Dapple

“ Yes, he should have meadow-hay and oats, as much as Dapple could cram, and all the other knights had to lead their horses out of the stable, that Dapplegrim might stand alone, and have it all to himself.
But it wasn't long before all the others in the king's household began to be jealous of the lad, and there was no end to the bad things they would have done to him, if they had only dared. At last they thought of telling the king he had said he was man enough to set the king's daughter free—whom the Troll had long since carried away into the hill—if he only chose. ”

“ So the lad went up to the king and asked for all that Dapplegrim had said, and the king again thought he couldn't say nay, for shame's sake, and so the lad got all he wanted.
Well, he jumped up on Dapplegrim's back, and rode away from the palace, and when he had ridden far far over hill and heath, Dapple asked,—
"Do you hear anything?"
"Yes, I bear an awful hissing and rustling up in the air," said the lad; "I think I'm getting afraid."
"That's all the wild birds that fly through the wood. They are sent to stop us ”

“ Daphnis, of course, is the lover of Chloê.
Dapper, a lawyer's clerk, who went to Subtle "the alchemist," to be supplied with "a familiar" to make him win in horse-racing, cards, and all games of chance. Dapper is told to prepare himself for an interview with the fairy queen by taking "three drops of vinegar in at the nose, two at the mouth, and one at either ear," "to cry hum thrice and buzz as often."—Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610) .
Dapple, the donkey ridden by Sancho Panza, in Cervantês' romance of Don Quixote (1605-1615) . ”

“ He got both the iron and the steel, and the smiths, and thus was Dapplegrim shod strongly and well, and when the youth went out of the King’s palace a cloud of dust rose up behind him. But when he came to the mountain into which the Princess had been carried, the difficulty was to ascend the precipitous wall of rock by which he was to get on to the mountain beyond, for the rock stood right up on end, as steep as a house side and as smooth as a sheet of glass. ”

“ In the Vale of Tempe, which lies far north of Delphi, there lived a young girl whose name was Daphne. She was a strange child, wild and shy as a fawn, and as fleet of foot as the deer that feed on the plains. But she was as fair and good as a day in June, and none could know her but to love her.
Daphne spent the most of her time in the fields and woods, with the birds and blossoms and trees; and she liked best of all to wander along the banks of the River Peneus, and listen to the ripple of the water as it flowed among the reeds or over the shining pebbles. ”

“ Came the yellow-tressed Far-darter—came the god whose feet are fire,
On his lips the name of Daphne, in his eyes a great desire;
Fond, full lips of lord and lover, sad because of suit denied;
Clear, grey eyes made keen by passion, panting, pained, unsatisfied. ”

“ An anxious mother-sheep was sniffing eagerly at his pockets, remembering gifts of salt.
"Apollo was a shepherd," said Daphne slowly, with wonder in her face. "He kept the flocks of King Admetus."
"You seem to be well read in the classical dictionary," remarked the stranger, with twinkling eyes. "You have them in America then?"
He was examining her wrist with practiced fingers, touching it firmly here and there.
"We have everything in America," said the girl, eyeing him dubiously. ”

“ She turned, one small foot on the steps.
"I love your feet," I said.
"Anything else?"
"Yes. Do you always unfasten that chain and take off the bag when you go to the theatre?"
She looked down at the little foot in its shining shoe. Then:
"Only on third Tuesdays," she said.
When I reached my hotel, I passed quickly upstairs to the sitting-room.
"Here he is," said Daphne "Come along, darling, and have some supper, and tell us all about it."
"Supper!" said Berry. "Woman, you forget yourself. You are no longer on the joy-wheel. My lord has dined." ”

“ No, Daphne! the young man is not a fairy prince who has seen you from afar and has taken this romantic means of offering you his hand, heart, and sceptre. Listen, he is telling you who he is. Listen, never mind if your ears are crimson, he can’t possibly know what reddened them. He may think they are always crimson. ”

“ Sir John made no comment, but gave no active support to the inclusion of Mr Dawks in the party. It may be noted, however, that when Daphne had at length achieved that feat which encroaches so heavily upon a woman's share of eternity—the putting on of her hat—and joined her guest in the garden accompanied by Mr Dawks in person, Apollyon greeted the owner of the name with far more cordiality than he had greeted the name itself. It is sometimes misleading to bestow Christian titles upon dumb animals. ”

“ Then Daphnis in his turn sweetly began to sing:
Daphnis.
"And me, not long ago, fair Daphne whistly eyed
As I drove by; and said, I was a paragon:
Nor then indeed to her I churlishly replied;
But, looking on the ground, my way still held I on.
Sweet is a cow-calf's voice, and sweet her breath doth smell;
A bull calf, and a cow, do low full pleasantly.
'Tis sweet in summer by a spring abroad to dwell!
Acorns become the oak; apples, the apple-tree;
And calves, the kine; and kine, the Neatherd much set out."
Thus sung these youths. The Goatherd thus did end the doubt:
Goatherd. ”

“ He was a broad-shouldered, round-headed offshoot of Italian soil, with honest brown eyes like those of both father and mother. It was a face to be trusted, Daphne knew, and when, recovering from the embarrassment caused by his parents' pride in him, he blurted out the fact that he had already been to the village that morning to find a little donkey for the Signorina's wider journeyings, the girl welcomed the plan with delight. Grinning with pride Bertuccio disappeared among the stables, and presently returned, leading an asinetto. ”

“ The donkey followed willingly, for he permitted himself to love his lady with a controlled but genuine affection; and together they searched by the light of the firefly lamp. At last Daphne halted by a diminutive cypress, perhaps two feet high, and announced that she was content.
The tool-house was not far away. Investigating, she found, as she had hoped, that the door was not locked. Arming herself with a hoe she came back, and, under the light of southern stars, dug a little grave in the soft, dark earth, easily loosened in its crumbling richness. ”

“ Hermes gave an incredible jump high in the air, lighted on his four feet, pranced, gamboled, curveted.
"It is very hard to know one's duty or to do it, Hermes," said Daphne, patting his woolly brow. Hermes intimated, by means of frisking legs and tail, that he would not try. ”

“ The long ears were jerked hastily back to hear what was to come. "I know you disapprove of me, for you saw it all."
The ears kept that position in which any one who has ever loved a donkey recognizes scathing criticism. Daphne fingered one of them with her free hand.
"It is only on your back that I feel any strength of mind," she added. "When I am by myself something seems sweeping me away, as the tides sweep driftwood out to sea; but here, resolution crawls up through my body. We must be a new kind of centaur, San Pietro." ”

“ Doris was asleep, a warm comfortable bunch, with its round head in the hollow of Daphne’s arm.
“She had all the keys, the big keys and the little keys and the middle-sized keys,” said St. Hilary, “and she counted them, and counted them, and counted them, and—— The dear’s asleep. Now we can talk—about everything in the world—can’t we?”
They did talk. Daphne talked as she had never talked before. You can’t pour out a pint of wine, without silly waste, till you find a pint measure to pour it into. Daphne had found the measure, and the measure rejoiced at the pure new wine that filled it. ”

“ Listen to me. True, that is your chemise. True, that out there is my hat—there it is. But here is Berry's shirt, and miles out there is Daphne's straw hat. If I'd stayed long enough, I've no doubt I should have seen Jonah's trousers and Jill's chemisette, which means or mean—whichever you like—that...."
Hurriedly I explained, and then fell again into uproarious laughter. This time she joined me in my mirth. At length:
"But, after all," she said, "it doesn't make it any better for me, because I'm all alone, while you're a party." ”

“ One's life, then, it seemed, was to be spent in answering questions about letters—her own or another’s.
“I wrote,” he said, “many times.”
“I never had your letters.”
“Then you must have thought—oh, princess, what must you have thought?”
“I never,” said Daphne, very deliberately, “thought about you at all.”
“That,” said he, troubled now as much as she, “is not true. Why are you saying things that are not true?”
“Do sit down,” she said, indicating a remote chair over which a red robe lay. If He should come in, and find this man hanging over her—what might he not think? ”

“ Daphne, the nymph, was changed into a laurel tree.
When Apollo saw that his beautiful Daphne had become a tree, he threw his arms about the newly-formed bark and cried, "Since you cannot be my wife, fair Daphne, at least you shall be my tree, my laurel. Your leaves shall be used to crown the heads of the victorious brave, and they shall remain green alike in summer and in winter." ”

“ The others fell upon Berry and rent him. As it died down, we heard him bitterly comparing them to wolves and curs about a lion at bay. Then a match was struck and there were groping sounds.
"When you've quite finished with my feet," said Daphne in a withering tone.
"Sorry, dearest. I thought it was a bag of meal," said her husband. "My thoughts run on food just now, you see." Here he gave a yell of agony. "Get off!" he screamed. "You're on my hand."
"That's more like it," said Jonah. "That ought to carry."
"Meal-bags don't hurt, do they?" said Daphne coolly. ”

“ They usually came home in the splendor of sunset, tired, happy, the red of Daphne's felt hat, the gorgeousness of Bertuccio's blue trousers and yellow waistcoat lighting the gloom of the cool, green-shaded ways. Hermes always ran frisking to meet them, outstripping by his swiftness the slow plodding of the little ass. Perhaps the lambkin felt the shadow of a certain neglect through these long absences, but at least he was generous and loved his rival. ”

“ As we reached the door:
"I'm glad I had four cups of tea," said Berry. "How many did you have?"
"Two," said Jill tearfully.
"Ah, I shall survive you, then. Very likely I shall be alive, if insane, when found. At any rate, with the aid of artificial respiration—"
"Rubbish!" said Daphne. "Some one must hear us soon."
"My dear, the noise we can make wouldn't flush a titlark at twenty paces. No, no!" he went on airily, "a lingering death awaits us. I only wish my caddie was here, too. Is anyone's tongue swelling? That's a sure sign. Directly you feel that, you know you're thirsty." ”

“ And then, one morning, I got a note from George, saying that he had had my picture framed and was sending it along. I broke the news to the others after breakfast.
"Oh, Boy!" cried Jill excitedly.
"I want to see it awfully," said Daphne.
"Why rush upon your fate?" said her husband.
"I hope you'll like it," said I nervously.
"Where are we going to bury—I mean, hang it?" said Jonah.
"What about the potting-shed?" said Berry. "We can easily move the more sensitive bulbs."
"If it's good," said Daphne, "we'll have it in the library." ”

“ When you are as young as I am, you’ll understand and forgive me, Miss Carmichael. It was so delightful to play a part that wasn’t the English master’s.”
“Yes, I know,” said Daphne, eager to show that she deserved these confidences. “Life would be dreadful if one didn’t play at things.” ”

“ The habit of a Dapper, when he is at home, is a light broad-cloth, with calamanco or red waistcoat and breeches; and it is remarkable that their wigs seldom hide the collar of their coats. They have always a peculiar spring in their arms, a wriggle in their bodies, and a trip in their gait. All which motions they express at once in their drinking, bowing or saluting ladies; for a distant imitation of a forward fop, and a resolution to overtop him in his way, are the distinguishing marks of a Dapper. ”

“ That water is close at hand, we know from Scout Berry. Jonah can take the first watch, Berry the second, Jonah the third, and—and so on. My own energy I shall reserve for the dog-watch."
"Oh, stop him, somebody," wailed Daphne.
"I said dog-watch, dear, not stop-watch. Before we bivouac I will scale yon beetling mount if peradventure I may perceive one that will point us homeward. Scout Berry!"
"Sir," said Berry.
"You know your duties!"
"I do that, sir."
"Tis well. If the worst comes to the worst, kill the women out of hand, or with your own hand—I don't care which. ”

“ A masterly system of scouts, fleet and bare of foot, posted on commanding positions between the smallest dormitory and the mistresses’ salon, rendered the adventure so safe as to be hardly now an adventure at all.
But this last night of her school life Daphne meant to mark indelibly. It was to be something which should keep her memory green forever, so that to generation after generation of awed, admiring schoolgirls the tale should forever be whispered—and the name of Daphne, “une folle Anglaise capable de tout, mais bonne enfant,” should live always in the legends told at twilight. ”