126 THE MOUNTAINS 



do what I can to hold back an extraordi- 

 nary character from the inequity of tem- 

 poral oblivion. 



The outward thing which appealed to 

 me when I first met John, twelve years 

 and more ago, was the directness of his 

 face. I do not mean facial sincerity, that 

 expression of moral genuineness which 

 ennobled the face of John Jasper. Neither 

 do I mean that expression of personal 

 frankness which was no small part of the 

 fascination of Booker T. Washington's 

 face, one of the three most powerful faces 

 of modern times. I mean no moral or 

 personal thing whatsoever, but merely 

 that immediateness, or nakedness if you 

 will, with which nature sometimes reveals 

 an unmitigated reality. For example, 

 note the sheer bareness of a crag when 

 the whole mass, with every jut and fissure, 

 stands exposed without even a softening 

 shadow. John's face was like that. It 

 gave out directly, nakedly, all the mean- 

 ing he had. 



