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
But they'd a sad mishap one neet, for it seems th' owd woman had been
bakin, and shoo forgate to mention it, soa when th' furst chap gate hold
o' th' oven door hannel he burn'd his fingers, an' becos tother students
lafft he sed they'd done it o' purpose; an' it led to a reglar fratch,
an' he gate into sich a rage 'at he sed he'd swallow one on em, if he
did'nt hold his din, an' it wod'nt be th' furst porter he'd swallow'd
nawther! Soa th' taicher tell'd him 'at sich like carryin on wor varry
unporterish, an' if he brake th' rules that way he'd have to be taken
before th' inspector. But nowt could quieten him till he gate his
fingers rubb'd wi sooap an' they gave ovver smartin, soa as th' oven
door wor hot they had to practice another pairt. One on 'em borrowed a
wheelbarrow, as they could'nt get a luggage lurry, an' they had to wheel
it up an' daan th' haase floor i' ther turns, callin aght "By leave!"
An' them 'at could manage to run ovver one o' th' tother's tooas, an'
goa on as if nowt wor, gate one gooid mark, but him at could run buzz
agean a chap an' fell him wor th' next on th' list for a guard. It used
to be warm wark boath for him at wor wheelin' an' for tothers, but they
wor all on 'em bent o' bein' porters, soa they tew'd at it, detarmined
to maister all th' ins an' aghts abaat it. Whether all ther trouble will
be thrown away or net aw connot tell, but ther's one gooid thing, it
keeps' em aght ov a war turn an' saves th' police a deal o' bother.
But th' owd fowk dooant like th' idea; they see noa use i' bringin sich
gurt stinkin things into their district, an' they've detarmined to do
all they con to stop it; when a body's been able to live 60 or 70 year
withaat sich like nonsense, they see noa reason why they shouldn't be
let finish their bit o' time aght quietly. Ther wor one young lad went
to ax his gronfayther if he mud join th' class, an' th' owd chap went
varry near into a fit, he luk'd at him for a minit, an' then he says,
A'a, Johnny! a'a, Johnny! aw'm sooary for thee!
But come thi ways to me, an' sit o' mi knee.
For it's shockin' to hearken to th' words 'at tha says;--
Ther wor nooan sich like things i' thi gronfayther's days.
When aw wor a lad, lads wor lads, tha knows, then,
But nahdays they owt to be 'shamed o' thersen;
For they smook, an' they drink, an' get other bad ways;
Things wor different once i'thi gronfayther's days.
Aw remember th' furst day aw went coortin' a bit,
An' walked aght thi gronny;--awst niver forget;
For we blushed wol us faces wor all in a blaze;--
It wor nooa sin to blush i' thi gronfayther's days.
Ther's nooa lasses nah, John, 'at's fit to be wed;
They've false teeth i' ther maath, an' false hair o' ther heead:
They're a make-up o' buckram, an' waddin', an' stays,
But a lass wor a lass i' thi gronfayther's days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account