that the men, if not sterner, had faces at all events less mild and soft
in expression than the women, and also a slight perceptible down on the
cheeks and upper lip.

After a first hasty survey of the group in general, I had eyes for only
one person in it--a fine graceful girl about fourteen years old, and the
youngest by far of the party. A description of this girl will give some
idea, albeit a very poor one, of the faces and general appearance of
this strange people I had stumbled on. Her dress, if a garment so brief
can be called a dress, showed a slaty-blue pattern on a straw-colored
ground, while her stockings were darker shades of the same colors. Her
eyes, at the distance I stood from her, appeared black, or nearly black,
but when seen closely they proved to be green--a wonderfully pure,
tender sea-green; and the others, I found, had eyes of the same hue. Her
hair fell to her shoulders; but it was very wavy or curly, and strayed
in small tendril-like tresses over her neck, forehead and cheeks; in
color it was golden black--that is, black in shade, but when touched
with sunlight every hair became a thread of shining red-gold; and in
some lights it looked like raven-black hair powdered with gold-dust. As
to her features, the forehead was broader and lower, the nose larger,
and the lips more slender, than in our most beautiful female types. The
color was also different, the delicately molded mouth being purple-red
instead of the approved cherry or coral hue; while the complexion was a
clear dark, and the color, which mantled the cheeks in moments of
excitement, was a dim or dusky rather than a rosy red.

The exquisite form and face of this young girl, from the first moment of
seeing her, produced a very deep impression; and I continued watching
her every movement and gesture with an intense, even a passionate
interest. She had a quantity of flowers in her hand; but these sweet