of strength. It would have been a difficult task to move such a man
against his will, for when his feet were once planted on the ground,
it was as if they had taken root. As he doffed his Muscovite cap,
locks of thick curly hair fell over his broad, massive forehead.
When his ordinarily pale face became at all flushed,
it arose solely from a more rapid action of the heart.
His eyes, of a deep blue, looked with clear, frank, firm gaze.
The slightly-contracted eyebrows indicated lofty heroism--"the hero's
cool courage," according to the definition of the physiologist.
He possessed a fine nose, with large nostrils; and a well-shaped mouth,
with the slightly-projecting lips which denote a generous
and noble heart.

Michael Strogoff had the temperament of the man of action, who does
not bite his nails or scratch his head in doubt and indecision.
Sparing of gestures as of words, he always stood motionless like a soldier
before his superior; but when he moved, his step showed a firmness,
a freedom of movement, which proved the confidence and vivacity
of his mind.

Michael Strogoff wore a handsome military uniform something
resembling that of a light-cavalry officer in the field--
boots, spurs, half tightly-fitting trousers, brown pelisse,
trimmed with fur and ornamented with yellow braid.
On his breast glittered a cross and several medals.

Michael Strogoff belonged to the special corps of the Czar's
couriers, ranking as an officer among those picked men.
His most discernible characteristic--particularly in his walk,
his face, in the whole man, and which the Czar perceived