"Weel, weren't aw tellin' yo'? Weel, at first when he come he wer' a bit
shy, like, o' Lucy, an' her o' 'im; bud one day, a Sunday afternooin it
wer, an' th' sun shinin', an' th' sky as blue as weshin'-powder, Tom
says it wer' a shame o' Lucy to be cooped up i' th' haase an' ne'er
taste th' taste o' fresh air; an' he just up wi' her in his arms, same
as yo'd lift a babby, an' carried her aat into garden, an' th' hedge
wer' all thick wi' May-blossom, both white and red, an' he gate a lot,
an' made a posy for her; an' after that it wer' a regular outin' for her
as long as th' weather held, an' after he'd come fro' th' mill, fit to
drop, so to speik, he wer' nivver too tired to gi' Lucy her outin'. And
then it wer' Tom 'at put into yar Ben's yed to ha' a cheer on wheels,
an' he poo'd it hissen up an' daan th' loin, though lads and lasses,
shameless hussies some on 'em, made nowt bud fun on 'im an' ca'd him
dree-nurse. Bud he sooin garr'd th' lasses howd their tongues an' keep
aat o' th' loin--trust Tom for that--an' when th' lads went th' lasses
followed, trust _them_ for that."
"And how did he make them?" asked Dorothy, laughing.
"Oh! weel, he ca's it moral suasion; but it looked uncommon like
feightin th' time aw' see'd it. Ben says it wer' effectual callin'."
"H'm, I don't think I shall like this same Master Tom of yours. He's a
paragon, and I don't think paragons and I quite hit it."
"Aw dooan't know what yo' meean bi a Paragon, miss, but there's a
Paragon what's a public-haase i' Westgate i' Huddersfielt, an' yo'
nivver wer' further off yo'r horse, Miss Dorothy, though aw mak' bold to
say so. Why, yar Tom nivver touches a drop stronger nor teea, an's
awmost 'verted yar Ben, leastwise he tak's nowt no stronger nor
whom-brew'd an' _aw_ see that'll nooan hurt 'im."
"Aye, aye, I see, a paragon, a saint. Oh! I can picture him. Tall, you
say? Yes, tall and thin and hollow-chested, stooping, pale, with long
black hair as straight as a yard of pump-water; and he turns his eyes up
and his toes in, and groans dismally, and his clothes don't fit him, and
he wears black cotton gloves on Sundays, an inch too long in the
fingers, and he goes to temperance meetings and prayer meetings, and
regularly to chapel twice on Sundays, and attends experience meetings
and turns his soul inside out for the world--of Aenon Chapel--to gaze
at. Oh! I think I see him now, that quite too precious Tom!"
"Weel, so yo' may, Miss Dorothy," said Hannah with a quiet smile. "He's
had his bath upstairs--nivver such a one there wer' sin Adam for
weshin' hissen all ovver once a week whether he wants it or not--an'
nah, aw'll be bun he's mankin' i' th' garden."
And Hannah went into the back kitchen or scullery at the back of the
"house" and, still smiling, beckoned to Dorothy. "Aye, he's theer, sure
enough."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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