The elder of the two, he who, as we have already remarked, had
taken the initiative several times, and whose voice, even in
its most familiar intonations, denoted the habit of command,
was about thirty years of age. His black hair was parted in the
middle, falling straight from his temples to his shoulders. He
had the swarthy skin of a man who has travelled long in southern
climes, thin lips, a straight nose, white teeth, and those hawk-like
eyes which Dante gives to Caesar. He was short rather than tall,
his hand was delicate, his foot slender and elegant. His manner
betrayed a certain awkwardness, suggesting that he was at the
moment wearing a costume to which he was not accustomed, and when
he spoke, his hearers, had they been beside the Loire instead
of the Rhone, would have detected a certain Italian accent in
his pronunciation.

His companion seemed to be some three or four years younger than
he. He was a handsome young man with a rosy complexion, blond
hair and light blue eyes, a straight, firm nose and prominent
but almost beardless chin. He was perhaps a couple of inches
taller than his companion, and though his figure was somewhat
above medium height, he was so well proportioned, so admirably
free in his movements, that he was evidently if not extraordinarily
strong, at least uncommonly agile and dexterous. Although attired
in the same manner and apparently on a footing of equality, be
evinced remarkable deference to the dark young man, which, as it
could not result from age, was doubtless caused by some inferiority
of position. Moreover, he called his companion citizen, while
the other addressed him as Roland.