Garn, never mind him, 'tis Sussex as she is spoke

Jonathan Roper writes on five glossaries but the one that claimed Rouser's attention was produced by William Parish who had the temerity to express the following opinion: 'A musical ear is very rarely found among Sussex people, a defect which is remarkably shown not only in the monotonous tunes to which their old songs are sung, but also in the songs themselves, which are almost entirely devoid of rhythm.'

Not a very friendly man.

He goes on to say: 'In almost every establishment there is to be found some old groom, or gardener, bailiff or factotum, whose odd expressions and quaint sayings and apparently outlandish words afford a never-failing source of amusement to the older as well as the younger members of the household, who are not aware that many of the words and expressions which raise the laugh are purer expressions of the English language than the words which are used to tell the story in which they are introduced.'

Parish therefore saw the Sussex dialect, sadly now disappeared, as both a joke and an example of pure English.

Quite a contradiction.