I hung back for a moment, striving vainly to distinguish the words.
Without pausing to make my presence known, I opened the door quietly, and stepped within.

The room was not a large one, though it occupied the full width of the house; and the two lighted candles that illumined it, one sitting upon a table otherwise bare, the other occupying the rude dresser in the far corner, revealed clearly the entire interior.
The sole occupant of the room sat upon a corner of the table, one foot resting on the floor, the other dangling carelessly.

Hardly more than a year my elder, he bore in his face the indelible marks of a life vastly different.

His features were clear-cut, and undeniably handsome, with a curl of rare good-humor to his lips and an audacious sparkle within his dark eyes.

His hat, cocked and ornamented in foreign fashion, lay beside him; and I could not help noting his long hair, carefully powdered and arranged with a nicety almost conspicuous, while his clothing was rich in both texture and coloring, and exhibited many traces of vanity in ribbon and ornament.