HA A DEEAD DONKEY TOWT A LESSON. 147 



her feelius somway. Womea have a deal hetter way o minagin that sooart o thing 

 nur what nien have. Ther are limes when wr all feel brimful o suiumat at wants to 

 come aght ; th steeams np, an if we couuot fiud a safty-valve we shall brnst. Nah, a 

 woman drives up to th elbows ith weshin tub, or rives all th carpets up, or pools all 

 th pots aght oth cubbord, an puts em back ageean, — shoo lets her tongue have free 

 liberty, an what wi talkin, and sweatin, and scrubbin and bmshin, shoo liods hersen 

 reight daan tired, an after a bit ov a wesh an snoddenin her toppin, shoo sits daan to 

 her knittin or sewin, as cooil as a caahcumber an as full o gooid natur as an eggs full 

 o mail, an her een sparkle wi pleasure like dew drops sparkle ov a rooas on a summers 

 mornin. But wi a chap its different ; — i nine cases aght o ten, he flies toth ale pot, or 

 else he begins grumlin at hooam — Ih teas hot, — or muffins cowd, or th brijeads sad, or 

 butters war nor cart-grease ; — thchilders noisy, or th wifes quiet, an noa matter whats 

 done for him, its all wrang. Sometimes bith way ov a change, hell pawse th table 

 ovver an braik as monuy pots as it 11 tak a gooid pairt ov a weeks wage to buy, an at 

 last, after makin ivery body abaght him miserable, he 11 goa to bed lukkin as black as 

 a mule an sleep wol mornin, when (unless hes ov a bad sooart) hell feel reight 

 daan-shamed ov bissen an set to work to put things reight ageean. Zantippa vvorjust 

 i one o theas moods ; — an shoo made th beds, coom daan th stairs an weshd up th pots, — • 

 scaled th foir and took th ass aght, — gave th hearthstun another dooas o idleback, — 

 scattered a bit o fresh sand oth floor, an after weshin hersen an donnin a cleean print 

 dress, shoo laid th table ready for th tea, gate th kettle onto th rib an set daan wi her 

 bag full o worset an a heap o stockings, an as shoolukkd raandshoo felt as pleeas d as 

 punch to see what a difference shood been able to mak in an haar or two. 



Awm nooan sooary at aw stopt at hooam shoo said to hersen, aw know Dick 11 

 be suited when he sees all fettled up ;— an if aw get theeas stockins done to-neet theyll 

 be aght oth gate. Aw wonder ha it wor at he tuk things soa quietly this nooin ? Aw 

 dooaut think its reight when a chaps been workin iver sin six ov a mornin, for him to 

 come hooam an find noa dinner ready ; reight enough a woman's plenty to do, to 

 follow her haase, an cook an mend, an one thing an another, but if ther wor noa wage 

 comin in, aw fancy therd be lesscookin an moor mendin. Awve made up my mind 

 woll awve been siding up, at awU nut waste my time as aw have done, talkin an 

 gossipin, for thers noa gooid comes on it, — an although aw want to keep thick wi mi 

 neighbours, awm detarmined at awll chop that sooart o thing off at once ; for as my 

 mother used to tell me, if ther wor noa lisseners therd be noa tale tellers, an th time at 

 one spends i gossipin, its war nor wasted, for it oft leads to fendin and provin, for 

 them at come an tell yo summat abaght somdy else, theyll just as sooin tell somdy else 

 summat abaght yo. An luk what scrapes one gets into wiit, — nah aw made Dick be- 

 lieve at th chimley smookd ; that wor a lie to say th least on it, an he 11 be sure to nooatise 

 at it doesnt smook to-neet, but if he names it awll tell th truth, for awm sure nooa 

 gooid comes o lying. 



When Zantippa had just made this resolve, thdoor oppend an Dick an three 

 childer coom in throo th miln. He saw th diBerence in a minit. — Wipe them clogs, he 

 said as th childer wor walking in. — Thas been fettlin a bit lass, aw think, — are ta 

 baan to ax some oth neighbours to ther drinkin ? 



Noa, shoo says awm baan to ax noabdy but thee an th childer ; — does ta want 



