His mouth was well cut, with lips compressed and puckered at the
corners in a severe fold, and his chin was prominent. He had a deep
voice,[8] but his speech was halting and often tremulous with emotion;
he would speak passionately of what interested him, and at times be
effusive in manner, but more often he was ungracious and reserved. He
was of medium height, rather thin and angular in figure, and when seated
he seemed much taller than he really was.[9] He was very restless, and
inherited from his native land, Dauphiné, the mountaineer's passion for
walking and climbing, and the love of a vagabond life, which remained
with him nearly to his death.[10] He had an iron constitution, but he
wrecked it by privation and excess, by his walks in the rain, and by
sleeping out-of-doors in all weathers, even when there was snow on the
ground.[11]

[Footnote 8: "A passable baritone," says Berlioz _(Mémoires_, I, 58). In
1830, in the streets of Paris, he sang "a bass part" _(Mémoires_, I,
156). During his first visit to Germany the Prince of Hechingen made him
sing "the part of the violoncello" in one of his compositions
(_Mémoires_, II, 32).]

[Footnote 9: There are two good portraits of Berlioz. One is a
photograph by Pierre Petit, taken in 1863, which he sent to Mme. Estelle
Fornier. It shows him leaning on his elbow, with his head bent, and his
eyes fixed on the ground as if he were tired. The other is the
photograph which he had reproduced in the first edition of his
_Mémoires_, and which shows him leaning back, his hands in his pockets,
his head upright, with an expression of energy in his face, and a fixed
and stern look in his eyes.]