Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction; Short stories, English; West Riding of Yorkshire (England) -- Fiction
In the afternoon the sheep were shorn and turned off again up the Scout,
where they bleated continually. The grey fleeces were stacked in James
Eastwood’s yard, and a great drinking and carousing was toward in the
“Gooise,” where the parlours and passages were so packed that the ale
for the shearers had to be passed out of a window. The noise increased
as the afternoon wore on. Mish Murgatroyd, Dick o’ Dean, and certain
others, wishing to know what Cope the supervisor weighed, set him on a
pair of wool-scales amid uproarious applause--six and a half stone--“six
for th’ body and th’ odd half for his legs.” You could have told where
Monjoy was by the cheers that rose from time to time. Cicely and Sally
and Dooina Benn appeared at an upper window, and there was more
cheering; but the biggest cheer of all came when Cicely and Arthur rose
hand in hand at the supper-board and Arthur tried to thank them all. But
there was no hearing him for the din, and he sat down again. The parson,
still in righteous dudgeon (and, maybe, having his own opinion of the
big bridegroom’s method of obtaining order in the church), had looked in
for a minute and withdrawn again; but as he passed the gate of the yard
there arose another tow-row, and half a dozen Back o’ th’ Mooiners
brought in Jeremy Cope on a hurdle, as if for a stang-riding, and
shuttered him off on to a pile of fleeces. “Fotch Dooina tul him!” they
cried; and Cope mopped and mowed and blinked his purple lids. Monjoy
rescued him from Dooina’s arms. It grew late. Over the Scout the moon
rose mild and yellow, and they began to leave Eastwood’s yard and to
assemble in the square outside the “Gooise.” Some began to ascend the
sheep-tracks of the Scout, but the most remained till morning, when
there was a great swilling and sousing and freshening-up at the
horse-troughs. During all the following day they straggled homewards, to
celebrate Red Monjoy’s wedding in their own fastnesses; and two days
later there came word of rejoicings still continued at Booth, where,
with fantastic rites, the effigies of Monjoy and Cicely had been crowned
and enthroned, King and Queen of Back o’ th’ Mooin.
CHAPTER VI.
EMMASON.
From John Emmason, the magistrate, circuitously through James Eastwood
(who, better than anyone else, had the magistrate’s humour), came a word
that set Matthew Moon’s brows a-pucker and started him pacing with his
fists doubled deep in his breeches pockets. Emmason, meeting the
flockmaster near the Piece Hall, had put it after his own fashion.
“Willis is looking very well,” he had remarked, allowing his eyelids to
flutter and fall.
Eastwood’s own eyes had narrowed suddenly. “Who is?” he had asked.
“Willis. Parker’s clerk at Ford. I saw him in conversation with our
supervisor on one of the feast days.”
“Oh, aye?” Eastwood had replied. “Well, your health’s a grand thing to
keep.... How if me and Matthew was to look in for a bit of a chat this
evening, John?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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