It is even uncertain whether he would not actually
have repented and taken to flight, had not Abbie come up at the critical
moment, and carried him off to Cornelia.
"I wanted to have the pleasure of presenting Mr. Bressant to you
myself," said she, with the same peculiar smile; and so left them
together.
The young man stood confronting the young woman, who, besides being
dressed with great taste, looked, owing to the whimsical circumstances
in which she was placed, every bit of beauty she had. Bressant stared
at her in astonishment.
One woman's beauty cannot be contrasted with another's; as well compare
a summer valley with the white clouds sailing over it; each is to be
enjoyed in its own way. But Cornelia's loveliness carried with it a
peculiar quality, which not only gratified the eye, but went further,
and seemed to touch a vital chord in the beholder, jarring throughout
his being with a sweet distribution of effect, and causing heart and
voice to vibrate. It made Bressant conscious in every fibre that he was
man and she woman. Whence came the influence he could not tell, and
meanwhile it gained ever stronger and deeper hold upon him. Was it from
the eyes, a-sparkle with the essence of youth and health? or from the
mouth, with its red warmth of full yet delicate curves? the gates of
what sweetness of breath! or from the crisp, dark, lustreless luxuriance
of the hair? or from the curved shadows melting on the cheeks, and
nestling beneath the chin? He could trace it to no single one of these
various elements--yet how lovely all were! Whence, then, was it? In a
bottle of wine there are many drops, alike in color, shape, flavor, and
sparkle; in which one, of all, lurks the intoxication? The only way to
make sure of the drop is to drink the bottle; and, even then, though
there will be no doubt about the intoxication, its precise origin may
still be disputed.
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