This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
190
DUTY AND INCLINATION.

what the outward appearance denoted. The one, an English Baronet of middle age; the other a French Marquis, somewhat older; the former tall and slender, possessing a mildness of physiognomy, not deeply marked by suffering, seeming to bend and yield with a patient fortitude to what his untowaird destiny rendered unavoidable. The Marquis was of middling stature, and unlike the picture generally given of his countrymen, rather inclined to corpulency: the expression of his countenance was various; ease, candour, and good humour had been accustomed to reign there; but in the present instance they were chased, and a sad dismay preponderated over every feature, with the exception of his brow, which in spite of mental depression maintained its arched and elevated character. The Baronet seemed to avoid alleviation derived from sympathy; which the Marquis, on the contrary, seemed eagerly to court; his heart was of a congenial softness, ever ready to impart, as to receive consolation. The Baronet was single, and his cares concentred in himself; like De Brooke, the Marquis had a wife whom he tenderly loved; he had also a little daughter, lively and playful, the sole object of her parents' hopes: to be beyond the possibility of clasping this little creature in his arms, and being soothed by her endearments, was