[Illustration: PAGE 631-- The gaze was long and combative]

He was mounted upon a powerful charger; for indeed it was evident at
a glance that no other would have been equal to his weight. He was
well-dressed--that is to say, in the garb of a country gentleman of the
day. He wore his own hair, however, which fell in long masses over his
shoulders, and a falling collar, which came down over his breast. His
person was robust and healthy looking, and, what is not very usual in
large men, it was remarkable for the most consummate proportion and
symmetry. He wore boots and silver spurs, and his feet were unusually
small, considering his size, as were also his hands. That, however,
which struck the beholder with amazement, was the manly beauty of his
features. At a first glance this was visible; but on contemplating
them more closely you began to feel something strange and wonderful
associated with a feeling of veneration and pleasure. Even this,
however, was comparatively little to what a still more deliberate
perusal of that face brought to light. There could be read that
extraordinary union of humility and grandeur; but above all, and beyond
all other expressions, there proceeded from his eyes, and radiated like
a halo from every part of his countenance, a sense of power which was
felt to be irresistible. His eyes, indeed, were almost transparent with
light--a light so clear, benignant, and strong, that it was impossible
to withstand their glance, radiant with benevolence though it was. The
surrender to that glance, however, was a willing and a pleasing one. The
spectator submitted to it as an individual would to the eye of a blessed
spirit that was known to communicate nothing but good. There, then, they
sat contemplating one another, each, as it were, in the exercise of some
particular power, which, in this case, appeared to depend altogether
on the expressions of the eye. The gaze was long and combative in its
character, and constituted a trial of that moral strength which each,