The stranger was a man of six-and-twenty, who stood five feet ten in his
stockings, and whose frame was the very figure of activity, united to a
muscle that gave very fair indications of strength. He was attired in an
undress naval uniform, which he wore with a smart air, that one who
understood these matters, more by means of experience, and less by means
of books, than Andrea Barrofaldi, would at once have detected did not
belong to the manly simplicity of the English wardrobe. Nor were his
features in the slightest degree those of one of the islanders, the
outline being beautifully classical, more especially about the mouth and
chin, while the cheeks were colorless, and the skin swarthy. His eye,
too, was black as jet, and his cheek was half covered in whiskers of a
hue dark as the raven's wing. His face, as a whole, was singularly
beautiful--for handsome is a word not strong enough to express all the
character that was conveyed by a conformation that might be supposed to
have been copied from some antique medal, more especially when
illuminated by a smile that, at times, rendered the whole countenance
almost as bewitching as that of a lovely woman. There was nothing
effeminate in the appearance of the young stranger, notwithstanding; his
manly, though sweet voice, well-knit frame, and firm look affording
every pledge of resolution and spirit.

Both the vice-governatore and the podestà were struck with the unusual
personal advantages and smart air of the stranger, and each stood
looking at him half a minute in silence, after the usual salutations had
passed, and before the party were seated. Then, as the three took
chairs, on a motion from Signor Barrofaldi, the latter opened the
discourse.

"They tell me that we have the honor to receive into our little haven a