Th Barrel Organ | Page 8

into th' chapel-yard, to play
itsel' out i'th open air. An' it yowlt o' th' way as they went, like a
naughty lad bein' turn't out of a reawm for cryin'. Th' parson waited till
it wur gone; an' then he went on wi' th' sarvice. When they set th' organ
down i'th chapel yard, owd Pudge wiped his for-yed, an' he said, 'By th'
mass, Dick, thae'll get th' bag for this job.' 'Whau, what for,' said Dick.
'Aw 've no skill of sich like squallin' boxes as this. If they'd taen my
advice, an' stick't to th' bass fiddle, aw could ha stopt that ony minute. It
has made me puff, carryin' that thing. I never once thought that it 'd
start again at after th' hymn wur done. Eh, I wur some mad! If aw'd had
a shool-full o' smo' coals i' my hond, aw'd hachuck't 'em into't.... Yer,
tho', how it's grindin' away just th' same as nought wur. Aye, thae may

weel play th' Owd Hundred, divvleskin. Thae's made a funeral o' me
this mornin'.... But, aw say, Pudge; th' next time at there's aught o' this
sort agate again, aw wish thae'd be as good as keep that pow o' thine to
thysel', wilto? Thae's raise't a nob at th' back o' my yed th' size of a
duck-egg; an' it'll be twice as big by mornin'. How would yo like me to
slap tho o' th' chops wi' a stockin'-full o' slutch, some Sunday, when
thae'rt swaggerin' at front o' th' parson?'
"While they stood talkin' this way, one o'th singers coom runnin' out
o'th chapel bare yed, an' he shouted out 'Dick, thae'rt wanted, this
minute! Where's that pitch-pipe? We'n gated wrang twice o' ready!
Come in, wi' tho'!' 'By th' mass,' said Dick, dartin' back; 'I'd forgetten o'
about it. I'se never seen through this job, to my deein' day.' An' off he
ran, an' laft owd Pudge sit upo' th' organ, grinnin' at him.... That's a nice
do, isn't it, Nanny?"
"Eh," said the old woman, "I never yerd sich a tale i' my life. But thae's
made part o' that out o' th' owd yed, Skedlock."
"Not a word," said he: "not a word. Yo han it as I had it, Nanny; as near
as I can tell."
"Well," replied she, "how did they go on at after that?"
"Well," said he, "I haven't time to stop to-neet, Nanny; I'll tell yo some
time else, I thought Jone would ha' bin here by now. He mun ha' co'de
at 'Th' Rompin' Kitlin'; but, I'll look in as I go by.'"
"I wish thou would, Skedlock. An' dunnot' go an' keep him, now; send
him forrud whoam."
"I will, Nanny--I dunnot want to stop, mysel'. Con yo lend me a
lantron?"
"Sure I can. Jenny, bring that lantron; an' leet it. It'll be two hours afore
th' moon rises. It's a fine neet, but it's dark."
When Jenny brought the lantern, I bade Nanny "Good night," and took
advantage of Owd Skedlock's convoy down the broken paths, to the
high road in the valley. There we parted; and I had a fine starlight walk
to "Th' Top o' th' Hoof," on that breezy October night.
After a quiet supper in "Owd Bob's" little parlour, I took a walk round
about the quaint farmstead, and through the grove upon the brow of the
hill. The full moon had risen in the cloudless sky; and the view of the
valley as I saw it from "Grant's Tower" that night, was a thing to be
remembered with delight for a man's lifetime.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TH' BARREL
ORGAN***
******* This file should be named 15986.txt or 15986.zip *******
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/9/8/15986

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be
renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set
forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying
and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the
PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge
for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not
charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is
very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as
creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They
may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically
ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.