air of gravity we have noticed.

The second of the youths whom we shall describe is very different in
appearance. He is of blonde complexion, rather pale, with fair silken
hair that waves gently down his cheeks, and falls upon his shoulders. He
is far from robust. On the contrary, his form is thin and delicate. It
is not the delicacy of feebleness or ill-health, but only a body of
slighter build. The manner in which he handles his oar shows that he
possesses both health and strength, though neither in such a high degree
as the dark youth. His face expresses, perhaps, a larger amount of
intellect, and it is a countenance that would strike you as more open
and communicative. The eye is blue and mild, and the brow is marked by
the paleness of study and habits of continued thought. These indications
are no more than just, for the fair-haired youth _is_ a student, and one
of no ordinary attainments. Although only seventeen years of age, he is
already well versed in the natural sciences; and many a graduate of
Oxford or Cambridge would but ill compare with him. The former might
excel in the knowledge--if we can dignify it by that name--of the laws
of scansion, or in the composition of Greek idylls; but in all that
constitutes _real_ knowledge he would prove but an idle theorist, a
dreamy imbecile, alongside our practical young scholar of the West.

The third and youngest of the party--taking them as they sit from stem
to bow--differs in many respects from both those described. He has
neither the gravity of the first, nor yet the intellectuality of the
second. His face is round, and full, and ruddy. It is bright and smiling
in its expression. His eye dances merrily in his head, and its glance
falls upon everything. His lips are hardly ever at rest. They are either
engaged in making words--for he talks almost incessantly--or else
contracting and expanding with smiles and joyous laughter. His cap is
jauntily set, and his fine brown curls, hanging against the rich roseate
skin of his cheeks, give to his countenance an expression of extreme
health and boyish beauty. His merry laugh and free air tell you he is
not the boy for books. He is not much of a hunter either. In fact, he is
not particularly given to anything--one of those easy natures who take
the world as it comes, look upon the bright side of everything, without
getting sufficiently interested to excel in anything.

These three youths were dressed nearly alike. The eldes