“The people in the west,” writes a correspondent, “have adopted many words from the Danish invaders.” Tradition assures us that the sea-rovers of the North frequently landed at Witsand Bay, burned and pillaged the villages of Escols and Mayon, sometimes took off the women, but never made a settlement. Certain red-haired families are often referred to as Danes, and the dark-haired people will not marry with “a red-haired Dane.” He continues:—“If you were in Buryan Church-town this evening, you might probably hear Betty Trenoweth say, ‘I’ll take off my _touser_, [toute serve,] and run up to Janey Angwins to _cousey_ [causer] a spell; there’s a lot of boys gone in there, so there’ll be a grand _courant_, [de courir,] I expect.’ In a short time Betty may come back disappointed, saying, ‘’Twas a mere _cow’s courant_ after all, cheld vean—all hammer and tongs.’”
The _touser_ is a large apron or wrapper to come quite round and keep the under garments clean. By a _courant_ with the boys, they mean a game of running romps. It is not at all uncommon in other parts of the country to hear the people say, “It was a fine _courant_,” “We’ve had a good _courant_,” when they intend to express the enjoyment of some pleasure party. These are, however, probably more nearly allied to Norman-French.
There are some proverbial expressions peculiar to the west:—
“Sow barley in dree, and wheat in pul.”[69]
“To make an old nail good, right it on wood.”
The last meaning that neither man nor beast can work on an empty stomach.
The following are a few of less common expressions, preserving remarkable words:—
He will never _scrip_ it—He will never escape it.
He is nothing _pridy_—He is not handsome.
Give her _dule_—Give her some comfort or consolation.
Hark to his _lidden_—Listen to his word or talk.
It was _twenty_ or _some_—It was about twenty.
The wind brings the _pilme_—The wind raises the dust.
How thick the _brusse_ lies—How thick the dust lies.
He is _throyting_—He is cutting chips from sticks.
He came of a good _havage_—He belongs to a good or respectable family.
_Hame_—a straw collar with wooden collar-trees, to which are fastened the rope traces.
_Scalpions_ (_buckthorn_, or rather _buckhorn_)—salt dried fish, usually the whiting.