Records by G.T. Wright 1906
"Oi'll dowt ; yoi, oi'll dowt; oi tell thee
that, an oi wull, thah mey depend on't
" These words I heard spoken by a
voice which I thought was familiar to
me. I turned to find whence they came,
and to my surprise saw my old
schoolfellow John Baggalley who
was quite blind in company with
another man, an old pedlar, well
known in the village, who was also
blind, and was led about the country
by a little dog. They passed by me
down the street. I heard no more
words; but anxious to know how this
strange couple had met, and what was
the purpose of their meeting, I followed
them into the parlour of a beer shop,
and ordering a glass of ale, sat down
to observe their movements, and find
out why they were thus together. I
soon made the discovery. "Hast quoit
made up thee moind t'gu weh me?"
asked the old man. "Yoi, oi hav," said
poor John. "Wehl then, heres luck, lad,
en may we dow wehl! oi think we
sholl; oi'll show thee how t' manige,
en oi know thahl soun dowt es wehl,
or bettur nor oi con misell." "Thank
thee, Ned, oist troy; en'll dow aw e'
con t' get a livin wi' thee; bur moind
one thing, oi'll do owt sowner than hing
ony lunger o' Mary; hough dows her
best t'mak me happy loik, bur oi tell
the what, lad, ows starving hersell t'
dowt; aw hough arns is bey seaming
towthrie stockins a poor trade! oi
conna think o' hinging on her onny
lunger, fur oi know if oi be th'deeth on
hur, en what am oi t' dow? Oi conna
bear t'think on't, lad! En su oi'll gu weh
theh only wear, en dow owt thah loiks
yoi, owt! Sowner nor dow poor Mary
onny hurt!" "Thart a rair chap!" said
the old man, "en deserves good luck,
en oi'm sure thahl hav it yoi, quite
off afore thy sister misses thee." "Aw
reight," said John; "en su hehrs luck;
en off wehl gu." At that moment, as
poor John was drinking his ale, hurried
footsteps were heard, the door of the
apartment was opened quite quickly,
and in walked poor John's sister.
"Jack!" she exclaimed, with trembling
vehemence, "What art thah dowin
hehr? Thas now bisness hehr drinkin
with that owd feller! Cum thee wey
whoam; cum theers a gud lad cum
thee wey whoam; cum, theers a gud
lad cum!wutna?" "Nough, oi wunna:
oi shonna gu to that whoam onny
muir; oibin theer tow lung; oist gu wi'
owd Ned, en get a livin sellin things,
es hey dows hahaver, oist try; oi bin
a trouble en a birdin on thee lung inuf
tow lung en oil try en na trouble
thee ony muir; su dunna try t'persuade
me! Oist gu, oive made up my mind
up t'gu!" "Jack!" said his sister,
"oh!Jack, thah surely wunna gu en
leave me! No! no! I work't neight an
dey ommust t'mak thee comfortable
an content?" "True! thah has! thah
has!" said Jack; "the thowt on't it maks
me want t'get awey; keeping me oi
know s't'mitch for thee oi know it
en thah knows it tow, yoi, thart
"starving thysen ta deeth t'keep me,
en for moy sake; bur it shonna be
oist gu, en oist try t'dow summit loik
owt Ned dows, en oi'll uphold thee,
manage t'get a crust somehow; bur oi
mean t'cum tow thee sumtimes, Mary,
ber oist feel happier if oi get a livin for
myself, oi sholl!" "Oh, Jack' dunna talk
su! dunna, dunna!" talk su! dunna,
dunna! Said Mary; "stop wi me dow,
rithee dow! It'll kill me t'part wi thee,
thaa knows it wull! If thah leaves me
oi sholl niver have a dey's comfort
agen; dunna, Jack, prythee dunna
leave me! Have'na oi down aw oi cud
to keep thy sperits up and mak thee
happy? Thah knowsoi hav ay, and
me so dunna, dunna leave me!
Prythee dunna! Theers a gud lad! Cum
thy wey whoam agen, oh! Dow, moi
dear brother, dow!" She took hold of
her brother's shoulders, entreated him
not to go and leave her, kissed him
very warmly, and burst into tears. Her
brother poor blind John cried too;
for a few moments tears were the only
language in that room. The landlord of
the house, transfixed, stood looking
on the touching scene, and as he
placed on a table the second glass of
ale I saw him raise his arm and dry
his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt;
he then spoke, and in a warm but
trembling voice, said "oi tell thee what,
Jack, if thah can find I'thee heart t'leyve
sich a sister as Mary, oist ne'er loik
th'seight on thee ony muir; nowt et's
owt el cum tow thee, thah'll deserve
iverythin es is bad. Oh! Ber thah conna
dowt thah wunna leave her, wut?"
"Yo mythern me," said John; "Mary,
let me gu en troy, theers a gud wench,
yoi, let me troy what oi can dow; oi
know owd Ned ell tak care o'me wut
na Ned? Whoy dust na speyk, Ned?
Tell Mary thah'll tak care o'me, en
bring me safe back agen. Ned, whoy
dust na speyk?" " Jack, said Ned, "by
guy, I conna tak thee awey fro sich a
wench es thoi sister; nough, oi conna
dow that, after aw! Oi onct had a sister
a very kind un, tow it pleysed God
t'tak her from me, en oive fun th' want
on her; ah lad, oi dunna think oi should
iver dow well agen, if after what oive
heard, I did owt t'part thee and thoy
sister" "Dust think su, Ned? Then Mary,
wench, wipe thee eyes, en lowk up
agen; oi'll stey wi thee, Mary, en nowt
bur deth shall part us come, kiss
me; en now we'll gu whoam agen wei
thee!"
After some hearty hand shaking, John
and his sister left the "Miner's Arms"
for their humble home; and poor old
Ned took his departure, under the
guidance of his old faithful dog, to tread
the old paths, through the old
neighbourhoods, to seek a precarious
means of existence from the sale of
his small haberdashery, without the
hoped for companionship of John
Baggalley. "Reliquary," January, 1871
I have tried to keep all of the text as
published in 1906, but there will
undoubtedly be the odd mistake.
Many thanks to Peter Welsby for
the continued loan of the book!