eyes on that spot. Two
of them had dismounted, and were holding their horses by the reins. The
tallest, and, at the first glance, the most interesting of the two, was
almost a giant, for his height could not have been less than six feet
three. It is impossible for the imagination to conceive any thing more
perfectly beautiful than were the features of this man, and the most
skilful sculptor of Greece might have taken them as his model for a hero
and a god. The forehead was exceedingly lofty--a rare thing in a Gypsy;
the nose less Roman than Grecian--fine yet delicate; the eyes large,
overhung with long drooping lashes, giving them almost a melancholy
expression; it was only when they were highly elevated that the Gypsy
glance peered out, if that can be called glance which is a strange stare,
like nothing else in this world. His complexion--a beautiful olive; and
his teeth of a brilliancy uncommon even amongst these people, who have
all fine teeth. He was dressed in a coarse waggoner's slop, which,
however, was unable to conceal altogether the proportions of his noble
and Herculean figure. He might be about twenty-eight. His companion and
his captain, Gypsy Will, was, I think, fifty when he was hanged, ten
years subsequently (for I never afterwards lost sight of him), in the
front of the jail of Bury St. Edmunds. I have still present before me
his bushy black hair, his black face, and his big black eyes, full and
thoughtful, but fixed and staring. His dress consisted of a loose blue
jockey coat, jockey boots and breeches; in his hand a huge jockey whip,
and on his head (it struck me at the time for its singularity) a broad-
brimmed, high-peaked Andalusian hat, or at least one very much resembling
those generally worn in that province. In stature he was shorter than
his more youthful companion, yet he must have measured six feet at least,
and was stronger built, if possible. What brawn!--what bone!--what
legs!--what thighs! The third Gypsy, who remained on horseback, looked
more like a phantom than any thing human. His complexion was the colour
of pale dust, and of that same colour was all that pertained to him, hat
and clothes. His boots were dusty of course, for it was midsummer, and
his very horse was of a dusty dun. His features were whimsically ugly,
most of his teeth were gone, and as to his age, he might be thirty or
sixty. He was somewhat lame and halt, but an unequalled rider when once
upon his st