at the tip from left to right, a slight crookedness which was not
devoid of grace; his blue eyes, his high forehead, prominent enough at
the brows to form a thick ridge that checked the light and shaded his
eyes, all indicated a spirit of rectitude, capable of perseverance and
perfect loyalty, while it gave a singular look to his countenance.
This penthouse forehead might, in fact, hint at a touch of madness,
and his thick-knitted eyebrows added to the apparent eccentricity. He
had the white well-kept hands of a gentleman; his foot was high and
narrow. His hesitating speech--not merely as to his pronunciation,
which was that of a stammerer, but also in the expression of his
ideas, his thought and language--produced on the mind of the hearer
the impression of a man who, in familiar phraseology, comes and goes,
feels his way, tries everything, breaks off his gestures, and finishes
nothing. This defect was purely superficial, and in contrast with the
decisiveness of a firmly-set mouth, and the strongly-marked character
of his physiognomy. His rather jerky gait matched his mode of speech.
These peculiarities helped to affirm his supposed insanity. In spite
of his elegant appearance, he was systematically parsimonious in his
personal expenses, and wore the same black frock-coat for three or
four years, brushed with extreme care by his old man-servant.

As to the children, they both were handsome, and endowed with a grace
which did not exclude an expression of aristocratic disdain. They had
the bright coloring, the clear eye, the transparent flesh which reveal
habits of purity, regularity of life, and a due proportion of work and
play. They both had black hair and blue eyes, and a twist in their
nose, like their father; but their mother, perhaps, had transmitted to
them the dignity of speech, of look and mien, which are hereditary in
the Blamont-Chauvrys. Their voices, as clear as crystal, had an
emotional quality, the softness which proves so seductive; they had,