1779-1852
[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.]
“Moore’s forehead was bony and full of character, with ‘bumps’ of
wit, large and radiant enough to transport a phrenologist. Sterne had
such another. His eyes were as dark and fine as you would wish to see
under a set of vine-leaves; his mouth generous and good-humoured, with
dimples; and his manner was as bright as his talk, full of the wish
to please and be pleased. He sang, and played with great taste on the
pianoforte, as might be supposed from his musical compositions. His
voice, which was a little hoarse in speaking (at least I used to think
so), softened into a breath, like that of a flute, when singing. In
speaking he was emphatic in rolling the letter _r_, perhaps out of a
despair of being able to get rid of the national peculiarity.”
[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.]
“His eyes sparkle like a champagne bubble; there is a kind of wintry
red, of the tinge of an October leaf, that seems enamelled on his
cheek; his lips are delicately cut, slight, and changeable as an aspen;
the slightly-turned nose confirms the fun of the expression; and
altogether it is a face that sparkles, beams, and radiates--
‘The light that surrounds him is all from within.’”
1835.
[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a Long Life_.]
“I recall him at this moment--his small form and intellectual face rich
in expression, and that expression the sweetest, the most gentle, and
the kindliest. He had still in age the same bright and clear eye, the
same gracious smile, the same suave and winning manner I had noticed as
the attributes of what might in comparison be styled his youth (I have
stated I knew him as long ago as 1821); a forehead not remarkably broad
or high, but singularly impressive, firm, and full, with the organs
of music and gaiety large, and those of benevolence and veneration
greatly preponderating; the nose, as observed in all his portraits,
was somewhat upturned. Standing or sitting, his head was invariably
upraised, owing, perhaps, mainly to his shortness of stature. He had
so much bodily activity as to give him the attribute of restlessness,
and no doubt that usual accompaniment of genius was eminently a
characteristic of his. His hair was, at the time I speak of, thin and
very gray, and he wore his hat with the jaunty air that has been
often remarked as a peculiarity of the Irish. In dress, although far
from slovenly, he was by no means precise. He had but little voice,
yet he sang with a depth of sweetness that charmed all hearers; it was
true melody, and told upon the heart as well as the ear. No doubt much
of this charm was derived from association, for it was only his own
melodies he sang.”--1845.