Some few weeks agone, she had accompanied to the study of a certain
painter, a friend who was then sitting to him for her portrait. The
moment she entered, the appearance of the man and his surroundings
laid hold of her imagination. Although on the very verge of popularity,
he was young--not more than five and twenty. His face, far from
what is called handsome, had a certain almost grandeur in it, owed
mainly to the dominant forehead, and the regnant life in the eyes.
To this the rest of the countenance was submissive. The mouth was
sweet yet strong, seeming to derive its strength from the will
that towered above and overhung it, throned on the crags of those
eyebrows. The nose was rather short, not unpleasantly so, and had
mass enough. In figure he was scarcely above the usual height,
but well formed. To a first glance even, the careless yet graceful
freedom of his movements was remarkable, while his address was
manly, and altogether devoid of self recommendation. Confident
modesty and unobtrusive ease distinguished his demeanour. His
father, Arnold Lenorme, descended from an old Norman family, had
given him the Christian name of Raoul, which, although outlandish,
tolerably fitted the surname, notwithstanding the contiguous l's,
objectionable to the fastidious ear of their owner.
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