well be spared. I will indulge in one quotation from the Preface to Bailey's valuable Dictionary.

"And hence he, Dr. Wallis, accounts why the names of the divers sorts of cattle are Saxon, as ox, cow, calf, sheep, hog, boar, deer, &c. and yet their flesh when dressed for eating is French, as beef, veal, mutton, pork, brawn, venison, &c. ; the reason of which may probably be, that the Norman soldiery forsooth did not concern themselves with pastures, parks, and the like places, where such animals were fed and kept, so much as with markets, kitchens, feasts, and entertainments, where their food was either sold or prepared for them."

But it is time to put an end to this desultory Preface.

SUFFOLK WORDS.

1

A.

As an abbreviation this letter is used with us, in several modes.-1st. and oftenest in the place of he. 2. as or. 3. as our. 4. as if. 5. as on. 6. as at. 7. as have. 8. as of. I will give some examples in each of these. 1. as he. There a go." "A live 'a hin house."

We are usefully reminded of the season of the Cuckoo by the following homely lines, similar, as in respect to the length of the month, to the well known" thirty days hath September," &c.

In Aperil-'a shake 'as bill,

In May-'a pipe all day,
In June--'a change 'as tune,
In July-awah 'a fly,

Else in August--awah 'a must.

I will take this early occasion to notice one of the most common peculiarities of the Suffolk dialect; which is the substitution of the plural of a verb for the singular in the third person. Of this several instances have already occurred-" there 'a go"-for "there he goes." And many others will be noticed in this and future articles. One is often surprised to hear this localism from the lips even of educated and travelled people.

B

As he, several of our old writers use 'A. I give some instances in Shakespeare.

'A will make the man mad. Tam. of the S. IV. 5.
Confess, confess, hath he not bit you here?
'A hath a little gall'd me I confess. Ib. V. 2.
That is my brother's plea and none of mine,
The which if he can prove,, 'a pops me out
At least from good five hundred pounds a year.

Who are you?—

One that will play the devil, Sir, with you,

K. John. I. 1.

An 'a may catch your hide and you alone. Ib. II. 1.
He is but a Knight, is 'a? K. Hen. 6. IV. 1.

And then my husband-heaven be with his soul-
'A was a merry man. Rom, and J. I. 3.

And sometimes comes she with a tithe-pig's tail
'Tickling a parson's nose as 'a lies asleep. Ib.

An 'a speak any thing against me, I'll take him down
an 'a were lustier than he is. Ib. II. 4.

Shallow. I remember at Mile-end green, there was a little quiver fellow; and 'a would manage you his piece, thus; and 'a would about and about, and come you in, and come you inruh, tuh, tah, would 'a say; and bounce would 'a say; and away again would 'a go, and again would 'a come:-I shall ne'er see such a fellow. K. Hen. 4. P. 2. III. 2.

And so in many other places.

2. as or. "Wutha 'a wool 'a nae." Whether he will or not.

3. as our or at. "A'l go out of 'as farm next a-Lady."

4. as if. "I'll gi ye a dunt i' the hid 'a ye dew This is equivalent to the "an if" of some of our old writers. An instance occurs in

so no more."

one of the above quotations from Romeo and Juliet. 5. as on. "We'll go 'a Sunday."

6. as in or at. "'A live 'a hin house."

7. as have.

"Yow mought as well 'a dunt as nut." You might as well have done it as not. 8. as of. 'A'v a touch 'a the Sheers in um." He has a touch of the Shires in him. See SHEERS.

I will take this early occasion, also, to note that when, in the examples, I use a word not familiar to the reader, he will, taking it as a localism, find it explained in its place in this Collection.

Prefixed to a participle the letter a, in Suffolk, as in most other counties, denotes a continuance of action, a crying, a walking, a running, &c. In other ways, not readily explainable, it is also in use among us. "The house is all of a fire." “What a plague would yow be a dewin?" "What a piezen ; "What a menden," are a sort of moderated imprecations. See AMenden.

AADLE. To prosper or flourish. Fruit, corn, &c. promising to ripen well, are said to aadle. "Ta dont fare ta aadle," implies the reverse. It is probably the same word which Ray thus explains, "To Adle or Addle, to earn; from the ancient Saxon word Ed-lean, a reward, recompense or requital." E. W. p. 13.

Tusser uses the word, only once I believe, and spells it addle.

From May till October leave cropping-For why?
In Woodsere whatever thou croppest will die.
Where ivy embraces the tree very sore,

Kill ivy, or else tree will addle no more.

p. 151.

By "cropping," Tusser means, as we do, lopping. 'Woodsere," seems to mean summer-time. See SARE.