reverse of broad, but yet they were not sloping, and a certain squareness in them was naturally incompatible with anything feminine in his appearance.  To his last days he still suffered his chest to collapse; but it was less a stoop than a peculiar mode of holding the head and shoulders,—­the face thrown a little forward, and the shoulders slightly elevated; though the whole attitude below the shoulders, when standing, was unusually upright, and had the appearance of litheness and activity.  I have mentioned that bodily vigor which he could display; and from his action when I last saw him, as well as from Mary’s account, it is evident that he had not abandoned his exercises, but the reverse.  He had an oval face and delicate features, not unlike those given to him in the well-known miniature.  His forehead was high.  His fine, dark brown hair, when not cut close, disposed itself in playful and very beautiful curls over his brows and round the back of his neck.  He had brown eyes, with a color in his cheek “like a girl’s”; but as he grew older, his complexion bronzed.  So far the reality agrees with the current descriptions; nevertheless they omit material facts.  The outline of the features and face possessed a firmness and hardness entirely inconsistent with a feminine character.  The outline was sharp and firm; the markings distinct, and indicating an energetic physique.  The outline of the bone was distinctly perceptible at the temples, on the bridge of the nose, at the back portion of the cheeks, and in the jaw, and the artist could trace the principal muscles of the face.  The beard also, although the reverse of strong, was clearly marked, especially about the chin.  Thus, although the general aspect was peculiarly slight, youthful, and delicate, yet, when you looked to “the points” of the animal, you saw well enough the indications of a masculine vigor, in many respects far above the average.  And what I say of the physical aspect of course bears upon the countenance.  That changed with every feeling.  It usually looked earnest,—­when joyful, was singularly bright and animated, like that of a gay young girl,—­when saddened, had an aspect of sorrow peculiarly touching, and sometimes it fell into a listless weariness still more mournful; but for the most part there was a look of active movement, promptitude, vigor, and decision, which bespoke a manly, and even a commanding character.

The general tendency that all who approached Shelley displayed to yield to his dictate is a practical testimony to these qualities; for his earnestness was apt to take a tone of command so generous, so free, so simple, as to be utterly devoid of offence, and yet to constitute him a sort of tyrant over all who came within his reach.