The tinkler-gypsies . nother. They were good atovercoming such obstacles : If yell tak uth in Ill make ye a richt nyth weebathket, inithtreth, one of them would say. When themistress came to ask for her basket, if they had been nonetoo well entertained, she would be told : Deed, mithtreth, I promithed you a bathket, but Idinna mind thaying I would gie yet for naething. Those at the outlying farm-houses weredependent on them for the news of the countryside, and no one knew better how to wield thatpower than the Kennedies. The young folksabout the farm often gathered around them asthey sat on th
The tinkler-gypsies . nother. They were good atovercoming such obstacles : If yell tak uth in Ill make ye a richt nyth weebathket, inithtreth, one of them would say. When themistress came to ask for her basket, if they had been nonetoo well entertained, she would be told : Deed, mithtreth, I promithed you a bathket, but Idinna mind thaying I would gie yet for naething. Those at the outlying farm-houses weredependent on them for the news of the countryside, and no one knew better how to wield thatpower than the Kennedies. The young folksabout the farm often gathered around them asthey sat on the ground in the cartshed makingspoons and baskets, and they delighted to enter-tain them. Sandy would ask :— Wud ye likea thea thong, a war thong, or a love thong ? andsoon he would have his audience listening open-mouthed to his yarns and songs. The Plains of Waterloo and MGuiresGrey Mare were great favourites of his, andthose who heard him sing them say it was quitea treat. Here are three verses of the latter song. The KetDiedies (Homers). 155 as still sung, after the manner of Sandy Kennedy,by a farmer :— If you had been on Gilmore Green, You would have seen sport and play there,Two English fliers, they came downTo beat Paddy MGuires grey — i re a fal de la lafal lal la de la le ro. Away they went the very first heat,She made all the people very first time she cam roundWas like the roaring claps o thunder. C/^i^r/zj—same. The Kennedies dialect, from what can begathered, seems different from that of the districtfrequented by them, and all of them pronounceds as th. That lisp accentuated the peculiarityof their speech. They were adepts at the art ofingratiating themselves, but were never servile,and had ever a ready answer. In almost everyfarm-house in Galloway there are treasured upstories about them or told by them. Surely it isa pity that such should be lost ! We thereforemake a beginning by recording a few gathered atfarm-houses in different p
Size: 1340px × 1866px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidtinkl, bookpublisheretcetc
