mselves, is not easily understood--it is so strangely
altered. It is true that it is so in many parts of England besides, but
in none in so gross a degree as in this part. This way of boorish
country speech, as in Ireland it is called the "brogue" upon the tongue,
so here it is called "jouring;" and it is certain that though the tongue
be all mere natural English, yet those that are but a little acquainted
with them cannot understand one-half of what they say. It is not
possible to explain this fully by writing, because the difference is not
so much in the orthography of words as in the tone and diction--their
abridging the speech, "cham" for "I am," "chil" for "I will," "don" for
"put on," and "doff" for "put off," and the like. And I cannot omit a
short story here on this subject. Coming to a relation's house, who was
a school-master at Martock, in Somersetshire, I went into his school to
beg the boys a play-day, as is usual in such cases (I should have said,
to beg the master a play-day. But that by the way). Coming into the
school, I observed one of the lowest scholars was reading his lesson to
the usher, which lesson, it seems, was a chapter in the Bible. So I sat
down by the master till the boy had read out his chapter. I observed the
boy read a little oddly in the tone of the country, which made me the
more attentive, because on inquiry I found that the words were the same
and the orthography the same as in all our Bibles. I observed also the
boy read it out with his eyes still on the book and his head (like a mere
boy) moving from side to side as the lines reached cross the columns of
the book. His lesson was in the Canticles, v. 3 of chap. v. The words
these:--"I have put off my coat. How shall I put it on? I have washed
my feet. How shall I defile them?"

The boy read thus, with his eyes, as I say, full on the text:--"Chav a
doffed my cooat. How shall I don't? Chav a washed my veet. How shall I
moil 'em?"

How the dexterous dunce could form his month to express so readily the
words (which stood right printed in the book) in his country jargon, I
could not but admire. I shall add to this another piece as diverting,
which also happened in my knowledge at this very town of Yeovil, though
some years ago.

There lived a good substantial family in the town not far from the "Angel
Inn"--a well-known house, which was then, and, I suppose, is still, the
chief inn of the town. This family had a dog