![]() ![]() But he loves to sing, and often improvises his own songs. He was found in a silk-lined basket at the door of a good poor man in Bristol. He tells the officer that he does not know his birthplace or the identity of his parents. When Billy was being formally mustered into the service, the officer learns that Billy was a foundling. There is something princely about him, suggesting aristocratic lineage. Though he is a foundling, his whole look suggests that he might carry some of the grace and loveliness of a mother whom we can surmise was beautiful. His beauty is described as being deeply Saxon (blond and blue-eyed), and possessing something of the serenity of Greek sculpture. But even on the Bellipotent, his presence is welcomed by crewmen and officers. Billy is unaware of the change a lack of self-consciousness about his charisma is one of his most appealing traits. The crew is larger, and many of the military sailors have their own share of good looks, physical prowess, and fine character: "As the Handsome Sailor, Billy Budd's position aboard the seventy-four was something analogous to the rustic beauty transplanted from the provinces and brought into competition with the high-born dames of the court" (299). On the Bellipotent, Billy is not the same kind of center of attention that he was on the merchant ship. ![]()
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