 | Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect |  |
Eclogue. RACKETEN JOE.
Racketen Joe; his Sister; his Cousin Fanny; and the Dog.
RACKETEN JOE.Heigh! heigh! here. Who's about?
HIS SISTER.
Oh! lauk! Here's Joe, a rantèn lout,
A-meäkèn his wild randy-rout.
RACKETEN JOE.
Heigh! Fanny! How d'ye do?
(slaps her.)
58
Oh! fie; why all the woo'se vor you
A-slappèn o' me, black an' blue,
My back!
HIS SISTER.
A whack! you loose-eärm'd chap,
To gi'e your cousin such a slap!
FANNY.
I'll pull the heäir o'n, I do vow;
HIS SISTER.
I'll pull the ears o'n. There.
THE DOG.
Wowh! wow!
FANNY.
A-comèn up the drong,
How he did smack his leather thong,
A-zingèn, as he thought, a zong;
HIS SISTER.
An' there the pigs did scote
Azide, in fright, wi' squeakèn droat,
Wi' geese a pitchèn up a note.
Look there.
FANNY.
His chair!
HIS SISTER.
He thumpt en down,
As if he'd het en into ground.
RACKETEN JOE.
Heigh! heigh! Look here! the vire is out.
HIS SISTER.
How he do knock the tongs about!
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Now theäre's his whip-knob plum
Upon the teäble vor a drum;
HIS SISTER.
An' there's a dent so big's your thumb.
RACKETEN JOE.
My hat's awore so quaer.
HIS SISTER.
'Tis quaer enough, but not wi' wear;
But dabs an' dashes he do bear.
RACKETEN JOE.
The zow!
HIS SISTER.
What now?
RACKETEN JOE.
She's in the plot,
A-routèn up the flower knot.
Ho! Towzer! Here, rout out the zow,
Heigh! here, hie at her. Tiss!
THE DOG.
Wowh! wow!
HIS SISTER.
How he do rant and roar,
An' stump an' stamp about the vloor,
An' swing, an' slap, an' slam the door!
He don't put down a thing,
But he do dab, an' dash, an' ding
It down, till all the house do ring.
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She's out.
FANNY.
Noo doubt.
HIS SISTER.
Athirt the bank,
Look! how the dog an' he do pank.
FANNY.
Staÿ out, an' heed her now an' then,
To zee she don't come in ageän.
| Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect | |