Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 20, No. 33, November 1877Various
Science
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 20, No. 33, November 1877
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
"So it seems," the other replied, in a voice which sounded exactly as if
Percival had answered his own question.
The two young men were wonderfully alike, though hardly one person in a
hundred could see it. They were exactly the same height, their features
were similar, they walked across the room in precisely the same way, and
unconsciously reproduced each other's tricks of manner with singular
fidelity. Yet any remark on this resemblance would almost certainly
encounter a wondering stare, and "Oh, do you think so? Well, I must
confess I can't see much likeness myself;" the fact being that the
similarity was in form and gait, while both color and expression
differed greatly. Horace's hair had the same strong waves as Percival's,
but it was chestnut-brown, his eyes were a clear light gray, his
complexion showed a fatal delicacy of white and red. His expression was
more varying, his smile was readier and his glance more restless.
He had once taken a college friend, whose hobby was photography, to
Brackenhill. Young Felton arrived with all his apparatus, and
photographed the whole household with such inordinate demands on their
time, and such atrocious results, that every one fled from him in
horror. Horace was the most patient of his victims, and Felton declared
that he _would_ have a good one of Thorne. But even Horace was tired out
at last, and said very mildly that he didn't particularly care for the
smell of the stuff, and he was afraid his portraits wouldn't help him to
a situation if ever he wanted one--apply, stating terms and enclosing
carte; that he thought it uncommonly kind of Felton to take so much
trouble, but if ever he let him try again, he'd be--Sissy was there, and
the sentence, which had been said over his shoulder as he leaned out of
the window, ended in a puff of smoke up into the blue. Felton begged for
one more, and persuaded Sissy to be his advocate. "I've an idea that
something will come of it," said the hapless photographer. Horace
yielded at last, and sat down, grimly resolute that he would yield no
more. Something _did_ come of it. Felton got it very much too dark, and
the result was a tolerable photograph and a startling likeness of
Percival.
The incident caused some little amusement at Brackenhill, and visitors
were duly puzzled with the portrait. But it was not long remembered,
and people dropped into their former habit of thinking that there was
but a slight resemblance between the cousins. Only, Percival carried off
the photograph, and was interested for a week or two in questions of
doubtful identity, looking up a few old cases of mysterious claimants,
and speculating as to the value of the testimony for and against them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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