JAN STEWER'S DEVONSHIRE BOOK

[FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS OF "JAN STEWER'S DEMSHURE BUKE"]

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'Ow faith Shelley chayted the Passon

’OW FAITH SELLEY CHAYTED
THA PASSON.

I’ve yeered my granfa tull up thees tale menys-a-times, an’ et ’appened whane ’e waz a liddle bit o’ a bwoy; an’ ee’s bin dade thees vowerty yer, an’ wiz up eighty whane a-died. But ’e wid orwiz declare twaz true, an’ et ’appened een tha zame parish whur ’e waz livin’ tu at the taime, an’ yu can zee the grave now; but I virgets vir tha moment whur tes tu, or tha name o’ tha par-ish.

Ole Faith Selley wiz a quare ole wumman way aul zorts o’ strange itums, an’ wan waz that whane er wiz dade ’er zhid be burried way tha vit o’er towards the west.

But passon zed ’e widden let ’er tu; ’er mus’ be burried way tha vit o’er towards tha east.

Tho ’er zed eef ’er ouden ’ave ’er awn way ’bout ’ow ’er shid be burried, ’er widden be burried tarl; er’d be created (that’s whane thay’m burn’, don-’e-knaw).

Owsumever, ’er did die ta lass, tho ’er lived tu a turrable gurt age, up ’under’d yers most, an’ ’er wiz burried, zame as passon zed ’er shid, way tha vit o’ ’er tu tha east.

But tha quare peart o’t waz, that whane vir zum raysin or uther the grave got digged out auver a ’under’d yers arter, tha bones o’ Faith Selley wiz vound, way tha vit tards tha west. Ow ’er kom like et, nobody cuden zay. The tale ’ad bin ’anded down like, doan ’e zee, ’bout ’er wantin’ tu lie like that, an’ whane tha vokes vound that ’er wiz tamed around, they cuden maake out a bit ow twiz du-d.

Zum zed that ’er wiz mos’ mazin’ theen like, an’ that ’er leff zum money tu tha undertaker ta make that coffin big ’nuff zo’s they cude putt ’er een back-an-vore, an’ zo ’er chayted tha passon thicky way.

But thurs a gude many vokes thinks that ’er wiz a witch, an’ got Ole Nick ta tarn ’er round arter ’er wiz burried.

But where tes true or no I carn tull ’e, vir I doan knaw mezel.

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