Page:Barnes (1879) Poems of rural life in the Dorset dialect (combined).djvu/379

Rh To zee a vew wold friends, about &emsp;Wold Meldon, where I still ha’ zome, That bid me speed as I come out, &emsp;An’ now ha’ bid me welcome hwome, As I did goo, while skies wer blue, Vrom view to view, to Meldonley.

An’ there wer timber’d knaps, that show’d Cool sheädes, vor rest, on grassy ground, An’ thatch-brow’d windows, flower-bound, Where I could wish wer my abode. I pass’d the maïd avore the spring, &emsp;An’ shepherd by the thornèn tree; An’ heard the merry dréver zing, &emsp;But met noo kith or kin to me, Till I come down, vrom Meldon’s crown To rufs o’ brown, at Meldonley.

woaken tree, so hollow now, &emsp;To souls ov other times wer sound, An’ reach’d on ev’ry zide a bough &emsp;Above their heads, a-gather’d round, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;But zome light veet &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;That here did meet In friendship sweet, vor rest or jaÿ, Shall be a-miss’d another Maÿ.

My childern here, in plaÿvul pride &emsp;Did zit ’ithin his wooden walls, A-mentèn steätely vo’k inside &emsp;O’ castle towers an’ lofty halls. &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;But now the vloor &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;An’ mossy door