ears an
absurdly strong family likeness to Cecil's, amounting to a parody. But
the outline of feature which in her is so fine and clear, is dull and
filled out even to coarseness. It reminded one of looking at the same
landscape, first through the medium of a bright blue sky, and then
through driving mist, when crag, and cliff, and wood still show
themselves, but blurred and dimly. His hair and eyes are, by several
shades, the lighter of the two. The great difference is in the mouth.
Cecil's is so delicately chiseled, so apt at all expressions, from
tender to provocative, that many consider it one of her best points; her
brother's is so weak and undecided in its character (or rather want of
character), that it would make a more intellectual face vacuous and
inane.

The "Tresilyan constitution" holds its own gallantly against the inroads
of hardish living, and Dick looks the picture of rude health. Men
endowed with an invincible obtuseness of intellect and feeling, have no
mental wear and tear, and if the machine starts in good order, it seems
as if it might last out indefinitely; so it would, I dare say, if it
were not for a propensity to drink, and otherwise to abuse their bodily
advantages, peculiar to this class. But for this neutralizing element in
their composition perhaps they would live as long as crows or elephants,
and we should be visited by a succession of stupid Old Parrs; which
would be a very dreadful dispensation indeed. The present subject takes
a good deal of exercise, to be sure, and naturally, few cares have ever
troubled him; he has always had more money than he knew what to do with,
and--as for serious annoyances, a certain train of thought is necessary
to form them, while our poor Dick's brain is utterly incapable of
holding more than one idea at a time. Whatever may happen to be the
dominant thought, reigns with an undivided empire, and will not endure a
rival even near its throne, till it is violently thrust out and
annihilated by its successor, on the principle of

The priest that slays the slayer,
And shall himself be slain.

He never originates a conception, of course, but is always open to a
fair offer in the way of a suggestion from any body, and adopts it with
the blind zeal of a proselyte. It follows that chance occurrences may
bother him for the moment, but he is saved an infinity of trouble by
being independent of foresight and memory. To this last defect there is
one exception