Page:The ancient language, and the dialect of Cornwall.djvu/72

 52 pendix.) Tregellas was ^'thorough," and it may well be asked, where shall we find his like again 1 Who again will so amuse with droll Cornish stories as they were told by William Hicks, of Bodmin. What tales ! and with such a hearty relish too in relating them ! The stories of Tregellas, really amusing and faithfully illustrative as they are, fall far below what they seemed when told by the living man himself. His perfect assump- tion of character and Cornish accent, his expression, action and fun, were irresistible provokers of mirth, and his listeners were sure to have aching sides after hearing him. The writer has heard him lecture again and again, more than forty years ago. It was something to listen to Tregellas, the very master of the Cornish dialect, and the King of Cornish fun. The dialect of Cornwall is a compound one, as already stated, and its name should be " motley " for it is found to be composed of, 1st, The remains of the old Cornish language; 2nd, Many old English words; 3rd, English words used in a provincial manner; 4th, Many words which apparently are mere slang. The origin of the last there seems no method of accounting for, probably, like ^^Topsy" in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," they "growed"; and 5th, Purely English words spoken in the usual manner. About forty or fifty years ago, there were just as many shades of the dialect as there are tov/ns in the County, and as at that time there was comparatively but little inter-communication, the people of different districts were easily known by certain peculiarities of speech.
 * ' Tales" by Tregellas, Forfar, Daniel &c. (See the Ap-