"If we could n.o.bbut get us own debts paid," sed Louisa one neet, when th' shutters were up an they wor talkin things ovver, "we could do nicely--awm sewer Missis Rhodes could pay that three paand shoo owes us easy enuff if shoo wod."

"Aw ax'd her to-day," sed Rosa, "an shoo sed shoo'd try an let us have five shillin at Midsummer."

"What's five shillin then, when we've eight paand ten to pay to morn?"

They booath sat ovver a handful o' coils ther wor i'th grate an sed nowt for a bit, then Rosa sed,

"Ther's yond length o' black silk we've had soa long, that piece Missis Jackson ordered an then wod'nt tak; we mun sell that, it cost fower paand, happen we can get three for it. Whear is it?"

Louisa gate up an fotch'd it off a shelf--it wor tied up in a piece o'

paper, an when shoo oppened it aght, it must ha getten damp somehah, for it wor all i' patches o' white mowd, an fairly ruinated.

Then booath on em burst into tears when they saw it, and sat daan ageean an sobbed for long enuff.

"Ther's nowt for it but to be turn'd aght o'th haase an goa an work i' a mill," sed Louisa.

"Eeah! dear-a-me, to think o' us commin to that." An they booath cried ageean.

"We must have summat at we can sell," Rosa sobbed in a bit, "what's getten mother's brooach?"

"We sell'd that to pay th' doctor's bill when poor owd Hamer next door had th' fever soa long." "So we did, awd forgetten."

Ageean nawther on em spake for a bit, an th' wind howl'd raaad th'

haase, an rain beat ageean th' panes, an all on a sudden Rosa jump'd up an sed--

"Louisa, dooan't yo' remember when mother wor deein, shoo sed ther wor a little tin box i' her trunk, an at if ivver we wor i' onny trouble we wor to look inside ov it."

"Aw think aw do, but aw nivver saw th' box, whear is it?"

"Aw dooan't know, unless its i'th trunk still, let's hev a look for it."

They gate a cannel an went upstairs, an varry sooin coom daan ageean wi a owd tin trunk at they put on th' hearthstun. Louisa oppened it, an start'd rummagin abaat amang a whole lot o' odds an ends o' wearin apparel, an reight daan i'th bottom corner her hand coom agean summat hard.

"Here it is," shoo sed, as shoo pool'd aght a little flat tin box, abaat eight inches long an six inches wide an appen hawf an inch thick.

One end ov it wor made to slide off, but it wor soa rusty for want o'

use 'at it tuk a bit o' bother to loise it, but at last off it coom, an Louisa put in her finger and pool'd aght--not a savins bank book wi a gooid raand sum o' money on its pages--but three owd numbers o'th Clock Almanack.

Poor la.s.ses, they'd been expectin sich things aght o' this box, at when they saw what it contain'd they booath started o' cryin agean.

"Poor mother," sed Rosa, "shoo allus used to say 'at if shoo wor low spirit'd or i' trubble th' "Clock Almanack" allus cheer'd her up, an shoo must ha thowt it wod cheer us up too."

An then they cried agean, for nawther on em felt at all inclin'd for readin noa comic stooaries, or thowt at they'd find much comfort i'th Yorksher dialect that neet; soa Louisa put em back into th' box an nivver oppen'd em--but as th' box wor rayther thin, shoo had to slide em in one at a time, an as shoo wor puttin in th' second one, th' remainin almanac slipt off her knee onto th' floor, an tho' shoo didn't see it, a bit o' white paper fell aght ov it an lay under th' table.

When th' box wor put away they went to bed withaat supper, an cried thersens to sleep, an th' paper laid thear under th' table all neet, an a couple o' braan mice play'd all raand it, an used it insteead ov a table cloth to eat ther supper off.

I'th mornin when Rosa coom daan to leet th' fire th' piece o' paper wor th' furst thing shoo saw when shoo took th' shut daan; shoo picked it up an turn'd it ovver, an thear if it worn't a Ten Paand Bank o' England Nooat. Tawk abaat rejoicins, jewbilee days is nowt to that mornin.

Louisa nearly went off her chump an they'd th' best braikfast they'd had for years.

They hadn't noa daat as to whear it had come thro' for it wor dated th'

year at ther mother deed, they knew at it must ha been hers, an it had no daat been i'th trunk an tummell'd aght when they wor turnin things ovver--they had another look but ther wor noa mooar. It wor Rosa at look'd, but as shoo knew ther were nowt i'th little tin box but Clock Almanacks, shoo didn't oppen it.

As sooin as th' banks oppen'd Louisa went an gate th' nooat chang'd soa as to be ready for th' lanlord when he coom, an when shoo gate back Rosa met her at th' door wi a smillin face, and sed, at Missis Rhodes had browt th' three paand shoo owed em, an ordered a new black silk dress beside; soa they gate daan th' mouldy piece at they'd look'd at th' neet befooar, an to ther joy they faand aght at th' stains wor only on th'

two aghtside folds, an inside it wor all reight an wod mak th' dress weel enuff.

They'd a happy day as yo can guess, an at dinner time they sent a bit o'

beef an Yorksher puddin to a poorly woman at liv'd daan th' yard, an like all fowk at does a gooid turn to them at's war off nor thersens, they felt better for it. That neet when th' shop wor shut, they sat daan beside th' a.s.snook an began o' tawkin ha different things seemed thro'

what they had done th' neet befooar.

"Just to think," sed Rosa, "last neet we'd n.o.bbut ten shillin an th'

rent to pay; an naah we've th' rent paid, an nearly five paand beside, an a dress to mak into th' bargain."

"Eah!" Louisa went on, "an just fancy sellin yond owd bonnet at we've had soa long, to that owd woman at sed shoo couldn't bide new fashioned things."

"Well we've had bad luck long enuff, aw hope it'll turn nah--if we could n.o.bbut get a bit o' bra.s.s, we'd buy Miss Simpson's shop i' front street." An soa they tawked on poor la.s.ses i'th gladness o' ther hearts, for it wor wi them as it is wi a seet o' others i' this cowd hard world, they'd had soa mich claady weather at a bit o' sunshine wor ommost mooar nor they could understand. After they'd had ther supper, Louisa sed, "Rosa, last neet aw felt as if aw couldn't bear to read in them owd Clock Almanacs o' mothers, but aw feel to-neet as if a gooid stooary wodn't come amiss."

"Aw'll read one," sed Rosa, an shoo gate up an gate th' little tin case aght o'th box, an took th' Almanacs aght:--

"Ther's eighteen seventy fower, an five, an six, which shall aw read aght on?"

"Th' owdest one," Louisa answered, "tho' noa daat they'll all be gooid."

Rosa pickt seventy fower aght, an oppen'd it, an as shoo did soa a crisp bit o' white paper fell aght, Louisa catcht it befooar it gate to th'

floor, an thear it wor a five paand nooat.

"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 la.s.ses 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 bra.s.s 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 bra.s.s faand inside a Clock Almanack, but ther's monny an monny a paands worth ov innocent amus.e.m.e.nt 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 bra.s.s 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'