h slippers on his feet, and a shirt of pure
white linen, with a great wide collar edged with white lace, the shirt
buttoned about midway down his breast, the big lapels of the collar thrown
open, the points touching his shoulders, and exposing the upper portion of
his hirsute chest. He wore a vest of gray homespun, but it was unbuttoned
almost to the bottom. He had no coat on, and his shirt sleeves were turned
up above the elbows, exposing most beautifully shaped arms, and flesh of
the most delicate whiteness. Although it was so hot, he did not perspire
visibly, while I had to keep mopping my face. His hands are large and
massive, but in perfect proportion to the arms; the fingers long, strong,
white, and tapering to a blunt end. His nails are square, showing about an
eighth of an inch separate from the flesh, and I noticed that there was
not a particle of impurity beneath any of them. But his majesty is
concentrated in his head, which is set with leonine grace and dignity upon
his broad, square shoulders; and it is almost entirely covered with long,
fine, straggling hair, silvery and glistening, pure and white as sunlit
snow, rather thin on the top of his high, rounded crown, streaming over
and around his large but delicately-shaped ears, down the back of his big
neck; and, from his pinky-white cheeks and top lip, over the lower part of
his face, right down to the middle of his chest, like a cataract of
materialized, white, glistening vapor, giving him a most venerable and
patriarchal appearance. His high, massive forehead is seamed with
wrinkles. His nose is large, strong, broad, and prominent, but
beautifully chiseled and proportioned, almost straight, very slightly
depressed at the tip, and with deep furrows on each side, running down to
the angles of the mouth. The eyebrows are thick and shaggy, with strong,
white hair, very highly arched and standing a long way above the eyes,
which are of a light blue with a tinge of gray, small, rather deeply set,
calm, clear, penetrating, and revealing unfathomable depths of tenderness,
kindness, and sympathy. The upper eyelids droop considerably over the
eyeballs. The lips, which are partly hidden by the thick, white mustache,
are full. The whole face impresses one with a sense of resoluteness,
strength, and intellectual power, and yet withal a winning sweetness,
unconquerable radiance, and hopeful joyousness. His voice is highly
pitched and musical, with a timbre which is astoni