The Literary Dandy

In Which a Spectacle is Created.                                     Read Ch. 8.

That evening, two young slaves to aesthetics, who were very much in drink (having consumed a bowl of punch at a local establishment), sought to leave without paying for it. The woman of the house, being of stout bearing and character, suggested mildly to the pair that she expected that each would pay their reckoning without delay or fuss. The less slender of the two dandified gentlemen, in a reprobate manner, swore that she should die that minute, and that deuce should take him if he had not already paid more than his fair portion. Of course he had not, and knew as much. Based upon her crude and humble habit, hey had mistaken the woman for a simpleton (as is the wont of men of fashion) and therefore an easy mark. The two made several scurrilous and objectionable gestures towards her, as well as several unforgivable aspersions, before turning heel and making for the door.

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A Plea for Help and Dark Disclosures                                     Read Ch. 6.

An unusually dark man, with an unusually dark bearing, was taking an audience in an unusually dark nook of the town’s sugar shop, the Hawk’s Nest. Seated with his back against the interior corner of two brick walls, the dark man was afforded an unobstructed view of the house and all of its occupants, and the ancient mahogany table between him and his caller gave ample physical protection from any would-be assailant not boasting of powder and shot. Additionally, hidden on his person, and expertly cloaked from all but the most attentive, were numerous instruments of mayhem including several side arms and blades of various length and purpose. He was, in short, a man who anticipated dark dealings, as he was a purveyor of the same. » Read the rest of this entry «

Wherein Certain Disclosures Give Rise to Others

Read Ch. 4.

A group of travelers, weary from several hours of their coachman’s prattle, sought to amuse themselves without interruption. Though the heat of the evening would certainly make such undertaking uncomfortable, the well heeled and prancy assemblage noisily closed the windows and curtains of the coach, making certain that the driver understood that his attempts at discourse were unwelcome. Two of the passengers emitted audible sighs of displeasure, intended for the drivers ears, so that he may at last recognize his social betters. As it is in all tales such as this, the travelers would come to regret their effrontery and hubris.

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