THE OLD COUNTET GENTLEMAH. 211 







ruddy glow to the cheek betokening buoyant health. The 

 white beard falls in wavy masses on the full chest; a 

 sparkling diamond, in antique silver setting, glows on the 

 ruffled shirt, and shines like a bright star through a broken 

 cloud in a moonlit sky. The moustache is as silken as a 

 boy's, and curves away from lips that are apart enough to 

 show natural, weU formed teeth. The nose is slightly 

 aquiline, and shows determination without so much bend 

 as to appear haughty. The eyes are a deep blue, earnest 

 looking eyes, exemplifying the strong soul which you 

 can see shadowed in them. The brow is broad and pro- 

 minent. The hair the same shining hue as the beard, but 

 clinging in close curls to the round, well-formed head. 

 The crown is bald, making the closely curled locks look 

 like an ivy garland. He dresses with consummate taste, 

 and he has the rare faculty of looking well-dressed, even if 

 corduroys and a fustian shooting-jacket envelop his manly 

 frame. It is supererogatory to say that he excelled in all 

 manly sports when younger, and still rides across the 

 country, disdaining to turn for a stake-and-ridered fence, 

 and would nearly as soon be caught in a mean act as to 

 shoot a partridge or pheasant when not on the wing. He 

 is a graduate of one of England's most celebrated colleges, 

 well versed in modern literature, plays cribbage and whist 

 scientifically, gives me the rook and move at chess, and 

 beats me more than half the time then. His farm is a 

 model in arrangement and management, and his crops 

 and stock show how much skill can accomplish in making 

 a naturally sterile soil look well and pay well. 



PUPIL. Really, my worthy master, I am more in the 

 dark than ever. I would have cheerfully wagered quite 

 a large sum, for me, that you had some other object in 

 your twice-a-year visits than calling on the friend with 

 the wondrous nerve force. Hunting, fishing, and camp- 

 ing, are all very pleasant ; yet I was ready to swear your 



