The Project Gutenberg EBook of Handy Andy, Volume One, by Samuel Lover

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Title: Handy Andy, Volume One
A Tale of Irish Life, in Two Volumes

Author: Samuel Lover

Release Date: June 12, 2007 [EBook #21817]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: Andy Icing Champagne]

The Collected Writings of SAMUEL LOVER

TREASURE TROVE EDITION

In Ten Volumes

Volume Three

THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF SAMUEL LOVER

HANDY ANDY

A Tale of Irish Life

IN TWO VOLUMES--VOLUME ONE

BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY
_MDCCCCIII_

Copyright, 1901, by
Little, Brown, & Co.

UNIVERSITY PRESS
JOHN WILSON AND SON
CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.

ADDRESS

I have been accused in certain quarters, of giving flattering portraits
of my countrymen. Against this charge I may plead that, being a
portrait-painter by profession, the habit of taking the best view of my
subject, so long prevalent in my eye, has gone deeper, and influenced
my mind:--and if to paint one's country in its gracious aspect has been
a weakness, at least, to use the words of an illustrious compatriot,

"--the failing leans to virtue's side."

I am disinclined, however, to believe myself an offender in this
particular. That I love my country dearly I acknowledge, and I am sure
every Englishman will respect me the more for loving _mine_, when he
is, with justice, proud of _his_--but I repeat my disbelief that I
overrate my own.

The present volume, I hope, will disarm any cavil from old quarters on
the score of national prejudice. The hero is a blundering fellow whom
no English or other gentleman would like to have in his service; but
still he has some redeeming natural traits: he is not made either a
brute or a villain; yet his "twelve months' character," given in the
successive numbers of this volume, would not get him a place upon
advertisement either in "The Times" or "The Chronicle." So far am I
clear of the charge of national prejudice as regards the hero of the
foll