ButIlikedhisphysiognomyevenlessthanbefore:itstruckmeasbeingatthesametimeunsettledandinanimate。Hiseyewandered，andhadnomeaninginitswandering:thisgavehimanoddlook，suchasIneverrememberedtohaveseen。Forahandsomeandnotanunamiable—lookingman，herepelledmeexceedingly:therewasnopowerinthatsmooth—skinnedfaceofafullovalshape:nofirmnessinthataquilinenoseandsmallcherrymouth;therewasnothoughtonthelow，evenforehead;nocommandinthatblank，browneye。
AsIsatinmyusualnook，andlookedathimwiththelightofthegirandolesonthemantelpiecebeamingfulloverhim—forheoccupiedanarm—chairdrawnclosetothefireandkeptshrinkingstillnearer，asifhewerecold—IcomparedhimwithMr。Rochester。Ithink（withdeferencebeitspoken）thecontrastcouldnotbemuchgreaterbetweenasleekganderandafiercefalcon:betweenameeksheepandtherough—coatedkeen—eyeddog，itsguardian。
HehadspokenofMr。Rochesterasanoldfriend。Acuriousfriendshiptheirsmusthavebeen:apointedillustration，indeed，oftheoldadagethat\'extremesmeet。\'
Twoorthreeofthegentlemensatnearhim，andIcaughtattimesscrapsoftheirconversationacrosstheroom。AtfirstIcouldnotmakemuchsenseofwhatIheard;forthediscourseofLouisaEshtonandMaryIngram，whosatnearertome，confusedthefragmentarysentencesthatreachedmeatintervals。Theselastwerediscussingthestranger;theybothcalledhim\'abeautifulman。\'Louisasaidhewas\'aloveofacreature，\'andshe\'adoredhim\';andMaryinstancedhis\'prettylittlemouth，andnicenose，\'asheridealofthecharming。
\'Andwhatasweet—temperedforeheadhehast\'criedLouisa，—