The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-02-06 00:00:00

DORSET FOLK AND DORSET.

The Hey. W. Baru. (the Dorsi Port) outributes
• second portion of his paper on " Dorsi Yolk and
Dorset" to the curreot flambe of the Leisure Hour.
Thus are two capital sketches of Bee Regis and th•
Ids of Portland. W. Rik* tin following iatarestlag
extracts :
ma Dorset farm-lobourers ice wont to have catguts
and gardens. brides wage In messy, uric Choir hides;
and many every year are tks winners of prism gives by
ths "Labourer( Improvement ftmlety," toe the but
gardesine and gudes-wock, as well sit for hourolosali-
saes • sad most cols show Madras tokens of the
goodetiousewifs, sad h ihrlt Isompalife laths hoar la the
oeetaly-lurpt 'dodo, urea.
'Host of the landowners of Dorset have deo* mars or
1.., aid eras of them vary mach, for labourers in the
building of good cottages, of whisk tho larger we roomy,
to five rooms--two on the grated and three bedrooms
" The poor themselves, as far at I know, would oboes,
'other than the iciad grats too deep and broad
hearth ride the clammy, with the two oulased beaches
at the sides, where &Wee& may to *towed In draftier
warmth in frosty weather, or the thotough wet clothe
may be dried in the sualnu of rainy days. It may be yet
too early to toil how far thee houses will enhance the
cleallinens sad paremiladedoess of our work folk, as they
now lit news oho& than did their fors-aldies, and few, if
any, goooratioas of children haw. ben brought up in
tiros
" From man's natural love of his blithland 111, likely
that the mos of Blacilunoes birth shield Gel it to be the
more oboicrwarthy sa • hoar, whir the dowafolk should
deem dowalife to be tho best
Donee prods. whether of Iti)1 or dell, hays illaihElY the
Botha 'sawn del cuiponile love of the steeple or the
dirtied their birth. [We aro rissieltd of the changing
*arrests of Illfs by sae t eras as Bore Reds, which lies
drat ten milts north -rat of Darciaoster, on the old
London-. old. Its Las old aura is (all of interest; it is
roarkworthy tor • ' highly o,amgnial nays rod; which
I. said to have her the gilt of O.rdiaal Helm, shoot
lather was a eutslikraer of Bora Here, too, we. oar •
royal lodge with • klag's Were and houes-kritotag ;
sad ore our inland trod* had °oats thrash the ogee or
read wagers and stags oaseliss to that of Oa rallire,
arse throsped lo la. grist bat now dwindled yearly fair
os Woodbury Hill many bag sad WI-lades setup of
with wares of every kind for which Done
Makti= WO I would /do believe that Dorset foillt
an sot, se sub among others, bed, but timidly sad dill,
and, to their power, Ultima 1, help the holder I may
quote wad it would ledlylasoome me to say of my own
salad, tho woe& of Kr. Itioluird Heath, who wrote on
ariMt in Dorset. in 'Odds& Hours' tor July 1,
lla Mei • Natures of the gentler mould may be
mot with, perhaps, as frequudy smug 'dull clodhoppers'
es the dames above We in tho social ear. Tits
poot=ty of Dorset in that sea attars at. not so muck
the siosothes as tho rola The Dorset folk era esatidolk
by birth.'
-"A write who, under Ma an.. of Paisiolos Welker,
wrote of • routes of his through the vale of Bilk
speaks at the doll rods of thirnrnsier Nowtearan
hoard • well-born smug jeatliman, who wu
with • alseguasa ma ii•Undeir, say of • p.0.e.:11M
woman in Ur village, that de was • a reek lade.
"I believe Dorsi folk ore. in She men, weld to show
that they know how to ' behave themearree in soy pow
sine., and that if • way-pude! Amager should ask a
Dorset body his we, ha would give him the dearest
directions that he could, and wood to willing, if need of
It wen, to go owned some way to show Ida • good
way-mark.
" Of orris the Dorset folk, liks tho land folk alsowltsre,
are deemed by half of the upon ranks and towns.. to
be very dull gawkia, without wit or ksowliseige. I do
not so rota thous The mos as a body, are not dull If they
are steady, and the yooag woman are rather lively and
sproli-erltiod.
'As to knowledge with others we may dudes our-
seine, sod be ready to believe that • man knows nothing
If he has not our very koorriedge, whatever else ho may
know. But now, if yoo put one hand evenly oaths other,
the right hand will not overlap the other, but if you push
the right on. forward three imam it will overlap lb* left
at the Assam but yet will not be larger than is canoe
it is overlapped by the Idt at the wrist; and while I do
not it all say that all meths,. the Ilk, sum of knowledge.
I bellows that the sums of mine knowledge aft not se
vastly asses ei some folk may think, but that, while
on.man s ksowledits falls short of another s at ose sad,
it may overlap it at another, and that ths knowledge of
otas of our good Dorset man of the field overlaps, in its
kind, that of tha mors polished and duet-witted
rumour
"Feophi sometime talk of unskilled labour, sad of
no t kinds of farm-work as if It wore sorb. Icon hardly
think of our good work on • farm as auskilled labour.
Hedging is sot sock. Diu • bill-book and bodging-gloves
to each of two men, duo( whom list old badger, and this
other ous who has never yet wielded tho bill-hook, and
send then out to plush • bodge, of which each shall begin
at one sod and work towards Sheathe. Will they always,
working at the sena tire, at
_last meet la the middle, and
leave evenly good work behlnd then 1 I how not. If the
book stroke be hit at right angle with • stem, ths
badger will have Whit more than oats to cut It off
If at too *harp an slur ths hook may split it up, and the
man may have discords to cot off tho hinder half,
whereas the skilled man has tho !mock of the beat and*
of the hook, and cuts the sten clean off at one strolls.
Theo, in the outridding of the hedge, the. skilled man will
re at • duos what stems sho ild or should not be out out,
while Cho other will Is likely to west short times, which
soon become minutiae, and • quarter of an hoar, in an
outthinking of his choice of plusher, and riddings, and
°V.-good saidatard understands the anatomy and
ailing of the sheep, and the rood or bad utilities of
many plants, sad when to withhold his flock from •
Moms of fresh food, which may blast thaw. There Is
so good work, of harvesting er bremakinr, ofooshiat
or wed's, or of the matched butte and chosse, without
skill of mind end radium of baud, or, in short, skillod
labour. 'Non month perm= oases.'
"True Dorset butter has, I believe, a good name, and •
dairy oma of our parish, a few years aro, won • high
prise for butter in competition with all England ; but I
few that mods butter which was never modes by Dorsal
hands is sold for Donut
"Th. Dorset landfolk ars prods of hourly but
friendly manners but are not at all token with • priggish
or finicking man ; and have within' batter than laughter
for des who, having goat for • while in the Washita& of
ths higher ranks of the town or hall, try to play the lady.
They hate holloware of words and behaviour, sad nose
um keener witted than ths to perceive It. Toe like •
man who is true to the teaching of tbe saw of their Saxon
forefathers, 'Br thee dm east ; "Bs what thou art.'
They still respect the thoroughbred gentians' and lady.
though I know not what oosesonisot might do with
them ; sad, as our people often show me by their talk,
they know the tokens of good breeding, and moos sos the
want at thorn in the manners of the behaviour of the
purse-proud or power-proud moo. They take as • strong
point of good breeding in high life that of knowing how
to behave to the 'IOW.
"Dorset men, like Wows, do not like to look 11W. or
unmanly. A yds (armor told me that ha had ridden for
▪ short out through the Mod of • new, and Ito thought •
land-proud, owner, by what he thought MN a common
way; sad that It, latidmoraer ooromsnded him to go
back. He said, 'No ; I won't our tb. way soda, and
ill toke watt tho law may put upon me, but I coal now
task. myself so little ea to disk bock.'
"The people are vary rdsd so'm' or nay daughter In
our woated visits, and if I leave out on. of miss they
often say, • I wet shard that you wer bad 'OM
"The man servant of a friend warn shocked at ths
crulty which he saw whoa ore he was in Loudon and
wet to th• Zoological (Urdu% where 'they put • prod
o' live rabbits ' In along with the groat erpents He
said. The Otte serums) did toad to I. sire till the
rabbits coins handy to 'an. an then they som rapped
'sot up. Did nutria risks ay heart male to sea 'een.
I do coil it taeribie barbarous work to put young rumen
rabbits in among doh girt nasty things, a.curdled up as
they be.'
"A car of kindness reworded badiesid • few years
ago in this pariah. A child of a neighbours pariah was
loft an orphan, with no kindred but his pre grand.
mother, who took his for the rest of her Ws, which was
not long, and on her death he was pat into ths union-
ho,o.itillhewasotdonoughtob rat ost Hs come to
wok in our parish, and boarded at tar hour of •
cottager whom wife was vsry kind to him, and he said
that he would hold her for reef rib sister. After • while
he want to au, and from time to time sent her mosey,
bat was at last drooled at tho wreck of the Orpheus.
Was thin bad, thrash my hand', not oily the mossy
owing to him, but • sister's tha if a vast ouin glen
from all England to the kindred of the sal'er., In 511C63.
This was pot into the savings bank is trust for hoe bashed
and borsoff, and after girls/ an outfit to sumo chides,
they took, with the rest of the money, • little I ind, from
which they woo, as the widow and • eon still its, a
livelihood.
"Formerly it was not ossal, at • farmhouse in
Blacknaore. to ask • friend who might call or o mon who
might coma on busbies If Its would like rofreshment.
Brows broad and half-skim cheese, Bad • cop of alis or
aide was put before bins
"I bare ran • burly kind of pastier In a crowd. It
Is this. A young men sees another before him, and
goes up and hie him • cut on the back with Isis ground'
ash stick. The friend looks round and cries, 'Hallos I
la that your Is the rattier trite anew ; ' all that
is a-lift o' me,' that all that Is left being, as it may be,
more than enough for • fullnioni oasis.
"The Dorwt mod is not, I suppos-, below Ur average
keel of the English mind, In wry/pith and CIMITbaI% if
It is loss smart than that of highly commercial clues
01 two Distil man In London ono was titres or foe
years ago Lord Mayor, while the other was likeeill, of
Loadoo.
"In the year ended August 31, IMO, the children is ths
Dorset elementary schools passed, as rated against all
England, wood In realimg, 9106 per cent, the grit
b dog lloomouth. 91 16 par c .nt. ; Brat in writing and
spelling, (911 per mot., the read being the matt orelitan
dittriet, under the Loniot !trod Board, SOP: sixth In
arithrutic, Till par cent, the ant being Durham, (972
per cent.''