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?‰mile, 1836-1873

"The Widow Lerouge"

No matter how lovely
they may look, they invariably present some defect, like the work of a
statuary, who, though possessed of genius, attempts for the first time
sculpture on a grand scale. She was small, but her neck, her shoulders,
and her arms had the most exquisite contours. Her hands with their
tapering fingers and rosy nails looked like jewels preciously cared for.
Her feet, encased in silken stockings almost as thin as a spider's-web,
were a marvel; not that they recalled the very fabulous foot which
Cinderella thrust into the glass slipper; but the other, very real, very
celebrated and very palpable foot, of which the fair owner (the lovely
wife of a well-known banker) used to present the model either in bronze
or in marble to her numerous admirers. Her face was, not beautiful, nor
even pretty; but her features were such as one seldom forgets; for, at
the first glance, they startled the beholder like a flash of lightning.
Her forehead was a little high, and her mouth unmistakably large,
notwithstanding the provoking freshness of her lips. Her eyebrows were
so perfect they seem to have been drawn with India ink; but, unhappily
the pencil had been used too heavily; and they gave her an unpleasant
expression when she frowned.


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