e lady, it was upon the boy alone that the eye
of every spectator would have dwelt, from the instant of its first
discovering him.

He was tall of his age, and very finely made, of proportions which
gave promise of exceeding strength when he should arrive at maturity,
but strength uncoupled to any thing of weight or clumsiness. He was
unusually free, even at this early period, from that heavy and
ungraceful redundance of flesh which not unfrequently is the
forerunner of athletic power in boys just bursting into manhood; for
he was already as conspicuous for the thinness of his flanks, and the
shapely hollow of his back, as for the depth and roundness of his
chest, the breadth of his shoulders, and the symmetry of his limbs.

His head was well set on, and his whole bearing was that of one who
had learned ease, and grace, and freedom, combined with dignity of
carriage, in no school of practice and mannerism, but from the example
of those with whom he had been brought up, and by familiar intercourse
from his cradle upward with the high-born and gently nurtured of the
land.

His long rich chestnut hair fell down in natural masses, undisfigured
as yet by the hideous art of the court hair-dresser, on either side
his fine broad forehead, and curled, untortured by the crisping-irons,
over the collar of his velvet jerkin. His eyes were large and very
clear, of the deepest shade of blue, with dark lashes, yet full of
strong, tranquil light. All his features were regular and shapely, but
it was not so much in the beauty of their form, or in the harmony of
their coloring that the attractiveness of his aspect consisted, as in
the peculiarity and power of his expression.

For a boy of his age, the pensiveness and composure of that expression
were indeed almost unnatural, and they combined with a calm firmness
and immobility of feature, which promised, I know not what of
resolution and tenacity of purpose. It was not gravity, much less
sternness, or sadness, that lent so powerful an expression to that
young face; nor was there a single line which indicated coldness or
hardness of heart, or which would have led to a suspicion that he had
been schooled by those hard monitors, suffering and sorrow. No, it was
pure thoughtfulness, and that of the highest and most intellectual
order, which characterized the boy's expression.

Yet, though it was so thoughtful, there was nothing in the aspect
whence to forebode a want of the more mascu