Yorksher Puddin': A Collection of the Most Popular Dialect Stories from the Pen of John HartleyHartley, John
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Yorksher Puddin': A Collection of the Most Popular Dialect Stories from the Pen of John Hartley
Hartley, John
English language -- Dialects -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Fiction
When aw gets to th' Gooat's Heead, aw wor fain to sit daan an' rest a
bit. A pint o' ale ran daan mi throit just like teemin it daan a sink
pipe, an' when aw set daan to th' cold roast beef an' pickled cabbage;
well, yo' may think aw did it justice, but aw didn't, for that mait had
nivver done me ony harm, an' th' way aw punished it was disgraceful,
tho' I say it misen; an' when th' landlady coom in to tak away th' bit
ther wor left (an' it worn't mich), aw saw her luk raand to mak sure 'at
ther wor nobbut one 'at had been pickin' off that. Aw felt soa shamed
'at aw wor ivver so long befor' aw dar ax her ha much aw owed, an' when
shoo said eightpence, aw blushed like a pyannet, and paid it, but aw
knew varry weel 'at aw wor a shillin' i' debt then if ivverybody had
ther own. Hasumivver shoo were satisfied; in fact, shoos allus
satisfied, shoo'd nivver ha' been as big as shoo is if shoo let little
things bother her (an shoo has lots o' bonny little things running
abaat). Well, aw went to bed, an' slept till mornin'. Aw can't say
whether all were quiet or not, for nowt could ha' disturbed me, aw
believe aw should ha' slept saandly if ther'd been Sowerby Brig Local
Booard o' one side, an' th' Stainland School Booard o' t'other, an' th'
Haley Hill bell ringers playin' "Hail, smilin' morn." at th' bed feet.
But all this has nowt to do wi what aw intended tell in' yo abaat.
Next mornin aw gate up, an' after braikfast (sich a braikfast! aw nivver
felt soa stuck up i' all mi life as aw felt after gettin' that
braikfast, aw couldn't even bend to see if mi shoes were blackened) aw
set aght agean, an' went as far as Silsden. Nah, for th' information o'
fowk at wor nivver thear, aw may as weel tell yo a thing or two. Silsden
wor nivver planned, it grew, just like th' brackens i' th' woods,
throwin' aght a branch one way or another, as it thowt fit. Thers one or
two fact'rys, a nail shop or two, two or three brigs, some nice chapels,
an' th' rummest owd pile for a church' at yo'll meet in a day's march; a
lot o' nice, clean cottages, tenanted wi strong men an' hearty lukkin
women, wi hearts i' ther breasts as big as bullocks, an' as monny
childer raand th' doors as if they wor all infant schooils; an' a varry
fair sprinklin' o' public haases.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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