She had a profusion of fine light brown hair, which fell in ringlets over her well-shaped neck and shoulders.

Her figure was still rather slender; but her features recalled Guide's most celestial faces.

Her blue eyes, shaded by long lashes of a hue darker than her hair, had above all an adorable expression.
A certain air of antiquity, the result of her association with her grandmother, added yet another charm to the young girl's manner.

She had more sense, however, than her relative; and, as her education had not been neglected, she had imbibed pretty correct ideas of the world in which she lived.

This education, these practical ideas, Claire owed to her governess, upon whose shoulders the marchioness had thrown the entire responsibility of cultivating her mind.
This governess, Mademoiselle Schmidt, chosen at hazard, happened by the most fortunate chance to be both well informed and possessed of principle.