His face
was pale, with a certain haggard appearance, which indicates the earlier
stages of dissipation. His complexion was of a delicate white, unbrowned
by the southern sun, and the skin was so transparent that the roots of
his black beard were visible beneath its surface. His jet-black hair
hung in rich, wavy curls, which seemed to be the especial care of some
renowned tonsorial artist, so gracefully and accurately were they
arranged. His black eye was sharp and expressive when his mind was
excited in manly thought; but now it was a little unsteady,--disposed to
droop, and wander, as though ashamed to express the emotions which
agitated his soul. Altogether, his features were classic; but there was
something about them which the moralist would not like--a sort of
lascivious softness mingling with the nobler intellectual expression,
that warned him to beware of the Siren, while he admired the Apollo.
The marks of vice were visible in his countenance. They had not yet
become canker-spots on the surface, but they rankled and festered
beneath that fair field of physical and intellectual grandeur.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25