Penny Dreadfuls, 1916 · page 152 of 400
Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 152: what you’re looking at
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# Page 136 of Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil This is running prose from a Victorian penny dreadful. The passage depicts a dramatic scene in which a character named Dare, watching family members through a window, believes she sees her brother Tom's ghostly face outside. She faints in shock. Dr. Pratt later rationalizes the vision as a trick of light cast by a white syringa bush near the glass, but Dare insists she saw her brother's face and mouth close to the pane. The scene ends with Dare and another character named Mimi weeping.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
136 Tom ANDERSON, DarE-DEVIL legs, with welcome in his eye — and Troupe’s heart gave a great bound! ‘Lady Pantoufle! Little Lady Pantoufle!’’ his vision queerly dim. “God bless her!—and— What? Mimi? The dear! Pretty as a pink, too. Hello, there’s Peachy! How the cub grows! Who the deuce— Why, where did Bob Brevard come from!” This undreamed-of glimpse of dear faces unsteadied the soldier’s pulses. He pressed closer to the window. The upper sash was drawn down a bit. He could overhear all they were saying. A rumor was about that Tom Anderson had been seen in Charlottesville. The family at Oxheart were much ex- cited by the report. Dare was advising with Dr. Pratt. ‘Poor little girl! How pale she is! Some numskull mis- took me for Tom Calvert — when I rode through town —” In the joy of seeing her-he had drawn a step nearer, shel- tered by a cloud-white syringa. Impelled to hide her emotion, Dare turned abruptly — and looked straight into those glowing eyes. There, outside the casement, a glimmering white figure — Jom! Screaming that she had seen “his candle-ghost,” Dare fell fainting to the floor. “Hold on, Brevard; don’t lift her head, man,’ and Dr. Pratt tore off his smoking-coat and thrust it under Dare’s shoulders. “Open that window, Peachy. Coming round, now — yes, Miss Mimi. Fan her, Bob! There’s a turkey- tail on the chimney-piece. Water, quick, Marthy!” Next instant Dr. Pratt was moving round the “sweet syringa,’ lantern in hand. Coming back into the library — with a nod of satisfaction at sight of Dare sitting in a big armchair — he ejaculated, — ‘Nobody out there, my dear young lady. A trick of the senses, you know. There’s your ghost. The big syringa bush—close to the glass; white as your cap. See; is n't that a pretty thing?” holding a taper where tts light would fall on the milk-white bush. Dare shook her head. “‘] saw my brother. He smiled! His mouth was close to the window pane —” She burst into tears. So did Mimi. Bob Brevard renewed the turkey- | 4? EOMMICOOOKS.(© m