1662-1742
[Sidenote: R. C. Jebb’s _Bentley_. *]
“The pose of the head is haughty, almost defiant; the eyes, which are
large, prominent, and full of bold vivacity, have a light in them as
if Bentley were looking straight at an impostor whom he had detected,
but who still amused him; the nose, strong and slightly tip-tilted,
is moulded as if Nature had wished to show what a nose can do for the
combined expression of scorn and sagacity; and the general effect of
the countenance, at a first glance, is one which suggests power--frank,
self-assured, sarcastic, and, I fear we must add, insolent: yet,
standing a little longer before the picture, we become aware of an
essential kindness in those eyes of which the gaze is so direct and
intrepid; we read in the whole face a certain keen veracity; and the
sense grows--this was a man who could hit hard, but who would not
strike a foul blow, and whose ruling instinct, whether always a sure
guide or not, was to pierce through falsities to truth.”