' A bountiful table was soon spread; at all events, time soon
went while I scaled the hills to see 't' maire at wor thretty year owd,
an't' feil at wor fewer.' On sitting down to the table, a venerable
woman officiated, and after filling the cups, she thus addressed me:
'Nah, Maister, yah mun loawze th'taible' (loose the table). The master
said, 'Shah meeans yah mun sey t' greyce.' I took the hint, and uttered
the blessing.
"I spoke with an aged and tried woman at one time, who, after recording
her mercies, stated, among others, her powers of speech, by asserting
'Thank the Lord, ah nivver wor a meilly-meouthed wumman.' I feel
particularly at fault in attempting the orthography of the dialect, but
must excuse myself by telling you that I once saw a letter in which the
word I have just now used (excuse) was written 'ecksqueaize!'
"There are some things, however, which rather tend to soften the idea of
the rudeness of Haworth. No rural district has been more markedly the
abode of musical taste and acquirement, and this at a period when it was
difficult to find them to the same extent apart from towns in advance of
their times. I have gone to Haworth and found an orchestra to meet me,
filled with local performers, vocal and instrumental, to whom the best
works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Marcello, &c.
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