No great acquirements were needed, of course, to astonish us.
But he could judge also of very interesting everyday affairs, and, what was of the utmost value, he judged of them with remarkable good sense.

I must mention as a peculiar fact that almost from the first day we all of us thought him a very sensible fellow.

He was not very talkative, he was elegant without exaggeration, surprisingly modest, and at the same time bold and self-reliant, as none of us were.

Our dandies gazed at him with envy, and were completely eclipsed by him.

His face, too, impressed me.
His hair was of a peculiarly intense black, his light-coloured eyes were peculiarly light and calm, his complexion was peculiarly soft and white, the red in his cheeks was too bright and clear, his teeth were like pearls, and his lips like coral--one would have thought that he must be a paragon of beauty, yet at the same time there seemed something repellent about him.