cope of imagination: a glimpse of sea between two rocks; the rising moon; and a ship crossing its disk; a group of reeds and water…flags; and a naiad’s head; crowned with lotus…flowers; rising out of them; an elf sitting in a hedge…sparrow’s nest; under a wreath of hawthorn… bloom
One morning I fell to sketching a face: what sort of a face it was to be; I did not care or know。 I took a soft black pencil; gave it a broad point; and worked away。 Soon I had traced on the paper a broad and prominent forehead and a square lower outline of visage: that contour gave me pleasure; my fingers proceeded actively to fill it with features。 Strongly…marked horizontal eyebrows must be traced under that brow; then followed; naturally; a well…defined nose; with a straight ridge and full nostrils; then a flexible… looking mouth; by no means narrow; then a firm chin; with a decided cleft down the middle of it: of course; some black whiskers were wanted; and some jetty hair; tufted on the temples; and waved above the forehead。 Now for the eyes: I had left them to the last; because they required the most careful working。 I drew them large; I shaped them well: the eyelashes I traced long and sombre; the irids lustrous and large。 “Good! but not quite the thing;” I thought; as I surveyed the effect: “they want more force and spirit;” and I wrought the shades blacker; that the lights might flash more brilliantly—a happy touch or two secured success。 There; I had a friend’s face under my gaze; and what did it signify that those young ladies turned their backs on me? I looked at it; I smiled at the speaking likeness: I was absorbed and content。
“Is that a portrait of some one you know?” asked Eliza; who had approached me unnoticed。 I responded that it was merely a fancy head; and hu