“Here, Pete, ye kin read. Wot does it say?” Pete took the document in both hands, grasping it with unnecessary firmness, as if he depended in some degree on physical force to overcome the difficulties of decipherment, and proceeded slowly and with tremendous frowns to spell it out.
“We-promise-not-to-ak—under—our-c—o—m,—commishins until-the—g—r—i—e—grievunces,”—
“Wot be them?” demanded one of the crowd.
“That means taxes, 'n loryers, 'n debts, 'n all that. I've hearn the word afore,” exclaimed another. “G'long Pete.”
“Grievunces,” proceeded the reader, “of-wich-the-people-complain.”
“That's so.”
“That's dern good. In course we complains.”
“Is that writ so, Pete?”
“G'long, Pete, that ere's good.”
“Complains,” began the reader again.