THE CARTER'S PRIDE 



217 



mysterious * mither-wee ' ('come to me' or 'turn round'), 

 seem to be outside the bounds of either etymology or 

 syntax. And these curious words are not exactly pro- 

 nounced ; they are produced with a rumbling, cavernous- 

 sonorous kind of marticulation, as if they passed through 



The Evening Drink 



an open throat from the depths of the stomach. Then in 



' Gee-whut-ah ' the first syllable is about two tones higher 



than the rest. In ' mither-wee ' the second syllable of 



'mither' jumps up an octave and comes down again upon 



the ' wee ' : and the whole intonation is so much mufHed 



and broadened that it sounds as if the vowels were ' o ' 



and ' u ' instead of ' i ' and ' e '. There is also a suspicion 



of the jodelling trick about it. But it is one of the true 



old country sounds, and long may it remain in use. 



2 E 



