England -- Fiction; Love stories; Scholars -- Fiction
The contour of her face was admirable: nothing could exceed in beauty
the lines of her cheeks or the shape and softness of her chin. Those
who were fastidious in their requirements might object to them that
they bore no dimple; but after all, it is only prettiness that
requires a dimple: full-blown beauty wants no such adventitious aid.
But her eyes! Miss Waddington's eyes! The eyes are the poet's
strongest fortress; it is for their description that he most gathers
up his forces and puts forth all his strength. What of her eyes?
Well, her eyes were bright enough, large enough, well set in her
head. They were clever eyes too--nay, honest eyes also, which is
better. But they were not softly feminine eyes. They never hid
themselves beneath their soft fringes when too curiously looked into,
as a young girl at her window half hides herself behind her curtain.
They were bold eyes, I was going to say, but the word would signify
too much in their dispraise; daring eyes, I would rather say,
courageous, expressive, never shrinking, sometimes also suspicious.
They were fit rather for a man than for so beautiful a girl as our
Caroline Waddington.
But perhaps the most wonderful grace about her was her walk. "Vera
incessu patuit Dea." Alas! how few women can walk! how many are
wilfully averse to attempting any such motion! They scuffle, they
trip, they trot, they amble, they waddle, they crawl, they drag
themselves on painfully, as though the flounces and furbelows around
them were a burden too heavy for easy, graceful motion; but, except
in Spain, they rarely walk. In this respect our heroine was equal to
an Andalusian.
Such and so great were Miss Waddington's outward graces. Some attempt
must also be made to tell of those inner stores with which this
gallant vessel was freighted; for, after all, the outward bravery is
not everything with a woman. It may be that a man in selecting his
wife rarely looks for much else;--for that in addition, of course, to
money; but though he has looked for little else, some other things do
frequently force themselves on his attention soon after the knot is
tied; and as Caroline Waddington will appear in these pages as wife
as well as maid, as a man's companion as well as his plaything,
it may be well to say now something as to her fitness for such
occupation.
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