^A t/3 



78 MEMORIES 



The real old Kentish dialect survived in Peter 

 and in many of his day. 



" Why, Peter, what ever has happened to old 

 Chum?" we asked him one day, as the old dog 

 came along bleeding from sundry scars about the 

 muzzle. 



" Well, sir, it was like o' this 'ere," said Peter. 

 "I was a-coming past the farm geate, when all at 

 onst I be bothered if that rusty-coout ship-dog 

 didn't roosh out at my old Chum, and firedly 

 massar;-^^^ him — sure//V ! " 



The natives, generally, showed a remarkable 

 ingenuity in supplementing a limited vocabulary by 

 words most aptly coined. 



"No, sir," remonstrated the bailiff's wife with 



the curate, " my boy he wouldn't get into no trouble 



— by hisself; 'tis the other chaps as coyduckses him 



away." The same woman excused herself for 



^ sending up bad eggs to the House on the plea that 



^ " the hens were getting so very old." 



To return for one moment to Peter Yeo. We 



came back from school one summer day to find 



poor Peter ill in bed. He said it was only "the 



jandrers " ; that he had netted us some new flams 



Z^^-" for ferreting, and would soon be about again. But 



t. 



