His ideally beautiful women generally have yellow hair. The lady In a Gondola had coiled hair, "a round smooth cord of gold." In Evelyn Hope, the "hair's young gold:" in Love Among the Ruins, "eager eyes and yellow hair:" in A Toccata,
Dear dead women, with such hair, too—what's become of all the gold
Used to hang and brush their bosoms?
And we must not forget his poem, Gold Hair. His descriptions of women's faces are never conventional, rosy cheeks and bright eyes, but always definite and specific. In Time's Revenges, the unfortunate lover is maddened by the vision of the girl's face:
So is my spirit, as flesh with sin,
Filled full, eaten out and in
With the face of her, the eyes of her,
The lips, the little chin, the stir
Of shadow round her mouth.
Browning's rejected lovers are such splendid fellows that one wonders at their ill luck. Tennyson's typical lovers, as seen in Locksley Hall, Lady Clara Vere de Vere, and the first part of Maud, behave in a manner that quite justifies the woman. They whine, they rave, and they seem most of all to be astonished at the woman's lack of judgment in not recognising their merits. Instead of a noble sorrow, they exhibit peevishness; they seem to say, "You'll be sorry some day." Browning's rejected lovers never think of themselves and their own defeat; they think only of the woman, who is now more adorable than ever. It never occurs to them that the woman is lacking in intelligence because of her refusal; nor that the man she prefers is a lowbrowed scoundrel. They are chivalrous; they do their best to win. When they lose, they would rather have been rejected by this woman than accepted by any other; and they are always ready to congratulate the man more fortunate than they. They are in fact simply irresistible, and one can not help believing in their ultimate success. In The Lost Mistress, which Swinburne said was worth a thousand Lost Leaders, the lover has just been rejected, and instead of thinking of his own misery, he endeavours to make the awkward situation easier for the girl by small-talk about the sparrows and the leaf-buds. She has urged that their friendship continue; that this episode need not put an end to their meetings, and that he can come to see her as often as he likes, only there must be no nonsense; he must promise to be sensible, and treat her only as a friend. Instead of rejecting this suggestion with scorn, he accepts, and agrees to do his best.
Tomorrow we meet the same then, dearest?
May I take your hand in mine?
Mere friends are we …
Yet I will but say what mere friends say,
Or only a thought stronger;
I will hold your hand but as long as all may,
Or so very little longer!
"I will do my best to please you, but remember I'm made of flesh and blood."
In One Way of Love, the same kind of man appears. Pauline likes flowers, music, and fine speeches. He is just a mere man, who has never noticed a flower in his life, who is totally indifferent to music, and never could talk with eloquence. But if Pauline likes these things, he must endeavor to impress her, if not with his skill, at all events with his devotion. He sends her a beautiful bouquet; she does not even notice it. For months he tries to learn the instrument, until finally he can play "his tune." She does not even listen; he throws the lute away, for he cares nothing for music except for her sake. At last comes the supreme moment when he makes his declaration, on which the whole happiness of his life depends.
This hour my utmost art I prove
And speak my passion-heaven or hell?
Many lovers, on being rejected, would simply repeat the last word just quoted. This fine sportsmanlike hero remarks,