61 THE ISLAND OF NANTUCKET. 



u to the manor born"; and the compiler, in giving a 

 few of them, has endeavored to avoid distorting or cari- 

 caturing in any way those things which have impressed 

 him as characteristic of, or peculiar to, the natives of 

 the island. 



Nantucketers in pronouncing the letter r generally 

 give it the sound of ah. For instance, if they were 

 using the words "bar," " yonder," " here," or 

 4t wharf," they would pronounce them as "bah," 

 " yondah," " heah," and " whaf." 



The natives of the island of Martha's Vineyard, 

 however, although only thirty miles distant, give, on 

 the other hand, a painful prominence to the letter in 

 question; not the musical r-r-roll of the French, but 

 something like this: in pronouncing " bar," " wharf," 

 or " yonder," they would make it "baer," " whaer/*," 

 and " yonder," giving in every case a peculiar twist to 

 the letter. 



The average Nantucketer of to-day is hospitable: 

 when you go to see him he always asks you to " come 

 again." 



There being little to do, and plenty of time to do it 

 in, he is never in a hurry, therefore takes life easy. 



To persons accustomed to eating chowders in 

 Rhode Island, where " y e clammc aboundeth," or the 

 seaboard towns in which that delectable compound is 

 served, the absence here of the potato in the chowder 

 is noticeable. To be sure, the Nantucketers make what 

 they call a " potato chowder " ; but then, a potato chow- 

 der without fish or clams, or a fish or clam chowder 

 without potatoes, is decidedly a fiat and insipid dish. 

 A good chowder should be composed of pork, onions, 



