Yorkshire Tales. Third Series: Amusing sketches of Yorkshire Life in the Yorkshire DialectHartley, John
General
Yorkshire Tales. Third Series: Amusing sketches of Yorkshire Life in the Yorkshire Dialect
Hartley, John
English language -- Dialects -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Fiction
Beacon Hill's weel known i' Halifax, it soars up at th' bottom o' th'
taan as bare an' bald as a duck egg; ther's norther a tree, nor a shrub,
an' aw dooant think thers a blade o' grass that even a moke wod ait,
unless it belanged to a Irishman an' wor hawf clammed. It lets th' east
wind on to th' taan throo a hoil at one end, an it keeps th' mornin' sun
off, an' hides th' evenin' mooin. It grows nowt nobbut stooans covered
wi' sooit, an' smook throo th' gas haase hangs ovver it all day long
like a claad. But up at th' top thers some stooan delves, an' a field or
two whear they say reeal grass grows, an' i' support o' this noashun
somdy's had th' cheek to turn hawf a dozen cows aght, an' let 'em
pretend to graze,--of cooarse its all mak believe, for they mun gie th'
poor brewts summat to ait beside, or else th' inspector for crewelty to
annimals wod have been daan on em befoor nah.
It's a long gate up Beacon Hill--yo goa up New Bank an' ovver Godly
Brig, in between th' Bloody Field an' Saint Joseph's Schooil, an' then
reight up to th' top, an' if it wornt for th' fact at thears a gooid few
public haases o'th road aw dooant think 'at Sarah wod ivver have getten
to th' top at all; for shoo wor tuk bad wi' th' spasms jist at th' side
o' th' Pine Apple, an shoo had attacks ivvery few minnits wol we gate to
th' Albion, which is th' last licensed haase; but bi gooid luck they
didn't coom on after that, for as thers noawhear to get her onny thing
comfortin' if shoo'd been tuk agean, aw dooant know whativver aw should
ha done.
Well, we gate to th' top at last, an' sat daan to luk at th' view. It's
reight grand, an them at hasn't seen it should goa bi all means at once.
Yo can see all ovver th' taan--monny a thaasand chimleys all smokin' at
once, an' scoars o' mill's, an' ivvery nah an' then when th' wind blows
th' reek away, yo can see th' Bastile as plain as owt.
As we wor sittin' daan to rest we heeard sumdy tawkin' jist ovver th'
wall, soa we kept still a bit, an' varry sooin we heeard as mich cursin'
an' swearin' as owt to have filled a faandry for a wick.
"Whativver is ther to do," sed Sarah, "lets have a luck?"
We gate up, an' went an' luk'd throo a hoil i' th' wall, an' thear daan
in a bit ov a holler, soa 'at they couldn't be seen, wor abaat twenty
gurt strappin' young fellers tossin' coppers.
We hadn't been lukkin' moor nor a minnit or two, when a man wi' a red
beeard coom runnin' daan th' hill an' stopt abaat ten yards throo whear
th' chaps wor laikin' at pitch an' toss, an' he started o' writin'
summat daan in a book.
"Bobbies!" a chap shaated aght, an i' hawf a minnit ther wor nubdy to be
seen, nobbut th' new comer, for ivvery one on 'em had hooked it as fast
as if th' owd chap wor after 'em.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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