ne'er shall forget,
tho mi mem'ry ov all other things perish.

A few years moor,
when awr griefs wor beginnin to lighten,
Mi friends began askin my wife,
if shoo felt hersen hearty an' strong?
An' aw niver saw at her face
wor beginning to whiten,
Till sho grew like a shadow,
an' aw couldn't even guess wrong.

Then aw stood beside th' grave
when th' saxton wor shovin in th' gravel,
An' he said "this last maks five,
an' aw think ther's just room for another,"
An' aw went an' left him,
lonely an' heartsick to travel,
Till th' time comes when aw may lig daan
beside them four bairns an' ther mother.

An' aw think what a glorious Christmas day
'twod ha been
If aw'd gooan to that place where ther's noa moor cares,
nor partin, nor sorrow;
An aw knaw they're thear,
or that dream aw should niver ha seen,
But aw'll try to be patient,
an' maybe shoo'll come fotch me to-morrow.

Billy Bumble's Bargain.

Young Billy Bumble bowt a pig,
Soa aw've heeard th' neighbors say;
An' mony a mile he had to trig
One sweltin' summer day;
But Billy didn't care a fig,
He said he'd mak it pay;
He _knew_ it wor a bargain,
An' he cared net who said nay.

He browt it hooam to Ploo Croft loin,
But what wor his surprise
To find all th' neighbors standing aat,
We oppen maaths an' eyes;
"By gow!" sed Billy, to hissen,
"This pig _must_ be a prize!"
An' th' wimmen cried, "Gooid gracious fowk!
But isn't it a size?"

Then th' chaps sed, "Billy, where's ta been?
Whativer has ta browt?
That surely isn't crayture, lad,
Aw heeard 'em say tha'd bowt?
It luks moor like a donkey,
Does ta think 'at it con rawt?"
But Billy crack'd his carter's whip.
An' answered' em wi' nowt.

An' reight enuff it war a pig,
If all they say is true,
Its length war five foot eight or nine,
Its height wor four foot two;
An' when it coom to th' pig hoil door,
He couldn't get it through,
Unless it went daan ov its knees,
An' that it wodn't do.

Then Billy's mother coomed to help,
An' hit it wi' a mop;
But thear it wor, an' thear it seem'd
Detarmined it 'ud stop;
But all at once it gave a grunt,
An' oppen'd sich a shop;
An' finding aat 'at it wor lick'd,
It laup'd clean ovver th' top.

His mother then shoo shook her heead,
An' pool'd a woeful face;
"William," shoo sed, "tha shouldn't brin