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
"Its monny a long year sin aw saw owd Tommy before, an' it may be monny
a long year before aw see his face agean; aw think owd Time must use him
wi' a gentler hand nor he uses me. Aw remember th' first time aw saw
him, he wor coming past th' churn milk Joan, wi' a lump o' parkin in his
hand as big as awr ooven top; an' that wor th' day 'at Jenny an' me wor
wed. It seems like a dream to me nah. Poor Jenny!--if there's a better
place, tha'rt nooan soa far off thear!" And then he paused to wipe the
heavy drops from off his cheeks. "Aw thowt aw'd getten ower this sooart
o' thing, nah he sed, but aw believe aw niver shall. Its just five year
come Easter sin aw laid her low, an awve niver been able to aford a
grave stooan for her yet, but aw can find that bit o' rising graand
withaat a mark, an prize it nooan the less. But its noa gooid freating
abaght things we cannot help. Aw'll have another reek or two an' goa an'
see awr Joa." So filling his little black clay pipe with the fragrant
weed (which for convenience he carried loose in his waistcoat pocket),
he puffed his cloud of incense in the air and hastened on to gain his
journey's end. A walk of a few minutes brought him to the door of a low
whitewashed farm-house, around which the cans were reared, ready to be
filled with the morning's milk. He ventured in, (first carefully
removing all the mire from his shoes, lest he should soil the nicely
sanded floor,) and drawing up the old arm chair which shone like
polished ebony,--he looked around the strange apartment. "Its a queer
fancy (he said at last) at Mally should be soa fond o' pots,--what
ther's mooar here nor what ud start a shop; it saves th' expense of
slapdashing onyway." And he was right, for, from floor, to ceiling, and
along the old oak beams, appeared one medley of crockery--pots of all
sizes--cups and plates of all shapes and patterns were hung or reared
against the wall until it was impossible to find another place where one
might be displayed; and on the mantle shelf, a long array of china
images of fortune-telling gipsies, guarded at each end by what was
supposed to represent a dog--they might resemble dogs, but surely such a
breed exists not now, for if there was a point about them to recommend,
it was what Mally often said, "They ait nowt." In a short time both Joe
and Mally made their apperance--health bloom on their cheeks, and with
a hearty welcome prepared the morning's meal. A clean white cloth spread
on as clean a table, the requisite pots, the fresh churned butter, and
the wheaten bread was all that was displayed to tempt them to the meal;
but it was all that was required, for appetite gave relish to the plain
repast, and many a wealthy man in stately rooms, with every luxury
around, might well have envied them their simple fare, sweetened by
labor, and so well enjoyed--whilst savory meats, of which they never
knew, in vain invited him whose satiated tastes loathed every dish. But
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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