Yet even in that far-away coombe-bottom they knew enough to put an oyster-shell in the kettle to prevent incrustation.
The rules of pronunciation understood about Okebourne seemed to consist in lengthening the syllables that are usually spoken quick, and shortening those that are usually long.

Hilary said that years ago it really appeared as if there was something deficient in the organs of the throat among the labourers, for there were words they positively could not pronounce.

The word 'reservoir,' for instance, was always 'tezzievoy;' they could not speak the word correctly.

He could not explain to me a very common expression among the men when they wished to describe anything unusual or strange for which they had no exact equivalent.

It was always 'a sort of a meejick.' By degrees, however, we traced it back to 'menagerie.' The travelling shows of wild beasts at first so much astonished the villagers that everything odd and curious became a menagerie, afterwards corrupted to 'meejick.' 'Caddle no man's cattle' was a favourite proverb with a population who were never in a hurry.