Th Barrel Organ | Page 6

edwin waugh
o' their face. A lot o' mee-mawing snickets! But they 're no
better nor porritch, Robert, when they're looked up.' 'Not a bit,
Betty,--not a bit! But I mun be off. Good neet to yo'.' 'Good neet
Robert,' said Betty. An' away he went wi' th' cart up to th' Hollins."
"Aw'll tell tho what, Skedlock," said Nanny; "that woman's a terrible
tung!"
"Aye, hoo has," replied Skedlock; "an' her mother wur th' same. But, let
me finish my tale, Nanny, an' then--"
"Well, it wur pitch dark when Robin geet to th' Hollins farm-yard wi'
his cart. He gav a ran-tan at th' back dur, wi' his whip-hondle; and when
th' little lass coom with a candle, he said, 'Aw've getten a
weshin'-machine for yo.' As soon as th' little lass yerd that, hoo darted
off, tellin' o' th' house that th' new weshin'-machine wur come'd. Well,
yo known, they'n five daughters; an' very cliver, honsome, tidy lasses
they are, too,--as what owd Betty says. An' this news brought 'em o' out
o' their nooks in a fluster. Owd Isaac wur sit i'th parlour, havin' a glass
wi' a chap that he'd bin sellin' a cowt to. Th' little lass went bouncin'
into th' reawm to him; an' hoo said, 'Eh, father, th' new
weshin'-machine's come'd!' 'Well, well,' said Isaac, pattin' her o'th yed;
'go thi ways an' tell thi mother. Aw'm no wesher. Thae never sees me
weshin', doesto? I bought it for yo lasses; an' yo mun look after it
yorsels. Tell some o'th men to get it into th' wesh-house.' So they had it
carried into th' wesh-house; an' when they geet it unpacked they were
quite astonished to see a grand shinin' thing, made o' rose-wood, an'

cover't wi' glitterin' kerly-berlys. Th' little lass clapped her hands, an'
said, 'Eh, isn't it a beauty!' But th' owd'st daughter looked hard at it, an'
hoo said, 'Well, this is th' strangest weshin'-machine that I ever saw!'
'Fetch a bucket o' water,' said another, 'an' let's try it!' But they couldn't
get it oppen, whatever they did; till, at last, they fund some keys, lapt in
a piece of breawn papper. 'Here they are,' said Mary. Mary's th' owd'st
daughter, yo known. 'Here they are;' an' hoo potter't an' rooted abeawt,
tryin' these keys; till hoo fund one that fitted at th' side, an' hoo twirled
it round an' round till hoo'd wund it up; an' then,--yo may guess how
capt they wur, when it started a-playin' a tune. 'Hello?' said Robin. 'A
psaum-tune, bith mass! A psaum-tune eawt ov a weshin'-machine!
Heaw's that?' An' he star't like a throttled cat. 'Nay,' said Mary, 'I cannot
tell what to make o' this!' Th' owd woman wur theer, an' hoo said,
'Mary; Mary, my lass, thou 's gone an' spoilt it,--the very first thing,
theaw has. Theaw's bin tryin' th' wrong keigh, mon; thou has, for sure.'
Then Mary turned to Robin, an' hoo said, 'Whatever sort of a machine's
this, Robin?' 'Nay,' said Robin, 'I dunnot know, beawt it's one o' thoose
at's bin made for weshin' surplices.' But Robin begun a-smellin' a rat;
an', as he didn't want to ha' to tak it back th' same neet, he pike't off out
at th' dur, while they wur hearkenin' th' music; an' he drove whoam as
fast as he could goo. In a minute or two th' little lass went dancin' into
th' parlour to owd Isaac an' hoo cried out, 'Father, you must come here
this minute! Th' weshin'-machine's playin' th' Owd Hundred!' 'It's
what?' cried Isaac, layin' his pipe down. 'It's playin' th' Owd Hundred! It
is, for sure! Oh, it's beautiful! Come on!' An' hoo tugged at his lap to
get him into th' wesh-house. Then th' owd woman coom in, and hoo
said, 'Isaac, whatever i' the name o' fortin' hasto bin blunderin' and doin'
again? Come thi ways an' look at this machine thae's brought us. It caps
me if yean yowling divle'll do ony weshin'. Thae surely doesn't want to
ha' thi shirt set to music, doesto? We'n noise enough i' this hole beawt
yon startin' or skrikin'. Thae'll ha' th' house full o' fiddlers an' doancers
in a bit.' 'Well, well,' said Isaac, 'aw never yerd sich a tale i' my life!
Yo'n bother't me a good while about a piano; but if we'n getten a
weshin'-machine that plays church music, we're set up, wi' a rattle! But
aw'll come an' look at it.' An' away he went to th' wesh-house, wi' th'
little lass pooin' at him, like a kitlin' drawin' a stone-cart. Th' owd
woman followed him, grumblin' o' th' road,--'Isaac, this is what comes

on tho stoppin' so lat' i'th town of a neet. There's olez some blunderin'
job
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code

 / 12
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.