Friday, November 6, 2009

I liked her from the first




I liked her from the first. She was of most pleasing appearance.
 She was very mild. Her eyes were the mildest I had ever seen.
 In this she was quite unlike the rest of the girls and women of the Folk,
 who were born viragos. She never made harsh, angry cries,
 and it seemed to be her nature to flee away from trouble
 rather than to remain and fight.
...
The mildness I have mentioned seemed to emanate from her whole being.
 Her bodily as well as facial appearance was the cause of this.
 Her eyes were larger than most of her kind, and they were not so deep-set, 
while the lashes were longer and more regular. Nor was her nose so thick
 and squat. It had quite a bridge, and the nostrils opened downward.
Her incisors were not large, nor was her upper lip long and down-hanging,
 nor her lower lip protruding. She was not very hairy, except on the outsides
 of arms and legs and across the shoulders; and while she was thin-hipped,
 her calves were not twisted and gnarly.
...
I have often wondered, looking back upon her from the twentieth century
 through the medium of my dreams, and it has always occurred to me
 that possibly she may have been related to the Fire People. 
Her father, or mother, might well have come from that higher stock.
 
 
 
 
~ Jack London
 from Before Adam



 
 


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