Brook Farm: Historic and Personal MemoirsCodman, John Thomas
History
Brook Farm: Historic and Personal Memoirs
Codman, John Thomas
Brook Farm Phalanx (West Roxbury, Boston, Mass.)
It was a pleasure for Mr. Dwight to secure a quartette of singers from
the city. I could mention names, but I forbear, yet there are two faces
so indelibly linked with those most happy hours, that I must, in order
to be true to this sketch of Brook Farm life, twine them into my
narrative.
The first face was serene, charming and dignified. Its cheeks were
round and gracefully full, and colored with delicious pink, and a
dimple rounded in them when the kindly face smiled. Above them reigned
a queenly forehead, and over the brown eyes a fine brow. The nose was
straight, the upper lip short, and the features were regular. The owner
of this face was tall and graceful, and her dark, glossy hair was
combed plainly back. She was ever neatly dressed, and her favorite
decoration was a wreath of the wild partridge vine, rich with its red
berries, which added to her graceful presence. It was her sweet voice,
soft and low, that chimed in, in our quartette. She came and went and
seemed one of us, as in spirit she was, though in fact only a friendly
visitor.
The other face was different and not as pretty, yet it grew upon you
more and more.
There was no blue like those eyes of blue, if they were delicately
small, and if there was a little drooping expression as though the sun
above was a trifle too powerful for them. This was no detriment,
however; it lent them a mildness, a soft haze, like that we so much
admire in a landscape, and made them more in keeping with the mild,
tranquil countenance.
The eyebrows were softly penciled--not bold, not prominent--and were
not much arched, and the nose, that was Grecian, was full between the
eyes. The lips were of good size as well as the mouth, and the upper
lip long enough to indicate strength of character. The chin was finely
drawn, and the throat rather large and full. About the mouth, even in
repose, seemed to rest the faint semblance of a smile, as though it
could not leave its pleasant dwelling place; as though it was akin to
the features themselves, as the color of the eyes or hair. The forehead
was pure, womanly; intellectual enough, full enough, high enough, but
toned down to the sweet, womanly features. It was a fine face; a
vigorous, womanly one, unmarked with a single manly symptom, but
independent, pure and serene.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account