"Well, aw dooant think tha has lost it, Sammy, it'd be a gooid job if tha had, an aw should pity th' chap at fun it, but ther's a treat for thi; tha could'nt ha pickt aght a better shop nor this if tha'd gooan all throo Payris, for ther's a stooan mason throo Manchester gettin his dinner, an' he can tawk awther French or English, an' he's knockt off wark for th' day, an' he's willing to show us raand."
This wor gooid news an' it made me feel—(not better tempered, becoss awd nivver been aght o' temper, tho' Billy swears to this day at aw wor as mad as a wasp, but then he's a poor judge o' human natur is Billy;) but it made me feel moor,—well, moor,—aw hardly know what to say, but yo'll know what aw meean, for awve noa daat yo've felt that way yorsen. When we gate in, he wor as pleeased to see us as we wor to see him, an' he sooin made th' Frenchman, (who turned aght to be th' maister) understand ha things stood, an' then he shuk hands wi me an' bowed, an' sed summat; an' th' mason tell'd me at he wor sayin 'he wor varry sooary if he'd hurt me, an' hooaped aw should forgie him;' "Ov coorse," aw sed, "tell him awm one'at nivver bears malice, an' at he mun thank his stars he met me when he did, for if aw had'nt happened to be i' th' best humour ith' world, aw should ha fettled his nop for him."
"Eeah, friend, be sewer an' tell him that for it'll happen saand moor like trewth i' French nor it does i' English—" Th' steaks happenin to come in just at that time put an' end to th' tawk, an' it wornt long befoor we put an end to th' steak. Then they browt us a big dish o' fruits—grapes an' plums an' apples an' peaches, an' we had a reight tuck in. "Aw dooant think aw've etten as mich crash sin aw wor a lad," aw sed, an' Billy sed he wor sewer he had'nt, an' he'd noa idea it wor as gooid as it wor!
"Well," th' mason sed, "that is owing to the climate, you would'nt enjoy the same things as well at home—I get fruit for breakfast. I dont think you drank much claret when you was at home."
"Awm sewer we did'nt," sed Billy, "for aw supt nowt but ale, an' nah aw hardly feel to care for it. But aw dooant think ale's as gooid here as it is at hooam."
"It ought to be for it comes from the best English breweries, but look at these workmen gettin their dinners, they look a fine set of men."
An' they did, an' Billy an' me did watch em, as aw began wonderin whether or net it wor true, at English fowk had all th' sense ith' world. Its worth while givin an' accaant o' their dinner, for this book will noa daat fall into th' hands o' monny a workin' chap at's apt to grummel even if he has to put up wi a beefsteak at hasnt come off th' steak booan, an' it may do him noa harm to know ha other fowk live.
One bottle o' claret, for which they paid a franc—a looaf, abaat a yard long, an' abaat as thick as mi arm, for which they paid half a franc—a jug o' cold watter an' three tumbler glasses. Aw wonder what three stooan masons at hooam wod ha made aght o' that for ther dinner—fifteen pence wor all it cost for three on em. They each hawf filled ther glass wi wine, then filled it up wi watter, an' then divided th' looaf into three, an' each takkin a fooit on it, they pooled pieces off an dipped it into ther wine an' watter an ate it wi a relish. "Sewerly," aw sed, "tha doesnt mean to say at that's all they'll ha to ther dinner."
"But it is, and what may surprise you to know is that breakfast and supper only differ by the addition of fruit or some simple vegetable, and yet they can work for twelve hours a day, and they dont look bad."
"They're three o' th' finest chaps aw've seen sin aw coom into Payris," aw sed, "but aw should think they'll hardly be able to do as mich wark as Englishmen?"