reuben could n't see lisa as too many crowded in front of her , and felix merely looked up at them , appeared to be smiling at many of them , and nodding in agreement , and the crowd grew even more dense as if others were pressing the front lines slowly forward so that faces were now in the full glare of the candles , faces of all human shapes and sizes , nordic , asian , african , mediterranean-reuben did n't have the labels for them , only the associations-all rustic in dress and manner , yet all benign .