Part 27

PITY.

Good Meaester Collins! aye, how mild he spoke Woone day o' Mercy to zome cruel vo'k. "No, no. Have Mercy on a helpless head, An' don't be cruel to a zoul," he zaid. "When Babylon's king woonce cast 'ithin The viery furnace, in his spite, The vetter'd souls whose only sin Wer prayer to the God o' might, He vound a fourth, 'ithout a neaeme, A-walken wi' em in the fleaeme.

An' zoo, whenever we mid hurt, Vrom spite, or vrom disdain, A brother's soul, or meaeke en smert Wi' keen an' needless pain, Another that we midden know Is always wi' en in his woe. Vor you do know our Lord ha' cried, "By faith my bretheren do bide In me the liven vine, As branches in a liven tree; Whatever you've a-done to mine Is all a-done to me. Oh! when the new-born child, the e'th's new guest, Do lie an' heave his little breast, In pillow'd sleep, wi' sweetest breath O' sinless days drough rwosy lips a-drawn; Then, if a han' can smite en in his dawn O' life to darksome death, Oh! where can Pity ever vwold Her wings o' swiftness vrom their holy flight, To leaeve a heart o' flesh an' blood so cwold At such a touchen zight? An' zoo mid meek-soul'd Pity still Be zent to check our evil will, An' keep the helpless soul from woe, An' hold the hardened heart vrom sin. Vor they that can but mercy show Shall all their Father's mercy win."

JOHN BLOOM IN LON'ON.

(All true.)

John Bloom he wer a jolly soul, A grinder o' the best o' meal, Bezide a river that did roll, Vrom week to week, to push his wheel. His flour wer all a-meaede o' wheat; An' fit for bread that vo'k mid eat; Vor he would starve avore he'd cheat. "'Tis pure," woone woman cried; "Aye, sure," woone mwore replied; "You'll vind it nice. Buy woonce, buy twice," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

Athirt the chest he wer so wide As two or dree ov me or you. An' wider still vrom zide to zide, An' I do think still thicker drough. Vall down, he coulden, he did lie When he wer up on-zide so high As up on-end or perty nigh. "Meaeke room," woone naighbour cried; "'Tis Bloom," woone mwore replied; "Good morn t'ye all, bwoth girt an' small," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

Noo stings o' conscience ever broke His rest, a-twiten o'n wi' wrong, Zoo he did sleep till mornen broke, An' birds did call en wi' their zong. But he did love a harmless joke, An' love his evenen whiff o' smoke, A-zitten in his cheaeir o' woak. "Your cup," his daughter cried; "Vill'd up," his wife replied; "Aye, aye; a drap avore my nap," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

When Lon'on vok did meaeke a show O' their girt glassen house woone year, An' people went, bwoth high an' low, To zee the zight, vrom vur an' near, "O well," cried Bloom, "why I've a right So well's the rest to zee the zight; I'll goo, an' teaeke the rail outright." "Your feaere," the booker cried; "There, there," good Bloom replied; "Why this June het do meaeke woone zweat," Cried worthy Bloom the miller,

Then up the guard did whissle sh'ill, An' then the engine pank'd a-blast, An' rottled on so loud's a mill, Avore the train, vrom slow to vast. An' oh! at last how they did spank By cutten deep, an' high-cast bank The while their iron ho'se did pank. "Do whizzy," woone o'm cried; "I'm dizzy," woone replied; "Aye, here's the road to hawl a lwoad," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

In Lon'on John zent out to call A tidy trap, that he mid ride To zee the glassen house, an' all The lot o' things a-stow'd inside. "Here, Boots, come here," cried he, "I'll dab A sixpence in your han' to nab Down street a tidy little cab." "A feaere," the boots then cried; "I'm there," the man replied. "The glassen pleaece, your quickest peaece," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

The steps went down wi' rottlen slap, The zwingen door went open wide: Wide? no; vor when the worthy chap Stepp'd up to teaeke his pleaece inside, Breast-foremost, he wer twice too wide Vor thik there door. An' then he tried To edge in woone an' tother zide. "'Twont do," the drever cried; "Can't goo," good Bloom replied; "That you should bring theaese vooty thing!" Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

"Come," cried the drever. "Pay your feaere You'll teaeke up all my time, good man." "Well," answer'd Bloom, "to meaeke that square, You teaeke up me, then, if you can." "I come at call," the man did nod. "What then?" cried Bloom, "I han't a-rod, An' can't in thik there hodmadod." "Girt lump," the drever cried; "Small stump," good Bloom replied; "A little mite, to meaeke so light, O' jolly Bloom the miller."

"You'd best be off now perty quick," Cried Bloom. "an' vind a lighter lwoad, Or else I'll vetch my voot, an' kick The vooty thing athirt the road." "Who is the man?" they cried, "meaeke room," "A halfstarv'd Do'set man," cried Bloom; "You be?" another cried; "Hee! Hee!" woone mwore replied. "Aye, shrunk so thin, to bwone an' skin," Cried worthy Bloom the miller.

A LOT O' MAIDENS A-RUNNEN THE VIELDS.[F]

"Come on. Be sprack, a-laggen back." "Oh! be there any cows to hook?" "Lauk she's afraid, a silly maid," Cows? No, the cows be down by brook. "O here then, oh! here is a lot." "A lot o' what? what is it? what?" "Why blackberries, as thick As ever they can stick." "I've dewberries, oh! twice As good as they; so nice." "Look here. Theaese boughs be all but blue Wi' snags." "Oh! gi'e me down a vew." "Come here, oh! do but look." "What's that? what is it now?" "Why nuts a-slippen shell." "Hee! hee! pull down the bough." "I wish I had a crook." "There zome o'm be a-vell." (One sings) "I wish I was on Bimport Hill I would zit down and cry my vill." "Hee! hee! there's Jenny zomewhere nigh, A-zingen that she'd like to cry."

(Jenny sings) "I would zit down and cry my vill Until my tears would dreve a mill." "Oh! here's an ugly crawlen thing, A sneaeke." "A slooworm; he wont sting." "Hee! hee! how she did squal an' hop, A-spinnen roun' so quick's a top." "Look here, oh! quick, be quick." "What is it? what then? where?" "A rabbit." "No, a heaere." "Ooh! ooh! the thorns do prick," "How he did scote along the ground As if he wer avore a hound." "Now mind the thistles." "Hee, hee, hee, Why they be knapweeds." "No." "They be." "I've zome'hat in my shoe." "Zit down, an' sheaeke it out." "Oh! emmets, oh! ooh, ooh, A-crawlen all about." "What bird is that, O harken, hush. How sweetly he do zing." "A nightingeaele." "La! no, a drush." "Oh! here's a funny thing." "Oh! how the bull do hook, An' bleaere, an' fling the dirt." "Oh! wont he come athirt?" "No, he's beyond the brook." "O lauk! a hornet rose Up clwose avore my nose." "Oh! what wer that so white Rush'd out o' thik tree's top?" "An owl." "How I did hop, How I do sheaeke wi' fright." "A musheroom." "O lau! A twoadstool! Pwoison! Augh." "What's that, a mouse?" "O no, Teaeke ceaere, why 'tis a shrow." "Be sure don't let en come An' run athirt your shoe He'll meaeke your voot so numb That you wont veel a tooe."[G] "Oh! what wer that so loud A-rumblen?" "Why a clap O' thunder. Here's a cloud O' rain. I veel a drap." "A thunderstorm. Do rain. Run hwome wi' might an' main." "Hee! hee! oh! there's a drop A-trickled down my back. Hee! hee!" "My head's as wet's a mop." "Oh! thunder," "there's a crack. Oh! Oh!" "Oh! I've a-got the stitch, Oh!" "Oh! I've a-lost my shoe, Oh!" "There's Fanny into ditch, Oh!" "I'm wet all drough an' drough, Oh!"

A LIST OF SOME DORSET WORDS

WITH A FEW HINTS ON DORSET WORD-SHAPES.

THE MAIN SOUNDS.

1. ee in beet. 2. e in Dorset (a sound between 1 and 3.) 3. a in mate. 4. i in birth. 5. a in father. 6. aw in awe. 7. o in dote. 8. oo in rood.

In Dorset words which are forms of book-English ones, the Dorset words differ from the others mainly by Grimm's law, that "likes shift into likes," and I have given a few hints by which the putting of an English heading for the Dorset one will give the English word. If the reader is posed by dreaten, he may try for dr, thr, which will bring out threaten. See Dr under D.

A.

a in father, and au in daughter are, in "Blackmore," often a = 3. So king Alfred gives a legacy to his yldsta dehter—oldest daehter. a is a fore-eking to participles of a fore time, as a-vound; also for the Anglo-Saxon an, in or on, as a-hunten for an huntunge. ai, ay (5, 1), Maid, May. (Note—The numbers (as 5, 1) refer to the foregiven table.) ag, often for eg, as bag, agg, beg, egg.

Anewst, Anighst, very near, or nearly.

A'r a, ever a, as.

A'r a dog, ever a dog.

Amper, pus.

A'r'n, e'er a one.

A-stooded (as a waggon), with wheels sunk fast into rotten ground.

A-stogged, A-stocked, with feet stuck fast in clay.

A-strout, stiff stretched.

A-thirt, athwart (th soft).

A-vore, afore, before.

Ax, ask.

Axan, ashes (of fire).

A-zew, dry, milkless.

B.

Backbran' (brand), Backbron' (brond), A big brand or block of wood put on the back of the fire.

Ballywrag, scold.

Bandy, a long stick with a bent end to beat abroad cow-dung.

Barken, Barton, a stack-yard or cow yard.

Baven, a faggot of long brushwood.

Beae'nhan' (1, 3, 5), bear in hand, uphold or maintain, as an opinion or otherwise.

Beaet (1, 4), up, to beat one's way up.

Bennets, flower-stalks of grass.

Be'th, birth.

Bibber, to shake with cold. [This is a Friesic and not an Anglo-Saxon form of the word, and Halbertsma, in his "Lexicon Frisicum," gives it, among others, as a token that Frisians came into Wessex with the Saxons. See Eltrot.]

Bissen, thou bist not.

Bittle, a beetle.

Blatch, black stuff; smut.

Blather, a bladder.

Bleaere (1, 3), to low as a cow.

Blind-buck o' Davy, blindman's buff.

Bloodywarrior, the ruddy Stock gilliflower.

Blooens, blossoms.

Blooth, blossom in the main.

Bluevinny, blue mouldy.

Brack, a breach. "Neither brack nor crack in it."

Bran', a brand.

Branten, brazen-faced.

Bring-gwain (Bring-going), to bring one on his way.

Brocks, broken pieces (as of food).

Bron', a brand.

Bruckly, Bruckle, brittle.

Bundle, to bound off; go away quickly.

Bu'st, burst.

C.

Caddle, a muddle; a puzzling plight amid untoward things, such that a man knows not what to do first.

Car, to carry.

Cassen, casn, canst not.

Chanker, a wide chink.

Charlick, charlock, field-mustard; Sinapis arvensis.

Charm, a noise as of many voices.

Choor, a chare, a (weekly) job as of house work.

Chuck, to throw underhanded to a point, or for a catch.

Clack, Clacker, a bird-clacker; a bird-boy's clacking tool, to fray away birds; also the tongue.

Clavy, Clavy-bwoard, the mantel-shelf.

Cleden, cleavers, goosegrass; Galium aparine.

Clips, to clasp.

Clitty, clingy.

Clocks, ornaments on the ankles of stockings.

Clom', clomb, climbed.

Clote, the yellow water-lily; Nuphar lutea.

Clout, a blow with the flat hand.

Clum, to handle clumsily.

Cluster o' vive (cluster of five), the fist or hand with its five fingers; wording taken from a cluster of nuts.

Cockle, Cuckle, the bur of the burdock.

Cockleshell, snail shell.

Colepexy, to glean the few apples left on the tree after intaking.

Coll (7), to embrace the neck.

Conker, the hip, or hep; the fruit of the briar.

Cothe, coath (th soft), a disease of sheep, the plaice or flook, a flat worm Distoma nepaticum in the stomach.

Cou'den, could not.

Coussen, Coossen, coosn, couldest not.

Craze, to crack a little.

Critch, a big pitcher.

Crock, an iron cooking-pot.

Croodle, to crow softly.

Croop, Croopy-down, to bend down the body; to stoop very low.

Crope, crept.

Crowshell, shell of the fresh-water mussel, as taken out of the river for food by crows.

Cubby-hole, Cubby-house, between the father's knees.

Culver, the wood pigeon.

Cutty, Cut, the kittywren.

Cwein, Cwoin, (4, 1) coin.

Cwoffer (8, 4, 4), a coffer.

D.

Dadder, dather, dudder, to maze or bewilder.

Dag, childag, a chilblain.

Dake, to ding or push forth.

Daps, the very likeness, as that of a cast from the same mould.

Dather, see Dadder.

Dent, a dint.

Dewberry, a big kind of blackberry.

Dibs, coins; but truly, the small knee bones of a sheep used in the game of Dibs.

Didden (didn), did not.

Do, the o, when not under a strain of voice, is (4) as e in 'the man' or as e in the French le.

Dod, a dump.

Dogs, andirons.

Don, to put on.

Doust, dust.

dr for thr in some words, as Drash, thresh.

Drashel, threshold.

Dreaten, threaten.

Dree, three.

Dringe, Drunge, to throng; push as in a throng.

Droat, throat.

Drong, throng; also a narrow way.

Drough, through.

Drow, throw.

Drub, throb.

Drush, thrush.

Drust, thrust.

Drean, Drene (2), to drawl.

Dreve (2), drive.

Duck, a darkening, dusk.

Dumbledore, the humble bee.

Dummet, dusk.

Dunch, dull of hearing, or mind.

Dunch-nettle, the dead nettle, Lamium.

Dunch-pudden, pudding of bare dough.

Dungpot, a dungcart.

Dunt, to blunten as an edge or pain.

Durns, the side posts of a door.

E.

long itself alone has mostly the Dorset sound (2.)

eae (1, 4) for ea, with the a unsounded as lead, mead, leaed, meaed.

eae (1, 3) for the long a, 3, as in lade, made, leaede, meaede.

ea of one sound (2) as meat.

e is put in before s after st, as nestes, nests, vistes, fists.

The two sundry soundings of ea 2 and 3 do not go by our spelling ea for both, but have come from earlier forms of the words.

After a roof letter it may stay as it is, a roof letter, as madden, madd'n; rotten, rott'n. So with en for him, tell en, tell'n.

The en sometimes at the end of words means not, as bisse'n, bist not; coust'en, cous'n, could'st not; I didd'n, I did not; diss'n, didst not; hadd'n, had not; muss'n, must not; midd'n, mid not; should'n, should not; 'tis'n, 'tis not; would'n, would not.

en—not en—in Dorset, as well as in book English, as an ending of some kinds of words often, in running talk, loses the e, and in some cases shifts into a sound of the kind of the one close before it. After a lip-letter it becomes a lip-letter m, as Rub en, Rub-him; rub'n, rub'm; oven, ov'm; open, op'n op'm, in Dorset mostly oben, ob'n, ob'm. So after f', deafen, deaf'n, deaf m, heaven, heav'n, heav'm, in Dorset sometimes heab'm. zeven, zeb'n, zeb'm. After a throat-letter it becomes a throat one, ng, as token, tok'n, tok'ng.

[=e] (2).

Eegrass, aftermath.

Eltrot, Eltroot, cowparsley (Myrrhis). [Elt is Freisic, robustus, vegetus, as cowparsley is among other kinds.] See Bibber.

Emmet, an ant.

Emmetbut, an anthill.

En, him; A.-Saxon, hine.

En, for ing, zingen, singing.

Eve, to become wet as a cold stone floor from thickened steam in some weather.

Evet, eft, newt.

Exe, an axle.

F.

Fakket, a faggot.

Fall, autumn; to fall down is vall.

Fay (5, 1) to speed, succeed.

Feaest (1, 4), a village wake or festival; festa.

Flag, a water plant.

Flinders, flying pieces of a body smashed; "Hit it all to flinders."

Flounce, a flying fall as into water.

Flout, a flinging, or blow of one.

Flush, fledged.

Footy, unhandily little.

G.

Gally, to frighten, fray.

Gee, jee, to go, fit, speed.

Giddygander, the meadow orchis.

Gil'cup, gilt cup, the buttercup.

Girt, great.

Gl[=e]ne (2), to smile sneeringly.

Glutch, to swallow.

Gnang, to mock one with jaw waggings, and noisy sounds.

Gnot, a gnat.

Goo, go.

Goocoo flower, Cardamine pratensis.

Goodnow, goodn'er, good neighbour; my good friend; "No, no; not I, goodnow;" "No, no; not I, my good friend."

Goolden chain, the laburnum.

Gout, an underground gutter.

Graegle, Greygle, the wild hyacinth, Hyacinthus nonscriptus.

Gramfer, grandfather.

Ground-ash, an ash stick that springs from the ground, and so is tough; "Ground the pick," to put the stem of it on the ground, to raise a pitch of hay.

Gwoad (8, 4), a goad.

H.

Hacker, a hoe.

Hagrod, hagridden in sleep, if not under the nightmare.

Hain (5, 1), to fence in ground or shut up a field for mowing.

Ha'me, see Hau'm.

Hangen, sloping ground.

Hansel, Handsel, a hand gift.

Hansel, Handsel, to use a new thing for the first time.

Happer, to hop up as hailstones or rain-drops from ground or pavement in a hard storm, or as down-shaken apples; to fall so hard as to hop up at falling.

Haps, a hasp.

Ha'skim, halfskim cheese of milk skimmed only once.

Hassen, hast not.

Haum, Haulm, Hulm, the hollow stalks of plants. Teaetie haum potatoe stalks.

Hatch, a low wicket or half door.

Haymeaeken, haymaking.

The steps of haymaking by hand, in the rich meadow lands of Blackmore, ere machines were brought into the field, were these:—The grass being mown, and laying in swath it was (1) tedded, spread evenly over the ground; (2) it was turned to dry the under side; (3) it was in the evening raked up into rollers, each roller of the grass of the stretch of one rake, and the rollers were sometimes put up into hay cocks; (4) in the morning the rollers were cast abroad into pa'sels (parcels) or broad lists, with clear ground between each two; (5) the parcels were turned, and when dry they were pushed up into weaeles (weales) or long ridges, and, with a fear of rain, the weaeles were put up into pooks, or big peaked heaps; the waggon (often called the plow) came along between two weaeles or rows of pooks, with two loaders, and a pitcher on each side pitched up to them the hay of his side, while two women raked after plow, or raked up the leavings of the pitchers, who stepped back from time to time to take it from them.

Hazen, to forebode.

Hazzle, hazel.

Heal (2), hide, to cover.

Heal pease, to hoe up the earth on them.

Heaen (1, 4), a haft, handle.

Heft, weight.

Herence, hence.

Here right, here on the spot, etc.

Het, heat, also a heat in running.

Het, to hit.

Heth, a hearth, a heath.

Hick, to hop on one leg.

Hidelock, Hidlock, a hiding place. "He is in hidelock." He is absconded.

Hidybuck, hide-and-seek, the game.

Hile of Sheaves, ten, 4 against 4 in a ridge, and 1 at each end.

Ho, to feel misgiving care.

Hodmadod, a little dod or dump; in some parts of England a snail.

Holm, ho'me, holly.

Hook, to gore as a cow.

Honeyzuck, honeysuckle.

Ho'se-tinger, the dragon-fly, Libellula. Horse does not mean a horse, but is an adjective meaning coarse or big of its kind, as in horse-radish, or horse-chesnut; most likely the old form of the word gave name to the horse as the big beast where there was not an elephant or other greater one. The dragon-fly is, in some parts called the "tanging ether" or tanging adder, from tang, a long thin body, and a sting. Very few Dorset folk believe that the dragon-fly stings horses any more than that the horse eats horse-brambles or horse-mushrooms.

Hud, a pod, a hood-like thing.

Ho'se, hoss, a board on which a ditcher may stand in a wet ditch.

Huddick (hoodock), a fingerstall.

Hull, a pod, a hollow thing.

Humbuz, a notched strip of lath, swung round on a string, and humming or buzzing.

Humstrum, a rude, home made musical instrument, now given up.

J.

Jack-o'-lent, a man-like scarecrow. The true Jack-o'-lent was, as we learn from Taylor, the water poet, a ragged, lean-like figure which went as a token of Lent, in olden times, in Lent processions.

Jist, just.

Jut, to nudge or jog quickly.

K.

Kag, a keg.

Kapple cow, a cow with a white muzzle.

Kern, to grow into fruit.

Ketch, Katch, to thicken or harden from thinness, as melted fat.

Kecks, Kex, a stem of the hemlock or cowparsley.

Keys, (2), the seed vessels of the sycamore.

Kid, a pod, as of the pea.

Kittyboots, low uplaced boots, a little more than ancle high.

Knap, a hillock, a head, or knob, (2.) a knob-like bud, as of the potatoe. "The teaeties be out in knap."

L.

Laeiter (5, 1), one run of laying of a hen.

Leaen (1, 4), to lean.

Leaene (1, 3), a lane.