was more to me than Winsford,
that fragrant, cool, grey and green village, the home of immemorial
peace, second to no English village in beauty; with its hoary church
tower, its great trees, its old stone, thatched cottages draped in ivy
and vine, its soothing sound of running waters. Exeter itself did not
impress me so strongly, in spite of its cathedral. The village of Exford
printed itself thus sharply on my mind because I had there been filled
with wonder and delight at the sight of a face exceeding in loveliness
all the faces seen in that West Country--a rarest human gem, which had
the power of imparting to its setting something of its own wonderful
lustre. The type was a common Somerset one, but with marked differences
in some respects, else it could not have been so perfect.

The type I speak of is a very distinct one: in a crowd in a London
street you can easily spot a Somerset man who has this mark on his
countenance, but it shows more clearly in the woman. There are more
types than one, but the variety is less than in other places; the women
are more like each other, and differ more from those that are outside
their borders than is the case in other English counties. A woman of
this prevalent type, to be met with anywhere from Bath and Bedminster
to the wilds of Exmoor, is of a good height, and has a pleasant, often a
pretty face; regular features, the nose straight, rather long, with thin
nostrils; eyes grey-blue; hair brown, neither dark nor light, in many
cases with a sandy or sunburnt tint. Black, golden, reds, chestnuts are
rarely seen. There is always colour in the skin, but not deep; as a rule
it is a light tender brown with a rosy or reddish tinge. Altogether
it is a winning face, with smiling eyes; there is more in it of that
something we can call "refinement" than is seen in women of the same
class in other counties. The expression is somewhat infantile; a young
woman, even a middle-aged woman, will frequently remind you of a little
girl of seven or eight summers. The innocent eyes and mobile mouth are
singularly childlike. This peculiarity is the more striking when we
consider the figure. This is not fully developed according to the
accepted standards the hips are too small, the chest too narrow and
flat, the arms too thin. True or false, the idea is formed of a woman
of a childlike, affectionate nature, but lacking in passion, one to be
chosen for a sister rather than a wife. Something in us--insti