The expression of his smile,
however, was by no means unpleasing, as might be supposed; but it
had no variation whatever. It was one of profound melancholy- of a
phaseless and unceasing gloom. His eyes were abnormally large, and
round like those of a cat. The pupils, too, upon any accession or
diminution of light, underwent contraction or dilation, just such as
is observed in the feline tribe. In moments of excitement the orbs
grew bright to a degree almost inconceivable; seeming to emit luminous
rays, not of a reflected but of an intrinsic lustre, as does a
candle or the sun; yet their ordinary condition was so totally
vapid, filmy, and dull as to convey the idea of the eyes of a
long-interred corpse.
These peculiarities of person appeared to cause him much
annoyance, and he was continually alluding to them in a sort of half
explanatory, half apologetic strain, which, when I first heard it,
impressed me very painfully. I soon, however, grew accustomed to it,
and my uneasiness wore off. It seemed to be his design rather to
insinuate than directly to assert that, physically, he had not
always been what he was- that a long series of neuralgic attacks had
reduced him from a condition of more than usual personal beauty, to
that which I saw.
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