CHAPTER XVII 216
her appearance accorded with Mrs . Fairfax ' s description ; secondly , whether it at all resembled the fancy miniature I had painted of her ; and thirdly -- it will out ! -- whether it were such as I should fancy likely to suit Mr . Rochester ' s taste .
As far as person went , she answered point for point , both to my picture and Mrs . Fairfax ' s description . The noble bust , the sloping shoulders , the graceful neck , the dark eyes and black ringlets were all there ; -- but her face ? Her face was like her mother ' s ; a youthful unfurrowed likeness : the same low brow , the same high features , the same pride . It was not , however , so saturnine a pride ! she laughed continually ; her laugh was satirical , and so was the habitual expression of her arched and haughty lip .
Genius is said to be self-conscious . I cannot tell whether Miss Ingram was a genius , but she was self-conscious -- remarkably self- conscious indeed . She entered into a discourse on botany with the gentle Mrs . Dent . It seemed Mrs . Dent had not studied that science : though , as she said , she liked flowers , " especially wild ones ;" Miss Ingram had , and she ran over its vocabulary with an air . I presently perceived she was ( what is vernacularly termed ) TRAILING Mrs . Dent ; that is , playing on her ignorance -- her TRAIL might be clever , but it was decidedly not good-natured . She played : her execution was brilliant ; she sang : her voice was fine ; she talked French apart to her mamma ; and she talked it well , with fluency and with a good accent .
Mary had a milder and more open countenance than Blanche ; softer features too , and a skin some shades fairer ( Miss Ingram was dark as a Spaniard ) -- but Mary was deficient in life : her face lacked expression , her eye lustre ; she had nothing to say , and having once taken her seat , remained fixed like a statue in its niche . The sisters were both attired in spotless white .
And did I now think Miss Ingram such a choice as Mr . Rochester would be likely to make ? I could not tell -- I did not know his taste in female beauty . If he liked the majestic , she was the very type of majesty : then she was accomplished , sprightly . Most gentlemen would admire her , I thought ; and