Soa Chairley an’ Testy went hooam, an t’next morning they started aght hawkin, but it wor th’ warst days bizniss he ivver had.  He gate shut a mooar stuff nor ivver he’d getten shut on afooar in a wick, but his purse wor varry little heavier at neet nor it wor i’th’ morning, for as t’mooast ov his customers wor connected wi th’ Sunday skoal, an’ they all wanted sarvin’ that day, he discovered at Testy worn’t likely to prove all profit after all.  If a woman wanted a penny stick a ruburb shoo’d be sure to ax for a cabbage thrown in, an shoo’d say:  “Tha knows tha’d nivver ha getten that donkey but for awr Simon givin’ soa mich to’ards it.”

When Chairley reckon’d up at neet he stud lukkin at t’donkey for a minnit an’ then he sed—­“Testy owd lad, aw dooant want to hurt thi feelins, but aw mun say, at if ivvery body’s testimonial cost’ em as mich as tha’s cost me to-day, ther isn’t quite as mich profit in ’em as some fowk think; an’ unless ther’s a lot ov Annani-asses amang my customers, th’aft abaat th’ warst bargain i’th’ donkey line at aw’ve seen for some time, for aw cud a bowt a horse wi’ th’ brass at wor subscribed for thee.”

After that Chairley had to leeave th’ Sunday skooil, for he sed if he didn’t they’d ruin booath him an’ Testy.  Well, as aw wor sayin’ Chairley an’ Testy wor gooin’ hooam an’ bed just getten to th’ Tabor, when they booath stopt for a drink.  He teed up his donkey an’ then went into th’ tapraam for a pint a fourpny, (yo can get varry gooid fourpny at t’Tabor, ther’s some body in it an noa sperrit, hah they brew it is a saycret, an’ it’s noa use tryin’ to see throo it.) Just anent Chairley sat an owd sowdger tellin’ tales abaaght different battles he’d been in, an’ Chairley lizened to ivvery word as if it wor gospel, for ov cooarse he knew at noa man ‘ats been in a battle wad say owt at worn’t true, an’ at last he sed, “Captin’ aw’ve oft thowt aw should like to be sowdger, but yo see mi legs isn’t booath just t’same length.”

“That’ll mak little difference,” he sed, “tha’d be all th’ better for that, it wodn’t be as easy to put a bullet throo thi heead when it wor bobbin’ up and daan, as it wod a chap at walk’d straight; but aw should advise thee to join th’ artillery, that’s th’ regiment for thee; horse artillery, that’s the ticket, tha’d just doo for that.”

“Dun yo think aw should?”

“To be sewer, tha’rt just made for it.”

This set Chairley a thinkin’, an after treatin’ th’ owd sowdger wi’ a pint, he set off hooam.

As he’d noab’dy else to tawk to’ he tawk’d to th’ donkey.

“Well Testy, what dus ta think abaaght it?  Dus ta think aw should doo for a hartillery chap?  They dooant have donkeys i’th’ horse hartillery, or else awd tak thee.  What are ta shakin’ thi heead at?  Well if aw doo goa, iwl mak a present o’ thee to th’ Sunday skooil, for aw cudn’t tell what price to put on thi if aw wanted to sell thi.  Hahivver, aw think it ud be a gooid thing for me to practiss a bit, an’ awve two owd muskets at hooam at can be made come in, an’ awl get up it’ mornin’ i’ gooid time an practiss for an haar or soa befooar we start for bizness.  It’ll doo us booath gooid.”