The
form, though erect and even stately, was that of one who had felt the
long since abolished infirmity of advancing years. The countenance
alone bore no marks of old age. It was full, unwrinkled, firm in
physical as in moral character; calm in the unresisted power of
intellect and will over the passions, serene in a dignity too absolute
and self-contained for pride, but expressing a consciousness of
command over others as evident as the unconscious, effortless command
of self to which it owed its supreme and sublime quietude. The lips
were not set as with a habit of reserve or self-restraint, but close
and even as in the repose to which restraint had never been necessary.
The features were large, clearly defined, and perfect in shape,
proportion, and outline. The brow was massive and broad, but strangely
smooth and even; the head had no single marked development or
deficiency that could have enlightened a phrenologist, as the face
told no tale that a physiognomist could read. The dark deep eyes were
unescapable; while in presence of the portrait you could not for a
moment avoid or forget their living, fixed, direct look into your own.
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