125 or doveth, or in scatty Weather, or in a tingling Vrost, than tha art theck lifted,2 and ba hang'd to tha.

Wilmot. And thee art a lams'd in wone o' thy Yearms,3 and cassent zee a Sheen in thy Reart Ee.

Thomasin. Rex-bush! Fath! tell me o' tha Rexbush,

6

130 ye teeheeing Pixy' Es marl who's more vor Rigging or Rumping, Steehopping or Ragrowtering, Giggleting, or Gambowling than thee art thyzel.-Pitha, dest'nt remember whan tha com'st over tha Clam wi' tha Old Hugh Hosegood, whan tha Wawter was by Stave, how tha vel'st in, and the Old Hugh 135 drade thee out by tha vorked Eend, wi' thy dugged Clathers up zo vur as thy Na'el,9 whan tha wart just a buddled?

Wilmot. Lock! dest dwallee, or tell doil? 138 reaznable,10 or hold thy Popping, ya gurt Washamouth.

So ends the first Bout.

Pitha tell

1 Words ending in gling or ging, never sound two g's, as in lit. Eng. tinggling, or Lancashire sing ging.

2 The participial prefix omitted in the text-it could not be so by the speaker. See W. S. G., p. 49.

I never heard any y sound in arms when spoken alone, but when preceded by a close vowel in rapid speech there is the sound of y. The same applies to other words.

Marvel is thus pronounced-the marl of the text is not a true monosyllable; doubtless the transcriber was accustomed to sound the 7 more distinctly than is now common, and his orthography in that case is good; marl, i. e. clay is maar dl.

ur doa vuth, ur een skaat ee wadh'ur, ur een u teng leen1 vrau's, 125 dhan dh-aart u-thaek·lúf·tud,2 un bee ang-tu dhu.

Wilmot. Un dhee urt u-laamst een woon u dhi ae ŭrmz,3 uu kas'n

zee u Shee'n een dhi ree⚫urt ee'.

5

6

Thomasin. Raeks-bèo'sh!-Faath! tuul mee u dhu raeks-bèo'sh, yu tee-hee een pik'see.-Es maarul ùe-z moo'ŭr vur rigeen ur 130 ruum peen, stee'aupeen ur rag gruw tureen, giglteen, ur gaambuw leen-un dhee aart dhi zuul.—Púdh'u, dús-n rai'mŭmbur7 haun dhu kaumst oa vur dhu klaam wai dh-oal Yùe Oa'zgèod, haun dhu waa'tur wuz bi stae'ŭv, aew dhu vaalsts een, un dh-oal Yùe' drae ud dhee aewt bi dhi vaur‍kud een, wai dhi duug'ud Klaa'dhurz 135 aup zu vur-z dhi naa'ul,9 haun dhu wust jist u-buud·ld?

Wilmot. Lauk! dús dwaalee, ur tuul dauy-ul?—Púdh'u tuul rai-znubl, 10 ur oa'l dhi paup'een, yu guurt Waiysh-umaewf.

Zoa ainth dhu fuus Baewt.

5 Romping is still so spoken-so Juub for Job, ruub for rob, &c.

6 Giggling--this word is still pronounced with t in it. I heard a man

abusing his daughter, call her 'yu gig lteen yuung búch!'

7 Literaryism—remember would be fine talk. Thomasin to Wilmot would

have said muyn, 'mind'-to the parson or a 'real gentleman,' raimúmbur.

8 Spelt valst in l. 169.

9 Navel-so claa'ul for clavel, shoo ul for shovel, graa'ul for gravel.

10 This is a very common expression still talk sensibly.

=

138

AN EXMOOR SCOLDING.

140

Wilmot.

D

BOUT THE SECOND.

IST hire ma, Dem? Chell ha tether Vinny wi' tha. -Tha told'st1 ma now-reert, or a whilere, of 2 Rigging and Rumping, Steehopping and Ragrowtering, Giggleting and Gamboyling.3 What's me-an by thate? 4 But thee, thee wut ruckee, and squattee, and doattee in the Chimley Coander lick an Axwaddle; and wi' the zame tha wut rakee up, and 145 gookee, and tell doil, tell Dildrams and Buckingham Jenkins. —Ay, ay, poor Andra Vursdon wud ha' had a rig-mutton Rumpstall in tha, nif tad net ha' be' strat.9 A wud ha' had a coad, riggelting, parbeaking, piping Body in tha! olwey wone Glam or nether. And more an zo, there's no Direct to hot tha 150 tell'st.10 Tha wut feb et heartily.11 Na, tha wut lee a Rope

8

1 There is no sound of the d or the t after the 7 in this word.

2 Literaryism-oƒ = uv is only used before a vowel.

3 Spelt gambowling previously-I never heard gamboyling.

* I have written thus in deference to original note to Ed. 1778, p. 1 of the 'Courtship,' but my opinion is that thate is much too long a sound to have been used; if not, it is now quite obsolete. (See W. S. Gram., pp. 29 to 32, on the use of that.)

5 Here the similar vowel sounds-doa utee een doattee in-of the text would in rapid speech be slurred together, as previously noted. (See note 5, l. 5. Also W. S. Gram., p. 27.)

6 Here, on the other hand, there is no such elision-but the distinguishing adjective u stands before a vowel as well as a consonant. (See W. S. Gram., p. 29.)

41

U AK'SMOAR SKOA'LDEEN.

Wilmot.

BAEWT DHU SAEK UNT.

D

UST uy'ur mu, Daem? Ch-úl ae'u taedh'ur vún'ee wi dhu.-Dhu toa·ls 1 mu naew-ree 'urt, ur u wuy ŭlae'ŭr, 140 u2 rigʻeen un ruum peen, stee'aupeen un rag gruwtureen, gigʻlteen un gaam buw leen.3 Haut-s mee un bi dhae ut? 4 Bút dhee, dhee wút ruuk⚫če, un skwautče, un doa utee-n 5 dhu chúm·lee koa⚫ŭndur lik u aks wadl; an wi dhu zae'um dhu wút rae ukee aup-m 7 gèo kĕe, un tuul dauy'ul, tuul Dúl-drumz un Buuk eenum Jing- 145 keenz.-Aay, aa'y, poour Andru Vuuz·dn wúd u-ad a rig-muutn ruum psl een dhu, neef t-ad nút u-bee straat.9 U wúd u-ad u koa ud, rig lteen, paar baekeen, puy 'peen bau dee-n dhu! aul wai woon glaam ur naedh'ur. Un moo'ŭr-n zoa ̊, dhur-z noa durack' tu haut dhu tuuls.10 Dhu wút faeb ut aarti luyk.11 Naa, dhu wút lee u roo'up 150

7 The and in rapid speech becomes shortened, and after p, b, f, v, is always sounded as m, as before noted, 1. 120.

8 The use of poor generally implies that the person spoken of is dead, and it does so very probably here; though there is nothing further in the text to confirm that view.

9 The participial prefix might be dropped in very rapid speech, or become scarcely perceptible, particularly when following another p. part. This word strat is the same as is elsewhere, e. g. 1. 105, spelt strad. The former is the commoner form. Deliberately spoken, net ha' be' a strat.

10 Tell throughout the dialogues is used for say and talk. See note 11, 1. 116; also 1. 137.

11 This whole sentence reads apocryphal-I never heard the word fib in the dialect, and no one ever heard heartily. Moreover the word hearty would not be used in this sense.

151 up-reert. * 1 Chad a most a borst my Guts wi' laughing, whan's zeed tha whilere trapsee hum from tha Yeoanna Lock,2 thy Shoes oll besh-,3 thy Hozen muxy up zo vurs thy Gammerels to tha very Huck sheens o' tha, thy Gore Coat oll a girred, 155 thy Aead-Clathing oll a' foust; thy Waistcoat oll horry, and thy Pancrock a kiver'd wi' Briss and Buttons.

5

8

Thomasin. Why thare zo!6 Bet dist net thee thenk, ya long-hanged Trapes, that tha young Josy Yeaff-field wud ha' be' plasad, when ha had zitch a crewdling Theng as thee art? Eart 160 lunging, eart squatting upon thy tether Eend. Zey ort to tha, why tha wut twitch up thy Teal, and draw up thy Noaze, and take Owl 10 o', or take Pip o'. Nif won 11 zey the le-ast Theng out,12 tha wut purtee a Zennet arter.

Wilmot. How, Hussey! ya confounded Trash! Dist remem165 ber 13 when tha wenst out in the Vuzzey-Park, in the Desk o' tha Yeaveling, just in tha Dimmet, wi' tha young Humphrey Hosegood,—— and how ha mullad and soulad about tha? Ha bed 14 tha zet down;— and tha zedst tha woudst net,15 nif ha dedent blow tha down. Zo ha blow'd, and down tha valst. Who shud be hard by 16 (vor 'twas in 170 tha Dimmet) bet tha Square's 17 Bealy, -and vorewey ha' cry'd

If this saying was ever common, it is now obsolete. At present this would be expressed thus-Dhu wút tuul luyz zu vaas uz u au ́s kn gaal up, 'Thee wilt tell lies as fast as a horse can gallop.'

2 I have made careful enquiry at different times, and from several persons, who know every corner of Exmoor and of the district of Parracombe and Challacombe, but can hear of no such place as Yeoanna Lock. I therefore conclude it to be a fiction.

3 Beshút n.

4 Now quite obsolete, but it was not uncommon so lately as fifty years ago. Stockings only are now heard of.

5 Head-clathing in Ed. of 1771.

6 This is still a common exclamation-of no particular meaning-like Oh, I never! Good gracious! &c.

7 Joseph Heathfield. (Sce W. S. Dial., p. 22.) A common name in these parts. 8 The r is always sounded in this word, but the t is dropped in rapid speech when followed by another t.

*

(Note to Ed. of 1778.) To lie a Rope upright, contains a Pun on the Word Lie, and means the telling such a Lie as implies a Contradiction in itself; or what is as impossible to be true, as for a Rope which lies on the Ground to stand upright at the same Time.