Chapter XII: A Few Specimens

There is a great wealth of modern dialect literature, as indicated by the lists in the _E.D.D._ Some of these dialect books are poor and inaccurate, and they are frequently spelt according to no intelligible phonetic principles. Yet it not unfrequently happens, as in the works of Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, that the dialectal scraps indicate the pronunciation with tolerable fidelity, which is more than can be said of such portions of their works as are given in the normal spelling. It is curious to notice that writers in dialect are usually, from a phonetic point of view, more careful and consistent in their modes of indicating sounds than are the rest of us. Sometimes their spelling is, accordingly, very good. Those who are interested in this subject may follow up this hint with advantage.

It is impossible to mention even a tithe of the names of our better dialect writers. In Scotland alone there is a large number, some of the more recent bearing such well-known names as those of R.L. Stevenson, George Macdonald (Aberdeen), J.M. Barrie (Forfarshire), and S.R. Crockett (Galloway). Dean Ramsay's humorous _Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character_ must not be passed over. For Ireland we have William Carleton's _Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry_, and the novels by Lever and Lover. Cumberland has its delightful stories of _Joe and the Geologist_, and _Bobby Banks' Bodderment_. Cornwall has its _Tales_, by J.T. Tregellas. Devon can boast of R.D. Blackmore, Dorset of Hardy and Barnes, and Lincoln of Tennyson. The literature of Lancashire is vast; it suffices to mention John Collier (otherwise Tim Bobbin), author of _Tummus and Meary_, Ben Brierley, John Byrom, J.P. Morris, author of _T' Lebby Beck Dobby_, and Edwin Waugh, prose author and poet. _Giles's Trip to London_, and the other sketches by the same author, are highly characteristic of Norfolk. Northamptonshire has its poet, John Clare; and Suffolk can boast of Robert Bloomfield. According to her own statement, printed in the Preface (p. viii) to the E.D.S. _Bibliographical List_, George Eliot, when writing _Adam Bede_, had in mind "the talk of N. Staffordshire and the neighbouring part of Derbyshire"; whilst, in _Silas Marner_, "the district imagined is in N. Warwickshire." Southey wrote _T' Terrible Knitters e' Dent_ in the Westmoreland dialect. Yorkshire, like Lancashire, has a large literature, to which the _E.D.D._ Booklist can alone do justice.

SCOTTISH (Group 3): ABERDEEN.

The following extract is from Chapter XVIII of _Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk_, by W. Alexander, LL.D., fifteenth edition, Edinburgh, 1908. One special peculiarity of the dialect is the use of _f_ for _wh_, as in _fat_, what, _fan_, when. The extract describes how the speaker and his friends went to hear a bellman make a proclamation about the appointment of a new minister to a church.

It's a vera stiff brae, an' ere we wan up to the kirk, it was gyaun
upon eleyven o'clock. "Hooever," says the mannie, "we'll be in braw
time; it's twal ere the sattlement begin, an' I'se warran they sanna
apen the kirk-doors till's till than." So we tak's a luik roun' for
ony kent fowk. They war stannin' aboot a'gate roun' aboot the kirk,
in scores an' hunners, fowk fae a' the pairis'es roun' aboot, an'
some fae hyne awa' as far doon's Marnoch o' the tae han' an' Kintore
o' the tither, aw believe; some war stampin' their feet an' slappin'
their airms like the yauws o' a win'mill to keep them a-heat;
puckles wus sittin' o' the kirk-yard dyke, smokin' an' gyaun on wi'
a' kin' o' orra jaw aboot the minaisters, an' aye mair gedderin' in
aboot--it was thocht there wus weel on to twa thoosan' there ere a'
was deen. An' aye a bit fudder was comin' up fae the manse aboot fat
the Presbytery was deein--they war chaumer't there, ye see, wi' the
lawvyers an' so on. "Nyod, they maun be sattlin' 'im i' the manse,"
says ane, "we'll need a' gae doon an' see gin we can win in." "Na,
na," says anither, "a bit mair bather aboot thair dissents an'
appales bein' ta'en; muckle need they care, wi' sic a Presbytery,
fat they try. But here's Johnny Florence, the bellman, at the lang
length, I'se be at the boddom o' fat they're at noo." And wi' that
he pints till a carlie comin' across the green, wi' a bit paper in's
han', an' a gryte squad o' them 't hed been hingin' aboot the
manse-door at's tail. "Oo, it's Johnny gyaun to read the edick,"
cries a gey stoot chap, an' twa three o' them gya a roar o' a
lauch.... "Speek oot, min!" cries ane. "I think ye mith pronunce
some better nor that, Johnny," says anither; an' they interrupit
'im fan he was tryin' to read wi' a' kin' of haivers, takin' the
words oot o's mou, an' makin' the uncoest styte o't 't cud be.

Notes.--_brae_, hill; _wan up_, got up; _gyaun upon_,
going close upon; _braw_, excellent; _twal_, twelve;
_sattlement_, decision; _I'se_, I will (lit. I shall);
_sanna_, will not; _till's_, for us; _kent fowk_, known
people, acquaintances; _a'gate_, in all ways; _hunners_,
hundreds; _fae_, from; _hyne awa'_, hence away, as far
off; _the tae_, the one; _the tither_, the other; _yauws_,
sails; _puckles_, numbers, many; _dyke_, stone fence;
_orra jaw_, various loud talk; _mair gedderin'_, more
gathering; _on to_, near; _deen_, done; _bit fudder_,
bit of a rumour (lit. gust of wind); _fae_, from; _fat_,
what; _deein_, doing; _chaumer't_, chambered, shut up;
_nyod_, a disguised oath; _we'll need_, we must; _gin_,
if; _win in_, get in: _bather_, bother; _at the lang
length_, at last; _carlie_, churl; _gryte squad_, great
crowd; _gey stoot_, rather stout; _twa three_, two or
three; _gya_, gave; _mith_, might; _nor that_, than that;
_haivers_, foolish talk; _mou_, mouth; _uncoest_, most
uncouth, strangest; _styte_, nonsense.

SCOTTISH (Group 7): AYRSHIRE.

The following lines are quoted from a well-known poem by Robert Burns (1759-1796).

The Twa Dogs (Cæsar and Luath).

_Cæs_. "I've notic'd, on our Laird's court-day,
An' mony a time my heart's been wae,
Poor tenant bodies, scant o' cash,
How they maun thole a factor's snash
He'll stamp an' threaten, curse an' swear,
He'll apprehend them, poind their gear;
While they maun stan', wi' aspect humble,
An' hear it a', an' fear and tremble!
I see how folk live that hae riches;
But surely poor folk maun be wretches."
_Lu._ "They're no sae wretched's are wad think;
Tho' constantly on poortith's brink,
They're sae accustom'd wi' the sight,
The view o't gies them little fright....
The dearest comfort o' their lives,
Their grushie weans an' faithfu' wives:
The prattling things are just their pride,
That sweetens a' their fire-side....
That merry day the year begins,
They bar the door on frosty win's;
The nappy reeks wi' mantling ream,
An' sheds a heart-inspiring steam;
The luntin' pipe an' sneeshin-mill
Are handed round wi' right good will;
The cantie auld folks crackin' crouse,
The young anes ranting thro' the house--
My heart has been sae fain to see them
That I, for joy, hae barkit wi' them!"...
By this, the sun was out o' sight,
An' darker gloamin' brought the night:
The bum-clock humm'd wi' lazy drone,
The kye stood rowtin' i' the loan;
When up they gat, an' shook their lugs,
Rejoic'd they were na _men_ but _dogs_;
An' each took aff his several way,
Resolv'd to meet some ither day.

Notes.--_wae_, sorrowful; _maun thole_, must endure, must
put up with; _factor's snash_, agent's abuse; _poind_,
seize upon, sequester; _gear_, property; _hae_, have;
_no sae_, not so; _wad_, would; _poortith_, poverty;
_grushie_, of thriving growth, well-grown; _weans_,
children; _win's_, winds; _nappy_, foaming ale; _reeks_,
smokes; _ream_, cream; _luntin'_, smoking, emitting smoke;
_sneeshin-mill_, snuff box; _cantie_, merry; _crackin'_,
conversing; _crouse_, with good spirits; _ranting_,
running noisily; _fain_, glad; _gloamin'_, twilight;
_bum-clock_, beetle (that booms); _kye_, cows; _rowtin'_,
lowing; _loan_, milking-place; _lugs_, ears.

SCOTTISH (Group 8): EDINBURGH.

The following stanzas are from _The Farmer's Ingle_, a poem by Robert Fergusson (1750-1774), a native of Edinburgh.

Whan gloming grey out o'er the welkin keeks,
Whan Batie ca's his owsen to the byre,
Whan Thrasher John, sair dung, his barn-door steeks,
And lusty lasses at the dighting tire:
What bangs fu' leal the e'enings coming cauld,
And gars snaw-tappit winter freeze in vain,
Gars dowie mortals look baith blythe and bauld,
Nor fley'd wi' a' the poortith o' the plain;
Begin, my Muse, and chant in hamely strain.

Frae the big stack, weel-winnow't on the hill,
Wi' divets theekit frae the weet and drift,
Sods, peats, and heath'ry trufs the chimley fill,
And gar their thick'ning smeek salute the lift;
The gudeman, new come hame, is blythe to find,
Whan he out o'er the halland flings his een,
That ilka turn is handled to his mind,
That a' his housie looks sae cosh and clean;
For cleanly house lo'es he, tho' e'er sae mean.

Weel kens the gudewife that the pleughs require
A heartsome meltith, and refreshing synd
O' nappy liquor, o'er a bleezing fire;
Sair wark and poortith downa weel be join'd.
Wi' buttered bannocks now the girdle reeks;
I' the far nook the bowie briskly reams;
The readied kail stands by the chimley-cheeks,
And hauds the riggin het wi' welcome streams;
Whilk than the daintiest kitchen nicer seems....

Then a' the house for sleep begin to grien,
Their joints to slack frae industry a while;
The leaden god fa's heavy on their een,
And hafflins steeks them frae their daily toil;
The cruizy too can only blink and bleer,
The restit ingle's done the maist it dow;
Tackman and cottar eke to bed maun steer,
Upo' the cod to clear their drumly pow,
Till waukened by the dawning's ruddy glow.

Notes.--_Ingle_, chimney-corner. _Gloming_, twilight;
_keeks_, peeps; _ca's_, drives (lit. calls); _owsen_,
oxen; _byre_, cow-house; _sair dung_, sorely tired;
_steeks_, shuts; _dighting_, winnowing; _bangs fu'
leal_, defeats right well; _gars_, makes; _-tappit_,
crested; _dowie_, melancholy; _fley'd_, frighted;
_poortith_, poverty.

_Divets_, turfs; _theekit_, thatched; _weet_, wet;
_sods, peats, and heath'ry trufs_, various turf fuels;
_chimley_, fire-place; _gar_, make; _smeek_, smoke;
_lift_, sky; _halland_, partition forming a screen;
_een_, eyes; _ilka_, each; _cosh_, cosy; _lo'es_, loves.

_Kens_, knows; _meltith_, meal-tide, meal; _synd_,
wash-down, draught; _nappy_, heady, strong; _downa_,
cannot; _bannocks_, cakes; _girdle_, hot-plate; _reeks_,
smokes; _bowie_, cask, beer-barrel; _reams_, foams;
_readied kail_, (dish of) cooked greens; _by_, beside;
_hauds... het_, keeps... hot; _riggin_, roof over the open
hearth; _whilk_, which.

_Grien_, yearn, long; _hafflins steeks_, half shuts;
_cruizy_, oil-lamp; _bleer_, bedim (the sight); _restit
ingle_, made up fire; _dow_, can; _tackman_, lease-holder,
farmer; _cod_, pillow; _drumly pow_, confused head.

NORTHERN (ENGLAND); Group 2: WESTMORELAND.

The following extract is from a remarkable tract entitled _A Bran New Wark, by William De Worfat_; Kendal, 1785. The author was the Rev. William Hutton, Rector of Beetham in Westmoreland, 1762-1811, and head of a family seated at Overthwaite (here called Worfat) in that parish. It was edited by me for the E.D.S. in 1879.

Last Saturday sennet, abaut seun in the evening (twas lownd and
fraaze hard) the stars twinkled, and the setting moon cast
gigantic shadows. I was stalking hameward across Blackwater-mosses,
and whistling as I tramp'd for want of thought, when a noise struck
my ear, like the crumpling of frosty murgeon; it made me stop short,
and I thought I saw a strange form before me: it vanished behint a
windraw; and again thare was nought in view but dreary dykes, and
dusky ling. An awful silence reigned araund; this was sean brokken
by a skirling hullet; sure nivver did hullet, herrensue, or miredrum,
mak sic a noise before. Your minister [_himself_] was freetned, the
hairs of his head stood an end, his blead storkened, and the haggard
creature moving slawly nearer, the mirkiness of the neet shew'd her
as big again as she was... She stoup'd and drop'd a poak, and thus
began with a whining tone. "Deary me! deary me! forgive me, good Sir,
but this yance, I'll steal naa maar. This seek is elding to keep us
fra starving!"... [_The author visits the poor woman's cottage_.]
She sat on a three-legg'd steal, and a dim coal smook'd within the
rim of a brandreth, oor which a seety rattencreak hung dangling fra
a black randletree. The walls were plaister'd with dirt, and a stee,
with hardly a rung, was rear'd into a loft. Araund the woman her
lile ans sprawl'd on the hearth, some whiting speals, some
snottering and crying, and ya ruddy-cheek'd lad threw on a bullen
to make a loww, for its mother to find her loup. By this sweal I
beheld this family's poverty.

Notes.--_Sennet_, seven nights, week; _seun_, seven;
_lownd_, still, calm; _murgeon_, rubbish earth cut up and
thrown aside in order to get peat; _windraw_, heap of dug
earth; _ling_, kind of heather; _skirling hullet_, shrieking
owlet; _herrensue_, young heron; _miredrum_, bittern; _blead
storkened_, blood congealed; _neet_, night; _poak_, bag;
_yance_, once; _seck_, sack, i.e. contents of this sack;
_elding_, fuel; _steal_, stool; _brandreth_, iron frame
over the fire; _seaty_, sooty; _rattencreak_, potcrook,
pothook; _randletree_, a beam from which the pothook hangs;
_stee_, ladder; _loft_, upper room; _lile ans_, little
ones; _whiting speals_, whittling small sticks; _snottering_,
sobbing; _ya_, one; _bullen_, hempstalk; _loww_, flame;
_loup_, loop, stitch in knitting; _sweal_, blaze.

MIDLAND (Group I): LINCOLN.

I here give a few quotations from the Glossary of Words used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire, by E. Peacock, F.S.A.; 2nd ed., E.D.S., 1889. The illustrative sentences are very characteristic.

_Beal_, to bellow.--Th' bairn beäled oot that bad, I was clëan
scar'd, but it was at noht bud a battle-twig 'at hed crohlëd up'n
hisairm. (_Battle-twig_, earwig; _airm_, arm.)

_Cart, to get into_, to get into a bad temper.--Na, noo, thoo
neädn't get into th' cart, for I weän't draw thee.

_Cauf_, a calf, silly fellow.--A gentleman was enlarging to a
Winterton lad on the virtues of Spanish juice [liquorice water].
"Ah,then, ye'll ha' been to th' mines, wheäre thaay gets it," the
boy exclaimed; whereupon the mother broke in with--"A greät cauf!
Duz he think 'at thaay dig it oot o' th' grund, saäme as thaay do
sugar?"

_Chess_, a tier.--I've been tell'd that e' plaaces wheäre thaay
graw silk-worms, thaay keäps 'em on traays, chess aboon chess,
like cheney i' a cupboard. (_E'_ in; _cheney_, china.)

_Clammer_, to climb.--Oor Uriah's clammered into th' parson's
cherry-tree, muther, an' he is swalla'in on 'em aboon a bit.
I shouldn't ha tell'd ye nobbut he weänt chuck me ony doon.
(_Nobbut_, only.)

_Cottoner_, something very striking.--Th' bairn hed been e'
mischief all daay thrif; at last, when I was sidin' awaay th'
teä-things, what duz he do but tum'le i'to th' well. So, says I,
Well, this is a cottoner; we shall hev to send for Mr Iveson
(the coroner) noo, I reckon. (_Thrif_, through; _sidin' awaay_,
putting away.)

_Ducks_.--A girl said to the author, of a woman with whom she had
been living for a short time as servant, "I'd raather be nibbled
to deäd wi' ducks then live with Miss P. She's alus a natterin'."
(_Deäd_, death; _alus_, always; _natterin'_, nagging.)

_Good mind_, strong intention.--She said she'd a good mind to hing
her-sen, soä I ax'd if I mud send for Mr Holgate (the coroner), to
be ready like. (_Hing_, hang; _mud_, might.)

_Jaup_, senseless talk.--Ho'd the jaup wi' th{(e}; dos't ta want
ivery body to knaw how soft thoo is? (_Ho'd_, hold; _soft_,
foolish.)

MIDLAND (Group 2): S.E. LANCASHIRE.

The following poem is from _Poems and Songs_ by Edwin Waugh; 3rd ed., London, 1870.

Owd Pinder.

Owd Pinder were a rackless foo,
An' spent his days i' spreein';
At th' end ov every drinkin-do,
He're sure to crack o' deein';
"Go, sell my rags, an' sell my shoon,
Aw's never live to trail 'em;
My ballis-pipes are eawt o' tune,
An' th' wynt begins to fail 'em!

Eawr Matty's very fresh an' yung;--
'T would any mon bewilder;--
Hoo'll wed again afore it's lung,
For th' lass is fond o' childer;
My bit o' brass'll fly--yo'n see--
When th' coffin-lid has screen'd me--
It gwos again my pluck to dee,
An' lev her wick beheend me.

Come, Matty, come, an' cool my yed;
Aw'm finish'd, to my thinkin';"
Hoo happed him nicely up, an' said,
"Thae'st brought it on wi' drinkin'."--
"Nay, nay," said he, "my fuddle's done,
We're partin' tone fro tother;
So promise me that, when aw'm gwon,
Thea'll never wed another!"

"Th' owd tale," said hoo, an' laft her stoo;
"It's rayly past believin';
Thee think o' th' world thea'rt goin' to,
An' lev this world to th' livin';
What use to me can deeod folk be?
Thae's kilt thisel' wi' spreein";
An' iv that's o' thae wants wi' me,
Get forrud wi' thi deein'!"

Notes.--_Owd_, old; _rackless foo_, reckless fool; _spreein'_,
merry-making, drinking; _-do_, bout; _He're_, he would be;
_crack o' deein'_ , hint at dying; _Aw's_, I shall; _trail_,
walk in; _ballis-pipes_, bellows-pipes, lungs; _eawt_, out;
_wynt_, wind.

_Eawr_, our, my; _Hoo_, she; _brass_, money; _yo'n_, you will;
_lev_, leave; _wick_, quick, i.e. alive.

_Yed_, head; _happed_, covered; _fuddle_, drinking-bout;
_tone fro tother_, the one from the other.

_Stoo_, stool; _Thee think_, do thou think; _deeod_, dead;
_o'_, all; _get forrud_, get on, go on.

MIDLAND (Group 5): SHEFFIELD.

The following extract is from A. Bywater's _Sheffield Dialect_, 3rd ed, 1877; as quoted in S.O. Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_, E.D.S., 1888, p. xv.

_Jerra Flatback._ Hah, they'n better toimes on't nah, booath e
heitin and clooas; we'n had menni a mess a nettle porridge an brawls
on a Sunda mo'nin, for us brekfast... Samma, dusta remember hah
menni names we had for sahwer wotcake?

_Oud Samma Squarejoint._ O kno'n't, lad; bur o think we'd foive or
six. Let's see: Slammak wer won, an' Flat-dick wer anuther; an't
tuther wor--a dear, mo memra fails ma--Flannel an' Jonta;
an-an-an-an--bless me, wot a thing it is tubbe oud, mo memra gers
war for ware, bur o kno heah's anuther; o'st think on enah.--
A, Jerra, heah's menni a thahsand dogs nah days, at's better dun
too nor we wor then; an them were t'golden days a Hallamshoir, they
sen. An they happen wor, for't mesters. Hofe at prentis lads e them
days wor lether'd whoile ther skin wor skoi-blue, and clam'd whoile
ther booans wer bare, an work'd whoile they wor as knock-kneed as
oud Nobbletistocks. Thah nivver sees nooa knock-kneed cutlers nah:
nou, not sooa; they'n better mesters nah, an they'n better sooat a
wark anole. They dooant mezher em we a stick, as oud Natta Hall did.
But for all that, we'd none a yer wirligig polishin; nor Tom Dockin
scales, wit bousters comin off; nor yer sham stag, nor sham revvits,
an sich loik. T' noives wor better made then, Jerra.

_Jerra_: Hah, they wor better made; they made t' noives for yuse
then, but they mayn em to sell nah.

Notes.--Observe _'n_ for _han_ (plural), have; _on't nah_,
of it now; _e heitin_, in eating; _mess a_, dish of, meal of;
_brawis_, brose, porridge; _hah_, how; _sahwer wotcake_,
leavened oatcake; _bur o_, but I; _mo_, my; _ma_, me;
_tubbe oud_, to be old; _gers_, gets; _war for ware_,
worse for wear; _o'st_, I shall; _think on_, remember;
_enah_, presently; _nah days_, nowadays; _at's_, that are;
_dun too_, treated; _nor we_, than we; _Hallamshoir_,
Hallamshire, the district including Sheffield and the
neighbourhood; _sen_, say; _happen_, perhaps; _for't_,
for the; _hofe at_, half of the; _e them_, in those;
_lether'd_, beaten; _whoile_, till; _clam'd_ (for _clamm'd_),
starved; _sooat a_, sort of; _anole_, and all; _we_, with;
_wirligig_, machine; _Tom Dockin scales_, scales cut out of
thin rolled iron instead of being forged; _bousters_, bolsters
(a _bolster_ is a lump of metal between the tang and the blade
of a knife); _stag_, stag-horn handle (?); _mayn_, pl. make.

MIDLAND (Group 6): CHESHIRE.

The following extract is from "Betty Bresskittle's Pattens, or Sanshum Fair," by J.C. Clough; printed with Holland's _Cheshire Glossary_, E.D.S. (1886), p. 466. Sanshum or Sanjem Fair is a fair held at Altrincham on St James's Day.

Jud sprung upo' th' stage leet as a buck an' bowd as a dandycock,
an' th' mon what were playingk th' drum (only it wer'nt a gradely
drum) gen him a pair o' gloves. Jud began a-sparringk, an' th'
foaks shaouted, "Hooray! Go it, owd Jud! Tha'rt a gradely Cheshire
mon!"

Th' black felly next gen Jud a wee bit o' a bang i' th' reet ee, an
Jud git as weild as weild, an hit reet aht, but some hah he couldna
git a gradely bang at th' black mon. At-aftur two or three minutes
th' black felly knocked Jud dahn, an t'other chap coom and picked
him up, an' touch'd Jud's faace wi' th' spunge everywheer wheer he'd
getten a bang, but th' spunge had getten a gurt lot o' red ruddle on
it, so that it made gurt red blotches upo' Jud's faace wheer it
touched it; an th' foaks shaouted and shaouted, "Hooray, Jud! Owd
mon! at em agen!" An Jud let floy a good un, an th' mon wi' th'
spunge had to pick th' blackeymoor up this toime an put th' ruddle
upo' his faace just at-under th'ee.

"Hooray, Jud! hooray, owd mon!" shaouted Jock Carter o' Runjer;
"tha'rt game, if tha'rt owd!"

Just at that vary minit Jud's weife, bad as hoo were wi' th'
rheumatic, pushed her rooäd through th' foaks, and stood i' th'
frunt o' th' show.

"Go it agen, Jud! here's th' weife coom t'see hah gam tha art!"
shaouted Jonas.

Jud turn'd rahnd an gurned at th' frunt o' th' show wi' his faace
aw ruddle.

"Tha girt soo! I'll baste thi when aw get thi hwom, that aw will!"
shaouted Betty Bresskittle; "aw wunder tha artna ashamed o' thisen,
to stond theer a-feightingk th' deevil hissel!"

Notes.--_Jud_, for George; _leet_, light; _bowd_, bold;
_dandycock_, Bantam cock; _gradely_, proper; _gen_, gave; _owd_,
old; _reet ee_, right eye; _git_, got; _as weild as weild_, as
wild as could be; _aht_, out; _at-aftur_, after; _gurt_, great;
_em_, him; _floy_, fly; _Runjer_, Ringway; _game_ (also _gam_),
full of pluck; _hoo_, she; _rooad_, road, way; _gurned_,
grinned; _soo_, sow (term of abuse); _hwom_, home; _thisen_,
thyself.

EASTERN (Group 2): N. ESSEX.

The following extract is from _John Noakes and Mary Styles_, by Charles Clark, of Great Totham; London, 1839. Reprinted for the E.D.S., 1895. As Great Totham is to the North of Maldon, I take this specimen to belong to Prof. Wright's "Division 2" rather than to the S.W. Essex of "Division 5." The use of _w_ for initial _v_ occurs frequently, as in _werry_, very, etc.

At Tottum's Cock-a-Bevis Hill,
A sput surpass'd by few,
Where toddlers ollis haut to eye
The proper pritty wiew,

Where people crake so ov the place,
Leas-ways, so I've hard say;
An' frum its top yow, sarteny,
Can see a monsus way.

But no sense ov a place, some think,
Is this here hill so high,--
'Cos there, full oft, 'tis nation coad,
But that don't argufy.

As sum'dy, 'haps, when nigh the sput,
May ha' a wish to see 't,--
From Mauldon toun to Keldon 'tis,
An' 'gin a four-releet.

At Cock-a Bevis Hill, too, the
Wiseacres show a tree
Which if you clamber up, besure,
A precious way yow see.

I dorn't think I cud clime it now,
Aldoe I uster cud;
I shudn't warsley loike to troy,
For gulch cum down I shud.

My head 'ood swim,--I 'oodn't do't
Nut even fur a guinea;
A naarbour ax'd me, t'other day;
"Naa, naa," says I, "nut quinny."

Notes.--_Sput_, spot; _toddlers_, walkers; _ollis_, always;
_haut_, halt; _wiew_, view. _Crake_, boast; _leas(t)ways_, at
least; _sarteny_, certainly; _monsus_, monstrous, very long.

_No sense ov a_, poor, bad; _coad_, cold; _argufy_, prove
(anything).

_Sum'dy_, somebody; _from M._, between Maldon and Kelvedon;
_'gin_, against, near; _four-releet_ (originally _four-e leet_,
lit. "ways of four," _four-e_ being the genitive plural, hence)
meeting of four roads.

_Dorn't_, don't; _aldoe_, although; _uster cud_ (for _us'd to
could_), used to be able; _warsley_, vastly, much; _loike_,
like; _gulch_, heavily, with a bang.

_'Ood_, would; _nut_, not; _ax'd_, asked; _naa_, no; _nut
quinny_, not quite, not at all.

EASTERN (Group 3): NORFOLK.

The following extract from "A Norfolk Dialogue" is from a work entitled _Erratics by a Sailor_, printed anonymously at London in 1800, and written by the Rev. Joshua Larwood, rector of Swanton Morley, near East Dereham. Most of the words are quite familiar to me, as I was curate of East Dereham in 1861-2, and heard the dialect daily. The whole dialogue was reprinted in _Nine Specimens of English Dialects_; E.D.S., 1895.

The Dialogue was accompanied by "a translation," as here reprinted. It renders a glossary needless.

Original Vulgar Norfolk.
_Narbor Rabbin and Narbor Tibby._

Translation.
_Neighbour Robin and Neighbour Stephen._

_R._ Tibby, d'ye know how the knacker's mawther Nutty du?

_R._ Stephen, do you know how the collar-maker's daughter
Ursula is?

_T._ Why, i' facks, Rabbin, she's nation cothy; by Goms, she is so
snasty that I think she is will-led.

_S._ Why, in fact, Robin, she is extremely sick; by (_obsolete_),
she is so snarlish, that I think she's out of her mind.

_R._ She's a fate mawther, but ollas in dibles wi' the knacker and
thackster; she is ollas a-ating o' thapes and dodmans. The fogger sa,
she ha the black sap; but the grosher sa, she have an ill dent.

_R._ She's a clever girl, but always in troubles with the
collar-maker and thatcher; she is always eating gooseberries
and snails. The man at the chandler's shop says she has a
consumption: but the grocer says she's out of her senses.

_T._ Why, ah! tother da she fared stounded: she pluck'd the pur
from the back-stock, and copped it agin the balk of the douw-pollar,
and barnt it; and then she hulled [it] at the thackster, and hart
his weeson, and huckle-bone. There was northing but cadders in the
douw-pollar, and no douws: and so, arter she had barnt the balk, and
the door-stall, and the plancher, she run into the par-yard, thru
the pytle, and then swounded behinn'd a sight o' gotches o' beergood.

_S._ Why, aye! the other day she appeared struck mad: she
snatched the poker from the back of the stove, and flung it
against the beam of the pigeon-house, and burnt it; and then she
throwed it at the thatcher, and hurt his throat and hip-bone.
There were no pigeons in the pigeon-house, and nothing but
jack-daws; and so, after she had burned the beam, and the
door-frame and the floor, she ran into the cowyard, through the
small field, and fainted behind several pitchers of yeast.

_R._ Ah, the shummaker told me o' that rum rig; and his nevvey sa,
that the beer-good was fystey; and that Nutty was so swelter'd, that
she ha got a pain in spade-bones. The bladethacker wou'd ha gin har
some doctor's gear in a beaker; but he sa she'll niver moize agin.

_R._ Aye, the shoemaker told me of that comical trick; and his
nephew says, that the yeast was musty; and that Ursula [was so]
smothered, that she has got a pain in her bones. The thatcher
would have given her some doctor's medicine in a tumbler; but he
says, she will never recover.

Notes.--Pronounce _du_ like E. _dew_. _Snasty_, pron. _snaisty_,
cross. _Fate, fait_ (cf. E. _feat_), suitable, clever.
_Mawther_, a young girl; Norw. _moder_. _Dibles_: the _i_ is
long. _Sa_, says; _ha_, _have_, has; note the absence of final
_s_ in the third person singular. _Cadder_, for _caddow_; from
_caa-daw_, cawing daw. _Douw_, for _dow_, a dove. _Par_: for
_parrock_, a paddock. _Fystey_: with long _y_, from _foist_,
a fusty smell. _Sweltered_, over-heated, in profuse perspiration.
_Moize_, thrive, mend.

WESTERN (Group 1): S.W. SHROPSHIRE.

The following specimen is given in Miss Jackson's _Shropshire Word- book_, London, 1879, p. xciv. It describes how Betty Andrews, of Pulverbatch, rescued her little son, who had fallen into the brook.

I 'eärd a scrike, ma'am, an' I run, an' theer I sid Frank 'ad
pecked i' the bruck an' douked under an' wuz drowndin', an' I
jumped after 'im an' got 'out on 'im an' lugged 'im on to the bonk
all sludge, an' I got 'im wham afore our Sam comen in--a good job
it wuz for Sam as 'e wunna theer an' as Frank wunna drownded, for
if 'e 'ad bin I should 'a' tore our Sam all to winder-rags, an'
then 'e 'd a bin djed an' Frank drownded an' I should a bin
'anged. I toud Sam wen 'e t{)o}{)o}k the 'ouse as I didna like
it.--"Bless the wench," 'e sed, "what'n'ee want? Theer's a tidy
'ouse an' a good garden an' a run for the pig." "Aye," I sed, "an'
a good bruck for the childern to peck in;" so if Frank 'ad bin
drownded I should a bin the djeth uv our Sam. I wuz that frittened,
ma'am, that I didna spake for a nour after I got wham, an' Sam sed
as 'e 'adna sid me quiet so lung sence we wun married, an' that wuz
eighteen 'ear.

Notes.--Miss Jackson adds the pronunciation, in glossic
notation. There is no sound of initial _h_. _Scrike_, shriek;
_sid_, seed, i.e. saw; _pecked_, pitched, fallen headlong;
_bruck_, brook; _douked_, ducked; _'out_, hold; _bonk_, bank;
_wham_, home; _wunna_, was not; _winder-rags_, shreds; _djed_,
dead; _toud_, told; _what'n'ee_, what do you; _a nour_, an hour;
_sid_, seen; _lung_, long; _wun_, were.

SOUTHERN (Group 2): WILTSHIRE.

The following well-known Wiltshire fable is from _Wiltshire Tales_, by J. Yonge Akerman (1853). I give it as it stands in the Preface to Halliwell's Dictionary; omitting the "Moral."

The Harnet and the Bittle.

A harnet zet in a hollur tree--
A proper spiteful twoad was he;
And a merrily zung while he did zet
His stinge as shearp as a bagganet;
Oh, who so vine and bowld as I?
I vears not bee, nor wapse, nor vly!

A bittle up thuck tree did clim,
And scarnvully did look at him;
Zays he, "Zur harnet, who giv thee
A right to zet in thuck there tree?
Vor ael you zengs so nation vine,
I tell 'e 'tis a house o' mine!"

The harnet's conscience velt a twinge,
But grawin' bowld wi' his long stinge,
Zays he, "Possession's the best laaw;
Zo here th' sha'sn't put a claaw!
Be off, and leave the tree to me,
The mixen's good enough for thee!"

Just then a yuckel, passin' by,
Was axed by them the cause to try;
"Ha! ha! I zee how 'tis!" zays he,
"They'll make a vamous munch vor me!"
His bill was shearp, his stomach lear,
Zo up a snapped the caddlin' pair!

Notes.--Observe _z_ and _v_ for initial _s_ and _f_; _harnet_,
hornet; _bittle_, beetle; _zet_, sat; _proper_, very; _twoad_,
toad, wretch; _a_, he; _stinge_, sting; _bagganet_, bayonet.

_Thuck_, that; _clim_, climb; _giv_, gave; _zet_, sit; _ael_, all.

_Th' sha'sn't_, thou shalt not; _mixen_, dung-heap.

_Yuckel_, woodpecker; _axed_, asked; _vamous munch_, excellent
meal; _lear_, empty; _caddlin'_, quarrelsome.

SOUTHERN (Group 3): ISLE OF WIGHT.

The following colloquy is quoted in the _Glossary of Isle of Wight Words_, E.D.S., 1881, at p. 50.

I recollect perfectly the late Mr James Phillips of Merston relating
a dialogue that occurred between two of his labourers relative to
the word _straddle-bob_, a beetle.... At the time of luncheon, one
of them, on taking his _bren-cheese_ (bread and cheese) out of a
little bag, saw something that had found its way there; which led
to the following discourse.

_Jan._ What's got there, you?

_Will._ A straddlebob craalun about in the nammut-bag.

_J._ Straddlebob? Where ded'st leyarn to caal 'n by that neyam?

_W._ Why, what shoud e caal 'n? 'Tes the right neyam, esn ut?

_J._ Right neyam? No! Why, ye gurt zote vool, casn't zee 'tes a
dumbledore?

_W._ I know 'tes; but vur aal that, straddlebob's zo right a
neyam vor 'n as dumbledore ez.

_J._ Come, I'll be blamed if I doant laay thee a quart o' that.

_W._ Done! and I'll ax Meyastur to-night when I goos whoam, bee't
how't wool.

Accordingly, Meyastur was applied to by Will, who made his decision
known to Jan the next morning.

_W._ I zay, Jan! I axed Meyastur about that are last night.

_J._ Well, what ded ur zay?

_W._ Why, a zed one neyam ez jest zo vittun vor'n as tother; and
he lowz a ben caal'd straddlebob ever zunce the Island was vust
meyad.

_J._ Well, if that's the keeas, I spooas I lost the quart.

_W._ That thee hast, lucky; and we'll goo down to Arreton to the
Rid Lion and drink un ater we done work.

Notes.--Observe _z_ for _s_, and _v_ for _f_ initially. _What's_,
What hast thou; _nammut_ (lit. noon-meat), luncheon, usually
eaten at 9 A.M. (_n{-o}na h{-o}ra_); _leyarn_, learn; _esn_, is
not; _gurt_, great; _zote_, soft, silly; _casn't_, canst not;
_laay_, lay, wager; _how't wool_, how it will; _that are_, that
there; _lowz_ (lit. allows), opines; _zunce_, since; _vust meyad_,
first made; _keeas_, case; _lucky_, look ye!

SOUTHERN (Group 7): EAST SUSSEX.

The following quotations are from the _Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect_, by the Rev. W.D. Parish, Vicar of Selmeston; E.D.S. 1875. The Glossary refers rather to E. than to W. Sussex, Selmeston being between Lewes and Eastbourne.

_Call over_, to abuse. "He come along here a-cadging, and fancy he
just did call me over, because I told him as I hadn't got naun to
give him." (_Naun_, nothing.)

_Clocksmith_, a watchmaker. "I be quite lost about time, I be; for
I've been forced to send my watch to the clocksmith. I couldn't make
no sense of mending it myself; for I'd iled it and I'd biled it, and
then I couldn't do more with it."

_Cocker-up_, to spoil; to gloss over with an air of truth. "You see
this here chap of hers, he's cockered-up some story about having to
goo away somewheres up into the sheeres; and I tell her she's no
call to be so cluck over it; and for my part I dunno but what I be
very glad an't, for he was a chap as was always a-cokeing about the
cupboards, and cogging her out of a Sunday." (_The sheeres_, any
shire of England except Kent and Sussex; _call_, reason; _cluck_,
out of spirits; _coke_, to peep; _cog_, to entice.)

_Joy_, a jay. "Poor old Master Crockham, he's in terrible order,
surelý! The meece have taken his peas, and the joys have got at
his beans, and the snags have spilt all his lettuce." (_Order_, bad
temper; _meece_, mice; _snags_, snails; _spilt_, spoilt.)

_Kiddle_, to tickle. "Those thunder-bugs did kiddle me so that I
couldn't keep still no hows." (_Thunder-bug_, a midge.)

_Lawyer_, a long bramble full of thorns, so called because, "when
once they gets a holt an ye, ye doänt easy get shut of 'em."

_Leetle_, a diminutive of little. "I never see one of these here
gurt men there's s'much talk about in the peapers, only once, and
that was up at Smiffle Show adunnamany years agoo. Prime minister,
they told me he was, up at London; a leetle, lear, miserable,
skinny-looking chap as ever I see. 'Why,' I says, 'we doänt count
our minister to be much, but he's a deal primer-looking than what
yourn be.'" (_Gurt_, great; _Smiffle_, Smithfield; _adunnamany_, I
don't know how many; _lear_, thin, hungry; _see_, saw.)

_Sarment_, a sermon. "I likes a good long sarment, I doos; so as
when you wakes up it ain't all over."

_Tempory_ (temporary), slight, badly finished. "Who be I? Why, I be
John Carbury, that's who I be! And who be you? Why, you ain't a man
at all, you ain't! You be naun but a poor tempory creetur run up by
contract, that's what you be!"

_Tot_, a bush; a tuft of grass. "There warn't any grass at all when
we fust come here; naun but a passel o' gurt old tots and tussicks.
You see there was one of these here new-fashioned men had had the
farm, and he'd properly starved the land and the labourers, and the
cattle and everything, without it was hisself." (_Passel_, parcel;
_tussicks_, tufts of rank grass.)

_Twort_ (for _thwart_), pert and saucy. "She's terrible twort--she
wants a good setting down, she do; and she'll get it too. Wait till
my master comes in!"

_Winterpicks_, blackthorn berries.

_Winter-proud_, cold. "When you sees so many of these here
winterpicks about, you may be pretty sure 'twill be middlin'
winter-proud."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancren Riwle; ed. Jas. Morton. Camden Soc., 1873. (About 1230.)

Anglo-Saxon and Early English Psalter. Surtees Society. London, 1843-7. 2 vols. (See p. 25.)

Beda.--Venerabilis Bedae Historiae Ecclesiasticae Gentis Anglorum Libri III, IV; ed. J.E.B. Mayor, M.A. and J.R. Lumby, B.D. Cambridge, 1878.

---- The Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History; also the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (both in English). Ed. J.A. Giles, D.C.L. London, 1859. (In Bohn's Library.)

Dictionaries containing dialect words. (See p. 100.)

Durham Ritual.--Rituale Ecclesiæ Dunelmensis. Surtees Society. London, 1840.

Earle, Rev. J.; Anglo-Saxon Literature. London, S.P.C.K., 1884.

E.D.D.--English Dialect Dictionary (to which is appended the English Dialect Grammar); ed. Dr Joseph Wright. Oxford, 1898-1905.

E.D.S.--English Dialect Society, publications of the. London, 1873-96.

E.E.T.S.--Early English Text Society, publications of the. London, 1864-1910. (Contains Alliterative Poems, Ayenbite of Inwyt, Barbour's Bruce, Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight, St Juliana, Kentish Sermons, Lyndesay's Works, etc.)

Jackson, Miss.--Shropshire Wordbook, by Georgina F. Jackson. London, 1879.

Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary. A new edition, ed. J. Longmuir and D. Donaldson. Paisley, 1879-87. 4to. 4 vols. and Supplement.

Layamon's Brut; ed. Sir F. Madden. London, 1847. 3 vols.

Minot's Poems; ed. J. Hall. Oxford, 1887.

Morris, Rev. R., LL.D.; The Blickling Homilies. (E.E.T.S.) London, 1880.

---- Old English Miscellany. (E.E.T.S.) London, 1872.

---- Old English Homilies, Series I and II. (E.E.T.S.) London, 1867 and 1873.

---- Specimens of Early English. Part I. 1150-1300. Second Edition. Oxford, 1885.

Morris, Rev. R. and Skeat, Rev. W.W.; Specimens of Early English. Part II. Third edition. Oxford, 1894.

Murray, Sir James A.H. The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland. (Phil. Soc.) London, 1873.

N.E.D.--The New English Dictionary; by Sir James A.H. Murray, H. Bradley, and W.A. Craigie. Oxford, 1888-.

Ormulum; ed. R.M. White. Oxford, 1852. 2 vols.

Pricke of Conscience, by Richard Rolle de Hampole; ed. R. Morris. (Phil. Soc.) London, 1863.

Psalter, by R. Rolle de Hampole; ed. Rev. H.R. Bramley. Oxford, 1884.

Robert of Gloucester; ed. W. Aldis Wright. (Record Series.) London, 1887. 2 vols.

Skeat, Rev. Walter W.; The Chaucer Canon. Oxford, 1900.

---- Etymological English Dictionary. New edition. Oxford, 1910.

---- The Holy Gospels, in Anglo-Saxon, Northumbrian, and Mercian Versions. Cambridge, 1871-87.

---- Primer of English Etymology. Fifth edition. Oxford, 1910.

---- Principles of English Etymology, Series I. Second edition. Oxford, 1892.

Sweet, H.; An Anglo-Saxon Reader. Seventh edition. Oxford, 1894.

---- A Second Anglo-Saxon Reader, Archaic and Dialectal. Oxford, 1887.

---- The Oldest English Texts. (E.E.T.S.) London, 1885.

Trevisa.--Higden's Polychronicon; with Trevisa's English Version; ed. C. Babington, B.D., and the Rev. J.R. Lumby, D.D. (Record Series.) 9 vols. London, 1865-86.

Wise, J.R.; Shakspere, his Birthplace and its Neighbourhood. London, 1861.

INDEX

Aberdeen dialect, 112, 113 Adam's body, materials of, 21, 22 Alfred, King, 47, 48 Allen, Grant, _Anglo-Saxon Britain_, 85 _Alliterative Poems_, ed. Morris, 80 _Altenglische Dichtungen_, 52 Ambry, aumbry, 97 _Ancren Riwle_, 49 Anglian period, 14 Anglo-French words in dialects, 94-96 Anglo-Saxon, 10, 11, 12 _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, 12, 48 Laud MS., 73 Arain, arles, arris, asew, assith, 97 Assoilyie, astre, aunsel, aunter, aver, averous, 97, 98 Atkinson's (Cleveland) Glossary, 44 Awfully, 4 _Ayenbite of Inwyt_, 59, 60 Ayrshire dialect, 113, 114

Baker, Miss, 5 Barnes, William, 55, 111 Beda, 15 his "death-song," 15 his _History_, 14, 15, 17, 56 Beowulf, 7-9 Bewcastle column, 20 Bladud, King, 50, 51 Blood-boltered, 5 Bolter, 5, 6 Boucher, Rev. J., Dialect Dictionary, 101, 102 Boy or child, 5 Brockett's Glossary, 44 _Bruce_, by Barbour, 29-34 Brut, romance of, 49, 50, 51 Burns, Robert, 45, 113

Cædmon, 15, 16 his hymn, 17 Caxton, 40 Celtic words in dialects, 83-86 list of, 85, 86 Charters, Kentish, 56, 57 Mercian, 70 Chaucer, use of Kentish by, 63 use of _yon_, 7 use of _asp_, 68 Cheshire dialect, 122, 123 Child (girl), 5, 6 Cole, King, 51 Corpus Glossary, 67 _Cursor Mundi_, 27, 28, 35 _Cymbeline_, 50

Dialect defined, 1 Dialect glossaries, 102-103 Dialect writers, 111 Dialects, foreign elements in the, 82-98 four old, 10,11 groups of, 107 modern, 106-109 specimens of, 110, etc. Dialectic regeneration, 3 Dictionaries by Coles, Kersey, Bailey, Dr Johnson, and Ash, 101 old, Promptorium and Catholicon, 100 Douglas, Gawain, 34 Dunbar, 33, 35 quoted, 45 Dunstan, St, Life of, 51 Durham, _Liber Vitæ_, 20 Ritual, 21

Eagre, 97 Earle, Prof., 14 Edinburgh dialect, 115, 116 Eliot _see_ George Ellis, A.J., _Early English Pronunciation_, 103 Erne, 6 English, the old name for Lowland Scotch, 33-35 _English Dialect Dictionary_, 85, 90, 104 _English Dialect Grammar_, 104 English Dialect Society, 103 _English Metrical Homilies_, 28 Essex dialect, 123, 124, 125

Fitzherbert, J., _Boke of Husbandry_, 99 Flittermouse, 4, 5 _Flower and the Leaf_, 38 French words in dialects, 93 list of, 96-98

Galt, John, 45 Gauntree, 95 _Gawayne and the Grene Knight_, 81 George Eliot, use of dialect by, 111 Gloss, meaning of, 23 Glossaries of dialectal words, 102, 103 Old English, 66, 67 _Golden Targe_, by Dunbar, 45 Gower, use of Kentish by, 62, 63 Greek words in dialects, 87 Grose, F., _Provincial Glossary_, 101

Hampole, R. Rolle of, 28, 32, 35 _Handlyng Synne_, quoted, 78, 79 Harleian MS. 2253, 52 Hebrew words in dialects, 88 Henry III., Proclamation of, 75-78 Henry the Minstrel, 33, 35 Higden, Ralph, 53 Hild, Abbess, 16 Hoccleve, 38 Hogg, James, 45 _Homilies in Verse_, 28 _Horn, romance of_, 50 Horstmann, Dr, 51 Hrinde (A.S.), 8, 9

Inglis, or Inglisch, 33-35 Isle of Wight dialect, 129, 130

Jamieson's Dictionary, 43, 44 Jonson, Ben, 5 Juliana, St, 49 Jutes, 56

Keats, 4 Kentish, 10, 11, 12 dialect, 56-64 glosses, 57 sermons, 58 Kentish _e_ (A.S. _y_), 61-64 _King Lear_, 50

Lancashire dialect, 119, 120 Latin words in dialects, 87 Layamon's _Brut_, 49 Leyden Riddle, 18 _Liber Vitæ_, 20 Lincolnshire dialect, 118, 119 words, 100, 101 _Locrine_, 50 London dialect, 74-78 Lorica Prayer, 68, 69 Lydgate, 38 Lyndesay, Sir David, 34, 35

Madam, 'm, 3 Malory, Sir Thomas, 40 Manning, Robert, 78, 79 Mercian dialect, 10, 11, 36, 37, 65-81 glosses, 70-72 spellings, 71-72 Michel, Dan, 59, 60 Midland dialect, 65-81 rise of, 37, 42 _Psalter_, 80 East, 65-79 West, 79-81 Minot's Poems, 29 _Moral Ode_, 49 Morris, Dr, _Blickling Homilies_, 8 _Old English Miscellany_, 49, 58 _Old English Homilies_, 49 _Specimens of Early English_, 58 Morris, Dr, on dialects, 81 Morris and Skeat, _Specimens_, etc., 27-29, 59, 60 Murray, Dr, on the Dialect of Scotland, 28, 32-5 Müller, Prof. Max, _Lectures_, 3

_New English Dictionary_, 85 Norfolk dialect, 125-127 Northern dialect, great extent of, 32-35 Northumbrian, 10, 11, 12, 14-46 glosses, 22-24 riddle, 18 _Nut-brown Maid_, 38

_Old English Homilies_, 49 _Ormulum, The_, 73, 74 _Owl and Nightingale_, 49

Peacock's (Lincolnshire) Glossary, 44 _Pearl, The_, 80 Phonetic decay, 3 Plays, early, 41 Plurals, Southern, 61 _Prick of Conscience_, 28 _Proverbs of Alfred_, 49 Psalter, by Hampole, 32 Prose Treatises, by the same, 32 Psalter, Northumbrian, 25-27 West Midland, 80

Ramsay, Allan, 45 Ray, John, collection of dialectal words, 101 Rimy, 8, 9 rind, 9 Robert of Gloucester, 50 Rolle, of Hampole, 28, 32, 35 Romances, dialect of, 44 list of, 38-40 Ross, Alexander, 45 Rushworth MS., 22, 23, 70-72 Ruthwell Cross, 18, 19, 20

Scandinavian words in dialects, 88-93 list of, 90-93 Scots, Middle, 44, 45 Scott, Sir Walter, 6, 45 Scottish and English, 43, 44 Scottish Laws, early, 32 Shakespeare, 5, 6, 50 use of dialect, 100 Sheffield dialect, 121, 122 Shoreham, Wm. of, 58 quoted, 59 Shropshire dialect, 127-128 Skeat, _Chaucer Canon_, 73 _Etymological Dictionary_, 84-85 _Gospels in Anglo-Saxon_, 71 Index to _Icelandic Dictionary_, 89 _Primer of English Etymology_, 84 _Principles of English Etymology_, 70, 87, 89 Skinner, S., _Etymologicon_, 100 Smith, G. Gregory, _Specimens of Middle Scots_, 44, 45 _South English Legendary_, 51 Southern dialect, 47-55 Southey, R., his use of dialect, 111 _Specimens of Early English_