Seets i' Paris: Sammywell Grimes's trip with his old chum Billy Baccus, his opinion o' th' French, and th' French opinion o' th' exhibition he made ov hissenHartley, John
General
Seets i' Paris: Sammywell Grimes's trip with his old chum Billy Baccus, his opinion o' th' French, and th' French opinion o' th' exhibition he made ov hissen
Hartley, John
British -- France -- Paris -- Fiction; Dialect literature, English -- England -- Yorkshire; Paris (France) -- Fiction
Aw felt soa mad wol aw could'nt help wishin' at it wod pooisen him for
aw thowt he desarved it. We went to a bonny little place whear aw saw
some bottles an' glasses, aw dooant know what to call it, but it wor
a sooart ov a goa between a public haase an' a summer haase, an' aw
managed to mak' a bonny young lass understand what we wanted, an' shoo
sarved us wi a smilin' face an' as mich curtseyin' as if we'd gooan to
ax abaat th' vallyation, an' when aw held aght a handful o' silver for
her to tak pay aght on, shoo nobbut tuk one French shillin, an' yo
can buy em at tuppence apiece less nor awrs. We thowt that wor bein'
gentlemen at a varry cheap rate. Yo may hardly believe it, but aw've
paid three times as mich for stuff'at has'nt been hauf as gooid,--"Aw
call this reasonable," aw says.
"Cheap as muck," sed Billy, "its worth that mich to see a bonny lass
like that--tha sees shoo's like a lady an' shoo knows manners too. Its a
thaasand pities at shoo connot tawk gradely English."
"It is; shoo's to be pitied for that. English fowk have a deeal to
be thankful for, but happen shoo's satisfied, for shoo'll be able to
understand other fowk."
"Tha munnat tell me at a lass like yond can ivver be satisfied wi a lot
o' gabberin' fowk at cant tawk soas to be understood, shoo's like yond
buildin' we've just come throo, shoo owt to be put to a better purpose.
A'a! what a brewus yond wod mak'!"
"Well, tha knows we've all noations ov us own, an' aw connot agree wi
thee thear. Tha seems to care nowt abaat art, all tha thinks on is ale."
"Well, did ta ivver know onnybody at filled ther belly o' art? Nah aw've
known monny a one do it wi ale. That's th' way to luk at it."
"It's thy way but it is'nt mine, but as time's gooin on lets goa into
th' place whear all theas wonderful things are to be seen."
"Goa thi ways, for thar't th' mooast restless chap aw ivver knew, tha'rt
like a worm on a whut backstun, an' if tha gets into a comfortable
corner tha will'nt stop. It's nice an' cooil here, but awst be sweltered
i' th' sunshine. If th' weather's owt like this at hooam it'll play the
hangment wi yond galcar."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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