The Face of Rosenfeld — page 121: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OR ERT Crea oo SE oS bya ie eo I> ets Fat ee te é ee cae Z oe. eens eS We 36 - Y eee oe wee r : ‘ : r ie ty 4 ioe - epee ¢ fe oa on ae 114 THE FACE OF ROSENFETL. humanity. He appeared to be between forty and fifty years of age. His face was smooth, his skin very pale and sallow. His cheeks sank into two cavernous hollows. His hair was long and of an ob- stinate straightness. It buried his ears and swept his coat collar. In perfect keeping with the rest of his ap- pearance, his eyes looked as though they might have been of a definite color in his boyhood, but had faded out from long usage. So did his hat, his coat and what was visible of the remainder of his habit. There was a telltale glossiness and a woehegone thread-bareness about them all. If there was a forlorn and utterly cast down atmosphere surrounding his face, this was equally true of his hat and shoes. His ancient coat was buttoned up about his neck with such an evident attempt to conceal the absence of a collar or the dirtiness of his linen, that the only possible excuse for having taken so much pains about the matter seemed to be to allow the observer a chance to amuse himself with a speculation as to which of the two was the fact. And with all this, there were hard lines in the man’s face which spoke of unhappi- ness; even, perhaps, despair. Mr. Belfry bowed as soon as the door was opened. With a placid wink, of which his companion was Dliss- fully unconscious, he said: “‘T believe you was the man, sir, that wanted a man to write letters for you?” ‘TI believe I was,” returned the artist. ‘* And if you have found me the person I want I shall be greatly obliged to you. Let the gentleman come in. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind yourself taking a seat in the vesti- ae bule?” E The hireling gave Meer a ae 100k and a Pa 7 ‘ eo * ~ ~Sk « a - . Se f ina iw = = « | be] »? f * ~~ o-% - ~ . . . eae nian 4 te . . , —) Da ve ¢ BS . it Sa ia >. - sed ~ -—4% ~~ 2s ee = . + -