Yorksher Puddin': A Collection of the Most Popular Dialect Stories from the Pen of John HartleyHartley, John
General
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
It happen'd one Setterdy neet 'at aw'd been to have a pint at th' "Rompin
Kittlin," an' aw heeard some chaps say 'at ther wor baan to be a meetin
i'th' owd wayvin shop o'th' Sundy afternooin, an' iver so mony mediums wor
commin to tell all 'at wor gooin on i'th' tother world, soa as awd nowt
else to do, aw went, an' after a bit o' thrustin aw managed to get into a
front seat: but they wor varry particlar who they let in. As aw wor set,
waitin for th' performance to begin, aw thowt it luk'd varry mich like a
inquest, for ther wor one chap set o'th' end o't' table, an' six daan each
side; an' they wor a lot o'th' rummest lukkin fowk aw'd seen for a long
time. They all seem'd as if they wanted sendin aght to grass, for ther
faces wor th' color ov a lot o' tallow craps. In a bit they started, an'
we all sang a hymn, an' varry weel it wor sung too, considerin 'at that
radical gravestoan letterer joined in it; for if ther is ony body 'at can
throw a whole congregation aght o' tune, its owd Cinnamon, for he owt
niver to oppen his maath onywhear unless all th' fowk is booath deeaf an'
blind, for th' seet o' his chowl is enuff to drive all th' harmony aght ov
a meetin. Aw dar wager a trifle 'at he'd be able to spoil th' Jubilee.
But as aw wor sayin, we did varry weel considerin, an' then th' cheerman
gate up an' addressed a few words to us. He sed he'd noa daat 'at ther wor
a goaid many amang us 'at didn't believe i' sperrits, but he could assure
us 'at ther wor moor i' sperrits sometimes nor what we imagined. He sed he
knew one man 'at had been under th' influence ov a sperit, 'at went hooam
an' tell'd his wife sich things 'at made her hair stand ov an end, an' when
he gate up next mornin he knew nowt abaat it till he saw his wife wor i'th'
sulks, an' he ax'd her "what ther wor to do." "Ther's plenty to do, aw
think," shoo says; "ha can ta fashion to put thi heead aght o'th' door?
But tha can have yond nasty gooid-for-nawt as soain as tha likes, for awst
leeave thi if aw live wol awm an haar older! It's a bonny come off, 'at me
at's barn ommoss a duzzen children to thi should be shoved o' one side far
a thing like yond!" "Why, lass, aw doant know what tha'rt talking abaat,"
he sed, "tell me what tha meeans!" "Aw've noa need to tell thi," shoo sed,
"tha knows weel enuff, an' aw believe ivery word 'at tha sed, for they say
'at druffen chaps an' childer allus spaik th' truth, an' awve suspicioned
yond Betty for a long time! What reight has shoo to be dawdlin abaat other
fowks husbands for? If shoo wants a felly, let her get one ov her own!
But tha may tak her an' welcome, an' mich gooid may shoo do thi, an' may yo
allus be as happy together as aw wish vo--an' noa happier! drot her!"
"Why, did aw say owt abaat Betty? Tha mun tak noa nooatice o' owt aw say
when aw come hooam throo a meetin, tha sees, sin aw wor made a medium, aw
ammot allus just i' mi reight senses, an' it isn't me 'at spaiks, it's
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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