He was of middle height, slightly bent by
age, with a large and expansive chest; his features were common
in their cast, but possessed of the most perfect regularity. His
eyes, which he from time to time raised from the music he was
considering, were round and sparkling but small, and the heavy
brows which hung over them, conveyed an idea of gloom and severity;
but his mouth, which was certainly the most beautiful and fascinating
in its expression I ever saw, soon removed this unfavourable
impression. Altogether there belonged to his countenance a
smile of mixed sweetness and sadness, which bestowed on it an
indescribable charm.
To complete my description, I must not forget to add his dress,
which consisted of a dirty cotton cap, to which were fixed strings
of a riband that had once been scarlet; a pelisse with arm-holes,
a flannel waistcoat, snuff-coloured breeches, gray stockings, and
shoes slipped down at the heel, after the fashion of slippers.
Such was the portrait, and such the abode of the man who believed
himself to be one of the potentates of the earth and who, in fact,
had once owned his little court and train of courtiers; for, in
the century in which he lived, talent had become as arbitrary as
sovereign power--thanks to the stupidity of some of our grandees
and the caprice of Frederick of Prussia.
Meanwhile my host, undisturbed by my reflections, had quietly
gone over his packet of music.
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