Manuscript account [by Rev. Richard Lyne?] headed 'Humphry May an old Man of Back in Egloshayle parish brought a parcel to Little Petherick, and the following are some of his 'xpressions [expressions]', giving a transcript in West Country dialect.
2pp., 4to. 50 lines of text. On a single leaf of wove paper. Good: lightly worn on aged paper with slight damage to two words. A delightful exchange, with May's reply to the offer of a glass of rum beginning: 'Thanky Maister tis a nice dram. Ive agot the rousy cum stoundrums in my ears with the could. I pute a man to smoke perbacky in mun, and I rousted a Tryan and squeery cum squaten in till I sweat again with the hett and pain'. To the question 'How old are you?' May replies: 'Sixty, I bleve, if they tell true in the recumgister: when I was twelve years ould I weighed feefty pounds zactly and Faither said I was too little for a man and too big for a monkey, there was his galloping 'xpression'. And to the question 'Do you ever cut your hair?': 'No I do pute the Maidens to singe ut off wi the gandle and I ne'r got any trouble, for the be very willing to do't. I must hett my hat and wheel trucky away, but I must count ten first to be lucky and when I be driving my Negers the wiffery cum jiffles do come in my head and I do bust out a laughing and nowbudy wi muh.' The account does not appear to have been published.