story.

"Thou'll reckon I'm talkin' blether," he went on, "but I tell thee it's
true, ivery word on it. I'll tak my Bible oath on it. All on a sudden I
were stannin' i' a gert park, and eh! but there were grand trees. They
were birk-trees, an' their boles were that breet they fair glistened i'
t' sunleet. An' underneath t' birks were bluebells, yakkers an' yakkers
o' bluebells, an' I thowt they were bluer an' breeter nor ony I'd seen
afore. There were all maks o' birds i' t' trees--spinks an' throstles
an' blackbirds--an' t' air aboon my head were fair wick wi' larks an'
pipits singin' as canty as could be. Weel, I followed along t' beck-side
while I com to a gert lake, wi' lads an' lasses sailin' boats on it. So
I said to misen: 'My word! but it's Roundhay Park an' all.' But it
wern't nowt o' t' sort. For one thing there were no policemen about,
same as you'd see at Roundhay on a Bank Holiday, an' at low side o' t'
lake there was a town wi' all maks an' manders o' buildin's; an', what's
more, a steel works wi' blast-furnaces. Weel, I were stood there,
watchin' t' childer paddlin' about i' t' watter, when somebody clapped
his hand on my showder an' sang out: 'Hullo! Job, how long hasta bin
here?' I looked round an', by t' Mass! who sud I see but Abe Verity."

"Abe Verity!" I exclaimed.

"Ay, 'twere Abe hissen, plain as life.

"So I said: 'Hullo! Abe, how ista?'

"'Just middlin',' says Abe, 'an' how's thisen? How long hasta bin here?'

"Well, I didn't hardlins know what to say to him. You see I didn't
fairly know where I was, so I couldn't tell him how lang I'd bin theer.
So I says to him: 'Sithee, Abe, is this Roundhay Park?'

"'Raandhay Park,' says Abe. You see Abe allus talked a bit broad. He
couldn't talk gradely English same as you an' me. 'Twere all along o'
him livin' wi' them Leeds loiners up at Hunslet Carr. 'Raandhay Park!'
he says. 'Nay, lad, you'll noan see birk-trees like yon i' Raandhay
Park.' And he pointed to t' birk-trees by t' lake-side, wi' boles two
foot through.

"'What is it then?' I asked. 'Have I coom to foreign parts? I'm a bad
'un to mell wi' foreigners.'

"'Nay,' said Abe, 'thou's i' heaven.'

"'Heaven!' I shouted out, an' I looked up at Abe to see if he were
fleerin' at me. He looked as grave as a judge, did Abe, but then I
noticed that he were donned i' his blue overalls, same as if he'd just
coom frae his wark. So I said to him: 'Heaven, is it? I can't see mich
o' heaven about t