More Tales of the Ridings | Page 9

began, "the year o' the Franco-German War, that I
first heerd tell o' ash-riddling, and it came about this way. My man's
father, Owd Jerry, as fowks called him, were living wi' us then; he was
a widower, and well-nigh eighty year owd. He'd been a despert good
farmer in his time, but he'd gotten owd and rheumatic, and his temper
were noan o' the best. He were as touchous as a sick barn, if aught went
wrang wi' him. Well, one day i' lambing-time, he were warr nor he'd
iver been afore; he knew that I were thrang wi' all maks o' wark, but
nowt that I could do for him were reet. So at last, when I'd fmished my
milking i' the mistal, I got him to bed, and then I sat misen down by the

fire and had a reet good roar. I were tired to death, and wished that I'd
niver been born. Iverything had gone agee that day: butter wouldn't
coom, Snowball had kicked ower the pail while I was milking her, and,
atop o' all that, there was grandfather wi' his fratching ways.
"I were sat cowered ower the fire, wi' my face buried in my hands,
when my man came in and axed what were wrang wi' me. At first I
wouldn't tell him, but enow he dragged it all out o' me, and in the end I
was glad on 't. But he nobbut laughed when I told him about Owd Jerry,
and he said he'd allus been like that wi' women fowks; 'twere his way o'
getting what he wanted. I got my dander up at that, and said he'd have
to get shut o' his fratching if he lived wi' us."
"'I reckon he'll noan mend his ways,' said Mike, 'now he's close on
eighty.' So I said if that were the case it would be a good thing for the
peace o' the family when he were putten under grund. Yon were
gaumless words, and bitter did I rue iver having spokken 'em. But Mike
nobbut laughed at what I said. "'Putten under grund!' said he. 'Nay,
father will live while he's ninety, or happen a hunderd; he's as tough as
a yak-stowp.'
"'He'll do nowt o' the sort,' I answered; 'and he wi' a hoast in his
thropple like a badly cow. I sudn't be surprised if he were dead by
Chrissamas.'
"'We can soon tell if there's ony truth in what thou says,' replied Mike.
'It will be Ash-Riddling Day come next Friday, and then we can find
out for wersens if Owd Jerry's boun' to dee afore the year's out.'
"'What does thou mean?' I axed.
"'Why, lass, wheer has thou been brought up if thou's niver heerd tell o'
Ash-Riddling Day? What a thing it is to wed a foreigner! If thou'd been
bred and born in Wharfedale thou'd have no need to axe about
Ash-Riddling Day.'
Well, I set no count on his fleering at fowks that hadn't been brought up
in his dale, for I was wanting to know what he meant.

"'What thou's gotten to do,' he said, 'is to tak the peat-rake afore thou
goes to bed and rake the ashes out o' the fire and spread 'em all ower
the hearthstone. Then thou can go to bed, and next morning, if there's to
be a death in the family in the next twel-month the foot-step o' the lad
or lass that has to dee will be stamped on the ash.'
"When he'd finished his tale I gave out that I reckoned it nobbut blether,
but I minded all the same; and that neet, when I were i' bed, I couldn't
give ower thinking o' what he'd said, and I made up my mind that I'd
set the peat-ash on the hearthstone come Thorsday neet. Next morning I
thought different, but all the same I couldn't get shut o' the temptation.
Ay, 'twere a temptation o' the deevil, sure enough; he were ticing me to
eat o' the Tree o' Knowledge, same as he ticed Eve i' the garden. So I
said: 'Get thee behind me, Satan,' and I kept him behind me all that day.
But when it got dark, and I'd putten the childer to bed, he came forrad,
and the ticing got stronger and stronger. It wasn't that I wanted Owd
Jerry to dee, but I were mad to see if there was ony truth in the tale that
Mike had told.
"Well, Tuesday passed, and Wednesday passed, and Thorsday came. I
said no more about the ash-riddling to Mike, and I reckon he'd
forgotten all about it. But that day Owd Jerry were warr nor iver. He set
up his fratching at breakfast acause his porridge was burnt, and