“Turn ovver th’ leeaves,” Louisa cried, “Quick!  Quick!”

Rosa did soa, an a reglar little shaar o’ nooats fell aght—­it wor th same i’th t’other Almanacs, an when they’d gooan throo all th’ pages they’d quite a little pile on em—­some wor fivers, some tenners, an ther wor one for twenty paand.  “Aw see wot dear, dear mother meant when shoo sed if ivver we wor i’ onny trubble, we wor to luk into th’ little tin box.”

Ther wor nearly three hundred paand altogether, an poor lasses they nivver went to bed all neet, for fear o’ theives braikin in an stailin—­an next mornin they nivver oppen’d th’ shop, but went straight away to Miss Simpson’s and bowt her shop, stock an gooid will, an all, an paid brass daan for it.

They’ve nivver luk’d behund em since, tho’ its mooar nor two year sin this happened; tho’ Rosa’s gooan aght o’ bisniss, becoss shoo’s wed a clerk in a bank; an Louisa’s baan to be married at Kursmiss to a chap at has a shop next door, an they’re baan to break a door thro’ an roll both shops into one.

On th’ furst ov October ivvery year as sooin as th’ Clock Almanack comes aght, they booath on em run an buy th’ first copy at ivver they can lig ther hands on, for th’ varry seet ov th’ red an yoller cover maks em think o’th happiest moment at ivver they had i’ ther lives.

It isn’t often at ther’s soa mich brass faand inside a Clock Almanack, but ther’s monny an monny a paands worth ov innocent amusement to be faand in its pages, an they’re odd kind o’ fowk at connot thoil to spend a threepeny bit on one, or think ther brass is wasted.

Sammywell’s Reformation.

“Mally!  If tha cannot scale th’ foir baght makkin that din, let it alooan!”

“When aw want thee to tell me ha to scale a foir aw’ll ax thi!  Aw should think aw’ve lived long enuff to know that mich.  It mun awther be scaled or it’ll goa aght.”

“Then let it goa aght!  If tha maks a racket like that agean tha’ll goa aght whativver comes o’th foir, or if tha doesn’t aw’ll pitch thi on th’ top on it!  Oh my poor heead! aw wish tha had it for hawf an haar, then tha’d know summat.”

“Awm nooan soa sewer abaat that!  Tha’s had it ivver sin aw knew thi an its varry little at tha knows!”

“Aw know it’ll drive me aght o’ mi senses if it doesn’t stop.”

“Well, tha willn’t have far to goa, that’s one blessin.  Bless mi life! its nobbut a touch o’th tooithwark.”

“Nobbut a touch isn’t it?  If tha’d to be touched i’th same way tha wodn’t live five minnits.  As it happens, it isn’t th’ tooithwark at all, it’s th’ newralgy aw’ve getten into mi heead.”

“Well, be thankful at tha’s getten summat in it at last, for its been empty long enuff, an that owt to be fain whether its newralgy or oldralgy.  Aw’ve noa patience wi thi, for if ther’s th’ leeast thing ails thi tha upsets all th’ haase.  When awr Hepsabah’s Jerrymier had it he hardly made a muff, an he did have it wi a vengence, poor child.”