The agitation
and anxiety of his public life was more than compensated
by his domestic happiness, which seems to have been complete.
It was a saying of Burke, thoroughly illustrative of his
character, that "to love the little platoon we belong to
in society is the germ of all public affections." His
description of his wife, in her youth, is probably one
of the finest word-portraits in the language:--
"She is handsome; but it is a beauty not arising from features,
from complexion, or from shape. She has all three in a high
degree, but it is not by these she touches the heart; it is all
that sweetness of temper, benevolence, innocence, and sensibility,
which a face can express, that forms her beauty. She has a face
that just raises your attention at first sight; it grows on you
every moment, and you wonder it did no more than raise your
attention at first.
"Her eyes have a mild light, but they awe when she pleases;
they command, like a good man out of office, not by authority,
but by virtue.
"Her stature is not tall; she is not made to be the admiration
of everybody, but the happiness of one.
"She has all the firmness that does not exclude delicacy;
she has all the softness that does not imply weakness.
"Her voice is a soft low music--not formed to rule in public
assemblies, but to charm those who can distinguish a company
from a crowd; it has this advantage--YOU MUST COME CLOSE TO
HER TO HEAR IT.
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