Dandy

“ You are very young, and have, I trust, a long and happy life before you; my life seems to be going down in shadows. More than all else, I want you to think that the Dandy Chater who lingered with you in the woods, and whispered foolish things to you, is not the Dandy Chater who holds your hands now, and speaks to you out of a full and grateful heart. ”

“ Why do you tremble? What is there for you to tremble at? Her blood cries out—not against you, but against me; it cries to Heaven—‘See—Dandy Chater killed me—Dandy Chater spilled my blood on God’s fair earth—Dandy Chater——’”
His voice had risen to a cry; the other sprang at him, and clapped a shaking hand over his mouth.
“Stop—stop, for God’s sake!” he cried, huskily. “Are you mad, Master Dandy—are you mad? I tell you it can be hidden; no man knows of it but myself, and Miss Barnshaw will say nothing.”
“I tell you it shall not be hidden,” cried Philip, impatiently. ”

“ Dandy knew her at the very first glance. It was Hilda, looking more like a fairy princess than ever.
She knew him almost as soon, for her clear voice rang out above the general laughter. 'Oh, that isn't Toby—he's my own dog, my Dandy, that I lost! It is really; let him come to me, please do! Don't you see how badly he wants to?'
There was a sudden surprised silence at this—even Mr. Punch was quiet for an instant; but as soon as Dandy heard her voice he could wait no longer, and crouched for a spring. ”

“ THE MARCH TOWARDS LAUENBURG.
It may be easily supposed that neither Dandy Dreghorn nor I slept much for the short remainder of that eventful morning. Poor Dandy's lamentations for the plight into which his sneeze had brought me, were incessant. The honest fellow never uttered a complaint for himself; but, having lost his appetite, resisted all the gruff invitations of our guard, who offered to share us their miserable ration of black bread and Danish beer. ”

“ Ogledon took her up quickly. “Lying tongues, Mrs. Dolman? And what, pray, are they daring to say about our dear Dandy?”
“It seems, sir, that there has been a body found—of a young girl who belonged to these parts—in a wood near by; and, because Master Dandy has been seen talking to her once or twice— (as young men will, and always have done, since the good Lord made young men and women!) —they must needs go whispering about that Master Dandy made away with her.” ”

“ Little mother—it’s the maddest thing in the world; because, if she has any regard for me as Dandy Chater, she knows me for everything that’s bad and vile—food only for the common hangman; while, on the other hand, as Philip Chater I am a stranger, and farther from her than ever. In any case, it is hopeless; yet, knowing that whatever sympathy she has is given to Dandy Chater, I’ll be Dandy Chater to the end—whatever that end may be. And even you, little mother, shall not change that purpose. ”

“ Indeed, nothing less than this had happened—my electrician and his nursery maid had superinduced a mood, a growing, convincing belief that it was not worth while going on. I said aloud that there is nothing more lonely in this world than a lonely man. I made the remark to Dandy. I dared not tell it solely to myself, it would have been too real.
"There's nothing more lonely, Dandy," said I, "in this world than a lonely man."
Dandy stretched out a paw for my hand. He kept beating the air until he got it. ”

“ A Dandy is a Clothes-wearing Man, a Man whose trade, office and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes. Every faculty of his soul, spirit, purse and person is heroically consecrated to this one object, the wearing of Clothes wisely and well: so that as others dress to live, he lives to dress. The all-importance of Clothes, which a German Professor, of unequalled learning and acumen, writes his enormous Volume to demonstrate, has sprung-up in the intellect of the Dandy without effort, like an instinct of genius ”

“ As she opened it, a sound came from the street outside which Dandy knew only to well: it was the long-drawn squeak of Mr. Punch.
'That's where he come from, I'll bet a penny,' cried the caretaker, and she went down the steps and called over the gate, 'Hi, master, you don't happen to have lost your Toby dawg, do you? Is this him?'
The man with the drum came up—it was Jem himself; and thereupon Dandy was ignominiously handed over the railings to him, and delivered up once more to the hard life he had so nearly succeeded in shaking off. ”

“ Dandy pricks up his ears and wants to neigh, but Ray grips his nostrils like a vice, and Dandy desists. At rapid lope, within twenty yards, a party of half a dozen warriors go bounding past on their way down the valley, and no sooner have they crossed the gulley than he rises and rapidly pushes on up the dry sandy bed. Thank heaven! there are no stones. A minute more and he is crawling again, for the hoof-beats no longer drown the faint sound of Dandy's movements. A few seconds more and right in front of him, not a stone's throw away, he hears the deep tones of Indian voices in conversation. ”

“ Master Dandy”—he came a step nearer, in his eagerness—“I’d give—I’d give my life for you!”
“Yes—and yet you’ll insult me, because I happen to look at some girl in whom you take an interest,” said Philip, slowly.
The lad’s figure stiffened, and the appeal died out of his eyes. “Because I love her, Master Dandy,” he said. “Because I’ve got the feelings of a man, and I know that a gentleman like yourself doesn’t pay court to a tavern-keeper’s daughter, with any good intent.”
“Why—what the devil do you mean?” cried Philip, startled for the moment into answering out of his own honest heart. ”

“ Baxter was not looking; but Dandy had seen them, and, like a good dog, felt it his duty to stay behind and guard what belonged to his master.
Although left for so long a time without food, the faithful creature had never quitted the spot where the chair and basket had fallen. But, when he saw his master, how glad was poor Dandy! He leaped up, put his paws on the man's shoulders, and barked with joy.
"Good Dandy! good Dandy!" said Mr. Baxter: "you must be hungry, old fellow! Come along: you shall have a good dinner for this. ”

“ But slim and taper is the waist,
the neat and pretty leg,
Of my pretty little Tippet
is the Dandy—O. Each part, &c.
Little Tippet of the south,
if she gives me but a smile
Chears the cockles of my skipping
heart like brandy—O!
Each part, each limb, each look,
would any one beguile,
But take her altogether,
she's the Dandy—O.
Chor. Each part, each limb, each look,
would any one beguile,
But take her altogether
she’s the Dandy--O.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ In the library John Legg sprang up and bolted the door against the uproar, and then sat down by his trembling wife.
In the drawing-room all was excitement and expectation.
“It’s him!” exclaimed old Dandy, with his few spikes of white hair rising on end around his bald crown. “It’s him! Straight from the pit of fire and brimstone, and possessed of the devil and all his demons!” ”

“ Do you keep a silent tongue to every one.”
“You need not fear that I shall speak, Master Dandy,” replied the lad. “And it may not be so bad, after all; you may yet find a way of getting out of it, Master Dandy.”
“A way of getting out of it!” muttered Philip to himself, as he watched the retreating figure of his servant. “There seems but small chance of that. Robbery was bad enough; but this is another matter. She’s dead, and cannot speak; even if she were alive, she must point to me as Dandy Chater. ”

“ If the woman had risen calmly and awfully from the grave, her appearance could not have been more startling to the man.
The landlady, for her part, appeared to be troubled in no such fashion by his appearance. She nodded—somewhat curtly, he thought—and evidently saw in him merely the idle Dandy Chater she had been in the habit of seeing almost daily for years past. Recognising the importance of keeping a steady hand upon his emotions, Philip Crowdy nodded in reply, and approached, and leaned over the bar.
“Afternoon, Master Dandy,” said the woman, fixing her eyes again on her work. ”

“ For four weeks I had avoided hearing of the old queen's reception in Dublin, and it was not in my mind to listen to it then. So I held Dandy severely by the collar and he passed us by. It was not the sort of treatment Dandy appreciated. He has a passionate curiosity about human beings. Never a man can pass along a lonely road but what he must go and speak to him. ”

“ I can only say this: to the best of my knowledge and belief, there are two Dandy Chaters.”
“Two!” she echoed, in a whisper.
“Two. One was fished out of the Thames some days ago, and has been buried as an unknown man; the other is in Chelmsford Jail—or wandering about the country—I don’t know which. I only know that there are two of them.”
“But—great heavens, man,” she cried—“I have known one Dandy Chater since his boyhood; we have grown up side by side. What other man can there be in his likeness?” ”

“ But Dandy did little more than avoid the blows; he gave none, and received none.
"Come, stand up to it!" shouted Archy, who soon began to be disgusted with these tame proceedings. "Why don't you exert yourself?"
"I do, sir; I have done my best to ward off your blows," replied Dandy.
"I will give you something more to do, then," added Archy, and sprang to his game with redoubled vigor. ”

“ Be me sowl, sir, you might as well separate sowl and body, as take Dandy from his dulcimer. Like the two sides of a scissors, the one's of no use widout the other. They must go together, or Dandy could never cut his way through the world by any chance. ”

“ Dandy boasted so of the respect which men had paid him, that he made the other bears think he was doing them a great honor by living with them. He made them all wait on him. But at last a young bear, that had escaped from a trap which some men had set for him, said to Dandy, "Is that ring in your nose for ornament or for use?" ”

“ The moment he discovered we were not the only people on the cliffs Dandy raced off to meet her. He is always my harbinger, carrying messages of welcome to friends and enemies alike. I cannot cure him of it. Times out of number he has tried to force me to associate with men whom I detest, and he says such things to women about me as makes me feel absolutely ill at ease. By jumping from one to the other of us, he endeavors to set up a current of mutual adoration which, while at times it may not be distasteful to me, is very embarrassing to the few ladies of my acquaintance. ”

“ But Dandy only half raised his head and rejected the cake languidly—he was very comfortable there in the warm firelight, and the place made him feel as if he were back in his own old kitchen, but he was too tired to be hungry.
'He won't hardly look at it,' said the housemaid compassionately. 'I don't think he can be well.'
'Well!' said Jem. 'He's well enough; that's all his contrariness, that is. The fact is, he thinks hisself a deal too good for the likes of us, he do—thinks he ought to be kep' on chickin in a droring-room!' he sneered, wasting his satire on the unconscious Dandy. ”

“ I know who they are! They are my niece and nevvy from Hantz. I’ll go and meet them!” said Dandy in a delighted tone.
“And then bring them in here and introduce them to me,” said Ran.
And Dandy followed the footman out into the hall.
215There he found a tall, thin, gray-haired man clothed in an ulster from head to heel, holding in his left hand a warm cap, and on his right arm a stout, rosy, handsome woman in a black velvet bonnet and a gray plaid shawl that nearly covered the whole of her black silk dress. ”

“ Dandy, my beloved, I shall be able to take you with me.' And she caught up the rough-haired terrier and hugged him, kissing his dear old head. 'Dandy is mine; they can't take him from me, can they? But do you think the swans belong to them or to us? I suppose it would be impossible to take them with us if we go to live in London. They couldn't live in a backyard.'
'But, dearest Emily, who are "they"? You don't know that he is married—literary men don't often marry. ”

“ Dandy don’t be one to overwork hisself. I reckon you’ll have to use the whip to he!”
Neither of the girls had even the most elementary experience of driving, but Raymonde, as the elder, and the one who in general possessed the greater amount of nerve, boldly seized the reins and armed herself with the whip. Geordie released Dandy’s head, and gave him a sounding smack as a delicate hint to depart, a proceeding which brought clouds of dust from his shaggy coat, and caused him to scramble suddenly forward, and plunge down the lane at quite an adventurous and stylish pace. ”

“ Dandy asked suspiciously.
"To shake, of course. Because it is the hand of a hero. My good fellow, the man who conquers fear as you did is a hero. I never saw a braver thing done, and I've seen some plucky things in my time."
"If you hadn't been here," Dandy began, "I should 'a' 'ooked it straight."
"I say you are a hero," Burton persisted.
Dandy graciously allowed it to pass. Way up the Valley of Sweet Waters they are still inclined to make much of Dandy, but he resolutely declines to be lionised. ”

“ I may not be a philosopher, but at least I manage to live alone, which cannot be done with such romantic fancies as lead to starvation or any such tricks as that. Indeed, I learn much from Dandy, whose deepest passion never diminishes his excitement when it comes to the moment for Moxon to throw his two biscuits on to the tesselated pavement in the hall. It is he who likes them thrown. ”