There was an
alertness in her erect ear, and open nostril, and pointed brows which
indicated keen perception and comprehension; yet even more than this
generic quickness, without which she could not have been French, the
gentleness of Suzette was manifest.
Ralph thought to himself that she must be good. It was the face of a
sweet sister or a bright daughter, or one of those school-children with
whom he had played long ago. And withal she was very neat. If any
commandment was issued especially to the French, it enjoined tidiness;
but this child was so quietly attired that her cleanliness seemed a
matter of nature, not of command. Her cheap coral ear-drops and the thin
band of gold upon her white finger could not have been so fitting had
they been of diamonds; and her tresses, inclosed in a fillet of beads,
were tied in a breadth of blue ribbon which made a cunning lover's-knot
above. A plain collar and wristbands, a bright cotton dress and dark
apron, and a delicate slipper below--these were the components of a
picture which Ralph thought the loveliest and pleasantest and best that
he had ever known.
In his own sober city of the Middle States he would have been ashamed to
connect with these innocent features a doubt, a light thought, a desire.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107