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The Northumbrians between Tyne and Tweed. By Ralph 

 Carr, of Hedgeley. 



The people of the present county of Northumberland, the 

 earldom of Saxon times, lying between the Tyne and the 

 Tweed, are quite a different race from those of the county of 

 Durham and the whole of Yorkshiie, though all these dis- 

 tricts were comprised in the former North umbria, or region 

 North of Humber. 



The people of Yorkshire and Durham (except the Durham 

 banks of the Tyne) are Dano-Saxons by dialect and by 

 physical aspect. The physical characteristics of the York- 

 shireman are well known, also his speech, and the men of 

 Durham are like him.- The topography of Durham and 

 Yorkshire is full of names with Danish affixes, and so is that 

 of Westmoreland and Cumberland. 



But in the earldom of Northumberland between Tyne and 

 Tweed hardly any such occur, and the whole speech of the 

 people and the cadence of its utterance is completely different. 

 A man of Darlington at Morpeth or Alnwick is as much a 

 stranger in his tongue as an Irishman speaking English with 

 a strong brogue. The man from Darlington or York speaks 

 with a cadence never used in Northumberland, and he mis- 

 places or omits the letter h, which the Northumbrian and the 

 Scotsman never misuse. The Yorkshireman pronounces the 

 r properly, but the Northumbrian replaces it by a slovenly 

 burr in his throat, most offensive to all but himself. 



Physically, the Northumbrian hind is a tall and handsome 

 man. The head of middle formation, neither brachycephalic 

 nor macrocephalic, but perhaps inclining to the latter, if any- 

 thing. His hair oftener light brown or dark brown than 

 either white or black, or cold gray. His eyes very often 

 hazel, often dark blue, often grey, not often light blue. His 

 complexion ruddy and sun-burnt. His gait a long active 

 stride, less martial than the walk of the Scot, but totally unlike 

 the heavy waddling roll of the Southern peasantry. 



The Northumbrian hind eats but little meat, his farinaceous 

 diet of porridge, bread, potatoes, (all consumed with milk) 

 being varied by a slice or two of his own bacon only, and 

 that not every day. He drinks beer very seldom, chiefly on 

 a market-day. He is hardly ever corpulent, but generally 

 stalwart and equal in power to any of the British races, 



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