lth by
themselves; their dress, their language, their customs were all
peculiar, and they were like a foreign race planted among English
neighbours. In the town of Shields alone there were three
dialects--Keelish, Sheelish, and Coblish. The Keelish was spoken by the
keelmen, Sheelish by the tradespeople, and Coblish by the pilots; but
Keelish was the most remarkable of the three tongues. Its idiom, pitch,
and pronunciation were so odd that nobody from south of the Wear could
understand it well without long practice, any more than he could
understand the social customs of the men who spoke it. The "Keel Row,"
which is the great Northumbrian song, is written in very fair Keelish,
and no south-countryman can read the original.

The old-fashioned keelman began his week on Saturday afternoon. He washed
himself thoroughly, and then appeared dressed in a white flannel coat
with horn buttons, loose knee-breeches, and blue worsted stockings. He it
was, and not the pitman, who had a chaste fancy in the matter of
bulldogs, and he rather liked seeing those interesting animals fight. He
himself liked fighting too, and the keelmen's quarter on a Saturday night
used to be a very warlike region; for champions from the various streets
fought for the honour of their respective districts, and the women
encouraged the combatants with much energy and enthusiasm. When the new
police-force was organized, it was as much as a constable's life was
worth to venture alone into Sandgate on a Saturday evening; but the place
is more civilized now. After the Saturday's drinking bout and incidental
combat the keelman had Sunday in which to cultivate the graces. He
lounged on the quay and made witty remarks about the passers-by; or he
strolled to the Moor, in all the glory of flannels and gay stockings, to
see a dog-fight. When Monday came his pleasures were at an end. His black
boat was laid alongside of some grim collier, and the baskets were plied
until the keel sank to the water-level. If there was any wind the sail
was run up, and the keel went away merrily enough; if it was calm the
sweeps had to be handled, and the craft travelled at about one mile per
hour. The deepening of the rivers has altered the conditions of life a
good deal for the watermen; but the race is much the same in every
respect as it was eighty years ago. The Saturday combats are not so
violent, and the dog-fighting is a thing of the past; but the men are
like their forefathers