity, nowhere
lose strength in grace. His hair was long, and I wondered at it. My
small experience in our delightful home and village circle had not
acquainted me with that flowing style; the young men of my acquaintance
cropped their hair close to the scalp, and called it the modern style of
hair-dressing. It had always looked to me more like hair-undressing.
This hair fell in a heavy wave over his forehead, and he had the habit,
common to people whose hair does so, of lifting his head suddenly and
shaking back the offending lock. His forehead was broad, open,
pleasant, yet grave. Eyes, as I had seen, very dark, and with lashes and
brows which enhanced the contrast to a complexion at once fair and pale.
A light mustache, curving almost straight across the face, gave a
smiling expression to lips which were otherwise grave, calm, almost sad.
In fact, looking nearer, I thought he did look sad; and though when he
looked at me his eyes were so piercing, yet in repose they had a certain
distant, abstracted expression not far removed from absolute
mournfulness. Broad-shouldered, long-armed, with a physique in every
respect splendid, he was yet very distinctly removed from the mere
handsome animal which I believe enjoys a distinguished popularity in the
latter-day romance.

Now, as his eyes were cast upon the paper, I perceived lines upon his
forehead, signs about the mouth and eyes telling of a firm, not to say
imperious, disposition; a certain curve of the lips, and of the full,
yet delicate nostril, told of pride both strong and high. He was older
than I had thought, his face sparer; there were certain hollows in the
cheeks, two lines between the eyebrows, a sharpness, or rather somewhat
worn appearance of the features, which told of a mental life, keen and
consuming. Altogether, an older, more intellectual, more imposing face
than I had at first thought; less that of a young and handsome man, more
that of a thinker and student. Lastly, a cool ease, deliberation, and
leisureliness about all he said and did, hinted at his being a person in
authority, accustomed to give orders and see them obeyed without
question. I decided that he was, in our graceful home phrase, "master in
his own house."

His clothing was unremarkable--gray summer clothes, such as any
gentleman or any shop-keeper might wear; only in scanning him no thought
of sho