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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +The Zincali - An Account of the Gypsies of Spain by George Borrow +Scanned and proofed by David Price +ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + + +The Zincali - An Account of the Gypsies of Spain + + + + +PREFACE + + + +IT is with some diffidence that the author ventures to offer the +present work to the public. + +The greater part of it has been written under very peculiar +circumstances, such as are not in general deemed at all favourable +for literary composition: at considerable intervals, during a +period of nearly five years passed in Spain - in moments snatched +from more important pursuits - chiefly in ventas and posadas, +whilst wandering through the country in the arduous and unthankful +task of distributing the Gospel among its children. + +Owing to the causes above stated, he is aware that his work must +not unfrequently appear somewhat disjointed and unconnected, and +the style rude and unpolished: he has, nevertheless, permitted the +tree to remain where he felled it, having, indeed, subsequently +enjoyed too little leisure to make much effectual alteration. + +At the same time he flatters himself that the work is not destitute +of certain qualifications to entitle it to approbation. The +author's acquaintance with the Gypsy race in general dates from a +very early period of his life, which considerably facilitated his +intercourse with the Peninsular portion, to the elucidation of +whose history and character the present volumes are more +particularly devoted. Whatever he has asserted, is less the result +of reading than of close observation, he having long since come to +the conclusion that the Gypsies are not a people to be studied in +books, or at least in such books as he believes have hitherto been +written concerning them. + +Throughout he has dealt more in facts than in theories, of which he +is in general no friend. True it is, that no race in the world +affords, in many points, a more extensive field for theory and +conjecture than the Gypsies, who are certainly a very mysterious +people come from some distant land, no mortal knows why, and who +made their first appearance in Europe at a dark period, when events +were not so accurately recorded as at the present time. + +But if he has avoided as much as possible touching upon subjects +which must always, to a certain extent, remain shrouded in +obscurity; for example, the, original state and condition of the +Gypsies, and the causes which first brought them into Europe; he +has stated what they are at the present day, what he knows them to +be from a close scrutiny of their ways and habits, for which, +perhaps, no one ever enjoyed better opportunities; and he has, +moreover, given - not a few words culled expressly for the purpose +of supporting a theory, but one entire dialect of their language, +collected with much trouble and difficulty; and to this he humbly +calls the attention of the learned, who, by comparing it with +certain languages, may decide as to the countries in which the +Gypsies have lived or travelled. + +With respect to the Gypsy rhymes in the second volume, he wishes to +make one observation which cannot be too frequently repeated, and +which he entreats the reader to bear in mind: they are GYPSY +COMPOSITIONS, and have little merit save so far as they throw light +on the manner of thinking and speaking of the Gypsy people, or +rather a portion of them, and as to what they are capable of +effecting in the way of poetry. It will, doubtless, be said that +the rhymes are TRASH; - even were it so, they are original, and on +that account, in a philosophic point of view, are more valuable +than the most brilliant compositions pretending to describe Gypsy +life, but written by persons who are not of the Gypsy sect. Such +compositions, however replete with fiery sentiments, and allusions +to freedom and independence, are certain to be tainted with +affectation. Now in the Gypsy rhymes there is no affectation, and +on that very account they are different in every respect from the +poetry of those interesting personages who figure, under the names +of Gypsies, Gitanos, Bohemians, etc., in novels and on the boards +of the theatre. + +It will, perhaps, be objected to the present work, that it contains +little that is edifying in a moral or Christian point of view: to +such an objection the author would reply, that the Gypsies are not +a Christian people, and that their morality is of a peculiar kind, +not calculated to afford much edification to what is generally +termed the respectable portion of society. Should it be urged that +certain individuals have found them very different from what they +are represented in these volumes, he would frankly say that he +yields no credit to the presumed fact, and at the same time he +would refer to the vocabulary contained in the second volume, +whence it will appear that the words HOAX and HOCUS have been +immediately derived from the language of the Gypsies, who, there is +good reason to believe, first introduced the system into Europe, to +which those words belong. + +The author entertains no ill-will towards the Gypsies; why should +he, were he a mere carnal reasoner? He has known them for upwards +of twenty years, in various countries, and they never injured a +hair of his head, or deprived him of a shred of his raiment; but he +is not deceived as to the motive of their forbearance: they +thought him a ROM, and on this supposition they hurt him not, their +love of 'the blood' being their most distinguishing characteristic. +He derived considerable assistance from them in Spain, as in +various instances they officiated as colporteurs in the +distribution of the Gospel: but on that account he is not prepared +to say that they entertained any love for the Gospel or that they +circulated it for the honour of Tebleque the Saviour. Whatever +they did for the Gospel in Spain, was done in the hope that he whom +they conceived to be their brother had some purpose in view which +was to contribute to the profit of the Cales, or Gypsies, and to +terminate in the confusion and plunder of the Busne, or Gentiles. +Convinced of this, he is too little of an enthusiast to rear, on +such a foundation, any fantastic edifice of hope which would soon +tumble to the ground. + +The cause of truth can scarcely be forwarded by enthusiasm, which +is almost invariably the child of ignorance and error. The author +is anxious to direct the attention of the public towards the +Gypsies; but he hopes to be able to do so without any romantic +appeals in their behalf, by concealing the truth, or by warping the +truth until it becomes falsehood. In the following pages he has +depicted the Gypsies as he has found them, neither aggravating +their crimes nor gilding them with imaginary virtues. He has not +expatiated on 'their gratitude towards good people, who treat them +kindly and take an interest in their welfare'; for he believes that +of all beings in the world they are the least susceptible of such a +feeling. Nor has he ever done them injustice by attributing to +them licentious habits, from which they are, perhaps, more free +than any race in the creation. + + + +PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION + + + +I CANNOT permit the second edition of this work to go to press +without premising it with a few words. + +When some two years ago I first gave THE ZINCALI to the world, it +was, as I stated at the time, with considerable hesitation and +diffidence: the composition of it and the collecting of Gypsy +words had served as a kind of relaxation to me whilst engaged in +the circulation of the Gospel in Spain. After the completion of +the work, I had not the slightest idea that it possessed any +peculiar merit, or was calculated to make the slightest impression +upon the reading world. Nevertheless, as every one who writes +feels a kind of affection, greater or less, for the productions of +his pen, I was averse, since the book was written, to suffer it to +perish of damp in a lumber closet, or by friction in my travelling +wallet. I committed it therefore to the press, with a friendly +'Farewell, little book; I have done for you all I can, and much +more than you deserve.' + +My expectations at this time were widely different from those of my +namesake George in the VICAR OF WAKEFIELD when he published his +paradoxes. I took it as a matter of course that the world, whether +learned or unlearned, would say to my book what they said to his +paradoxes, as the event showed, - nothing at all. To my utter +astonishment, however, I had no sooner returned to my humble +retreat, where I hoped to find the repose of which I was very much +in need, than I was followed by the voice not only of England but +of the greater part of Europe, informing me that I had achieved a +feat - a work in the nineteenth century with some pretensions to +originality. The book was speedily reprinted in America, portions +of it were translated into French and Russian, and a fresh edition +demanded. + +In the midst of all this there sounded upon my ears a voice which I +recognised as that of the Maecenas of British literature: +'Borromeo, don't believe all you hear, nor think that you have +accomplished anything so very extraordinary: a great portion of +your book is very sorry trash indeed - Gypsy poetry, dry laws, and +compilations from dull Spanish authors: it has good points, +however, which show that you are capable of something much better: +try your hand again - avoid your besetting sins; and when you have +accomplished something which will really do credit to - Street, it +will be time enough to think of another delivery of these GYPSIES.' + +Mistos amande: 'I am content,' I replied; and sitting down I +commenced the BIBLE IN SPAIN. At first I proceeded slowly - +sickness was in the land, and the face of nature was overcast - +heavy rain-clouds swam in the heavens, - the blast howled amid the +pines which nearly surround my lonely dwelling, and the waters of +the lake which lies before it, so quiet in general and tranquil, +were fearfully agitated. 'Bring lights hither, O Hayim Ben Attar, +son of the miracle! ' And the Jew of Fez brought in the lights, for +though it was midday I could scarcely see in the little room where +I was writing. . . . + +A dreary summer and autumn passed by, and were succeeded by as +gloomy a winter. I still proceeded with the BIBLE IN SPAIN. The +winter passed, and spring came with cold dry winds and occasional +sunshine, whereupon I arose, shouted, and mounting my horse, even +Sidi Habismilk, I scoured all the surrounding district, and thought +but little of the BIBLE IN SPAIN. + +So I rode about the country, over the heaths, and through the green +lanes of my native land, occasionally visiting friends at a +distance, and sometimes, for variety's sake, I stayed at home and +amused myself by catching huge pike, which lie perdue in certain +deep ponds skirted with lofty reeds, upon my land, and to which +there is a communication from the lagoon by a deep and narrow +watercourse. - I had almost forgotten the BIBLE IN SPAIN. + +Then came the summer with much heat and sunshine, and then I would +lie for hours in the sun and recall the sunny days I had spent in +Andalusia, and my thoughts were continually reverting to Spain, and +at last I remembered that the BIBLE IN SPAIN was still unfinished; +whereupon I arose and said: 'This loitering profiteth nothing' - +and I hastened to my summer-house by the side of the lake, and +there I thought and wrote, and every day I repaired to the same +place, and thought and wrote until I had finished the BIBLE IN +SPAIN. + +And at the proper season the BIBLE IN SPAIN was given to the world; +and the world, both learned and unlearned, was delighted with the +BIBLE IN SPAIN, and the highest authority (1) said, 'This is a much +better book than the GYPSIES'; and the next great authority (2) +said, 'something betwixt Le Sage and Bunyan.' 'A far more +entertaining work than DON QUIXOTE,' exclaimed a literary lady. +'Another GIL BLAS,' said the cleverest writer in Europe. (3) +'Yes,' exclaimed the cool sensible SPECTATOR, (4) 'a GIL BLAS in +water-colours.' + +And when I heard the last sentence, I laughed, and shouted, 'KOSKO +PENNESE PAL!' (5) It pleased me better than all the rest. Is +there not a text in a certain old book which says: Woe unto you +when all men shall speak well of you! Those are awful words, +brothers; woe is me! + +'Revenons a nos Bohemiens!' Now the BIBLE IN SPAIN is off my +hands, I return to 'these GYPSIES'; and here you have, most kind, +lenient, and courteous public, a fresh delivery of them. In the +present edition, I have attended as much as possible to the +suggestions of certain individuals, for whose opinion I cannot but +entertain the highest respect. I have omitted various passages +from Spanish authors, which the world has objected to as being +quite out of place, and serving for no other purpose than to swell +out the work. In lieu thereof, I have introduced some original +matter relative to the Gypsies, which is, perhaps, more calculated +to fling light over their peculiar habits than anything which has +yet appeared. To remodel the work, however, I have neither time +nor inclination, and must therefore again commend it, with all the +imperfections which still cling to it, to the generosity of the +public. + +A few words in conclusion. Since the publication of the first +edition, I have received more than one letter, in which the writers +complain that I, who seem to know so much of what has been written +concerning the Gypsies, (6) should have taken no notice of a theory +entertained by many, namely, that they are of Jewish origin, and +that they are neither more nor less than the descendants of the two +lost tribes of Israel. Now I am not going to enter into a +discussion upon this point, for I know by experience, that the +public cares nothing for discussions, however learned and edifying, +but will take the present opportunity to relate a little adventure +of mine, which bears not a little upon this matter. + +So it came to pass, that one day I was scampering over a heath, at +some distance from my present home: I was mounted upon the good +horse Sidi Habismilk, and the Jew of Fez, swifter than the wind, +ran by the side of the good horse Habismilk, when what should I see +at a corner of the heath but the encampment of certain friends of +mine; and the chief of that camp, even Mr. Petulengro, stood before +the encampment, and his adopted daughter, Miss Pinfold, stood +beside him. + +MYSELF. - 'Kosko divvus (7), Mr. Petulengro! I am glad to see you: +how are you getting on?' + +MR. PETULENGRO. - 'How am I getting on? as well as I can. What +will you have for that nokengro (8)?' + +Thereupon I dismounted, and delivering the reins of the good horse +to Miss Pinfold, I took the Jew of Fez, even Hayim Ben Attar, by +the hand, and went up to Mr. Petulengro, exclaiming, 'Sure ye are +two brothers.' Anon the Gypsy passed his hand over the Jew's face, +and stared him in the eyes: then turning to me he said, 'We are +not dui palor (9); this man is no Roman; I believe him to be a Jew; +he has the face of one; besides, if he were a Rom, even from +Jericho, he could rokra a few words in Rommany.' + +Now the Gypsy had been in the habit of seeing German and English +Jews, who must have been separated from their African brethren for +a term of at least 1700 years; yet he recognised the Jew of Fez for +what he was - a Jew, and without hesitation declared that he was +'no Roman.' The Jews, therefore, and the Gypsies have each their +peculiar and distinctive countenance, which, to say nothing of the +difference of language, precludes the possibility of their having +ever been the same people. + +MARCH 1, 1843. + + + +NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION + + + +THIS edition has been carefully revised by the author, and some few +insertions have been made. In order, however, to give to the work +a more popular character, the elaborate vocabulary of the Gypsy +tongue, and other parts relating to the Gypsy language and +literature, have been omitted. Those who take an interest in these +subjects are referred to the larger edition in two vols. (10) + + + +THE GYPSIES - INTRODUCTION + + + +THROUGHOUT my life the Gypsy race has always had a peculiar +interest for me. Indeed I can remember no period when the mere +mention of the name of Gypsy did not awaken within me feelings hard +to be described. I cannot account for this - I merely state a +fact. + +Some of the Gypsies, to whom I have stated this circumstance, have +accounted for it on the supposition that the soul which at present +animates my body has at some former period tenanted that of one of +their people; for many among them are believers in metempsychosis, +and, like the followers of Bouddha, imagine that their souls, by +passing through an infinite number of bodies, attain at length +sufficient purity to be admitted to a state of perfect rest and +quietude, which is the only idea of heaven they can form. + +Having in various and distant countries lived in habits of intimacy +with these people, I have come to the following conclusions +respecting them: that wherever they are found, their manners and +customs are virtually the same, though somewhat modified by +circumstances, and that the language they speak amongst themselves, +and of which they are particularly anxious to keep others in +ignorance, is in all countries one and the same, but has been +subjected more or less to modification; and lastly, that their +countenances exhibit a decided family resemblance, but are darker +or fairer according to the temperature of the climate, but +invariably darker, at least in Europe, than those of the natives of +the countries in which they dwell, for example, England and Russia, +Germany and Spain. + +The names by which they are known differ with the country, though, +with one or two exceptions, not materially for example, they are +styled in Russia, Zigani; in Turkey and Persia, Zingarri; and in +Germany, Zigeuner; all which words apparently spring from the same +etymon, which there is no improbability in supposing to be +'Zincali,' a term by which these people, especially those of Spain, +sometimes designate themselves, and the meaning of which is +believed to be, THE BLACK MEN OF ZEND OR IND. In England and Spain +they are commonly known as Gypsies and Gitanos, from a general +belief that they were originally Egyptians, to which the two words +are tantamount; and in France as Bohemians, from the circumstance +that Bohemia was one of the first countries in civilised Europe +where they made their appearance. + +But they generally style themselves and the language which they +speak, Rommany. This word, of which I shall ultimately have more +to say, is of Sanscrit origin, and signifies, The Husbands, or that +which pertaineth unto them. From whatever motive this appellation +may have originated, it is perhaps more applicable than any other +to a sect or caste like them, who have no love and no affection +beyond their own race; who are capable of making great sacrifices +for each other, and who gladly prey upon all the rest of the human +species, whom they detest, and by whom they are hated and despised. +It will perhaps not be out of place to observe here, that there is +no reason for supposing that the word Roma or Rommany is derived +from the Arabic word which signifies Greece or Grecians, as some +people not much acquainted with the language of the race in +question have imagined. + +I have no intention at present to say anything about their origin. +Scholars have asserted that the language which they speak proves +them to be of Indian stock, and undoubtedly a great number of their +words are Sanscrit. My own opinion upon this subject will be found +in a subsequent article. I shall here content myself with +observing that from whatever country they come, whether from India +or Egypt, there can be no doubt that they are human beings and have +immortal souls; and it is in the humble hope of drawing the +attention of the Christian philanthropist towards them, especially +that degraded and unhappy portion of them, the Gitanos of Spain, +that the present little work has been undertaken. But before +proceeding to speak of the latter, it will perhaps not be amiss to +afford some account of the Rommany as I have seen them in other +countries; for there is scarcely a part of the habitable world +where they are not to be found: their tents are alike pitched on +the heaths of Brazil and the ridges of the Himalayan hills, and +their language is heard at Moscow and Madrid, in the streets of +London and Stamboul. + + +THE ZIGANI, OR RUSSIAN GYPSIES + + +They are found in all parts of Russia, with the exception of the +government of St. Petersburg, from which they have been banished. +In most of the provincial towns they are to be found in a state of +half-civilisation, supporting themselves by trafficking in horses, +or by curing the disorders incidental to those animals; but the +vast majority reject this manner of life, and traverse the country +in bands, like the ancient Hamaxobioi; the immense grassy plains of +Russia affording pasturage for their herds of cattle, on which, and +the produce of the chase, they chiefly depend for subsistence. +They are, however, not destitute of money, which they obtain by +various means, but principally by curing diseases amongst the +cattle of the mujiks or peasantry, and by telling fortunes, and not +unfrequently by theft and brigandage. + +Their power of resisting cold is truly wonderful, as it is not +uncommon to find them encamped in the midst of the snow, in slight +canvas tents, when the temperature is twenty-five or thirty degrees +below the freezing-point according to Reaumur; but in the winter +they generally seek the shelter of the forests, which afford fuel +for their fires, and abound in game. + +The race of the Rommany is by nature perhaps the most beautiful in +the world; and amongst the children of the Russian Zigani are +frequently to be found countenances to do justice to which would +require the pencil of a second Murillo; but exposure to the rays of +the burning sun, the biting of the frost, and the pelting of the +pitiless sleet and snow, destroys their beauty at a very early age; +and if in infancy their personal advantages are remarkable, their +ugliness at an advanced age is no less so, for then it is +loathsome, and even appalling. + +A hundred years, could I live so long, would not efface from my +mind the appearance of an aged Ziganskie Attaman, or Captain of +Zigani, and his grandson, who approached me on the meadow before +Novo Gorod, where stood the encampment of a numerous horde. The +boy was of a form and face which might have entitled him to +represent Astyanax, and Hector of Troy might have pressed him to +his bosom, and called him his pride; but the old man was, perhaps, +such a shape as Milton has alluded to, but could only describe as +execrable - he wanted but the dart and kingly crown to have +represented the monster who opposed the progress of Lucifer, whilst +careering in burning arms and infernal glory to the outlet of his +hellish prison. + +But in speaking of the Russian Gypsies, those of Moscow must not be +passed over in silence. The station to which they have attained in +society in that most remarkable of cities is so far above the +sphere in which the remainder of their race pass their lives, that +it may be considered as a phenomenon in Gypsy history, and on that +account is entitled to particular notice. + +Those who have been accustomed to consider the Gypsy as a wandering +outcast, incapable of appreciating the blessings of a settled and +civilised life, or - if abandoning vagabond propensities, and +becoming stationary - as one who never ascends higher than the +condition of a low trafficker, will be surprised to learn, that +amongst the Gypsies of Moscow there are not a few who inhabit +stately houses, go abroad in elegant equipages, and are behind the +higher orders of the Russians neither in appearance nor mental +acquirements. To the power of song alone this phenomenon is to be +attributed. From time immemorial the female Gypsies of Moscow have +been much addicted to the vocal art, and bands or quires of them +have sung for pay in the halls of the nobility or upon the boards +of the theatre. Some first-rate songsters have been produced among +them, whose merits have been acknowledged, not only by the Russian +public, but by the most fastidious foreign critics. Perhaps the +highest compliment ever paid to a songster was paid by Catalani +herself to one of these daughters of Roma. It is well known +throughout Russia that the celebrated Italian was so enchanted with +the voice of a Moscow Gypsy (who, after the former had displayed +her noble talent before a splendid audience in the old Russian +capital, stepped forward and poured forth one of her national +strains), that she tore from her own shoulders a shawl of cashmire, +which had been presented to her by the Pope, and, embracing the +Gypsy, insisted on her acceptance of the splendid gift, saying, +that it had been intended for the matchless songster, which she now +perceived she herself was not. + +The sums obtained by many of these females by the exercise of their +art enable them to support their relatives in affluence and luxury: +some are married to Russians, and no one who has visited Russia can +but be aware that a lovely and accomplished countess, of the noble +and numerous family of Tolstoy, is by birth a Zigana, and was +originally one of the principal attractions of a Rommany choir at +Moscow. + +But it is not to be supposed that the whole of the Gypsy females at +Moscow are of this high and talented description; the majority of +them are of far lower quality, and obtain their livelihood by +singing and dancing at taverns, whilst their husbands in general +follow the occupation of horse-dealing. + +Their favourite place of resort in the summer time is Marina Rotze, +a species of sylvan garden about two versts from Moscow, and +thither, tempted by curiosity, I drove one fine evening. On my +arrival the Ziganas came flocking out from their little tents, and +from the tractir or inn which has been erected for the +accommodation of the public. Standing on the seat of the calash, I +addressed them in a loud voice in the English dialect of the +Rommany, of which I have some knowledge. A shrill scream of wonder +was instantly raised, and welcomes and blessings were poured forth +in floods of musical Rommany, above all of which predominated the +cry of KAK CAMENNA TUTE PRALA - or, How we love you, brother! - for +at first they mistook me for one of their wandering brethren from +the distant lands, come over the great panee or ocean to visit +them. + +After some conversation they commenced singing, and favoured me +with many songs, both in Russian and Rommany: the former were +modern popular pieces, such as are accustomed to be sung on the +boards of the theatre; but the latter were evidently of great +antiquity, exhibiting the strongest marks of originality, the +metaphors bold and sublime, and the metre differing from anything +of the kind which it has been my fortune to observe in Oriental or +European prosody. + +One of the most remarkable, and which commences thus: + + +'Za mateia rosherroro odolata +Bravintata,' + + +(or, Her head is aching with grief, as if she had tasted wine) +describes the anguish of a maiden separated from her lover, and who +calls for her steed: + + +'Tedjav manga gurraoro' - + + +that she may depart in quest of the lord of her bosom, and share +his joys and pleasures. + +A collection of these songs, with a translation and vocabulary, +would be no slight accession to literature, and would probably +throw more light on the history of this race than anything which +has yet appeared; and, as there is no want of zeal and talent in +Russia amongst the cultivators of every branch of literature, and +especially philology, it is only surprising that such a collection +still remains a desideratum. + +The religion which these singular females externally professed was +the Greek, and they mostly wore crosses of copper or gold; but when +I questioned them on this subject in their native language, they +laughed, and said it was only to please the Russians. Their names +for God and his adversary are Deval and Bengel, which differ little +from the Spanish Un-debel and Bengi, which signify the same. I +will now say something of + + +THE HUNGARIAN GYPSIES, OR CZIGANY + + +Hungary, though a country not a tenth part so extensive as the huge +colossus of the Russian empire, whose tzar reigns over a hundred +lands, contains perhaps as many Gypsies, it not being uncommon to +find whole villages inhabited by this race; they likewise abound in +the suburbs of the towns. In Hungary the feudal system still +exists in all its pristine barbarity; in no country does the hard +hand of this oppression bear so heavy upon the lower classes - not +even in Russia. The peasants of Russia are serfs, it is true, but +their condition is enviable compared with that of the same class in +the other country; they have certain rights and privileges, and +are, upon the whole, happy and contented, whilst the Hungarians are +ground to powder. Two classes are free in Hungary to do almost +what they please - the nobility and - the Gypsies; the former are +above the law - the latter below it: a toll is wrung from the +hands of the hard-working labourers, that most meritorious class, +in passing over a bridge, for example at Pesth, which is not +demanded from a well-dressed person - nor from the Czigany, who +have frequently no dress at all - and whose insouciance stands in +striking contrast with the trembling submission of the peasants. +The Gypsy, wherever you find him, is an incomprehensible being, but +nowhere more than in Hungary, where, in the midst of slavery, he is +free, though apparently one step lower than the lowest slave. The +habits of the Hungarian Gypsies are abominable; their hovels appear +sinks of the vilest poverty and filth, their dress is at best rags, +their food frequently the vilest carrion, and occasionally, if +report be true, still worse - on which point, when speaking of the +Spanish Gitanos, we shall have subsequently more to say: thus they +live in filth, in rags, in nakedness, and in merriness of heart, +for nowhere is there more of song and dance than in an Hungarian +Gypsy village. They are very fond of music, and some of them are +heard to touch the violin in a manner wild, but of peculiar +excellence. Parties of them have been known to exhibit even at +Paris. + +In Hungary, as in all parts, they are addicted to horse-dealing; +they are likewise tinkers, and smiths in a small way. The women +are fortune-tellers, of course - both sexes thieves of the first +water. They roam where they list - in a country where all other +people are held under strict surveillance, no one seems to care +about these Parias. The most remarkable feature, however, +connected with the habits of the Czigany, consists in their foreign +excursions, having plunder in view, which frequently endure for +three or four years, when, if no mischance has befallen them, they +return to their native land - rich; where they squander the +proceeds of their dexterity in mad festivals. They wander in bands +of twelve and fourteen through France, even to Rome. Once, during +my own wanderings in Italy, I rested at nightfall by the side of a +kiln, the air being piercingly cold; it was about four leagues from +Genoa. Presently arrived three individuals to take advantage of +the warmth - a man, a woman, and a lad. They soon began to +discourse - and I found that they were Hungarian Gypsies; they +spoke of what they had been doing, and what they had amassed - I +think they mentioned nine hundred crowns. They had companions in +the neighbourhood, some of whom they were expecting; they took no +notice of me, and conversed in their own dialect; I did not approve +of their propinquity, and rising, hastened away. + +When Napoleon invaded Spain there were not a few Hungarian Gypsies +in his armies; some strange encounters occurred on the field of +battle between these people and the Spanish Gitanos, one of which +is related in the second part of the present work. When quartered +in the Spanish towns, the Czigany invariably sought out their +peninsular brethren, to whom they revealed themselves, kissing and +embracing most affectionately; the Gitanos were astonished at the +proficiency of the strangers in thievish arts, and looked upon them +almost in the light of superior beings: 'They knew the whole +reckoning,' is still a common expression amongst them. There was a +Cziganian soldier for some time at Cordoba, of whom the Gitanos of +the place still frequently discourse, whilst smoking their cigars +during winter nights over their braseros. + +The Hungarian Gypsies have a peculiar accent when speaking the +language of the country, by which they can be instantly +distinguished; the same thing is applicable to the Gitanos of Spain +when speaking Spanish. In no part of the world is the Gypsy +language preserved better than in Hungary. + +The following short prayer to the Virgin, which I have frequently +heard amongst the Gypsies of Hungary and Transylvania, will serve +as a specimen of their language.- + + +Gula Devla, da me saschipo. Swuntuna Devla, da me bacht t' +aldaschis cari me jav; te ferin man, Devla, sila ta niapaschiata, +chungale manuschendar, ke me jav ande drom ca hin man traba; ferin +man, Devia; ma mek man Devla, ke manga man tre Devies-key. + +Sweet Goddess, give me health. Holy Goddess, give me luck and +grace wherever I go; and help me, Goddess, powerful and immaculate, +from ugly men, that I may go in the road to the place I purpose: +help me, Goddess; forsake me not, Goddess, for I pray for God's +sake. + + + +WALLACHIA AND MOLDAVIA + + + +In Wallachia and Moldavia, two of the eastern-most regions of +Europe, are to be found seven millions of people calling themselves +Roumouni, and speaking a dialect of the Latin tongue much corrupted +by barbarous terms, so called. They are supposed to be in part +descendants of Roman soldiers, Rome in the days of her grandeur +having established immense military colonies in these parts. In +the midst of these people exist vast numbers of Gypsies, amounting, +I am disposed to think, to at least two hundred thousand. The land +of the Roumouni, indeed, seems to have been the hive from which the +West of Europe derived the Gypsy part of its population. Far be it +from me to say that the Gypsies sprang originally from Roumouni- +land. All I mean is, that it was their grand resting-place after +crossing the Danube. They entered Roumouni-land from Bulgaria, +crossing the great river, and from thence some went to the north- +east, overrunning Russia, others to the west of Europe, as far as +Spain and England. That the early Gypsies of the West, and also +those of Russia, came from Roumouni-land, is easily proved, as in +all the western Gypsy dialects, and also in the Russian, are to be +found words belonging to the Roumouni speech; for example, +primavera, spring; cheros, heaven; chorab, stocking; chismey, +boots; - Roum - primivari, cherul, chorapul, chisme. One might +almost be tempted to suppose that the term Rommany, by which the +Gypsies of Russia and the West call themselves, was derived from +Roumouni, were it not for one fact, which is, that Romanus in the +Latin tongue merely means a native of Rome, whilst the specific +meaning of Rome still remains in the dark; whereas in Gypsy Rom +means a husband, Rommany the sect of the husbands; Romanesti if +married. Whether both words were derived originally from the same +source, as I believe some people have supposed, is a question +which, with my present lights, I cannot pretend to determine. + + + +THE ENGLISH GYPSIES + + + +No country appears less adapted for that wandering life, which +seems so natural to these people, than England. Those wildernesses +and forests, which they are so attached to, are not to be found +there; every inch of land is cultivated, and its produce watched +with a jealous eye; and as the laws against trampers, without the +visible means of supporting themselves, are exceedingly severe, the +possibility of the Gypsies existing as a distinct race, and +retaining their original free and independent habits, might +naturally be called in question by those who had not satisfactorily +verified the fact. Yet it is a truth that, amidst all these +seeming disadvantages, they not only exist there, but in no part of +the world is their life more in accordance with the general idea +that the Gypsy is like Cain, a wanderer of the earth; for in +England the covered cart and the little tent are the houses of the +Gypsy, and he seldom remains more than three days in the same +place. + +At present they are considered in some degree as a privileged +people; for, though their way of life is unlawful, it is connived +at; the law of England having discovered by experience, that its +utmost fury is inefficient to reclaim them from their inveterate +habits. + +Shortly after their first arrival in England, which is upwards of +three centuries since, a dreadful persecution was raised against +them, the aim of which was their utter extermination; the being a +Gypsy was esteemed a crime worthy of death, and the gibbets of +England groaned and creaked beneath the weight of Gypsy carcases, +and the miserable survivors were literally obliged to creep into +the earth in order to preserve their lives. But these days passed +by; their persecutors became weary of pursuing them; they showed +their heads from the holes and caves where they had hidden +themselves, they ventured forth, increased in numbers, and, each +tribe or family choosing a particular circuit, they fairly divided +the land amongst them. + +In England, the male Gypsies are all dealers in horses, and +sometimes employ their idle time in mending the tin and copper +utensils of the peasantry; the females tell fortunes. They +generally pitch their tents in the vicinity of a village or small +town by the road side, under the shelter of the hedges and trees. +The climate of England is well known to be favourable to beauty, +and in no part of the world is the appearance of the Gypsies so +prepossessing as in that country; their complexion is dark, but not +disagreeably so; their faces are oval, their features regular, +their foreheads rather low, and their hands and feet small. The +men are taller than the English peasantry, and far more active. +They all speak the English language with fluency, and in their gait +and demeanour are easy and graceful; in both points standing in +striking contrast with the peasantry, who in speech are slow and +uncouth, and in manner dogged and brutal. + +The dialect of the Rommany, which they speak, though mixed with +English words, may be considered as tolerably pure, from the fact +that it is intelligible to the Gypsy race in the heart of Russia. +Whatever crimes they may commit, their vices are few, for the men +are not drunkards, nor are the women harlots; there are no two +characters which they hold in so much abhorrence, nor do any words +when applied by them convey so much execration as these two. + +The crimes of which these people were originally accused were +various, but the principal were theft, sorcery, and causing disease +among the cattle; and there is every reason for supposing that in +none of these points they were altogether guiltless. + +With respect to sorcery, a thing in itself impossible, not only the +English Gypsies, but the whole race, have ever professed it; +therefore, whatever misery they may have suffered on that account, +they may be considered as having called it down upon their own +heads. + +Dabbling in sorcery is in some degree the province of the female +Gypsy. She affects to tell the future, and to prepare philtres by +means of which love can be awakened in any individual towards any +particular object; and such is the credulity of the human race, +even in the most enlightened countries, that the profits arising +from these practices are great. The following is a case in point: +two females, neighbours and friends, were tried some years since, +in England, for the murder of their husbands. It appeared that +they were in love with the same individual, and had conjointly, at +various times, paid sums of money to a Gypsy woman to work charms +to captivate his affections. Whatever little effect the charms +might produce, they were successful in their principal object, for +the person in question carried on for some time a criminal +intercourse with both. The matter came to the knowledge of the +husbands, who, taking means to break off this connection, were +respectively poisoned by their wives. Till the moment of +conviction these wretched females betrayed neither emotion nor +fear, but then their consternation was indescribable; and they +afterwards confessed that the Gypsy, who had visited them in +prison, had promised to shield them from conviction by means of her +art. It is therefore not surprising that in the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries, when a belief in sorcery was supported by the +laws of all Europe, these people were regarded as practisers of +sorcery, and punished as such, when, even in the nineteenth, they +still find people weak enough to place confidence in their claims +to supernatural power. + +The accusation of producing disease and death amongst the cattle +was far from groundless. Indeed, however strange and incredible it +may sound in the present day to those who are unacquainted with +this caste, and the peculiar habits of the Rommanees, the practice +is still occasionally pursued in England and many other countries +where they are found. From this practice, when they are not +detected, they derive considerable advantage. Poisoning cattle is +exercised by them in two ways: by one, they merely cause disease +in the animals, with the view of receiving money for curing them +upon offering their services; the poison is generally administered +by powders cast at night into the mangers of the animals: this way +is only practised upon the larger cattle, such as horses and cows. +By the other, which they practise chiefly on swine, speedy death is +almost invariably produced, the drug administered being of a highly +intoxicating nature, and affecting the brain. They then apply at +the house or farm where the disaster has occurred for the carcase +of the animal, which is generally given them without suspicion, and +then they feast on the flesh, which is not injured by the poison, +which only affects the head. + +The English Gypsies are constant attendants at the racecourse; what +jockey is not? Perhaps jockeyism originated with them, and even +racing, at least in England. Jockeyism properly implies THE +MANAGEMENT OF A WHIP, and the word jockey is neither more nor less +than the term slightly modified, by which they designate the +formidable whips which they usually carry, and which are at present +in general use amongst horse-traffickers, under the title of jockey +whips. They are likewise fond of resorting to the prize-ring, and +have occasionally even attained some eminence, as principals, in +those disgraceful and brutalising exhibitions called pugilistic +combats. I believe a great deal has been written on the subject of +the English Gypsies, but the writers have dwelt too much in +generalities; they have been afraid to take the Gypsy by the hand, +lead him forth from the crowd, and exhibit him in the area; he is +well worth observing. When a boy of fourteen, I was present at a +prize-fight; why should I hide the truth? It took place on a green +meadow, beside a running stream, close by the old church of E-, and +within a league of the ancient town of N-, the capital of one of +the eastern counties. The terrible Thurtell was present, lord of +the concourse; for wherever he moved he was master, and whenever he +spoke, even when in chains, every other voice was silent. He stood +on the mead, grim and pale as usual, with his bruisers around. He +it was, indeed, who GOT UP the fight, as he had previously done +twenty others; it being his frequent boast that he had first +introduced bruising and bloodshed amidst rural scenes, and +transformed a quiet slumbering town into a den of Jews and +metropolitan thieves. Some time before the commencement of the +combat, three men, mounted on wild-looking horses, came dashing +down the road in the direction of the meadow, in the midst of which +they presently showed themselves, their horses clearing the deep +ditches with wonderful alacrity. 'That's Gypsy Will and his gang,' +lisped a Hebrew pickpocket; 'we shall have another fight.' The +word Gypsy was always sufficient to excite my curiosity, and I +looked attentively at the newcomers. + +I have seen Gypsies of various lands, Russian, Hungarian, and +Turkish; and I have also seen the legitimate children of most +countries of the world; but I never saw, upon the whole, three more +remarkable individuals, as far as personal appearance was +concerned, than the three English Gypsies who now presented +themselves to my eyes on that spot. Two of them had dismounted, +and were holding their horses by the reins. The tallest, and, at +the first glance, the most interesting of the two, was almost a +giant, for his height could not have been less than six feet three. +It is impossible for the imagination to conceive anything more +perfectly beautiful than were the features of this man, and the +most skilful sculptor of Greece might have taken them as his model +for a hero and a god. The forehead was exceedingly lofty, - a rare +thing in a Gypsy; the nose less Roman than Grecian, - fine yet +delicate; the eyes large, overhung with long drooping lashes, +giving them almost a melancholy expression; it was only when the +lashes were elevated that the Gypsy glance was seen, if that can be +called a glance which is a strange stare, like nothing else in this +world. His complexion was a beautiful olive; and his teeth were of +a brilliancy uncommon even amongst these people, who have all fine +teeth. He was dressed in a coarse waggoner's slop, which, however, +was unable to conceal altogether the proportions of his noble and +Herculean figure. He might be about twenty-eight. His companion +and his captain, Gypsy Will, was, I think, fifty when he was +hanged, ten years subsequently (for I never afterwards lost sight +of him), in the front of the jail of Bury St. Edmunds. I have +still present before me his bushy black hair, his black face, and +his big black eyes fixed and staring. His dress consisted of a +loose blue jockey coat, jockey boots and breeches; in his hand was +a huge jockey whip, and on his head (it struck me at the time for +its singularity) a broad-brimmed, high-peaked Andalusian hat, or at +least one very much resembling those generally worn in that +province. In stature he was shorter than his more youthful +companion, yet he must have measured six feet at least, and was +stronger built, if possible. What brawn! - what bone! - what legs! +- what thighs! The third Gypsy, who remained on horseback, looked +more like a phantom than any thing human. His complexion was the +colour of pale dust, and of that same colour was all that pertained +to him, hat and clothes. His boots were dusty of course, for it +was midsummer, and his very horse was of a dusty dun. His features +were whimsically ugly, most of his teeth were gone, and as to his +age, he might be thirty or sixty. He was somewhat lame and halt, +but an unequalled rider when once upon his steed, which he was +naturally not very solicitous to quit. I subsequently discovered +that he was considered the wizard of the gang. + +I have been already prolix with respect to these Gypsies, but I +will not leave them quite yet. The intended combatants at length +arrived; it was necessary to clear the ring, - always a troublesome +and difficult task. Thurtell went up to the two Gypsies, with whom +he seemed to be acquainted, and with his surly smile, said two or +three words, which I, who was standing by, did not understand. The +Gypsies smiled in return, and giving the reins of their animals to +their mounted companion, immediately set about the task which the +king of the flash-men had, as I conjecture, imposed upon them; this +they soon accomplished. Who could stand against such fellows and +such whips? The fight was soon over - then there was a pause. +Once more Thurtell came up to the Gypsies and said something - the +Gypsies looked at each other and conversed; but their words then +had no meaning for my ears. The tall Gypsy shook his head - 'Very +well,' said the other, in English. 'I will - that's all.' + +Then pushing the people aside, he strode to the ropes, over which +he bounded into the ring, flinging his Spanish hat high into the +air. + +GYPSY WILL. - 'The best man in England for twenty pounds!' + +'THURTELL. - 'I am backer!' + +Twenty pounds is a tempting sum, and there men that day upon the +green meadow who would have shed the blood of their own fathers for +the fifth of the price. But the Gypsy was not an unknown man, his +prowess and strength were notorious, and no one cared to encounter +him. Some of the Jews looked eager for a moment; but their sharp +eyes quailed quickly before his savage glances, as he towered in +the ring, his huge form dilating, and his black features convulsed +with excitement. The Westminster bravoes eyed the Gypsy askance; +but the comparison, if they made any, seemed by no means favourable +to themselves. 'Gypsy! rum chap. - Ugly customer, - always in +training.' Such were the exclamations which I heard, some of which +at that period of my life I did not understand. + +No man would fight the Gypsy. - Yes! a strong country fellow wished +to win the stakes, and was about to fling up his hat in defiance, +but he was prevented by his friends, with - 'Fool! he'll kill you!' + +As the Gypsies were mounting their horses, I heard the dusty +phantom exclaim - + +'Brother, you are an arrant ring-maker and a horse-breaker; you'll +make a hempen ring to break your own neck of a horse one of these +days.' + +They pressed their horses' flanks, again leaped over the ditches, +and speedily vanished, amidst the whirlwinds of dust which they +raised upon the road. + +The words of the phantom Gypsy were ominous. Gypsy Will was +eventually executed for a murder committed in his early youth, in +company with two English labourers, one of whom confessed the fact +on his death-bed. He was the head of the clan Young, which, with +the clan Smith, still haunts two of the eastern counties. + + +SOME FURTHER PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE ENGLISH GYPSIES + + +It is difficult to say at what period the Gypsies or Rommany made +their first appearance in England. They had become, however, such +a nuisance in the time of Henry the Eighth, Philip and Mary, and +Elizabeth, that Gypsyism was denounced by various royal statutes, +and, if persisted in, was to be punished as felony without benefit +of clergy; it is probable, however, that they had overrun England +long before the period of the earliest of these monarchs. The +Gypsies penetrate into all countries, save poor ones, and it is +hardly to be supposed that a few leagues of intervening salt water +would have kept a race so enterprising any considerable length of +time, after their arrival on the continent of Europe, from +obtaining a footing in the fairest and richest country of the West. + +It is easy enough to conceive the manner in which the Gypsies lived +in England for a long time subsequent to their arrival: doubtless +in a half-savage state, wandering about from place to place, +encamping on the uninhabited spots, of which there were then so +many in England, feared and hated by the population, who looked +upon them as thieves and foreign sorcerers, occasionally committing +acts of brigandage, but depending chiefly for subsistence on the +practice of the 'arts of Egypt,' in which cunning and dexterity +were far more necessary than courage or strength of hand. + +It would appear that they were always divided into clans or tribes, +each bearing a particular name, and to which a particular district +more especially belonged, though occasionally they would exchange +districts for a period, and, incited by their characteristic love +of wandering, would travel far and wide. Of these families each +had a sher-engro, or head man, but that they were ever united under +one Rommany Krallis, or Gypsy King, as some people have insisted, +there is not the slightest ground for supposing. + +It is possible that many of the original Gypsy tribes are no longer +in existence: disease or the law may have made sad havoc among +them, and the few survivors have incorporated themselves with other +families, whose name they have adopted. Two or three instances of +this description have occurred within the sphere of my own +knowledge: the heads of small families have been cut off, and the +subordinate members, too young and inexperienced to continue +Gypsying as independent wanderers, have been adopted by other +tribes. + +The principal Gypsy tribes at present in existence are the +Stanleys, whose grand haunt is the New Forest; the Lovells, who are +fond of London and its vicinity; the Coopers, who call Windsor +Castle their home; the Hernes, to whom the north country, more +especially Yorkshire, belongeth; and lastly, my brethren, the +Smiths, - to whom East Anglia appears to have been allotted from +the beginning. + +All these families have Gypsy names, which seem, however, to be +little more than attempts at translation of the English ones:- thus +the Stanleys are called Bar-engres (11), which means stony-fellows, +or stony-hearts; the Coopers, Wardo-engres, or wheelwrights; the +Lovells, Camo-mescres, or amorous fellows the Hernes (German +Haaren) Balors, hairs, or hairy men; while the Smiths are called +Petul-engres, signifying horseshoe fellows, or blacksmiths. + +It is not very easy to determine how the Gypsies became possessed +of some of these names: the reader, however, will have observed +that two of them, Stanley and Lovell, are the names of two highly +aristocratic English families; the Gypsies who bear them perhaps +adopted them from having, at their first arrival, established +themselves on the estates of those great people; or it is possible +that they translated their original Gypsy appellations by these +names, which they deemed synonymous. Much the same may be said +with respect to Herne, an ancient English name; they probably +sometimes officiated as coopers or wheelwrights, whence the +cognomination. Of the term Petul-engro, or Smith, however, I wish +to say something in particular. + +There is every reason for believing that this last is a genuine +Gypsy name, brought with them from the country from which they +originally came; it is compounded of two words, signifying, as has +been already observed, horseshoe fellows, or people whose trade is +to manufacture horseshoes, a trade which the Gypsies ply in various +parts of the world, - for example, in Russia and Hungary, and more +particularly about Granada in Spain, as will subsequently be shown. +True it is, that at present there are none amongst the English +Gypsies who manufacture horseshoes; all the men, however, are +tinkers more or less, and the word Petul-engro is applied to the +tinker also, though the proper meaning of it is undoubtedly what I +have already stated above. In other dialects of the Gypsy tongue, +this cognomen exists, though not exactly with the same +signification; for example, in the Hungarian dialect, PINDORO, +which is evidently a modification of Petul-engro, is applied to a +Gypsy in general, whilst in Spanish Pepindorio is the Gypsy word +for Antonio. In some parts of Northern Asia, the Gypsies call +themselves Wattul (12), which seems to be one and the same as +Petul. + +Besides the above-named Gypsy clans, there are other smaller ones, +some of which do not comprise more than a dozen individuals, +children included. For example, the Bosviles, the Browns, the +Chilcotts, the Grays, Lees, Taylors, and Whites; of these the +principal is the Bosvile tribe. + +After the days of the great persecution in England against the +Gypsies, there can be little doubt that they lived a right merry +and tranquil life, wandering about and pitching their tents +wherever inclination led them: indeed, I can scarcely conceive any +human condition more enviable than Gypsy life must have been in +England during the latter part of the seventeenth, and the whole of +the eighteenth century, which were likewise the happy days for +Englishmen in general; there was peace and plenty in the land, a +contented population, and everything went well. Yes, those were +brave times for the Rommany chals, to which the old people often +revert with a sigh: the poor Gypsies, say they, were then allowed +to SOVE ABRI (sleep abroad) where they listed, to heat their +kettles at the foot of the oaks, and no people grudged the poor +persons one night's use of a meadow to feed their cattle in. +TUGNIS AMANDE, our heart is heavy, brother, - there is no longer +Gypsy law in the land, - our people have become negligent, - they +are but half Rommany, - they are divided and care for nothing, - +they do not even fear Pazorrhus, brother. + +Much the same complaints are at present made by the Spanish +Gypsies. Gypsyism is certainly on the decline in both countries. +In England, a superabundant population, and, of late, a very +vigilant police, have done much to modify Gypsy life; whilst in +Spain, causes widely different have produced a still greater +change, as will be seen further on. + +Gypsy law does not flourish at present in England, and still less +in Spain, nor does Gypsyism. I need not explain here what Gypsyism +is, but the reader may be excused for asking what is Gypsy law. +Gypsy law divides itself into the three following heads or +precepts:- + + +Separate not from THE HUSBANDS. +Be faithful to THE HUSBANDS. +Pay your debts to THE HUSBANDS. + + +By the first section the Rom or Gypsy is enjoined to live with his +brethren, the husbands, and not with the gorgios (13) or gentiles; +he is to live in a tent, as is befitting a Rom and a wanderer, and +not in a house, which ties him to one spot; in a word, he is in +every respect to conform to the ways of his own people, and to +eschew those of gorgios, with whom he is not to mix, save to tell +them HOQUEPENES (lies), and to chore them. + +The second section, in which fidelity is enjoined, was more +particularly intended for the women: be faithful to the ROMS, ye +JUWAS, and take not up with the gorgios, whether they be RAIOR or +BAUOR (gentlemen or fellows). This was a very important +injunction, so much so, indeed, that upon the observance of it +depended the very existence of the Rommany sect, - for if the +female Gypsy admitted the gorgio to the privilege of the Rom, the +race of the Rommany would quickly disappear. How well this +injunction has been observed needs scarcely be said; for the +Rommany have been roving about England for three centuries at +least, and are still to be distinguished from the gorgios in +feature and complexion, which assuredly would not have been the +case if the juwas had not been faithful to the Roms. The gorgio +says that the juwa is at his disposal in all things, because she +tells him fortunes and endures his free discourse; but the Rom, +when he hears the boast, laughs within his sleeve, and whispers to +himself, LET HIM TRY. + +The third section, which relates to the paying of debts, is highly +curious. In the Gypsy language, the state of being in debt is +called PAZORRHUS, and the Rom who did not seek to extricate himself +from that state was deemed infamous, and eventually turned out of +the society. It has been asserted, I believe, by various gorgio +writers, that the Roms have everything in common, and that there is +a common stock out of which every one takes what he needs; this is +quite a mistake, however: a Gypsy tribe is an epitome of the +world; every one keeps his own purse and maintains himself and +children to the best of his ability, and every tent is independent +of the other. True it is that one Gypsy will lend to another in +the expectation of being repaid, and until that happen the borrower +is pazorrhus, or indebted. Even at the present time, a Gypsy will +make the greatest sacrifices rather than remain pazorrhus to one of +his brethren, even though he be of another clan; though perhaps the +feeling is not so strong as of old, for time modifies everything; +even Jews and Gypsies are affected by it. In the old time, indeed, +the Gypsy law was so strong against the debtor, that provided he +could not repay his brother husband, he was delivered over to him +as his slave for a year and a day, and compelled to serve him as a +hewer of wood, a drawer of water, or a beast of burden; but those +times are past, the Gypsies are no longer the independent people +they were of yore, - dark, mysterious, and dreaded wanderers, +living apart in the deserts and heaths with which England at one +time abounded. Gypsy law has given place to common law; but the +principle of honour is still recognised amongst them, and base +indeed must the Gypsy be who would continue pazorrhus because Gypsy +law has become too weak to force him to liquidate a debt by money +or by service. + +Such was Gypsy law in England, and there is every probability that +it is much the same in all parts of the world where the Gypsy race +is to be found. About the peculiar practices of the Gypsies I need +not say much here; the reader will find in the account of the +Spanish Gypsies much that will afford him an idea of Gypsy arts in +England. I have already alluded to CHIVING DRAV, or poisoning, +which is still much practised by the English Gypsies, though it has +almost entirely ceased in Spain; then there is CHIVING LUVVU ADREY +PUVO, or putting money within the earth, a trick by which the +females deceive the gorgios, and which will be more particularly +described in the affairs of Spain: the men are adepts at cheating +the gorgios by means of NOK-ENGROES and POGGADO-BAVENGROES +(glandered and broken-winded horses). But, leaving the subject of +their tricks and Rommany arts, by no means an agreeable one, I will +take the present opportunity of saying a few words about a practice +of theirs, highly characteristic of a wandering people, and which +is only extant amongst those of the race who still continue to +wander much; for example, the Russian Gypsies and those of the +Hungarian family, who stroll through Italy on plundering +expeditions: I allude to the PATTERAN or TRAIL. + +It is very possible that the reader during his country walks or +rides has observed, on coming to four cross-roads, two or three +handfuls of grass lying at a small distance from each other down +one of these roads; perhaps he may have supposed that this grass +was recently plucked from the roadside by frolicsome children, and +flung upon the ground in sport, and this may possibly have been the +case; it is ten chances to one, however, that no children's hands +plucked them, but that they were strewed in this manner by Gypsies, +for the purpose of informing any of their companions, who might be +straggling behind, the route which they had taken; this is one form +of the patteran or trail. It is likely, too, that the gorgio +reader may have seen a cross drawn at the entrance of a road, the +long part or stem of it pointing down that particular road, and he +may have thought nothing of it, or have supposed that some +sauntering individual like himself had made the mark with his +stick: not so, courteous gorgio; ley tiro solloholomus opre lesti, +YOU MAY TAKE YOUR OATH UPON IT that it was drawn by a Gypsy finger, +for that mark is another of the Rommany trails; there is no mistake +in this. Once in the south of France, when I was weary, hungry, +and penniless, I observed one of these last patterans, and +following the direction pointed out, arrived at the resting-place +of 'certain Bohemians,' by whom I was received with kindness and +hospitality, on the faith of no other word of recommendation than +patteran. There is also another kind of patteran, which is more +particularly adapted for the night; it is a cleft stick stuck at +the side of the road, close by the hedge, with a little arm in the +cleft pointing down the road which the band have taken, in the +manner of a signpost; any stragglers who may arrive at night where +cross-roads occur search for this patteran on the left-hand side, +and speedily rejoin their companions. + +By following these patterans, or trails, the first Gypsies on their +way to Europe never lost each other, though wandering amidst horrid +wildernesses and dreary defiles. Rommany matters have always had a +peculiar interest for me; nothing, however, connected with Gypsy +life ever more captivated my imagination than this patteran system: +many thanks to the Gypsies for it; it has more than once been of +service to me. + +The English Gypsies at the present day are far from being a +numerous race; I consider their aggregate number, from the +opportunities which I have had of judging, to be considerably under +ten thousand: it is probable that, ere the conclusion of the +present century, they will have entirely disappeared. They are in +general quite strangers to the commonest rudiments of education; +few even of the most wealthy can either read or write. With +respect to religion, they call themselves members of the +Established Church, and are generally anxious to have their +children baptized, and to obtain a copy of the register. Some of +their baptismal papers, which they carry about with them, are +highly curious, going back for a period of upwards of two hundred +years. With respect to the essential points of religion, they are +quite careless and ignorant; if they believe in a future state they +dread it not, and if they manifest when dying any anxiety, it is +not for the soul, but the body: a handsome coffin, and a grave in +a quiet country churchyard, are invariably the objects of their +last thoughts; and it is probable that, in their observance of the +rite of baptism, they are principally influenced by a desire to +enjoy the privilege of burial in consecrated ground. A Gypsy +family never speak of their dead save with regret and affection, +and any request of the dying individual is attended to, especially +with regard to interment; so much so, that I have known a corpse +conveyed a distance of nearly one hundred miles, because the +deceased expressed a wish to be buried in a particular spot. + +Of the language of the English Gypsies, some specimens will be +given in the sequel; it is much more pure and copious than the +Spanish dialect. It has been asserted that the English Gypsies are +not possessed of any poetry in their own tongue; but this is a +gross error; they possess a great many songs and ballads upon +ordinary subjects, without any particular merit, however, and +seemingly of a very modern date. + + +THE GYPSIES OF THE EAST, OR ZINGARRI + + +What has been said of the Gypsies of Europe is, to a considerable +extent, applicable to their brethren in the East, or, as they are +called, Zingarri; they are either found wandering amongst the +deserts or mountains, or settled in towns, supporting themselves by +horse-dealing or jugglery, by music and song. In no part of the +East are they more numerous than in Turkey, especially in +Constantinople, where the females frequently enter the harems of +the great, pretending to cure children of 'the evil eye,' and to +interpret the dreams of the women. They are not unfrequently seen +in the coffee-houses, exhibiting their figures in lascivious dances +to the tune of various instruments; yet these females are by no +means unchaste, however their manners and appearance may denote the +contrary, and either Turk or Christian who, stimulated by their +songs and voluptuous movements, should address them with proposals +of a dishonourable nature, would, in all probability, meet with a +decided repulse. + +Among the Zingarri are not a few who deal in precious stones, and +some who vend poisons; and the most remarkable individual whom it +has been my fortune to encounter amongst the Gypsies, whether of +the Eastern or Western world, was a person who dealt in both these +articles. He was a native of Constantinople, and in the pursuit of +his trade had visited the most remote and remarkable portions of +the world. He had traversed alone and on foot the greatest part of +India; he spoke several dialects of the Malay, and understood the +original language of Java, that isle more fertile in poisons than +even 'far Iolchos and Spain.' From what I could learn from him, it +appeared that his jewels were in less request than his drugs, +though he assured me that there was scarcely a Bey or Satrap in +Persia or Turkey whom he had not supplied with both. I have seen +this individual in more countries than one, for he flits over the +world like the shadow of a cloud; the last time at Granada in +Spain, whither he had come after paying a visit to his Gitano +brethren in the presidio of Ceuta. + +Few Eastern authors have spoken of the Zingarri, notwithstanding +they have been known in the East for many centuries; amongst the +few, none has made more curious mention of them than Arabschah, in +a chapter of his life of Timour or Tamerlane, which is deservedly +considered as one of the three classic works of Arabian literature. +This passage, which, while it serves to illustrate the craft, if +not the valour of the conqueror of half the world, offers some +curious particulars as to Gypsy life in the East at a remote +period, will scarcely be considered out of place if reproduced +here, and the following is as close a translation of it as the +metaphorical style of the original will allow. + +'There were in Samarcand numerous families of Zingarri of various +descriptions: some were wrestlers, others gladiators, others +pugilists. These people were much at variance, so that hostilities +and battling were continually arising amongst them. Each band had +its chief and subordinate officers; and it came to pass that Timour +and the power which he possessed filled them with dread, for they +knew that he was aware of their crimes and disorderly way of life. +Now it was the custom of Timour, on departing upon his expeditions, +to leave a viceroy in Samarcand; but no sooner had he left the +city, than forth marched these bands, and giving battle to the +viceroy, deposed him and took possession of the government, so that +on the return of Timour he found order broken, confusion reigning, +and his throne overturned, and then he had much to do in restoring +things to their former state, and in punishing or pardoning the +guilty; but no sooner did he depart again to his wars, and to his +various other concerns, than they broke out into the same excesses, +and this they repeated no less than three times, and he at length +laid a plan for their utter extermination, and it was the +following:- He commenced building a wall, and he summoned unto him +the people small and great, and he allotted to every man his place, +and to every workman his duty, and he stationed the Zingarri and +their chieftains apart; and in one particular spot he placed a band +of soldiers, and he commanded them to kill whomsoever he should +send to them; and having done so, he called to him the heads of the +people, and he filled the cup for them and clothed them in splendid +vests; and when the turn came to the Zingarri, he likewise pledged +one of them, and bestowed a vest upon him, and sent him with a +message to the soldiers, who, as soon as he arrived, tore from him +his vest, and stabbed him, pouring forth the gold of his heart into +the pan of destruction, (14) and in this way they continued until +the last of them was destroyed; and by that blow he exterminated +their race, and their traces, and from that time forward there were +no more rebellions in Samarcand.' + +It has of late years been one of the favourite theories of the +learned, that Timour's invasion of Hindostan, and the cruelties +committed by his savage hordes in that part of the world, caused a +vast number of Hindoos to abandon their native land, and that the +Gypsies of the present day are the descendants of those exiles who +wended their weary way to the West. Now, provided the above +passage in the work of Arabschah be entitled to credence, the +opinion that Timour was the cause of the expatriation and +subsequent wandering life of these people, must be abandoned as +untenable. At the time he is stated by the Arabian writer to have +annihilated the Gypsy hordes of Samarcand, he had but just +commenced his career of conquest and devastation, and had not even +directed his thoughts to the invasion of India; yet at this early +period of the history of his life, we find families of Zingarri +established at Samarcand, living much in the same manner as others +of the race have subsequently done in various towns of Europe and +the East; but supposing the event here narrated to be a fable, or +at best a floating legend, it appears singular that, if they left +their native land to escape from Timour, they should never have +mentioned in the Western world the name of that scourge of the +human race, nor detailed the history of their flight and +sufferings, which assuredly would have procured them sympathy; the +ravages of Timour being already but too well known in Europe. That +they came from India is much easier to prove than that they fled +before the fierce Mongol. + +Such people as the Gypsies, whom the Bishop of Forli in the year +1422, only sixteen years subsequent to the invasion of India, +describes as a 'raging rabble, of brutal and animal propensities,' +(15) are not such as generally abandon their country on foreign +invasion. + + + +THE ZINCALI OR AN ACCOUNT OF THE GYPSIES OF SPAIN - PART I + + + +CHAPTER I + + + +GITANOS, or Egyptians, is the name by which the Gypsies have been +most generally known in Spain, in the ancient as well as in the +modern period, but various other names have been and still are +applied to them; for example, New Castilians, Germans, and +Flemings; the first of which titles probably originated after the +name of Gitano had begun to be considered a term of reproach and +infamy. They may have thus designated themselves from an +unwillingness to utter, when speaking of themselves, the detested +expression 'Gitano,' a word which seldom escapes their mouths; or +it may have been applied to them first by the Spaniards, in their +mutual dealings and communication, as a term less calculated to +wound their feelings and to beget a spirit of animosity than the +other; but, however it might have originated, New Castilian, in +course of time, became a term of little less infamy than Gitano; +for, by the law of Philip the Fourth, both terms are forbidden to +be applied to them under severe penalties. + +That they were called Germans, may be accounted for, either by the +supposition that their generic name of Rommany was misunderstood +and mispronounced by the Spaniards amongst whom they came, or from +the fact of their having passed through Germany in their way to the +south, and bearing passports and letters of safety from the various +German states. The title of Flemings, by which at the present day +they are known in various parts of Spain, would probably never have +been bestowed upon them but from the circumstance of their having +been designated or believed to be Germans, - as German and Fleming +are considered by the ignorant as synonymous terms. + +Amongst themselves they have three words to distinguish them and +their race in general: Zincalo, Romano, and Chai; of the first two +of which something has been already said. + +They likewise call themselves 'Cales,' by which appellation indeed +they are tolerably well known by the Spaniards, and which is merely +the plural termination of the compound word Zincalo, and signifies, +The black men. Chai is a modification of the word Chal, which, by +the Gitanos of Estremadura, is applied to Egypt, and in many parts +of Spain is equivalent to 'Heaven,' and which is perhaps a +modification of 'Cheros,' the word for heaven in other dialects of +the Gypsy language. Thus Chai may denote, The men of Egypt, or, +The sons of Heaven. It is, however, right to observe, that amongst +the Gitanos, the word Chai has frequently no other signification +than the simple one of 'children.' + +It is impossible to state for certainty the exact year of their +first appearance in Spain; but it is reasonable to presume that it +was early in the fifteenth century; as in the year 1417 numerous +bands entered France from the north-east of Europe, and speedily +spread themselves over the greatest part of that country. Of these +wanderers a French author has left the following graphic +description: (16) + +'On the 17th of April 1427, appeared in Paris twelve penitents of +Egypt, driven from thence by the Saracens; they brought in their +company one hundred and twenty persons; they took up their quarters +in La Chapelle, whither the people flocked in crowds to visit them. +They had their ears pierced, from which depended a ring of silver; +their hair was black and crispy, and their women were filthy to a +degree, and were sorceresses who told fortunes.' + +Such were the people who, after traversing France and scaling the +sides of the Pyrenees, poured down in various bands upon the +sunburnt plains of Spain. Wherever they had appeared they had been +looked upon as a curse and a pestilence, and with much reason. +Either unwilling or unable to devote themselves to any laborious or +useful occupation, they came like flights of wasps to prey upon the +fruits which their more industrious fellow-beings amassed by the +toil of their hands and the sweat of their foreheads; the natural +result being, that wherever they arrived, their fellow-creatures +banded themselves against them. Terrible laws were enacted soon +after their appearance in France, calculated to put a stop to their +frauds and dishonest propensities; wherever their hordes were +found, they were attacked by the incensed rustics or by the armed +hand of justice, and those who were not massacred on the spot, or +could not escape by flight, were, without a shadow of a trial, +either hanged on the next tree, or sent to serve for life in the +galleys; or if females or children, either scourged or mutilated. + +The consequence of this severity, which, considering the manners +and spirit of the time, is scarcely to be wondered at, was the +speedy disappearance of the Gypsies from the soil of France. + +Many returned by the way they came, to Germany, Hungary, and the +woods and forests of Bohemia; but there is little doubt that by far +the greater portion found a refuge in the Peninsula, a country +which, though by no means so rich and fertile as the one they had +quitted, nor offering so wide and ready a field for the exercise of +those fraudulent arts for which their race had become so infamously +notorious, was, nevertheless, in many respects, suitable and +congenial to them. If there were less gold and silver in the +purses of the citizens to reward the dexterous handler of the knife +and scissors amidst the crowd in the market-place; if fewer sides +of fatted swine graced the ample chimney of the labourer in Spain +than in the neighbouring country; if fewer beeves bellowed in the +plains, and fewer sheep bleated upon the hills, there were far +better opportunities afforded of indulging in wild independence. +Should the halberded bands of the city be ordered out to quell, +seize, or exterminate them; should the alcalde of the village cause +the tocsin to be rung, gathering together the villanos for a +similar purpose, the wild sierra was generally at hand, which, with +its winding paths, its caves, its frowning precipices, and ragged +thickets, would offer to them a secure refuge where they might +laugh to scorn the rage of their baffled pursuers, and from which +they might emerge either to fresh districts or to those which they +had left, to repeat their ravages when opportunity served. + +After crossing the Pyrenees, a very short time elapsed before the +Gypsy hordes had bivouacked in the principal provinces of Spain. +There can indeed be little doubt, that shortly after their arrival +they made themselves perfectly acquainted with all the secrets of +the land, and that there was scarcely a nook or retired corner +within Spain, from which the smoke of their fires had not arisen, +or where their cattle had not grazed. People, however, so acute as +they have always proverbially been, would scarcely be slow in +distinguishing the provinces most adapted to their manner of life, +and most calculated to afford them opportunities of practising +those arts to which they were mainly indebted for their +subsistence; the savage hills of Biscay, of Galicia, and the +Asturias, whose inhabitants were almost as poor as themselves, +which possessed no superior breed of horses or mules from amongst +which they might pick and purloin many a gallant beast, and having +transformed by their dexterous scissors, impose him again upon his +rightful master for a high price, - such provinces, where, +moreover, provisions were hard to be obtained, even by pilfering +hands, could scarcely be supposed to offer strong temptations to +these roving visitors to settle down in, or to vex and harass by a +long sojourn. + +Valencia and Murcia found far more favour in their eyes; a far more +fertile soil, and wealthier inhabitants, were better calculated to +entice them; there was a prospect of plunder, and likewise a +prospect of safety and refuge, should the dogs of justice be roused +against them. If there were the populous town and village in those +lands, there was likewise the lone waste, and uncultivated spot, to +which they could retire when danger threatened them. Still more +suitable to them must have been La Mancha, a land of tillage, of +horses, and of mules, skirted by its brown sierra, ever eager to +afford its shelter to their dusky race. Equally suitable, +Estremadura and New Castile; but far, far more, Andalusia, with its +three kingdoms, Jaen, Granada, and Seville, one of which was still +possessed by the swarthy Moor, - Andalusia, the land of the proud +steed and the stubborn mule, the land of the savage sierra and the +fruitful and cultivated plain: to Andalusia they hied, in bands of +thirties and sixties; the hoofs of their asses might be heard +clattering in the passes of the stony hills; the girls might be +seen bounding in lascivious dance in the streets of many a town, +and the beldames standing beneath the eaves telling the 'buena +ventura' to many a credulous female dupe; the men the while +chaffered in the fair and market-place with the labourers and +chalanes, casting significant glances on each other, or exchanging +a word or two in Rommany, whilst they placed some uncouth animal in +a particular posture which served to conceal its ugliness from the +eyes of the chapman. Yes, of all provinces of Spain, Andalusia was +the most frequented by the Gitano race, and in Andalusia they most +abound at the present day, though no longer as restless independent +wanderers of the fields and hills, but as residents in villages and +towns, especially in Seville. + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +HAVING already stated to the reader at what period and by what +means these wanderers introduced themselves into Spain, we shall +now say something concerning their manner of life. + +It would appear that, for many years after their arrival in the +Peninsula, their manners and habits underwent no change; they were +wanderers, in the strictest sense of the word, and lived much in +the same way as their brethren exist in the present day in England, +Russia, and Bessarabia, with the exception perhaps of being more +reckless, mischievous, and having less respect for the laws; it is +true that their superiority in wickedness in these points may have +been more the effect of the moral state of the country in which +they were, than of any other operating cause. + +Arriving in Spain with a predisposition to every species of crime +and villainy, they were not likely to be improved or reclaimed by +the example of the people with whom they were about to mix; nor was +it probable that they would entertain much respect for laws which, +from time immemorial, have principally served, not to protect the +honest and useful members of society, but to enrich those entrusted +with the administration of them. Thus, if they came thieves, it +is not probable that they would become ashamed of the title of +thief in Spain, where the officers of justice were ever willing to +shield an offender on receiving the largest portion of the booty +obtained. If on their arrival they held the lives of others in +very low estimation, could it be expected that they would become +gentle as lambs in a land where blood had its price, and the +shedder was seldom executed unless he was poor and friendless, and +unable to cram with ounces of yellow gold the greedy hands of the +pursuers of blood, - the alguazil and escribano? therefore, if the +Spanish Gypsies have been more bloody and more wolfishly eager in +the pursuit of booty than those of their race in most other +regions, the cause must be attributed to their residence in a +country unsound in every branch of its civil polity, where right +has ever been in less esteem, and wrong in less disrepute, than in +any other part of the world. + +However, if the moral state of Spain was not calculated to have a +favourable effect on the habits and pursuits of the Gypsies, their +manners were as little calculated to operate beneficially, in any +point of view, on the country where they had lately arrived. +Divided into numerous bodies, frequently formidable in point of +number, their presence was an evil and a curse in whatever quarter +they directed their steps. As might be expected, the labourers, +who in all countries are the most honest, most useful, and +meritorious class, were the principal sufferers; their mules and +horses were stolen, carried away to distant fairs, and there +disposed of, perhaps, to individuals destined to be deprived of +them in a similar manner; whilst their flocks of sheep and goats +were laid under requisition to assuage the hungry cravings of these +thievish cormorants. + +It was not uncommon for a large band or tribe to encamp in the +vicinity of a remote village scantily peopled, and to remain there +until, like a flight of locusts, they had consumed everything which +the inhabitants possessed for their support; or until they were +scared away by the approach of justice, or by an army of rustics +assembled from the surrounding country. Then would ensue the +hurried march; the women and children, mounted on lean but spirited +asses, would scour along the plains fleeter than the wind; ragged +and savage-looking men, wielding the scourge and goad, would +scamper by their side or close behind, whilst perhaps a small party +on strong horses, armed with rusty matchlocks or sabres, would +bring up the rear, threatening the distant foe, and now and then +saluting them with a hoarse blast from the Gypsy horn:- + + +'O, when I sit my courser bold, +My bantling in my rear, +And in my hand my musket hold - +O how they quake with fear!' + + +Let us for a moment suppose some unfortunate traveller, mounted on +a handsome mule or beast of some value, meeting, unarmed and alone, +such a rabble rout at the close of eve, in the wildest part, for +example, of La Mancha; we will suppose that he is journeying from +Seville to Madrid, and that he has left at a considerable distance +behind him the gloomy and horrible passes of the Sierra Morena; his +bosom, which for some time past has been contracted with dreadful +forebodings, is beginning to expand; his blood, which has been +congealed in his veins, is beginning to circulate warmly and +freely; he is fondly anticipating the still distant posada and +savoury omelet. The sun is sinking rapidly behind the savage and +uncouth hills in his rear; he has reached the bottom of a small +valley, where runs a rivulet at which he allows his tired animal to +drink; he is about to ascend the side of the hill; his eyes are +turned upwards; suddenly he beholds strange and uncouth forms at +the top of the ascent - the sun descending slants its rays upon red +cloaks, with here and there a turbaned head, or long streaming +hair. The traveller hesitates, but reflecting that he is no longer +in the mountains, and that in the open road there is no danger of +banditti, he advances. In a moment he is in the midst of the Gypsy +group, in a moment there is a general halt; fiery eyes are turned +upon him replete with an expression which only the eyes of the Roma +possess, then ensues a jabber in a language or jargon which is +strange to the ears of the traveller; at last an ugly urchin +springs from the crupper of a halting mule, and in a lisping accent +entreats charity in the name of the Virgin and the Majoro. The +traveller, with a faltering hand, produces his purse, and is +proceeding to loosen its strings, but he accomplishes not his +purpose, for, struck violently by a huge knotted club in an unseen +hand, he tumbles headlong from his mule. Next morning a naked +corse, besmeared with brains and blood, is found by an arriero; and +within a week a simple cross records the event, according to the +custom of Spain. + + +'Below there in the dusky pass +Was wrought a murder dread; +The murdered fell upon the grass, +Away the murderer fled.' + + +To many, such a scene, as above described, will appear purely +imaginary, or at least a mass of exaggeration, but many such +anecdotes are related by old Spanish writers of these people; they +traversed the country in gangs; they were what the Spanish law has +styled Abigeos and Salteadores de Camino, cattle-stealers and +highwaymen; though, in the latter character, they never rose to any +considerable eminence. True it is that they would not hesitate to +attack or even murder the unarmed and defenceless traveller, when +they felt assured of obtaining booty with little or no risk to +themselves; but they were not by constitution adapted to rival +those bold and daring banditti of whom so many terrible anecdotes +are related in Spain and Italy, and who have acquired their renown +by the dauntless daring which they have invariably displayed in the +pursuit of plunder. + +Besides trafficking in horses and mules, and now and then attacking +and plundering travellers upon the highway, the Gypsies of Spain +appear, from a very early period, to have plied occasionally the +trade of the blacksmith, and to have worked in iron, forming rude +implements of domestic and agricultural use, which they disposed +of, either for provisions or money, in the neighbourhood of those +places where they had taken up their temporary residence. As their +bands were composed of numerous individuals, there is no +improbability in assuming that to every member was allotted that +branch of labour in which he was most calculated to excel. The +most important, and that which required the greatest share of +cunning and address, was undoubtedly that of the chalan or jockey, +who frequented the fairs with the beasts which he had obtained by +various means, but generally by theft. Highway robbery, though +occasionally committed by all jointly or severally, was probably +the peculiar department of the boldest spirits of the gang; whilst +wielding the hammer and tongs was abandoned to those who, though +possessed of athletic forms, were perhaps, like Vulcan, lame, or +from some particular cause, moral or physical, unsuited for the +other two very respectable avocations. The forge was generally +placed in the heart of some mountain abounding in wood; the gaunt +smiths felled a tree, perhaps with the very axes which their own +sturdy hands had hammered at a former period; with the wood thus +procured they prepared the charcoal which their labour demanded. +Everything is in readiness; the bellows puff until the coal is +excited to a furious glow; the metal, hot, pliant, and ductile, is +laid on the anvil, round which stands the Cyclop group, their +hammers upraised; down they descend successively, one, two, three, +the sparks are scattered on every side. The sparks - + + +'More than a hundred lovely daughters I see produced at one time, +fiery as roses: in one moment they expire gracefully +circumvolving.' (17) + + +The anvil rings beneath the thundering stroke, hour succeeds hour, +and still endures the hard sullen toil. + +One of the most remarkable features in the history of Gypsies is +the striking similarity of their pursuits in every region of the +globe to which they have penetrated; they are not merely alike in +limb and in feature, in the cast and expression of the eye, in the +colour of the hair, in their walk and gait, but everywhere they +seem to exhibit the same tendencies, and to hunt for their bread by +the same means, as if they were not of the human but rather of the +animal species, and in lieu of reason were endowed with a kind of +instinct which assists them to a very limited extent and no +farther. + +In no part of the world are they found engaged in the cultivation +of the earth, or in the service of a regular master; but in all +lands they are jockeys, or thieves, or cheats; and if ever they +devote themselves to any toil or trade, it is assuredly in every +material point one and the same. We have found them above, in the +heart of a wild mountain, hammering iron, and manufacturing from it +instruments either for their own use or that of the neighbouring +towns and villages. They may be seen employed in a similar manner +in the plains of Russia, or in the bosom of its eternal forests; +and whoever inspects the site where a horde of Gypsies has +encamped, in the grassy lanes beneath the hazel bushes of merry +England, is generally sure to find relics of tin and other metal, +avouching that they have there been exercising the arts of the +tinker or smith. Perhaps nothing speaks more forcibly for the +antiquity of this sect or caste than the tenacity with which they +have uniformly preserved their peculiar customs since the period of +their becoming generally known; for, unless their habits had become +a part of their nature, which could only have been effected by a +strict devotion to them through a long succession of generations, +it is not to be supposed that after their arrival in civilised +Europe they would have retained and cherished them precisely in the +same manner in the various countries where they found an asylum. + +Each band or family of the Spanish Gypsies had its Captain, or, as +he was generally designated, its Count. Don Juan de Quinones, who, +in a small volume published in 1632, has written some details +respecting their way of life, says: 'They roam about, divided into +families and troops, each of which has its head or Count; and to +fill this office they choose the most valiant and courageous +individual amongst them, and the one endowed with the greatest +strength. He must at the same time be crafty and sagacious, and +adapted in every respect to govern them. It is he who settles +their differences and disputes, even when they are residing in a +place where there is a regular justice. He heads them at night +when they go out to plunder the flocks, or to rob travellers on the +highway; and whatever they steal or plunder they divide amongst +them, always allowing the captain a third part of the whole.' + +These Counts, being elected for such qualities as promised to be +useful to their troop or family, were consequently liable to be +deposed if at any time their conduct was not calculated to afford +satisfaction to their subjects. The office was not hereditary, and +though it carried along with it partial privileges, was both +toilsome and dangerous. Should the plans for plunder, which it was +the duty of the Count to form, miscarry in the attempt to execute +them; should individuals of the gang fall into the hand of justice, +and the Count be unable to devise a method to save their lives or +obtain their liberty, the blame was cast at the Count's door, and +he was in considerable danger of being deprived of his insignia of +authority, which consisted not so much in ornaments or in dress, as +in hawks and hounds with which the Senor Count took the diversion +of hunting when he thought proper. As the ground which he hunted +over was not his own, he incurred some danger of coming in contact +with the lord of the soil, attended, perhaps, by his armed +followers. There is a tradition (rather apocryphal, it is true), +that a Gitano chief, once pursuing this amusement, was encountered +by a real Count, who is styled Count Pepe. An engagement ensued +between the two parties, which ended in the Gypsies being worsted, +and their chief left dying on the field. The slain chief leaves a +son, who, at the instigation of his mother, steals the infant heir +of his father's enemy, who, reared up amongst the Gypsies, becomes +a chief, and, in process of time, hunting over the same ground, +slays Count Pepe in the very spot where the blood of the Gypsy had +been poured out. This tradition is alluded to in the following +stanza:- + + +'I have a gallant mare in stall; +My mother gave that mare +That I might seek Count Pepe's hall +And steal his son and heir.' + + +Martin Del Rio, in his TRACTATUS DE MAGIA, speaks of the Gypsies +and their Counts to the following effect: 'When, in the year 1584, +I was marching in Spain with the regiment, a multitude of these +wretches were infesting the fields. It happened that the feast of +Corpus Domini was being celebrated, and they requested to be +admitted into the town, that they might dance in honour of the +sacrifice, as was customary; they did so, but about midday a great +tumult arose owing to the many thefts which the women committed, +whereupon they fled out of the suburbs, and assembled about St. +Mark's, the magnificent mansion and hospital of the knights of St. +James, where the ministers of justice attempting to seize them were +repulsed by force of arms; nevertheless, all of a sudden, and I +know not how, everything was hushed up. At this time they had a +Count, a fellow who spoke the Castilian idiom with as much purity +as if he had been a native of Toledo; he was acquainted with all +the ports of Spain, and all the difficult and broken ground of the +provinces. He knew the exact strength of every city, and who were +the principal people in each, and the exact amount of their +property; there was nothing relating to the state, however secret, +that he was not acquainted with; nor did he make a mystery of his +knowledge, but publicly boasted of it.' + +From the passage quoted above, we learn that the Gitanos in the +ancient times were considered as foreigners who prowled about the +country; indeed, in many of the laws which at various times have +been promulgated against them, they are spoken of as Egyptians, and +as such commanded to leave Spain, and return to their native +country; at one time they undoubtedly were foreigners in Spain, +foreigners by birth, foreigners by language but at the time they +are mentioned by the worthy Del Rio, they were certainly not +entitled to the appellation. True it is that they spoke a language +amongst themselves, unintelligible to the rest of the Spaniards, +from whom they differed considerably in feature and complexion, as +they still do; but if being born in a country, and being bred +there, constitute a right to be considered a native of that +country, they had as much claim to the appellation of Spaniards as +the worthy author himself. Del Rio mentions, as a remarkable +circumstance, the fact of the Gypsy Count speaking Castilian with +as much purity as a native of Toledo, whereas it is by no means +improbable that the individual in question was a native of that +town; but the truth is, at the time we are speaking of, they were +generally believed to be not only foreigners, but by means of +sorcery to have acquired the power of speaking all languages with +equal facility; and Del Rio, who was a believer in magic, and wrote +one of the most curious and erudite treatises on the subject ever +penned, had perhaps adopted that idea, which possibly originated +from their speaking most of the languages and dialects of the +Peninsula, which they picked up in their wanderings. That the +Gypsy chief was so well acquainted with every town of Spain, and +the broken and difficult ground, can cause but little surprise, +when we reflect that the life which the Gypsies led was one above +all others calculated to afford them that knowledge. They were +continually at variance with justice; they were frequently obliged +to seek shelter in the inmost recesses of the hills; and when their +thievish pursuits led them to the cities, they naturally made +themselves acquainted with the names of the principal individuals, +in hopes of plundering them. Doubtless the chief possessed all +this species of knowledge in a superior degree, as it was his +courage, acuteness, and experience alone which placed him at the +head of his tribe, though Del Rio from this circumstance wishes to +infer that the Gitanos were spies sent by foreign foes, and with +some simplicity inquires, 'Quo ant cui rei haec curiosa exploratio? +nonne compescenda vagamundorum haec curiositas, etiam si solum +peregrini et inculpatae vitae.' + +With the Counts rested the management and direction of these +remarkable societies; it was they who determined their marches, +counter-marches, advances, and retreats; what was to be attempted +or avoided; what individuals were to be admitted into the +fellowship and privileges of the Gitanos, or who were to be +excluded from their society; they settled disputes and sat in +judgment over offences. The greatest crimes, according to the +Gypsy code, were a quarrelsome disposition, and revealing the +secrets of the brotherhood. By this code the members were +forbidden to eat, drink, or sleep in the house of a Busno, which +signifies any person who is not of the sect of the Gypsies, or to +marry out of that sect; they were likewise not to teach the +language of Roma to any but those who, by birth or inauguration, +belonged to that sect; they were enjoined to relieve their brethren +in distress at any expense or peril; they were to use a peculiar +dress, which is frequently alluded to in the Spanish laws, but the +particulars of which are not stated; and they were to cultivate the +gift of speech to the utmost possible extent, and never to lose +anything which might be obtained by a loose and deceiving tongue, +to encourage which they had many excellent proverbs, for example - + +'The poor fool who closes his mouth never winneth a dollar.' + +'The river which runneth with sound bears along with it stones and +water.' + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +THE Gitanos not unfrequently made their appearance in considerable +numbers, so as to be able to bid defiance to any force which could +be assembled against them on a sudden; whole districts thus became +a prey to them, and were plundered and devastated. + +It is said that, in the year 1618, more than eight hundred of these +wretches scoured the country between Castile and Aragon, committing +the most enormous crimes. The royal council despatched regular +troops against them, who experienced some difficulty in dispersing +them. + +But we now proceed to touch upon an event which forms an era in the +history of the Gitanos of Spain, and which for wildness and +singularity throws all other events connected with them and their +race, wherever found, entirely into the shade. + + +THE BOOKSELLER OF LOGRONO + + +About the middle of the sixteenth century, there resided one +Francisco Alvarez in the city of Logrono, the chief town of Rioja, +a province which borders on Aragon. He was a man above the middle +age, sober, reserved, and in general absorbed in thought; he lived +near the great church, and obtained a livelihood by selling printed +books and manuscripts in a small shop. He was a very learned man, +and was continually reading in the books which he was in the habit +of selling, and some of these books were in foreign tongues and +characters, so foreign, indeed, that none but himself and some of +his friends, the canons, could understand them; he was much visited +by the clergy, who were his principal customers, and took much +pleasure in listening to his discourse. + +He had been a considerable traveller in his youth, and had wandered +through all Spain, visiting the various provinces and the most +remarkable cities. It was likewise said that he had visited Italy +and Barbary. He was, however, invariably silent with respect to +his travels, and whenever the subject was mentioned to him, the +gloom and melancholy increased which usually clouded his features. + +One day, in the commencement of autumn, he was visited by a priest +with whom he had long been intimate, and for whom he had always +displayed a greater respect and liking than for any other +acquaintance. The ecclesiastic found him even more sad than usual, +and there was a haggard paleness upon his countenance which alarmed +his visitor. The good priest made affectionate inquiries +respecting the health of his friend, and whether anything had of +late occurred to give him uneasiness; adding at the same time, that +he had long suspected that some secret lay heavy upon his mind, +which he now conjured him to reveal, as life was uncertain, and it +was very possible that he might be quickly summoned from earth into +the presence of his Maker. + +The bookseller continued for some time in gloomy meditation, till +at last he broke silence in these words:- 'It is true I have a +secret which weighs heavy upon my mind, and which I am still loth +to reveal; but I have a presentiment that my end is approaching, +and that a heavy misfortune is about to fall upon this city: I +will therefore unburden myself, for it were now a sin to remain +silent. + +'I am, as you are aware, a native of this town, which I first left +when I went to acquire an education at Salamanca; I continued there +until I became a licentiate, when I quitted the university and +strolled through Spain, supporting myself in general by touching +the guitar, according to the practice of penniless students; my +adventures were numerous, and I frequently experienced great +poverty. Once, whilst making my way from Toledo to Andalusia +through the wild mountains, I fell in with and was made captive by +a band of the people called Gitanos, or wandering Egyptians; they +in general lived amongst these wilds, and plundered or murdered +every person whom they met. I should probably have been +assassinated by them, but my skill in music perhaps saved my life. +I continued with them a considerable time, till at last they +persuaded me to become one of them, whereupon I was inaugurated +into their society with many strange and horrid ceremonies, and +having thus become a Gitano, I went with them to plunder and +assassinate upon the roads. + +'The Count or head man of these Gitanos had an only daughter, about +my own age; she was very beautiful, but, at the same time, +exceedingly strong and robust; this Gitana was given to me as a +wife or cadjee, and I lived with her several years, and she bore me +children. + +'My wife was an arrant Gitana, and in her all the wickedness of her +race seemed to be concentrated. At last her father was killed in +an affray with the troopers of the Hermandad, whereupon my wife and +myself succeeded to the authority which he had formerly exercised +in the tribe. We had at first loved each other, but at last the +Gitano life, with its accompanying wickedness, becoming hateful to +my eyes, my wife, who was not slow in perceiving my altered +disposition, conceived for me the most deadly hatred; apprehending +that I meditated withdrawing myself from the society, and perhaps +betraying the secrets of the band, she formed a conspiracy against +me, and, at one time, being opposite the Moorish coast, I was +seized and bound by the other Gitanos, conveyed across the sea, and +delivered as a slave into the hands of the Moors. + +'I continued for a long time in slavery in various parts of Morocco +and Fez, until I was at length redeemed from my state of bondage by +a missionary friar who paid my ransom. With him I shortly after +departed for Italy, of which he was a native. In that country I +remained some years, until a longing to revisit my native land +seized me, when I returned to Spain and established myself here, +where I have since lived by vending books, many of which I brought +from the strange lands which I visited. I kept my history, +however, a profound secret, being afraid of exposing myself to the +laws in force against the Gitanos, to which I should instantly +become amenable, were it once known that I had at any time been a +member of this detestable sect. + +'My present wretchedness, of which you have demanded the cause, +dates from yesterday; I had been on a short journey to the +Augustine convent, which stands on the plain in the direction of +Saragossa, carrying with me an Arabian book, which a learned monk +was desirous of seeing. Night overtook me ere I could return. I +speedily lost my way, and wandered about until I came near a +dilapidated edifice with which I was acquainted; I was about to +proceed in the direction of the town, when I heard voices within +the ruined walls; I listened, and recognised the language of the +abhorred Gitanos; I was about to fly, when a word arrested me. It +was Drao, which in their tongue signifies the horrid poison with +which this race are in the habit of destroying the cattle; they now +said that the men of Logrono should rue the Drao which they had +been casting. I heard no more, but fled. What increased my fear +was, that in the words spoken, I thought I recognised the peculiar +jargon of my own tribe; I repeat, that I believe some horrible +misfortune is overhanging this city, and that my own days are +numbered.' + +The priest, having conversed with him for some time upon particular +points of the history that he had related, took his leave, advising +him to compose his spirits, as he saw no reason why he should +indulge in such gloomy forebodings. + +The very next day a sickness broke out in the town of Logrono. It +was one of a peculiar kind; unlike most others, it did not arise by +slow and gradual degrees, but at once appeared in full violence, in +the shape of a terrific epidemic. Dizziness in the head was the +first symptom: then convulsive retchings, followed by a dreadful +struggle between life and death, which generally terminated in +favour of the grim destroyer. The bodies, after the spirit which +animated them had taken flight, were frightfully swollen, and +exhibited a dark blue colour, checkered with crimson spots. +Nothing was heard within the houses or the streets, but groans of +agony; no remedy was at hand, and the powers of medicine were +exhausted in vain upon this terrible pest; so that within a few +days the greatest part of the inhabitants of Logrono had perished. +The bookseller had not been seen since the commencement of this +frightful visitation. + +Once, at the dead of night, a knock was heard at the door of the +priest, of whom we have already spoken; the priest himself +staggered to the door, and opened it, - he was the only one who +remained alive in the house, and was himself slowly recovering from +the malady which had destroyed all the other inmates; a wild +spectral-looking figure presented itself to his eye - it was his +friend Alvarez. Both went into the house, when the bookseller, +glancing gloomily on the wasted features of the priest, exclaimed, +'You too, I see, amongst others, have cause to rue the Drao which +the Gitanos have cast. Know,' he continued, 'that in order to +accomplish a detestable plan, the fountains of Logrono have been +poisoned by emissaries of the roving bands, who are now assembled +in the neighbourhood. On the first appearance of the disorder, +from which I happily escaped by tasting the water of a private +fountain, which I possess in my own house, I instantly recognised +the effects of the poison of the Gitanos, brought by their +ancestors from the isles of the Indian sea; and suspecting their +intentions, I disguised myself as a Gitano, and went forth in the +hope of being able to act as a spy upon their actions. I have been +successful, and am at present thoroughly acquainted with their +designs. They intended, from the first, to sack the town, as soon +as it should have been emptied of its defenders. + +'Midday, to-morrow, is the hour in which they have determined to +make the attempt. There is no time to be lost; let us, therefore, +warn those of our townsmen who still survive, in order that they +may make preparations for their defence.' + +Whereupon the two friends proceeded to the chief magistrate, who +had been but slightly affected by the disorder; he heard the tale +of the bookseller with horror and astonishment, and instantly took +the best measures possible for frustrating the designs of the +Gitanos; all the men capable of bearing arms in Logrono were +assembled, and weapons of every description put in their hands. By +the advice of the bookseller all the gates of the town were shut, +with the exception of the principal one; and the little band of +defenders, which barely amounted to sixty men, was stationed in the +great square, to which, he said, it was the intention of the +Gitanos to penetrate in the first instance, and then, dividing +themselves into various parties, to sack the place. The bookseller +was, by general desire, constituted leader of the guardians of the +town. + +It was considerably past noon; the sky was overcast, and tempest +clouds, fraught with lightning and thunder, were hanging black and +horrid over the town of Logrono. The little troop, resting on +their arms, stood awaiting the arrival of their unnatural enemies; +rage fired their minds as they thought of the deaths of their +fathers, their sons, and their dearest relatives, who had perished, +not by the hand of God, but, like infected cattle, by the hellish +arts of Egyptian sorcerers. They longed for their appearance, +determined to wreak upon them a bloody revenge; not a word was +uttered, and profound silence reigned around, only interrupted by +the occasional muttering of the thunder-clouds. Suddenly, Alvarez, +who had been intently listening, raised his hand with a significant +gesture; presently, a sound was heard - a rustling like the waving +of trees, or the rushing of distant water; it gradually increased, +and seemed to proceed from the narrow street which led from the +principal gate into the square. All eyes were turned in that +direction. . . . + +That night there was repique or ringing of bells in the towers of +Logrono, and the few priests who had escaped from the pestilence +sang litanies to God and the Virgin for the salvation of the town +from the hands of the heathen. The attempt of the Gitanos had been +most signally defeated, and the great square and the street were +strewn with their corpses. Oh! what frightful objects: there lay +grim men more black than mulattos, with fury and rage in their +stiffened features; wild women in extraordinary dresses, their +hair, black and long as the tail of the horse, spread all +dishevelled upon the ground; and gaunt and naked children grasping +knives and daggers in their tiny hands. Of the patriotic troop not +one appeared to have fallen; and when, after their enemies had +retreated with howlings of fiendish despair, they told their +numbers, only one man was missing, who was never seen again, and +that man was Alvarez. + +In the midst of the combat, the tempest, which had for a long time +been gathering, burst over Logrono, in lightning, thunder, +darkness, and vehement hail. + +A man of the town asserted that the last time he had seen Alvarez, +the latter was far in advance of his companions, defending himself +desperately against three powerful young heathen, who seemed to be +acting under the direction of a tall woman who stood nigh, covered +with barbaric ornaments, and wearing on her head a rude silver +crown. (18) + +Such is the tale of the Bookseller of Logrono, and such is the +narrative of the attempt of the Gitanos to sack the town in the +time of pestilence, which is alluded to by many Spanish authors, +but more particularly by the learned Francisco de Cordova, in his +DIDASCALIA, one of the most curious and instructive books within +the circle of universal literature. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +THE Moors, after their subjugation, and previous to their expulsion +from Spain, generally resided apart, principally in the suburbs of +the towns, where they kept each other in countenance, being hated +and despised by the Spaniards, and persecuted on all occasions. By +this means they preserved, to a certain extent, the Arabic +language, though the use of it was strictly forbidden, and +encouraged each other in the secret exercise of the rites of the +Mohammedan religion, so that, until the moment of their final +expulsion, they continued Moors in almost every sense of the word. +Such places were called Morerias, or quarters of the Moors. + +In like manner there were Gitanerias, or quarters of the Gitanos, +in many of the towns of Spain; and in more than one instance +particular barrios or districts are still known by this name, +though the Gitanos themselves have long since disappeared. Even in +the town of Oviedo, in the heart of the Asturias, a province never +famous for Gitanos, there is a place called the Gitaneria, though +no Gitano has been known to reside in the town within the memory of +man, nor indeed been seen, save, perhaps, as a chance visitor at a +fair. + +The exact period when the Gitanos first formed these colonies +within the towns is not known; the laws, however, which commanded +them to abandon their wandering life under penalty of banishment +and death, and to become stationary in towns, may have induced them +first to take such a step. By the first of these laws, which was +made by Ferdinand and Isabella as far back as the year 1499, they +are commanded to seek out for themselves masters. This injunction +they utterly disregarded. Some of them for fear of the law, or +from the hope of bettering their condition, may have settled down +in the towns, cities, and villages for a time, but to expect that a +people, in whose bosoms was so deeply rooted the love of lawless +independence, would subject themselves to the yoke of servitude, +from any motive whatever, was going too far; as well might it have +been expected, according to the words of the great poet of Persia, +THAT THEY WOULD HAVE WASHED THEIR SKINS WHITE. + +In these Gitanerias, therefore, many Gypsy families resided, but +ever in the Gypsy fashion, in filth and in misery, with little of +the fear of man, and nothing of the fear of God before their eyes. +Here the swarthy children basked naked in the sun before the doors; +here the women prepared love draughts, or told the buena ventura; +and here the men plied the trade of the blacksmith, a forbidden +occupation, or prepared for sale, by disguising them, animals +stolen by themselves or their accomplices. In these places were +harboured the strange Gitanos on their arrival, and here were +discussed in the Rommany language, which, like the Arabic, was +forbidden under severe penalties, plans of fraud and plunder, which +were perhaps intended to be carried into effect in a distant +province and a distant city. + +The great body, however, of the Gypsy race in Spain continued +independent wanderers of the plains and the mountains, and indeed +the denizens of the Gitanerias were continually sallying forth, +either for the purpose of reuniting themselves with the wandering +tribes, or of strolling about from town to town, and from fair to +fair. Hence the continual complaints in the Spanish laws against +the Gitanos who have left their places of domicile, from doing +which they were interdicted, even as they were interdicted from +speaking their language and following the occupations of the +blacksmith and horse-dealer, in which they still persist even at +the present day. + +The Gitanerias at evening fall were frequently resorted to by +individuals widely differing in station from the inmates of these +places - we allude to the young and dissolute nobility and hidalgos +of Spain. This was generally the time of mirth and festival, and +the Gitanos, male and female, danced and sang in the Gypsy fashion +beneath the smile of the moon. The Gypsy women and girls were the +principal attractions to these visitors; wild and singular as these +females are in their appearance, there can be no doubt, for the +fact has been frequently proved, that they are capable of exciting +passion of the most ardent description, particularly in the bosoms +of those who are not of their race, which passion of course becomes +the more violent when the almost utter impossibility of gratifying +it is known. No females in the world can be more licentious in +word and gesture, in dance and in song, than the Gitanas; but there +they stop: and so of old, if their titled visitors presumed to +seek for more, an unsheathed dagger or gleaming knife speedily +repulsed those who expected that the gem most dear amongst the sect +of the Roma was within the reach of a Busno. + +Such visitors, however, were always encouraged to a certain point, +and by this and various other means the Gitanos acquired +connections which frequently stood them in good stead in the hour +of need. What availed it to the honest labourers of the +neighbourhood, or the citizens of the town, to make complaints to +the corregidor concerning the thefts and frauds committed by the +Gitanos, when perhaps the sons of that very corregidor frequented +the nightly dances at the Gitaneria, and were deeply enamoured with +some of the dark-eyed singing-girls? What availed making +complaints, when perhaps a Gypsy sibyl, the mother of those very +girls, had free admission to the house of the corregidor at all +times and seasons, and spaed the good fortune to his daughters, +promising them counts and dukes, and Andalusian knights in +marriage, or prepared philtres for his lady by which she was always +to reign supreme in the affections of her husband? And, above all, +what availed it to the plundered party to complain that his mule or +horse had been stolen, when the Gitano robber, perhaps the husband +of the sibyl and the father of the black-eyed Gitanillas, was at +that moment actually in treaty with my lord the corregidor himself +for supplying him with some splendid thick-maned, long-tailed steed +at a small price, to be obtained, as the reader may well suppose, +by an infraction of the laws? The favour and protection which the +Gitanos experienced from people of high rank is alluded to in the +Spanish laws, and can only be accounted for by the motives above +detailed. + +The Gitanerias were soon considered as public nuisances, on which +account the Gitanos were forbidden to live together in particular +parts of the town, to hold meetings, and even to intermarry with +each other; yet it does not appear that the Gitanerias were ever +suppressed by the arm of the law, as many still exist where these +singular beings 'marry and are given in marriage,' and meet +together to discuss their affairs, which, in their opinion, never +flourish unless those of their fellow-creatures suffer. So much +for the Gitanerias, or Gypsy colonies in the towns of Spain. + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +'LOS Gitanos son muy malos! - the Gypsies are very bad people,' +said the Spaniards of old times. They are cheats; they are +highwaymen; they practise sorcery; and, lest the catalogue of their +offences should be incomplete, a formal charge of cannibalism was +brought against them. Cheats they have always been, and +highwaymen, and if not sorcerers, they have always done their best +to merit that appellation, by arrogating to themselves supernatural +powers; but that they were addicted to cannibalism is a matter not +so easily proved. + +Their principal accuser was Don Juan de Quinones, who, in the work +from which we have already had occasion to quote, gives several +anecdotes illustrative of their cannibal propensities. Most of +these anecdotes, however, are so highly absurd, that none but the +very credulous could ever have vouchsafed them the slightest +credit. This author is particularly fond of speaking of a certain +juez, or judge, called Don Martin Fajardo, who seems to have been +an arrant Gypsy-hunter, and was probably a member of the ancient +family of the Fajardos, which still flourishes in Estremadura, and +with individuals of which we are acquainted. So it came to pass +that this personage was, in the year 1629, at Jaraicejo, in +Estremadura, or, as it is written in the little book in question, +Zaraizejo, in the capacity of judge; a zealous one he undoubtedly +was. + +A very strange place is this same Jaraicejo, a small ruinous town +or village, situated on a rising ground, with a very wild country +all about it. The road from Badajoz to Madrid passes through it; +and about two leagues distant, in the direction of Madrid, is the +famous mountain pass of Mirabete, from the top of which you enjoy a +most picturesque view across the Tagus, which flows below, as far +as the huge mountains of Plasencia, the tops of which are generally +covered with snow. + +So this Don Martin Fajardo, judge, being at Jaraicejo, laid his +claw upon four Gitanos, and having nothing, as it appears, to +accuse them of, except being Gitanos, put them to the torture, and +made them accuse themselves, which they did; for, on the first +appeal which was made to the rack, they confessed that they had +murdered a female Gypsy in the forest of Las Gamas, and had there +eaten her. . . . + +I am myself well acquainted with this same forest of Las Gamas, +which lies between Jaraicejo and Trujillo; it abounds with chestnut +and cork trees, and is a place very well suited either for the +purpose of murder or cannibalism. It will be as well to observe +that I visited it in company with a band of Gitanos, who bivouacked +there, and cooked their supper, which however did not consist of +human flesh, but of a puchera, the ingredients of which were beef, +bacon, garbanzos, and berdolaga, or field-pease and purslain, - +therefore I myself can bear testimony that there is such a forest +as Las Gamas, and that it is frequented occasionally by Gypsies, by +which two points are established by far the most important to the +history in question, or so at least it would be thought in Spain, +for being sure of the forest and the Gypsies, few would be +incredulous enough to doubt the facts of the murder and +cannibalism. . . . + +On being put to the rack a second time, the Gitanos confessed that +they had likewise murdered and eaten a female pilgrim in the forest +aforesaid; and on being tortured yet again, that they had served in +the same manner, and in the same forest, a friar of the order of +San Francisco, whereupon they were released from the rack and +executed. This is one of the anecdotes of Quinones. + +And it came to pass, moreover, that the said Fajardo, being in the +town of Montijo, was told by the alcalde, that a certain inhabitant +of that place had some time previous lost a mare; and wandering +about the plains in quest of her, he arrived at a place called +Arroyo el Puerco, where stood a ruined house, on entering which he +found various Gitanos employed in preparing their dinner, which +consisted of a quarter of a human body, which was being roasted +before a huge fire: the result, however, we are not told; whether +the Gypsies were angry at being disturbed in their cookery, or +whether the man of the mare departed unobserved. + +Quinones, in continuation, states in his book that he learned (he +does not say from whom, but probably from Fajardo) that there was a +shepherd of the city of Gaudix, who once lost his way in the wild +sierra of Gadol: night came on, and the wind blew cold: he +wandered about until he descried a light in the distance, towards +which he bent his way, supposing it to be a fire kindled by +shepherds: on arriving at the spot, however, he found a whole +tribe of Gypsies, who were roasting the half of a man, the other +half being hung on a cork-tree: the Gypsies welcomed him very +heartily, and requested him to be seated at the fire and to sup +with them; but he presently heard them whisper to each other, 'this +is a fine fat fellow,' from which he suspected that they were +meditating a design upon his body: whereupon, feeling himself +sleepy, he made as if he were seeking a spot where to lie, and +suddenly darted headlong down the mountain-side, and escaped from +their hands without breaking his neck. + +These anecdotes scarcely deserve comment; first we have the +statement of Fajardo, the fool or knave who tortures wretches, and +then puts them to death for the crimes with which they have taxed +themselves whilst undergoing the agony of the rack, probably with +the hope of obtaining a moment's respite; last comes the tale of +the shepherd, who is invited by Gypsies on a mountain at night to +partake of a supper of human flesh, and who runs away from them on +hearing them talk of the fatness of his own body, as if cannibal +robbers detected in their orgies by a single interloper would have +afforded him a chance of escaping. Such tales cannot be true. (19) + +Cases of cannibalism are said to have occurred in Hungary amongst +the Gypsies; indeed, the whole race, in that country, has been +accused of cannibalism, to which we have alluded whilst speaking of +the Chingany: it is very probable, however, that they were quite +innocent of this odious practice, and that the accusation had its +origin in popular prejudice, or in the fact of their foul feeding, +and their seldom rejecting carrion or offal of any description. + +The Gazette of Frankfort for the year 1782, Nos. 157 and 207, +states that one hundred and fifty Gypsies were imprisoned charged +with this practice; and that the Empress Teresa sent commissioners +to inquire into the facts of the accusation, who discovered that +they were true; whereupon the empress published a law to oblige all +the Gypsies in her dominions to become stationary, which, however, +had no effect. + +Upon this matter we can state nothing on our own knowledge. + +After the above anecdotes, it will perhaps not be amiss to devote a +few lines to the subject of Gypsy food and diet. I believe that it +has been asserted that the Romas, in all parts of the world, are +perfectly indifferent as to what they eat, provided only that they +can appease their hunger; and that they have no objection to +partake of the carcasses of animals which have died a natural +death, and have been left to putrefy by the roadside; moreover, +that they use for food all kinds of reptiles and vermin which they +can lay their hands upon. + +In this there is a vast deal of exaggeration, but at the same time +it must be confessed that, in some instances, the habits of the +Gypsies in regard to food would seem, at the first glance, to +favour the supposition. This observation chiefly holds good with +respect to those of the Gypsy race who still continue in a +wandering state, and who, doubtless, retain more of the ways and +customs of their forefathers than those who have adopted a +stationary life. There can be no doubt that the wanderers amongst +the Gypsy race are occasionally seen to feast upon carcasses of +cattle which have been abandoned to the birds of the air, yet it +would be wrong, from this fact, to conclude that the Gypsies were +habitual devourers of carrion. Carrion it is true they may +occasionally devour, from want of better food, but many of these +carcasses are not in reality the carrion which they appear, but are +the bodies of animals which the Gypsies have themselves killed by +casting drao, in hope that the flesh may eventually be abandoned to +them. It is utterly useless to write about the habits of the +Gypsies, especially of the wandering tribes, unless you have lived +long and intimately with them; and unhappily, up to the present +time, all the books which have been published concerning them have +been written by those who have introduced themselves into their +society for a few hours, and from what they have seen or heard +consider themselves competent to give the world an idea of the +manners and customs of the mysterious Rommany: thus, because they +have been known to beg the carcass of a hog which they themselves +have poisoned, it has been asserted that they prefer carrion which +has perished of sickness to the meat of the shambles; and because +they have been seen to make a ragout of boror (SNAILS), and to +roast a hotchiwitchu or hedgehog, it has been supposed that +reptiles of every description form a part of their cuisine. It is +high time to undeceive the Gentiles on these points. Know, then, O +Gentile, whether thou be from the land of the Gorgios (20) or the +Busne (21), that the very Gypsies who consider a ragout of snails a +delicious dish will not touch an eel, because it bears resemblance +to a SNAKE; and that those who will feast on a roasted hedgehog +could be induced by no money to taste a squirrel, a delicious and +wholesome species of game, living on the purest and most nutritious +food which the fields and forests can supply. I myself, while +living among the Roms of England, have been regarded almost in the +light of a cannibal for cooking the latter animal and preferring it +to hotchiwitchu barbecued, or ragout of boror. 'You are but half +Rommany, brother,' they would say, 'and you feed gorgiko-nes (LIKE +A GENTILE), even as you talk. Tchachipen (IN TRUTH), if we did not +know you to be of the Mecralliskoe rat (ROYAL BLOOD) of Pharaoh, we +should be justified in driving you forth as a juggel-mush (DOG +MAN), one more fitted to keep company with wild beasts and Gorgios +than gentle Rommanys.' + +No person can read the present volume without perceiving, at a +glance, that the Romas are in most points an anomalous people; in +their morality there is much of anomaly, and certainly not less in +their cuisine. + +'Los Gitanos son muy malos; llevan ninos hurtados a Berberia. The +Gypsies are very bad people; they steal children and carry them to +Barbary, where they sell them to the Moors' - so said the Spaniards +in old times. There can be little doubt that even before the fall +of the kingdom of Granada, which occurred in the year 1492, the +Gitanos had intercourse with the Moors of Spain. Andalusia, which +has ever been the province where the Gitano race has most abounded +since its arrival, was, until the edict of Philip the Third, which +banished more than a million of Moriscos from Spain, principally +peopled by Moors, who differed from the Spaniards both in language +and religion. By living even as wanderers amongst these people, +the Gitanos naturally became acquainted with their tongue, and with +many of their customs, which of course much facilitated any +connection which they might subsequently form with the +Barbaresques. Between the Moors of Barbary and the Spaniards a +deadly and continued war raged for centuries, both before and after +the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. The Gitanos, who cared +probably as little for one nation as the other, and who have no +sympathy and affection beyond the pale of their own sect, doubtless +sided with either as their interest dictated, officiating as spies +for both parties and betraying both. + +It is likely enough that they frequently passed over to Barbary +with stolen children of both sexes, whom they sold to the Moors, +who traffic in slaves, whether white or black, even at the present +day; and perhaps this kidnapping trade gave occasion to other +relations. As they were perfectly acquainted, from their wandering +life, with the shores of the Spanish Mediterranean, they must have +been of considerable assistance to the Barbary pirates in their +marauding trips to the Spanish coasts, both as guides and advisers; +and as it was a far easier matter, and afforded a better prospect +of gain, to plunder the Spaniards than the Moors, a people almost +as wild as themselves, they were, on that account, and that only, +more Moors than Christians, and ever willing to assist the former +in their forays on the latter. + +Quinones observes: 'The Moors, with whom they hold correspondence, +let them go and come without any let or obstacle: an instance of +this was seen in the year 1627, when two galleys from Spain were +carrying assistance to Marmora, which was then besieged by the +Moors. These galleys struck on a shoal, when the Moors seized all +the people on board, making captives of the Christians and setting +at liberty all the Moors, who were chained to the oar; as for the +Gypsy galley-slaves whom they found amongst these last, they did +not make them slaves, but received them as people friendly to them, +and at their devotion; which matter was public and notorious.' + +Of the Moors and the Gitanos we shall have occasion to say +something in the following chapter. + + + +CHAPTER VI + + + +THERE is no portion of the world so little known as Africa in +general; and perhaps of all Africa there is no corner with which +Europeans are so little acquainted as Barbary, which nevertheless +is only separated from the continent of Europe by a narrow strait +of four leagues across. + +China itself has, for upwards of a century, ceased to be a land of +mystery to the civilised portion of the world; the enterprising +children of Loyola having wandered about it in every direction +making converts to their doctrine and discipline, whilst the +Russians possess better maps of its vast regions than of their own +country, and lately, owing to the persevering labour and searching +eye of my friend Hyacinth, Archimandrite of Saint John Nefsky, are +acquainted with the number of its military force to a man, and also +with the names and places of residence of its civil servants. Yet +who possesses a map of Fez and Morocco, or would venture to form a +conjecture as to how many fiery horsemen Abderrahman, the mulatto +emperor, could lead to the field, were his sandy dominions +threatened by the Nazarene? Yet Fez is scarcely two hundred +leagues distant from Madrid, whilst Maraks, the other great city of +the Moors, and which also has given its name to an empire, is +scarcely farther removed from Paris, the capital of civilisation: +in a word, we scarcely know anything of Barbary, the scanty +information which we possess being confined to a few towns on the +sea-coast; the zeal of the Jesuit himself being insufficient to +induce him to confront the perils of the interior, in the hopeless +endeavour of making one single proselyte from amongst the wildest +fanatics of the creed of the Prophet Camel-driver. + +Are wanderers of the Gypsy race to be found in Barbary? This is a +question which I have frequently asked myself. Several respectable +authors have, I believe, asserted the fact, amongst whom Adelung, +who, speaking of the Gypsies, says: 'Four hundred years have +passed away since they departed from their native land. During +this time, they have spread themselves through the whole of Western +Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa.' (22) But it is one thing to +make an assertion, and another to produce the grounds for making +it. I believe it would require a far greater stock of information +than has hitherto been possessed by any one who has written on the +subject of the Gypsies, to justify him in asserting positively that +after traversing the west of Europe, they spread themselves over +Northern Africa, though true it is that to those who take a +superficial view of the matter, nothing appears easier and more +natural than to come to such a conclusion. + +Tarifa, they will say, the most western part of Spain, is opposite +to Tangier, in Africa, a narrow sea only running between, less wide +than many rivers. Bands, therefore, of these wanderers, of course, +on reaching Tarifa, passed over into Africa, even as thousands +crossed the channel from France to England. They have at all times +shown themselves extravagantly fond of a roving life. What land is +better adapted for such a life than Africa and its wilds? What +land, therefore, more likely to entice them? + +All this is very plausible. It was easy enough for the Gitanos to +pass over to Tangier and Tetuan from the Spanish towns of Tarifa +and Algeziras. In the last chapter I have stated my belief of the +fact, and that moreover they formed certain connections with the +Moors of the coast, to whom it is likely that they occasionally +sold children stolen in Spain; yet such connection would by no +means have opened them a passage into the interior of Barbary, +which is inhabited by wild and fierce people, in comparison with +whom the Moors of the coast, bad as they always have been, are +gentle and civilised. + +To penetrate into Africa, the Gitanos would have been compelled to +pass through the tribes who speak the Shilha language, and who are +the descendants of the ancient Numidians. These tribes are the +most untamable and warlike of mankind, and at the same time the +most suspicious, and those who entertain the greatest aversion to +foreigners. They are dreaded by the Moors themselves, and have +always remained, to a certain degree, independent of the emperors +of Morocco. They are the most terrible of robbers and murderers, +and entertain far more reluctance to spill water than the blood of +their fellow-creatures: the Bedouins, also, of the Arabian race, +are warlike, suspicious, and cruel; and would not have failed +instantly to attack bands of foreign wanderers, wherever they found +them, and in all probability would have exterminated them. Now the +Gitanos, such as they arrived in Barbary, could not have defended +themselves against such enemies, had they even arrived in large +divisions, instead of bands of twenties and thirties, as is their +custom to travel. They are not by nature nor by habit a warlike +race, and would have quailed before the Africans, who, unlike most +other people, engage in wars from what appears to be an innate love +of the cruel and bloody scenes attendant on war. + +It may be said, that if the Gitanos were able to make their way +from the north of India, from Multan, for example, the province +which the learned consider to be the original dwelling-place of the +race, to such an immense distance as the western part of Spain, +passing necessarily through many wild lands and tribes, why might +they not have penetrated into the heart of Barbary, and wherefore +may not their descendants be still there, following the same kind +of life as the European Gypsies, that is, wandering about from +place to place, and maintaining themselves by deceit and robbery? + +But those who are acquainted but slightly with the condition of +Barbary are aware that it would be less difficult and dangerous for +a company of foreigners to proceed from Spain to Multan, than from +the nearest seaport in Barbary to Fez, an insignificant distance. +True it is, that, from their intercourse with the Moors of Spain, +the Gypsies might have become acquainted with the Arabic language, +and might even have adopted the Moorish dress, ere entering +Barbary; and, moreover, might have professed belief in the religion +of Mahomet; still they would have been known as foreigners, and, on +that account, would have been assuredly attacked by the people of +the interior, had they gone amongst them, who, according to the +usual practice, would either have massacred them or made them +slaves; and as slaves, they would have been separated. The mulatto +hue of their countenances would probably have insured them the +latter fate, as all blacks and mulattos in the dominions of the +Moor are properly slaves, and can be bought and sold, unless by +some means or other they become free, in which event their colour +is no obstacle to their elevation to the highest employments and +dignities, to their becoming pashas of cities and provinces, or +even to their ascending the throne. Several emperors of Morocco +have been mulattos. + +Above I have pointed out all the difficulties and dangers which +must have attended the path of the Gitanos, had they passed from +Spain into Barbary, and attempted to spread themselves over that +region, as over Europe and many parts of Asia. To these +observations I have been led by the assertion that they +accomplished this, and no proof of the fact having, as I am aware, +ever been adduced; for who amongst those who have made such a +statement has seen or conversed with the Egyptians of Barbary, or +had sufficient intercourse with them to justify him in the +assertion that they are one and the same people as those of Europe, +from whom they differ about as much as the various tribes which +inhabit various European countries differ from each other? At the +same time, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I am far from +denying the existence of Gypsies in various parts of the interior +of Barbary. Indeed, I almost believe the fact, though the +information which I possess is by no means of a description which +would justify me in speaking with full certainty; I having myself +never come in contact with any sect or caste of people amongst the +Moors, who not only tallied in their pursuits with the Rommany, but +who likewise spoke amongst themselves a dialect of the language of +Roma; nor am I aware that any individual worthy of credit has ever +presumed to say that he has been more fortunate in these respects. + +Nevertheless, I repeat that I am inclined to believe that Gypsies +virtually exist in Barbary, and my reasons I shall presently +adduce; but I will here observe, that if these strange outcasts did +indeed contrive to penetrate into the heart of that savage and +inhospitable region, they could only have succeeded after having +become well acquainted with the Moorish language, and when, after a +considerable sojourn on the coast, they had raised for themselves a +name, and were regarded with superstitious fear; in a word, if they +walked this land of peril untouched and unscathed, it was not that +they were considered as harmless and inoffensive people, which, +indeed, would not have protected them, and which assuredly they +were not; it was not that they were mistaken for wandering Moors +and Bedouins, from whom they differed in feature and complexion, +but because, wherever they went, they were dreaded as the +possessors of supernatural powers, and as mighty sorcerers. + +There is in Barbary more than one sect of wanderers, which, to the +cursory observer, might easily appear, and perhaps have appeared, +in the right of legitimate Gypsies. For example, there are the +Beni Aros. The proper home of these people is in certain high +mountains in the neighbourhood of Tetuan, but they are to be found +roving about the whole kingdom of Fez. Perhaps it would be +impossible to find, in the whole of Northern Africa, a more +detestable caste. They are beggars by profession, but are +exceedingly addicted to robbery and murder; they are notorious +drunkards, and are infamous, even in Barbary, for their unnatural +lusts. They are, for the most part, well made and of comely +features. I have occasionally spoken with them; they are Moors, +and speak no language but the Arabic. + +Then there is the sect of Sidi Hamed au Muza, a very roving people, +companies of whom are generally to be found in all the principal +towns of Barbary. The men are expert vaulters and tumblers, and +perform wonderful feats of address with swords and daggers, to the +sound of wild music, which the women, seated on the ground, produce +from uncouth instruments; by these means they obtain a livelihood. +Their dress is picturesque, scarlet vest and white drawers. In +many respects they not a little resemble the Gypsies; but they are +not an evil people, and are looked upon with much respect by the +Moors, who call them Santons. Their patron saint is Hamed au Muza, +and from him they derive their name. Their country is on the +confines of the Sahara, or great desert, and their language is the +Shilhah, or a dialect thereof. They speak but little Arabic. When +I saw them for the first time, I believed them to be of the Gypsy +caste, but was soon undeceived. A more wandering race does not +exist than the children of Sidi Hamed au Muza. They have even +visited France, and exhibited their dexterity and agility at Paris +and Marseilles. + +I will now say a few words concerning another sect which exists in +Barbary, and will here premise, that if those who compose it are +not Gypsies, such people are not to be found in North Africa, and +the assertion, hitherto believed, that they abound there, is devoid +of foundation. I allude to certain men and women, generally termed +by the Moors 'Those of the Dar-bushi-fal,' which word is equivalent +to prophesying or fortune-telling. They are great wanderers, but +have also their fixed dwellings or villages, and such a place is +called 'Char Seharra,' or witch-hamlet. Their manner of life, in +every respect, resembles that of the Gypsies of other countries; +they are wanderers during the greatest part of the year, and +subsist principally by pilfering and fortune-telling. They deal +much in mules and donkeys, and it is believed, in Barbary, that +they can change the colour of any animal by means of sorcery, and +so disguise him as to sell him to his very proprietor, without fear +of his being recognised. This latter trait is quite characteristic +of the Gypsy race, by whom the same thing is practised in most +parts of the world. But the Moors assert, that the children of the +Dar-bushi-fal can not only change the colour of a horse or a mule, +but likewise of a human being, in one night, transforming a white +into a black, after which they sell him for a slave; on which +account the superstitious Moors regard them with the utmost dread, +and in general prefer passing the night in the open fields to +sleeping in their hamlets. They are said to possess a particular +language, which is neither Shilhah nor Arabic, and which none but +themselves understand; from all which circumstances I am led to +believe, that the children of the Dar-bushi-fal are legitimate +Gypsies, descendants of those who passed over to Barbary from +Spain. Nevertheless, as it has never been my fortune to meet or to +converse with any of this caste, though they are tolerably numerous +in Barbary, I am far from asserting that they are of Gypsy race. +More enterprising individuals than myself may, perhaps, establish +the fact. Any particular language or jargon which they speak +amongst themselves will be the best criterion. The word which they +employ for 'water' would decide the point; for the Dar-bushi-fal +are not Gypsies, if, in their peculiar speech, they designate that +blessed element and article most necessary to human existence by +aught else than the Sanscrit term 'Pani,' a word brought by the +race from sunny Ind, and esteemed so holy that they have never even +presumed to modify it. + +The following is an account of the Dar-bushi-fal, given me by a Jew +of Fez, who had travelled much in Barbary, and which I insert +almost literally as I heard it from his mouth. Various other +individuals, Moors, have spoken of them in much the same manner. + +'In one of my journeys I passed the night in a place called Mulai- +Jacub Munsur. + +'Not far from this place is a Char Seharra, or witch-hamlet, where +dwell those of the Dar-bushi-fal. These are very evil people, and +powerful enchanters; for it is well known that if any traveller +stop to sleep in their Char, they will with their sorceries, if he +be a white man, turn him as black as a coal, and will afterwards +sell him as a negro. Horses and mules they serve in the same +manner, for if they are black, they will turn them red, or any +other colour which best may please them; and although the owners +demand justice of the authorities, the sorcerers always come off +best. They have a language which they use among themselves, very +different from all other languages, so much so that it is +impossible to understand them. They are very swarthy, quite as +much so as mulattos, and their faces are exceedingly lean. As for +their legs, they are like reeds; and when they run, the devil +himself cannot overtake them. They tell Dar-bushi-fal with flour; +they fill a plate, and then they are able to tell you anything you +ask them. They likewise tell it with a shoe; they put it in their +mouth, and then they will recall to your memory every action of +your life. They likewise tell Dar-bushi-fal with oil; and indeed +are, in every respect, most powerful sorcerers. + +'Two women, once on a time, came to Fez, bringing with them an +exceedingly white donkey, which they placed in the middle of the +square called Faz el Bali; they then killed it, and cut it into +upwards of thirty pieces. Upon the ground there was much of the +donkey's filth and dung; some of this they took in their hands, +when it straight assumed the appearance of fresh dates. There were +some people who were greedy enough to put these dates into their +mouths, and then they found that it was dung. These women deceived +me amongst the rest with a date; when I put it into my mouth, lo +and behold it was the donkey's dung. After they had collected much +money from the spectators, one of them took a needle, and ran it +into the tail of the donkey, crying "Arrhe li dar" (Get home), +whereupon the donkey instantly rose up, and set off running, +kicking every now and then most furiously; and it was remarked, +that not one single trace of blood remained upon the ground, just +as if they had done nothing to it. Both these women were of the +very same Char Seharra which I have already mentioned. They +likewise took paper, and cut it into the shape of a peseta, and a +dollar, and a half-dollar, until they had made many pesetas and +dollars, and then they put them into an earthen pan over a fire, +and when they took them out, they appeared just fresh from the +stamp, and with such money these people buy all they want. + +'There was a friend of my grandfather, who came frequently to our +house, who was in the habit of making this money. One day he took +me with him to buy white silk; and when they had shown him some, he +took the silk in his hand, and pressed it to his mouth, and then I +saw that the silk, which was before white, had become green, even +as grass. The master of the shop said, "Pay me for my silk." "Of +what colour was your silk?" he demanded. "White," said the man; +whereupon, turning round, he cried, "Good people, behold, the white +silk is green"; and so he got a pound of silk for nothing; and he +also was of the Char Seharra. + +'They are very evil people indeed, and the emperor himself is +afraid of them. The poor wretch who falls into their hands has +cause to rue; they always go badly dressed, and exhibit every +appearance of misery, though they are far from being miserable. +Such is the life they lead.' + +There is, of course, some exaggeration in the above account of the +Dar-bushi-fal; yet there is little reason to doubt that there is a +foundation of truth in all the facts stated. The belief that they +are enabled, by sorcery, to change a white into a black man had its +origin in the great skill which they possess in altering the +appearance of a horse or a mule, and giving it another colour. +Their changing white into green silk is a very simple trick, and is +accomplished by dexterously substituting one thing for another. +Had the man of the Dar-bushi-fal been searched, the white silk +would have been found upon him. The Gypsies, wherever they are +found, are fond of this species of fraud. In Germany, for example, +they go to the wine-shop with two pitchers exactly similar, one in +their hand empty, and the other beneath their cloaks filled with +water; when the empty pitcher is filled with wine they pretend to +be dissatisfied with the quality, or to have no money, but contrive +to substitute the pitcher of water in its stead, which the wine- +seller generally snatches up in anger, and pours the contents back, +as he thinks, into the butt - but it is not wine but water which he +pours. With respect to the donkey, which APPEARED to be cut in +pieces, but which afterwards, being pricked in the tail, got up and +ran home, I have little to say, but that I have myself seen almost +as strange things without believing in sorcery. + +As for the dates of dung, and the paper money, they are mere feats +of legerdemain. + +I repeat, that if legitimate Gypsies really exist in Barbary, they +are the men and women of the Dar-bushi-fal. + + + +CHAPTER VII + + + +CHIROMANCY, or the divination of the hand, is, according to the +orthodox theory, the determining from certain lines upon the hand +the quality of the physical and intellectual powers of the +possessor. + +The whole science is based upon the five principal lines in the +hand, and the triangle which they form in the palm. These lines, +which have all their particular and appropriate names, and the +principal of which is called 'the line of life,' are, if we may +believe those who have written on the subject, connected with the +heart, with the genitals, with the brain, with the liver or +stomach, and the head. Torreblanca, (23) in his curious and +learned book on magic, observes: 'In judging these lines you must +pay attention to their substance, colour, and continuance, together +with the disposition of the correspondent member; for, if the line +be well and clearly described, and is of a vivid colour, without +being intermitted or PUNCTURIS INFECTA, it denotes the good +complexion and virtue of its member, according to Aristotle. + +'So that if the line of the heart be found sufficiently long and +reasonably deep, and not crossed by other accidental lines, it is +an infallible sign of the health of the heart and the great virtue +of the heart, and the abundance of spirits and good blood in the +heart, and accordingly denotes boldness and liberal genius for +every work.' + +In like manner, by means of the hepatal line, it is easy to form an +accurate judgment as to the state of a person's liver, and of his +powers of digestion, and so on with respect to all the other organs +of the body. + +After having laid down all the rules of chiromancy with the utmost +possible clearness, the sage Torreblanca exclaims: 'And with these +terminate the canons of true and catholic chiromancy; for as for +the other species by which people pretend to divine concerning the +affairs of life, either past or to come, dignities, fortunes, +children, events, chances, dangers, etc., such chiromancy is not +only reprobated by theologians, but by men of law and physic, as a +foolish, false, vain, scandalous, futile, superstitious practice, +smelling much of divinery and a pact with the devil.' + +Then, after mentioning a number of erudite and enlightened men of +the three learned professions, who have written against such absurd +superstitions, amongst whom he cites Martin Del Rio, he falls foul +of the Gypsy wives in this manner: 'A practice turned to profit by +the wives of that rabble of abandoned miscreants whom the Italians +call Cingari, the Latins Egyptians, and we Gitanos, who, +notwithstanding that they are sent by the Turks into Spain for the +purpose of acting as spies upon the Christian religion, pretend +that they are wandering over the world in fulfilment of a penance +enjoined upon them, part of which penance seems to be the living by +fraud and imposition.' And shortly afterwards he remarks: 'Nor do +they derive any authority for such a practice from those words in +Exodus, (24) "et quasi signum in manu tua," as that passage does +not treat of chiromancy, but of the festival of unleavened bread; +the observance of which, in order that it might be memorable to the +Hebrews, the sacred historian said should be as a sign upon the +hand; a metaphor derived from those who, when they wish to remember +anything, tie a thread round their finger, or put a ring upon it; +and still less I ween does that chapter of Job (25) speak in their +favour, where is written, "Qui in manu hominis signat, ut norint +omnes opera sua," because the divine power is meant thereby which +is preached to those here below: for the hand is intended for +power and magnitude, Exod. chap. xiv., (26) or stands for free +will, which is placed in a man's hand, that is, in his power. +Wisdom, chap. xxxvi. "In manibus abscondit lucem," (27) etc. etc. +etc. + +No, no, good Torreblanca, we know perfectly well that the witch- +wives of Multan, who for the last four hundred years have been +running about Spain and other countries, telling fortunes by the +hand, and deriving good profit from the same, are not countenanced +in such a practice by the sacred volume; we yield as little credit +to their chiromancy as we do to that which you call the true and +catholic, and believe that the lines of the hand have as little +connection with the events of life as with the liver and stomach, +notwithstanding Aristotle, who you forget was a heathen, and knew +as little and cared as little for the Scriptures as the Gitanos, +whether male or female, who little reck what sanction any of their +practices may receive from authority, whether divine or human, if +the pursuit enable them to provide sufficient for the existence, +however poor and miserable, of their families and themselves. + +A very singular kind of women are the Gitanas, far more remarkable +in most points than their husbands, in whose pursuits of low +cheating and petty robbery there is little capable of exciting much +interest; but if there be one being in the world who, more than +another, deserves the title of sorceress (and where do you find a +word of greater romance and more thrilling interest?), it is the +Gypsy female in the prime and vigour of her age and ripeness of her +understanding - the Gypsy wife, the mother of two or three +children. Mention to me a point of devilry with which that woman +is not acquainted. She can at any time, when it suits her, show +herself as expert a jockey as her husband, and he appears to +advantage in no other character, and is only eloquent when +descanting on the merits of some particular animal; but she can do +much more: she is a prophetess, though she believes not in +prophecy; she is a physician, though she will not taste her own +philtres; she is a procuress, though she is not to be procured; she +is a singer of obscene songs, though she will suffer no obscene +hand to touch her; and though no one is more tenacious of the +little she possesses, she is a cutpurse and a shop-lifter whenever +opportunity shall offer. + +In all times, since we have known anything of these women, they +have been addicted to and famous for fortune-telling; indeed, it is +their only ostensible means of livelihood, though they have various +others which they pursue more secretly. Where and how they first +learned the practice we know not; they may have brought it with +them from the East, or they may have adopted it, which is less +likely, after their arrival in Europe. Chiromancy, from the most +remote periods, has been practised in all countries. Neither do we +know, whether in this practice they were ever guided by fixed and +certain rules; the probability, however, is, that they were not, +and that they never followed it but as a means of fraud and +robbery; certainly, amongst all the professors of this art that +ever existed, no people are more adapted by nature to turn it to +account than these females, call them by whatever name you will, +Gitanas, Ziganas, Gypsies, or Bohemians; their forms, their +features, the expression of their countenances are ever wild and +Sibylline, frequently beautiful, but never vulgar. Observe, for +example, the Gitana, even her of Seville. She is standing before +the portal of a large house in one of the narrow Moorish streets of +the capital of Andalusia; through the grated iron door, she looks +in upon the court; it is paved with small marble slabs of almost +snowy whiteness; in the middle is a fountain distilling limpid +water, and all around there is a profusion of macetas, in which +flowering plants and aromatic shrubs are growing, and at each +corner there is an orange tree, and the perfume of the azahar may +be distinguished; you hear the melody of birds from a small aviary +beneath the piazza which surrounds the court, which is surmounted +by a toldo or linen awning, for it is the commencement of May, and +the glorious sun of Andalusia is burning with a splendour too +intense for his rays to be borne with impunity. It is a fairy +scene such as nowhere meets the eye but at Seville, or perhaps at +Fez and Shiraz, in the palaces of the Sultan and the Shah. The +Gypsy looks through the iron-grated door, and beholds, seated near +the fountain, a richly dressed dame and two lovely delicate +maidens; they are busied at their morning's occupation, +intertwining with their sharp needles the gold and silk on the +tambour; several female attendants are seated behind. The Gypsy +pulls the bell, when is heard the soft cry of 'Quien es'; the door, +unlocked by means of a string, recedes upon its hinges, when in +walks the Gitana, the witch-wife of Multan, with a look such as the +tiger-cat casts when she stealeth from her jungle into the plain. + +Yes, well may you exclaim 'Ave Maria purissima,' ye dames and +maidens of Seville, as she advances towards you; she is not of +yourselves, she is not of your blood, she or her fathers have +walked to your climate from a distance of three thousand leagues. +She has come from the far East, like the three enchanted kings, to +Cologne; but, unlike them, she and her race have come with hate and +not with love. She comes to flatter, and to deceive, and to rob, +for she is a lying prophetess, and a she-Thug; she will greet you +with blessings which will make your hearts rejoice, but your +hearts' blood would freeze, could you hear the curses which to +herself she murmurs against you; for she says, that in her +children's veins flows the dark blood of the 'husbands,' whilst in +those of yours flows the pale tide of the 'savages,' and therefore +she would gladly set her foot on all your corses first poisoned by +her hands. For all her love - and she can love - is for the Romas; +and all her hate - and who can hate like her? - is for the Busnees; +for she says that the world would be a fair world if there were no +Busnees, and if the Romamiks could heat their kettles undisturbed +at the foot of the olive-trees; and therefore she would kill them +all if she could and if she dared. She never seeks the houses of +the Busnees but for the purpose of prey; for the wild animals of +the sierra do not more abhor the sight of man than she abhors the +countenances of the Busnees. She now comes to prey upon you and to +scoff at you. Will you believe her words? Fools! do you think +that the being before ye has any sympathy for the like of you? + +She is of the middle stature, neither strongly nor slightly built, +and yet her every movement denotes agility and vigour. As she +stands erect before you, she appears like a falcon about to soar, +and you are almost tempted to believe that the power of volition is +hers; and were you to stretch forth your hand to seize her, she +would spring above the house-tops like a bird. Her face is oval, +and her features are regular but somewhat hard and coarse, for she +was born amongst rocks in a thicket, and she has been wind-beaten +and sun-scorched for many a year, even like her parents before her; +there is many a speck upon her cheek, and perhaps a scar, but no +dimples of love; and her brow is wrinkled over, though she is yet +young. Her complexion is more than dark, for it is almost that of +a mulatto; and her hair, which hangs in long locks on either side +of her face, is black as coal, and coarse as the tail of a horse, +from which it seems to have been gathered. + +There is no female eye in Seville can support the glance of hers, - +so fierce and penetrating, and yet so artful and sly, is the +expression of their dark orbs; her mouth is fine and almost +delicate, and there is not a queen on the proudest throne between +Madrid and Moscow who might not and would not envy the white and +even rows of teeth which adorn it, which seem not of pearl but of +the purest elephant's bone of Multan. She comes not alone; a +swarthy two-year-old bantling clasps her neck with one arm, its +naked body half extant from the coarse blanket which, drawn round +her shoulders, is secured at her bosom by a skewer. Though tender +of age, it looks wicked and sly, like a veritable imp of Roma. +Huge rings of false gold dangle from wide slits in the lobes of her +ears; her nether garments are rags, and her feet are cased in +hempen sandals. Such is the wandering Gitana, such is the witch- +wife of Multan, who has come to spae the fortune of the Sevillian +countess and her daughters. + +'O may the blessing of Egypt light upon your head, you high-born +lady! (May an evil end overtake your body, daughter of a Busnee +harlot!) and may the same blessing await the two fair roses of the +Nile here flowering by your side! (May evil Moors seize them and +carry them across the water!) O listen to the words of the poor +woman who is come from a distant country; she is of a wise people, +though it has pleased the God of the sky to punish them for their +sins by sending them to wander through the world. They denied +shelter to the Majari, whom you call the queen of heaven, and to +the Son of God, when they flew to the land of Egypt before the +wrath of the wicked king; it is said that they even refused them a +draught of the sweet waters of the great river when the blessed two +were athirst. O you will say that it was a heavy crime; and truly +so it was, and heavily has the Lord punished the Egyptians. He has +sent us a-wandering, poor as you see, with scarcely a blanket to +cover us. O blessed lady, (Accursed be thy dead, as many as thou +mayest have,) we have no money to buy us bread; we have only our +wisdom with which to support ourselves and our poor hungry babes; +when God took away their silks from the Egyptians, and their gold +from the Egyptians, he left them their wisdom as a resource that +they might not starve. O who can read the stars like the +Egyptians? and who can read the lines of the palm like the +Egyptians? The poor woman read in the stars that there was a rich +ventura for all of this goodly house, so she followed the bidding +of the stars and came to declare it. O blessed lady, (I defile thy +dead corse,) your husband is at Granada, fighting with king +Ferdinand against the wild Corahai! (May an evil ball smite him +and split his head!) Within three months he shall return with +twenty captive Moors, round the neck of each a chain of gold. (God +grant that when he enter the house a beam may fall upon him and +crush him!) And within nine months after his return God shall +bless you with a fair chabo, the pledge for which you have sighed +so long. (Accursed be the salt placed in its mouth in the church +when it is baptized!) Your palm, blessed lady, your palm, and the +palms of all I see here, that I may tell you all the rich ventura +which is hanging over this good house; (May evil lightning fall +upon it and consume it!) but first let me sing you a song of Egypt, +that the spirit of the Chowahanee may descend more plenteously upon +the poor woman.' + +Her demeanour now instantly undergoes a change. Hitherto she has +been pouring forth a lying and wild harangue without much flurry or +agitation of manner. Her speech, it is true, has been rapid, but +her voice has never been raised to a very high key; but she now +stamps on the ground, and placing her hands on her hips, she moves +quickly to the right and left, advancing and retreating in a +sidelong direction. Her glances become more fierce and fiery, and +her coarse hair stands erect on her head, stiff as the prickles of +the hedgehog; and now she commences clapping her hands, and +uttering words of an unknown tongue, to a strange and uncouth tune. +The tawny bantling seems inspired with the same fiend, and, foaming +at the mouth, utters wild sounds, in imitation of its dam. Still +more rapid become the sidelong movements of the Gitana. Movement! +she springs, she bounds, and at every bound she is a yard above the +ground. She no longer bears the child in her bosom; she plucks it +from thence, and fiercely brandishes it aloft, till at last, with a +yell she tosses it high into the air, like a ball, and then, with +neck and head thrown back, receives it, as it falls, on her hands +and breast, extracting a cry from the terrified beholders. Is it +possible she can be singing? Yes, in the wildest style of her +people; and here is a snatch of the song, in the language of Roma, +which she occasionally screams - + + +'En los sastos de yesque plai me diquelo, +Doscusanas de sonacai terelo, - +Corojai diquelo abillar, +Y ne asislo chapescar, chapescar.' + +'On the top of a mountain I stand, +With a crown of red gold in my hand, - +Wild Moors came trooping o'er the lea, +O how from their fury shall I flee, flee, flee? +O how from their fury shall I flee?' + + +Such was the Gitana in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella, and much +the same is she now in the days of Isabel and Christina. + +Of the Gitanas and their practices I shall have much to say on a +future occasion, when speaking of those of the present time, with +many of whom I have had no little intercourse. All the ancient +Spanish authors who mention these women speak of them in unmeasured +terms of abhorrence, employing against them every abusive word +contained in the language in which they wrote. Amongst other vile +names, they have been called harlots, though perhaps no females on +earth are, and have ever been, more chaste in their own persons, +though at all times willing to encourage licentiousness in others, +from a hope of gain. It is one thing to be a procuress, and +another to be a harlot, though the former has assuredly no reason +to complain if she be confounded with the latter. 'The Gitanas,' +says Doctor Sancho de Moncada, in his discourse concerning the +Gypsies, which I shall presently lay before the reader, 'are public +harlots, common, as it is said, to all the Gitanos, and with +dances, demeanour, and filthy songs, are the cause of infinite harm +to the souls of the vassals of your Majesty (Philip III.), as it is +notorious what infinite harm they have caused in many honourable +houses. The married women whom they have separated from their +husbands, and the maidens whom they have perverted; and finally, in +the best of these Gitanas, any one may recognise all the signs of a +harlot given by the wise king: "they are gadders about, +whisperers, always unquiet in the places and corners."' (28) + +The author of Alonso, (29) he who of all the old Spanish writers +has written most graphically concerning the Gitanos, and I believe +with most correctness, puts the following account of the Gitanas, +and their fortune-telling practices, into the entertaining mouth of +his hero:- + +'O how many times did these Gitanas carry me along with them, for +being, after all, women, even they have their fears, and were glad +of me as a protector: and so they went through the neighbouring +villages, and entered the houses a-begging, giving to understand +thereby their poverty and necessity, and then they would call aside +the girls, in order to tell them the buena ventura, and the young +fellows the good luck which they were to enjoy, never failing in +the first place to ask for a cuarto or real, in order to make the +sign of the cross; and with these flattering words, they got as +much as they could, although, it is true, not much in money, as +their harvest in that article was generally slight; but enough in +bacon to afford subsistence to their husbands and bantlings. I +looked on and laughed at the simplicity of those foolish people, +who, especially such as wished to be married, were as satisfied and +content with what the Gitana told them, as if an apostle had spoken +it.' + +The above description of Gitanas telling fortunes amongst the +villages of Navarre, and which was written by a Spanish author at +the commencement of the seventeenth century, is, in every respect, +applicable, as the reader will not fail to have observed, to the +English Gypsy women of the present day, engaged in the same +occupation in the rural districts of England, where the first +demand of the sibyls is invariably a sixpence, in order that they +may cross their hands with silver, and where the same promises are +made, and as easily believed; all which, if it serves to confirm +the opinion that in all times the practices and habits of the +Egyptian race have been, in almost all respects, the same as at the +present day, brings us also to the following mortifying conclusion, +- that mental illumination, amongst the generality of mankind, has +made no progress at all; as we observe in the nineteenth century +the same gross credulity manifested as in the seventeenth, and the +inhabitants of one of the countries most celebrated for the arts of +civilisation, imposed upon by the same stale tricks which served to +deceive two centuries before in Spain, a country whose name has +long and justly been considered as synonymous with every species of +ignorance and barbarism. + +The same author, whilst speaking of these female Thugs, relates an +anecdote very characteristic of them; a device at which they are +adepts, which they love to employ, and which is generally attended +with success. It is the more deserving attention, as an instance +of the same description, attended with very similar circumstances, +occurred within the sphere of my own knowledge in my own country. +This species of deceit is styled, in the peculiar language of the +Rommany, HOKKANO BARO, or the 'great trick'; it being considered by +the women as their most fruitful source of plunder. The story, as +related by Alonso, runs as follows:- + +'A band of Gitanos being in the neighbourhood of a village, one of +the women went to a house where lived a lady alone. This lady was +a young widow, rich, without children, and of very handsome person. +After having saluted her, the Gypsy repeated the harangue which she +had already studied, to the effect that there was neither bachelor, +widower, nor married man, nobleman, nor gallant, endowed with a +thousand graces, who was not dying for love of her; and then +continued: "Lady, I have contracted a great affection for you, and +since I know that you well merit the riches you possess, +notwithstanding you live heedless of your good fortune, I wish to +reveal to you a secret. You must know, then, that in your cellar +you have a vast treasure; nevertheless you will experience great +difficulty in arriving at it, as it is enchanted, and to remove it +is impossible, save alone on the eve of Saint John. We are now at +the eighteenth of June, and it wants five days to the twenty-third; +therefore, in the meanwhile, collect some jewels of gold and +silver, and likewise some money, whatever you please, provided it +be not copper, and provide six tapers, of white or yellow wax, for +at the time appointed I will come with a sister of mine, when we +will extract from the cellar such abundance of riches, that you +will be able to live in a style which will excite the envy of the +whole country." The ignorant widow, hearing these words, put +implicit confidence in the deceiver, and imagined that she already +possessed all the gold of Arabia and the silver of Potosi. + +'The appointed day arrived, and not more punctual were the two +Gypsies, than anxiously expected by the lady. Being asked whether +she had prepared all as she had been desired, she replied in the +affirmative, when the Gypsy thus addressed her: "You must know, +good lady, that gold calls forth gold, and silver calls forth +silver; let us light these tapers, and descend to the cellar before +it grows late, in order that we may have time for our +conjurations." Thereupon the trio, the widow and the two Gypsies, +went down, and having lighted the tapers and placed them in +candlesticks in the shape of a circle, they deposited in the midst +a silver tankard, with some pieces of eight, and some corals tipped +with gold, and other jewels of small value. They then told the +lady, that it was necessary for them all to return to the staircase +by which they had descended to the cellar, and there they uplifted +their hands, and remained for a short time as if engaged in prayer. + +'The two Gypsies then bade the widow wait for them, and descended +again, when they commenced holding a conversation, speaking and +answering alternately, and altering their voices in such a manner +that five or six people appeared to be in the cellar. "Blessed +little Saint John," said one, "will it be possible to remove the +treasure which you keep hidden here?" "O yes, and with a little +more trouble it will be yours," replied the Gypsy sister, altering +her voice to a thin treble, as if it proceeded from a child four or +five years old. In the meantime, the lady remained astonished, +expecting the promised riches, and the two Gitanas presently coming +to her, said, "Come up, lady, for our desire is upon the point of +being gratified. Bring down the best petticoat, gown, and mantle +which you have in your chest, that I may dress myself, and appear +in other guise to what I do now." The simple woman, not perceiving +the trick they were playing upon her, ascended with them to the +doorway, and leaving them alone, went to fetch the things which +they demanded. Thereupon the two Gypsies, seeing themselves at +liberty, and having already pocketed the gold and silver which had +been deposited for their conjuration, opened the street door, and +escaped with all the speed they could. + +'The beguiled widow returned laden with the clothes, and not +finding those whom she had left waiting, descended into the cellar, +when, perceiving the trick which they had played her, and the +robbery which they had committed in stealing her jewels, she began +to cry and weep, but all in vain. All the neighbours hastened to +her, and to them she related her misfortune, which served more to +raise laughter and jeers at her expense than to excite pity; though +the subtlety of the two she-thieves was universally praised. These +latter, as soon as they had got out of the door, knew well how to +conceal themselves, for having once reached the mountain it was not +possible to find them. So much for their divination, their +foreseeing things to come, their power over the secrets of nature, +and their knowledge of the stars.' + +The Gitanas in the olden time appear to have not unfrequently been +subjected to punishment as sorceresses, and with great justice, as +the abominable trade which they drove in philtres and decoctions +certainly entitled them to that appellation, and to the pains and +penalties reserved for those who practised what was termed +'witchcraft.' + +Amongst the crimes laid to their charge, connected with the +exercise of occult powers, there is one, however, of which they +were certainly not capable, as it is a purely imaginary one, though +if they were punished for it, they had assuredly little right to +complain, as the chastisement they met was fully merited by +practices equally malefic as the crime imputed to them, provided +that were possible. IT WAS CASTING THE EVIL EYE. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + + +IN the Gitano language, casting the evil eye is called QUERELAR +NASULA, which simply means making sick, and which, according to the +common superstition, is accomplished by casting an evil look at +people, especially children, who, from the tenderness of their +constitution, are supposed to be more easily blighted than those of +a more mature age. After receiving the evil glance, they fall +sick, and die in a few hours. + +The Spaniards have very little to say respecting the evil eye, +though the belief in it is very prevalent, especially in Andalusia +amongst the lower orders. A stag's horn is considered a good +safeguard, and on that account a small horn, tipped with silver, is +frequently attached to the children's necks by means of a cord +braided from the hair of a black mare's tail. Should the evil +glance be cast, it is imagined that the horn receives it, and +instantly snaps asunder. Such horns may be purchased in some of +the silversmiths' shops at Seville. + +The Gitanos have nothing more to say on this species of sorcery +than the Spaniards, which can cause but little surprise, when we +consider that they have no traditions, and can give no rational +account of themselves, nor of the country from which they come. + +Some of the women, however, pretend to have the power of casting +it, though if questioned how they accomplish it, they can return no +answer. They will likewise sell remedies for the evil eye, which +need not be particularised, as they consist of any drugs which they +happen to possess or be acquainted with; the prescribers being +perfectly reckless as to the effect produced on the patient, +provided they receive their paltry reward. + +I have known these beings offer to cure the glanders in a horse (an +incurable disorder) with the very same powders which they offer as +a specific for the evil eye. + +Leaving, therefore, for a time, the Spaniards and Gitanos, whose +ideas on this subject are very scanty and indistinct, let us turn +to other nations amongst whom this superstition exists, and +endeavour to ascertain on what it is founded, and in what it +consists. The fear of the evil eye is common amongst all oriental +people, whether Turks, Arabs, or Hindoos. It is dangerous in some +parts to survey a person with a fixed glance, as he instantly +concludes that you are casting the evil eye upon him. Children, +particularly, are afraid of the evil eye from the superstitious +fear inculcated in their minds in the nursery. Parents in the East +feel no delight when strangers look at their children in admiration +of their loveliness; they consider that you merely look at them in +order to blight them. The attendants on the children of the great +are enjoined never to permit strangers to fix their glance upon +them. I was once in the shop of an Armenian at Constantinople, +waiting to see a procession which was expected to pass by; there +was a Janisary there, holding by the hand a little boy about six +years of age, the son of some Bey; they also had come to see the +procession. I was struck with the remarkable loveliness of the +child, and fixed my glance upon it: presently it became uneasy, +and turning to the Janisary, said: 'There are evil eyes upon me; +drive them away.' 'Take your eyes off the child, Frank,' said the +Janisary, who had a long white beard, and wore a hanjar. 'What +harm can they do to the child, efendijem?' said I. 'Are they not +the eyes of a Frank?' replied the Janisary; 'but were they the eyes +of Omar, they should not rest on the child.' 'Omar,' said I, 'and +why not Ali? Don't you love Ali?' 'What matters it to you whom I +love,' said the Turk in a rage; 'look at the child again with your +chesm fanar and I will smite you.' 'Bad as my eyes are,' said I, +'they can see that you do not love Ali.' 'Ya Ali, ya Mahoma, +Alahhu!' (30) said the Turk, drawing his hanjar. All Franks, by +which are meant Christians, are considered as casters of the evil +eye. I was lately at Janina in Albania, where a friend of mine, a +Greek gentleman, is established as physician. 'I have been +visiting the child of a Jew that is sick,' said he to me one day; +'scarcely, however, had I left the house, when the father came +running after me. "You have cast the evil eye on my child," said +he; "come back and spit in its face." And I assure you,' continued +my friend, 'that notwithstanding all I could say, he compelled me +to go back and spit in the face of his child.' + +Perhaps there is no nation in the world amongst whom this belief is +so firmly rooted and from so ancient a period as the Jews; it being +a subject treated of, and in the gravest manner, by the old +Rabbinical writers themselves, which induces the conclusion that +the superstition of the evil eye is of an antiquity almost as +remote as the origin of the Hebrew race; (and can we go farther +back?) as the oral traditions of the Jews, contained and commented +upon in what is called the Talmud, are certainly not less ancient +than the inspired writings of the Old Testament, and have unhappily +been at all times regarded by them with equal if not greater +reverence. + +The evil eye is mentioned in Scripture, but of course not in the +false and superstitious sense; evil in the eye, which occurs in +Prov. xxiii. v. 6, merely denoting niggardness and illiberality. +The Hebrew words are AIN RA, and stand in contradistinction to AIN +TOUB, or the benignant in eye, which denotes an inclination to +bounty and liberality. + +It is imagined that this blight is most easily inflicted when a +person is enjoying himself with little or no care for the future, +when he is reclining in the sun before the door, or when he is full +of health and spirits: it may be cast designedly or not; and the +same effect may be produced by an inadvertent word. It is deemed +partially unlucky to say to any person, 'How well you look'; as the +probabilities are that such an individual will receive a sudden +blight and pine away. We have however no occasion to go to +Hindoos, Turks, and Jews for this idea; we shall find it nearer +home, or something akin to it. Is there one of ourselves, however +enlightened and free from prejudice, who would not shrink, even in +the midst of his highest glee and enjoyment, from saying, 'How +happy I am!' or if the words inadvertently escaped him, would he +not consider them as ominous of approaching evil, and would he not +endeavour to qualify them by saying, 'God preserve me!' - Ay, God +preserve you, brother! Who knows what the morrow will bring forth? + +The common remedy for the evil eye, in the East, is the spittle of +the person who has cast it, provided it can be obtained. 'Spit in +the face of my child,' said the Jew of Janina to the Greek +physician: recourse is had to the same means in Barbary, where the +superstition is universal. In that country both Jews and Moors +carry papers about with them scrawled with hieroglyphics, which are +prepared by their respective priests, and sold. These papers, +placed in a little bag, and hung about the person, are deemed +infallible preservatives from the 'evil eye.' + +Let us now see what the TALMUD itself says about the evil eye. The +passage which we are about to quote is curious, not so much from +the subject which it treats of, as in affording an example of the +manner in which the Rabbins are wont to interpret the Scripture, +and the strange and wonderful deductions which they draw from words +and phrases apparently of the greatest simplicity. + +'Whosoever when about to enter into a city is afraid of evil eyes, +let him grasp the thumb of his right hand with his left hand, and +his left-hand thumb with his right hand, and let him cry in this +manner: "I am such a one, son of such a one, sprung from the seed +of Joseph"; and the evil eyes shall not prevail against him. +JOSEPH IS A FRUITFUL BOUGH, A FRUITFUL BOUGH BY A WELL, (31) etc. +Now you should not say BY A WELL, but OVER AN EYE. (32) Rabbi +Joseph Bar Henina makes the following deduction: AND THEY SHALL +BECOME (the seed of Joseph) LIKE FISHES IN MULTITUDE IN THE MIDST +OF THE EARTH. (33) Now the fishes of the sea are covered by the +waters, and the evil eye has no power over them; and so over those +of the seed of Joseph the evil eye has no power.' + +I have been thus diffuse upon the evil eye, because of late years +it has been a common practice of writers to speak of it without +apparently possessing any farther knowledge of the subject than +what may be gathered from the words themselves. + +Like most other superstitions, it is, perhaps, founded on a +physical reality. + +I have observed, that only in hot countries, where the sun and moon +are particularly dazzling, the belief in the evil eye is prevalent. +If we turn to Scripture, the wonderful book which is capable of +resolving every mystery, I believe that we shall presently come to +the solution of the evil eye. 'The sun shall not smite thee by +day, nor the moon by night.' Ps. cxxi. v. 6. + +Those who wish to avoid the evil eye, instead of trusting in +charms, scrawls, and Rabbinical antidotes, let them never loiter in +the sunshine before the king of day has nearly reached his bourn in +the west; for the sun has an evil eye, and his glance produces +brain fevers; and let them not sleep uncovered beneath the smile of +the moon, for her glance is poisonous, and produces insupportable +itching in the eye, and not unfrequently blindness. + +The northern nations have a superstition which bears some +resemblance to the evil eye, when allowance is made for +circumstances. They have no brilliant sun and moon to addle the +brain and poison the eye, but the grey north has its marshes, and +fenny ground, and fetid mists, which produce agues, low fevers, and +moping madness, and are as fatal to cattle as to man. Such +disorders are attributed to elves and fairies. This superstition +still lingers in some parts of England under the name of elf-shot, +whilst, throughout the north, it is called elle-skiod, and elle- +vild (fairy wild). It is particularly prevalent amongst shepherds +and cow-herds, the people who, from their manner of life, are most +exposed to the effects of the elf-shot. Those who wish to know +more of this superstition are referred to Thiele's - DANSKE +FOLKESAGN, and to the notes of the KOEMPE-VISER, or popular Danish +Ballads. + + + +CHAPTER IX + + + +WHEN the six hundred thousand men, (34) and the mixed multitude of +women and children, went forth from the land of Egypt, the God whom +they worshipped, the only true God, went before them by day in a +pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of +fire to give them light; this God who rescued them from slavery, +who guided them through the wilderness, who was their captain in +battle, and who cast down before them the strong walls which +encompassed the towns of their enemies, this God they still +remember, after the lapse of more than three thousand years, and +still worship with adoration the most unbounded. If there be one +event in the eventful history of the Hebrews which awakens in their +minds deeper feelings of gratitude than another, it is the exodus; +and that wonderful manifestation of olden mercy still serves them +as an assurance that the Lord will yet one day redeem and gather +together his scattered and oppressed people. 'Art thou not the God +who brought us out of the land of bondage?' they exclaim in the +days of their heaviest trouble and affliction. He who redeemed +Israel from the hand of Pharaoh is yet capable of restoring the +kingdom and sceptre to Israel. + +If the Rommany trusted in any God at the period of THEIR exodus, +they must speedily have forgotten him. Coming from Ind, as they +most assuredly did, it was impossible for them to have known the +true, and they must have been followers (if they followed any) +either of Buddh, or Brahmah, those tremendous phantoms which have +led, and are likely still to lead, the souls of hundreds of +millions to destruction; yet they are now ignorant of such names, +nor does it appear that such were ever current amongst them +subsequent to their arrival in Europe, if indeed they ever were. +They brought with them no Indian idols, as far as we are able to +judge at the present time, nor indeed Indian rites or observances, +for no traces of such are to be discovered amongst them. + +All, therefore, which relates to their original religion is +shrouded in mystery, and is likely so to remain. They may have +been idolaters, or atheists, or what they now are, totally +neglectful of worship of any kind; and though not exactly prepared +to deny the existence of a Supreme Being, as regardless of him as +if he existed not, and never mentioning his name, save in oaths and +blasphemy, or in moments of pain or sudden surprise, as they have +heard other people do, but always without any fixed belief, trust, +or hope. + +There are certainly some points of resemblance between the children +of Roma and those of Israel. Both have had an exodus, both are +exiles and dispersed amongst the Gentiles, by whom they are hated +and despised, and whom they hate and despise, under the names of +Busnees and Goyim; both, though speaking the language of the +Gentiles, possess a peculiar tongue, which the latter do not +understand, and both possess a peculiar cast of countenance, by +which they may, without difficulty, be distinguished from all other +nations; but with these points the similarity terminates. The +Israelites have a peculiar religion, to which they are fanatically +attached; the Romas have none, as they invariably adopt, though +only in appearance, that of the people with whom they chance to +sojourn; the Israelites possess the most authentic history of any +people in the world, and are acquainted with and delight to +recapitulate all that has befallen their race, from ages the most +remote; the Romas have no history, they do not even know the name +of their original country; and the only tradition which they +possess, that of their Egyptian origin, is a false one, whether +invented by themselves or others; the Israelites are of all people +the most wealthy, the Romas the most poor - poor as a Gypsy being +proverbial amongst some nations, though both are equally greedy of +gain; and finally, though both are noted for peculiar craft and +cunning, no people are more ignorant than the Romas, whilst the +Jews have always been a learned people, being in possession of the +oldest literature in the world, and certainly the most important +and interesting. + +Sad and weary must have been the path of the mixed rabble of the +Romas, when they left India's sunny land and wended their way to +the West, in comparison with the glorious exodus of the Israelites +from Egypt, whose God went before them in cloud and in fire, +working miracles and astonishing the hearts of their foes. + +Even supposing that they worshipped Buddh or Brahmah, neither of +these false deities could have accomplished for them what God +effected for his chosen people, although it is true that the idea +that a Supreme Being was watching over them, in return for the +reverence paid to his image, might have cheered them 'midst storm +and lightning, 'midst mountains and wildernesses, 'midst hunger and +drought; for it is assuredly better to trust even in an idol, in a +tree, or a stone, than to be entirely godless; and the most +superstitious hind of the Himalayan hills, who trusts in the Grand +Foutsa in the hour of peril and danger, is more wise than the most +enlightened atheist, who cherishes no consoling delusion to relieve +his mind, oppressed by the terrible ideas of reality. + +But it is evident that they arrived at the confines of Europe +without any certain or rooted faith. Knowing, as we do, with what +tenacity they retain their primitive habits and customs, their sect +being, in all points, the same as it was four hundred years ago, it +appears impossible that they should have forgotten their peculiar +god, if in any peculiar god they trusted. + +Though cloudy ideas of the Indian deities might be occasionally +floating in their minds, these ideas, doubtless, quickly passed +away when they ceased to behold the pagodas and temples of Indian +worship, and were no longer in contact with the enthusiastic +adorers of the idols of the East; they passed away even as the dim +and cloudy ideas which they subsequently adopted of the Eternal and +His Son, Mary and the saints, would pass away when they ceased to +be nourished by the sight of churches and crosses; for should it +please the Almighty to reconduct the Romas to Indian climes, who +can doubt that within half a century they would entirely forget all +connected with the religion of the West! Any poor shreds of that +faith which they bore with them they would drop by degrees as they +would relinquish their European garments when they became old, and +as they relinquished their Asiatic ones to adopt those of Europe; +no particular dress makes a part of the things essential to the +sect of Roma, so likewise no particular god and no particular +religion. + +Where these people first assumed the name of Egyptians, or where +that title was first bestowed upon them, it is difficult to +determine; perhaps, however, in the eastern parts of Europe, where +it should seem the grand body of this nation of wanderers made a +halt for a considerable time, and where they are still to be found +in greater numbers than in any other part. One thing is certain, +that when they first entered Germany, which they speedily overran, +they appeared under the character of Egyptians, doing penance for +the sin of having refused hospitality to the Virgin and her Son, +and, of course, as believers in the Christian faith, +notwithstanding that they subsisted by the perpetration of every +kind of robbery and imposition; Aventinus (ANNALES BOIORUM, 826) +speaking of them says: 'Adeo tamen vana superstitio hominum +mentes, velut lethargus invasit, ut eos violari nefas putet, atque +grassari, furari, imponere passim sinant.' + +This singular story of banishment from Egypt, and Wandering through +the world for a period of seven years, for inhospitality displayed +to the Virgin, and which I find much difficulty in attributing to +the invention of people so ignorant as the Romas, tallies strangely +with the fate foretold to the ancient Egyptians in certain chapters +of Ezekiel, so much so, indeed, that it seems to be derived from +that source. The Lord is angry with Egypt because its inhabitants +have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, and thus he +threatens them by the mouth of his prophet. + +'I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the +countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that +are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter +the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the +countries.' Ezek., chap. xxix. v. 12. 'Yet thus saith the Lord +God; at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the +people whither they were scattered.' v. 13. + +'Thus saith the Lord; I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease, +by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.' Chap. xxx. v. 10. + +'And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse +them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord.' +Chap. xxx. v. 26. + +The reader will at once observe that the apocryphal tale which the +Romas brought into Germany, concerning their origin and wanderings, +agrees in every material point with the sacred prophecy. The +ancient Egyptians were to be driven from their country and +dispersed amongst the nations, for a period of forty years, for +having been the cause of Israel's backsliding, and for not having +known the Lord, - the modern pseudo-Egyptians are to be dispersed +among the nations for seven years, for having denied hospitality to +the Virgin and her child. The prophecy seems only to have been +remodelled for the purpose of suiting the taste of the time; as no +legend possessed much interest in which the Virgin did not figure, +she and her child are here introduced instead of the Israelites, +and the Lord of Heaven offended with the Egyptians; and this legend +appears to have been very well received in Germany, for a time at +least, for, as Aventinus observes, it was esteemed a crime of the +first magnitude to offer any violence to the Egyptian pilgrims, who +were permitted to rob on the highway, to commit larceny, and to +practise every species of imposition with impunity. + +The tale, however, of the Romas could hardly have been invented by +themselves, as they were, and still are, utterly unacquainted with +the Scripture; it probably originated amongst the priests and +learned men of the east of Europe, who, startled by the sudden +apparition of bands of people foreign in appearance and language, +skilled in divination and the occult arts, endeavoured to find in +Scripture a clue to such a phenomenon; the result of which was, +that the Romas of Hindustan were suddenly transformed into Egyptian +penitents, a title which they have ever since borne in various +parts of Europe. There are no means of ascertaining whether they +themselves believed from the first in this story; they most +probably took it on credit, more especially as they could give no +account of themselves, there being every reason for supposing that +from time immemorial they had existed in the East as a thievish +wandering sect, as they at present do in Europe, without history or +traditions, and unable to look back for a period of eighty years. +The tale moreover answered their purpose, as beneath the garb of +penitence they could rob and cheat with impunity, for a time at +least. One thing is certain, that in whatever manner the tale of +their Egyptian descent originated, many branches of the sect place +implicit confidence in it at the present day, more especially those +of England and Spain. + +Even at the present time there are writers who contend that the +Romas are the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, who were +scattered amongst the nations by the Assyrians. This belief they +principally found upon particular parts of the prophecy from which +we have already quoted, and there is no lack of plausibility in the +arguments which they deduce therefrom. The Egyptians, say they, +were to fall upon the open fields, they were not to be brought +together nor gathered; they were to be dispersed through the +countries, their idols were to be destroyed, and their images were +to cease out of Noph! In what people in the world do these +denunciations appear to be verified save the Gypsies? - a people +who pass their lives in the open fields, who are not gathered +together, who are dispersed through the countries, who have no +idols, no images, nor any fixed or certain religion. + +In Spain, the want of religion amongst the Gitanos was speedily +observed, and became quite as notorious as their want of honesty; +they have been styled atheists, heathen idolaters, and Moors. In +the little book of Quinones', we find the subject noticed in the +following manner:- + +'They do not understand what kind of thing the church is, and never +enter it but for the purpose of committing sacrilege. They do not +know the prayers; for I examined them myself, males and females, +and they knew them not, or if any, very imperfectly. They never +partake of the Holy Sacraments, and though they marry relations +they procure no dispensations. (35) No one knows whether they are +baptized. One of the five whom I caused to be hung a few days ago +was baptized in the prison, being at the time upwards of thirty +years of age. Don Martin Fajardo says that two Gitanos and a +Gitana, whom he hanged in the village of Torre Perojil, were +baptized at the foot of the gallows, and declared themselves Moors. + +'They invariably look out, when they marry, if we can call theirs +marrying, for the woman most dexterous in pilfering and deceiving, +caring nothing whether she is akin to them or married already, (36) +for it is only necessary to keep her company and to call her wife. +Sometimes they purchase them from their husbands, or receive them +as pledges: so says, at least, Doctor Salazar de Mendoza. + +'Friar Melchior of Guelama states that he heard asserted of two +Gitanos what was never yet heard of any barbarous nation, namely, +that they exchanged their wives, and that as one was more comely +looking than the other, he who took the handsome woman gave a +certain sum of money to him who took the ugly one. The licentiate +Alonzo Duran has certified to me, that in the year 1623-4, one +Simon Ramirez, captain of a band of Gitanos, repudiated Teresa +because she was old, and married one called Melchora, who was young +and handsome, and that on the day when the repudiation took place +and the bridal was celebrated he was journeying along the road, and +perceived a company feasting and revelling beneath some trees in a +plain within the jurisdiction of the village of Deleitosa, and that +on demanding the cause he was told that it was on account of Simon +Ramirez marrying one Gitana and casting off another; and that the +repudiated woman told him, with an agony of tears, that he +abandoned her because she was old, and married another because she +was young. Certainly Gitanos and Gitanas confessed before Don +Martin Fajardo that they did not really marry, but that in their +banquets and festivals they selected the woman whom they liked, and +that it was lawful for them to have as many as three mistresses, +and on that account they begat so many children. They never keep +fasts nor any ecclesiastical command. They always eat meat, Friday +and Lent not excepted; the morning when I seized those whom I +afterwards executed, which was in Lent, they had three lambs which +they intended to eat for their dinner that day. - Quinones, page +13. + +Although what is stated in the above extracts, respecting the +marriages of the Gitanos and their licentious manner of living, is, +for the most part, incorrect, there is no reason to conclude the +same with respect to their want of religion in the olden time, and +their slight regard for the forms and observances of the church, as +their behaviour at the present day serves to confirm what is said +on those points. From the whole, we may form a tolerably correct +idea of the opinions of the time respecting the Gitanos in matters +of morality and religion. A very natural question now seems to +present itself, namely, what steps did the government of Spain, +civil and ecclesiastical, which has so often trumpeted its zeal in +the cause of what it calls the Christian religion, which has so +often been the scourge of the Jew, of the Mahometan, and of the +professors of the reformed faith; what steps did it take towards +converting, punishing, and rooting out from Spain, a sect of demi- +atheists, who, besides being cheats and robbers, displayed the most +marked indifference for the forms of the Catholic religion, and +presumed to eat flesh every day, and to intermarry with their +relations, without paying the vicegerent of Christ here on earth +for permission so to do? + +The Gitanos have at all times, since their first appearance in +Spain, been notorious for their contempt of religious observances; +yet there is no proof that they were subjected to persecution on +that account. The men have been punished as robbers and murderers, +with the gallows and the galleys; the women, as thieves and +sorceresses, with imprisonment, flagellation, and sometimes death; +but as a rabble, living without fear of God, and, by so doing, +affording an evil example to the nation at large, few people gave +themselves much trouble about them, though they may have +occasionally been designated as such in a royal edict, intended to +check their robberies, or by some priest from the pulpit, from +whose stable they had perhaps contrived to extract the mule which +previously had the honour of ambling beneath his portly person. + +The Inquisition, which burnt so many Jews and Moors, and +conscientious Christians, at Seville and Madrid, and in other parts +of Spain, seems to have exhibited the greatest clemency and +forbearance to the Gitanos. Indeed, we cannot find one instance of +its having interfered with them. The charge of restraining the +excesses of the Gitanos was abandoned entirely to the secular +authorities, and more particularly to the Santa Hermandad, a kind +of police instituted for the purpose of clearing the roads of +robbers. Whilst I resided at Cordova, I was acquainted with an +aged ecclesiastic, who was priest of a village called Puente, at +about two leagues' distance from the city. He was detained in +Cordova on account of his political opinions, though he was +otherwise at liberty. We lived together at the same house; and he +frequently visited me in my apartment. + +This person, who was upwards of eighty years of age, had formerly +been inquisitor at Cordova. One night, whilst we were seated +together, three Gitanos entered to pay me a visit, and on observing +the old ecclesiastic, exhibited every mark of dissatisfaction, and +speaking in their own idiom, called him a BALICHOW, and abused +priests in general in most unmeasured terms. On their departing, I +inquired of the old man whether he, who having been an inquisitor, +was doubtless versed in the annals of the holy office, could inform +me whether the Inquisition had ever taken any active measures for +the suppression and punishment of the sect of the Gitanos: +whereupon he replied, 'that he was not aware of one case of a +Gitano having been tried or punished by the Inquisition'; adding +these remarkable words: 'The Inquisition always looked upon them +with too much contempt to give itself the slightest trouble +concerning them; for as no danger either to the state, or the +church of Rome, could proceed from the Gitanos, it was a matter of +perfect indifference to the holy office whether they lived without +religion or not. The holy office has always reserved its anger for +people very different; the Gitanos having at all times been GENTE +BARATA Y DESPRECIABLE. + +Indeed, most of the persecutions which have arisen in Spain against +Jews, Moors, and Protestants, sprang from motives with which +fanaticism and bigotry, of which it is true the Spaniards have +their full share, had very little connection. Religion was assumed +as a mask to conceal the vilest and most detestable motives which +ever yet led to the commission of crying injustice; the Jews were +doomed to persecution and destruction on two accounts, - their +great riches, and their high superiority over the Spaniards in +learning and intellect. Avarice has always been the dominant +passion in Spanish minds, their rage for money being only to be +compared to the wild hunger of wolves for horse-flesh in the time +of winter: next to avarice, envy of superior talent and +accomplishment is the prevailing passion. These two detestable +feelings united, proved the ruin of the Jews in Spain, who were, +for a long time, an eyesore, both to the clergy and laity, for +their great riches and learning. Much the same causes insured the +expulsion of the Moriscos, who were abhorred for their superior +industry, which the Spaniards would not imitate; whilst the +reformation was kept down by the gaunt arm of the Inquisition, lest +the property of the church should pass into other and more +deserving hands. The faggot piles in the squares of Seville and +Madrid, which consumed the bodies of the Hebrew, the Morisco, and +the Protestant, were lighted by avarice and envy, and those same +piles would likewise have consumed the mulatto carcass of the +Gitano, had he been learned and wealthy enough to become obnoxious +to the two master passions of the Spaniards. + +Of all the Spanish writers who have written concerning the Gitanos, +the one who appears to have been most scandalised at the want of +religion observable amongst them, and their contempt for things +sacred, was a certain Doctor Sancho De Moncada. + +This worthy, whom we have already had occasion to mention, was +Professor of Theology at the University of Toledo, and shortly +after the expulsion of the Moriscos had been brought about by the +intrigues of the monks and robbers who thronged the court of Philip +the Third, he endeavoured to get up a cry against the Gitanos +similar to that with which for the last half-century Spain had +resounded against the unfortunate and oppressed Africans, and to +effect this he published a discourse, entitled 'The Expulsion of +the Gitanos,' addressed to Philip the Third, in which he conjures +that monarch, for the sake of morality and everything sacred, to +complete the good work he had commenced, and to send the Gitanos +packing after the Moriscos. + +Whether this discourse produced any benefit to the author, we have +no means of ascertaining. One thing is certain, that it did no +harm to the Gitanos, who still continue in Spain. + +If he had other expectations, he must have understood very little +of the genius of his countrymen, or of King Philip and his court. +It would have been easier to get up a crusade against the wild cats +of the sierra, than against the Gitanos, as the former have skins +to reward those who slay them. His discourse, however, is well +worthy of perusal, as it exhibits some learning, and comprises many +curious details respecting the Gitanos, their habits, and their +practices. As it is not very lengthy, we here subjoin it, hoping +that the reader will excuse its many absurdities, for the sake of +its many valuable facts. + + + +CHAPTER X + + + +'SIRE, + +'The people of God were always afflicted by the Egyptians, but the +Supreme King delivered them from their hands by means of many +miracles, which are related in the Holy Scriptures; and now, +without having recourse to so many, but only by means of the +miraculous talent which your Majesty possesses for expelling such +reprobates, he will, doubtless, free this kingdom from them, which +is what is supplicated in this discourse, and it behoves us, in the +first place, to consider + + +'WHO ARE THE GITANOS? + + +'Writers generally agree that the first time the Gitanos were seen +in Europe was the year 1417, which was in the time of Pope Martinus +the Fifth and King Don John the Second; others say that Tamerlane +had them in his camp in 1401, and that their captain was Cingo, +from whence it is said that they call themselves Cingary. But the +opinions concerning their origin are infinite. + +'The first is that they are foreigners, though authors differ much +with respect to the country from whence they came. The majority +say that they are from Africa, and that they came with the Moors +when Spain was lost; others that they are Tartars, Persians, +Cilicians, Nubians, from Lower Egypt, from Syria, or from other +parts of Asia and Africa, and others consider them to be +descendants of Chus, son of Cain; others say that they are of +European origin, Bohemians, Germans, or outcasts from other nations +of this quarter of the world. + +'The second and sure opinion is, that those who prowl about Spain +are not Egyptians, but swarms of wasps and atheistical wretches, +without any kind of law or religion, Spaniards, who have introduced +this Gypsy life or sect, and who admit into it every day all the +idle and broken people of Spain. There are some foreigners who +would make Spain the origin and fountain of all the Gypsies of +Europe, as they say that they proceeded from a river in Spain +called Cija, of which Lucan makes mention; an opinion, however, not +much adopted amongst the learned. In the opinion of respectable +authors, they are called Cingary or Cinli, because they in every +respect resemble the bird cinclo, which we call in Spanish +Motacilla, or aguzanieve (wagtail), which is a vagrant bird and +builds no nest, (37) but broods in those of other birds, a bird +restless and poor of plumage, as AElian writes. + + +'THE GITANOS ARE VERY HURTFUL TO SPAIN + + +'There is not a nation which does not consider them as a most +pernicious rabble; even the Turks and Moors abominate them, amongst +whom this sect is found under the names of Torlaquis, (38) +Hugiemalars, and Dervislars, of whom some historians make mention, +and all agree that they are most evil people, and highly +detrimental to the country where they are found. + +'In the first place, because in all parts they are considered as +enemies of the states where they wander, and as spies and traitors +to the crown; which was proven by the emperors Maximilian and +Albert, who declared them to be such in public edicts; a fact easy +to be believed, when we consider that they enter with ease into the +enemies' country, and know the languages of all nations. + +'Secondly, because they are idle vagabond people, who are in no +respect useful to the kingdom; without commerce, occupation, or +trade of any description; and if they have any it is making +picklocks and pothooks for appearance sake, being wasps, who only +live by sucking and impoverishing the country, sustaining +themselves by the sweat of the miserable labourers, as a German +poet has said of them:- + + +"Quos aliena juvant, propriis habitare molestum, +Fastidit patrium non nisi nosse solum." + + +They are much more useless than the Moriscos, as these last were of +some service to the state and the royal revenues, but the Gitanos +are neither labourers, gardeners, mechanics, nor merchants, and +only serve, like the wolves, to plunder and to flee. + +'Thirdly, because the Gitanas are public harlots, common, as it is +said, to all the Gitanos, and with dances, demeanour, and filthy +songs, are the cause of continual detriment to the souls of the +vassals of your Majesty, it being notorious that they have done +infinite harm in many honourable houses by separating the married +women from their husbands, and perverting the maidens: and +finally, in the best of these Gitanas any one may recognise all the +signs of a harlot given by the wise king; they are gadders about, +whisperers, always unquiet in places and corners. + +'Fourthly, because in all parts they are accounted famous thieves, +about which authors write wonderful things; we ourselves have +continual experience of this fact in Spain, where there is scarcely +a corner where they have not committed some heavy offence. + +'Father Martin Del Rio says they were notorious when he was in Leon +in the year 1584; as they even attempted to sack the town of +Logrono in the time of the pest, as Don Francisco De Cordoba writes +in his DIDASCALIA. Enormous cases of their excesses we see in +infinite processes in all the tribunals, and particularly in that +of the Holy Brotherhood; their wickedness ascending to such a +pitch, that they steal children, and carry them for sale to +Barbary; the reason why the Moors call them in Arabic, RASO +CHERANY, (39) which, as Andreas Tebetus writes, means MASTER +THIEVES. Although they are addicted to every species of robbery, +they mostly practise horse and cattle stealing, on which account +they are called in law ABIGEOS, and in Spanish QUATREROS, from +which practice great evils result to the poor labourers. When they +cannot steal cattle, they endeavour to deceive by means of them, +acting as TERCEROS, in fairs and markets. + +'Fifthly, because they are enchanters, diviners, magicians, +chiromancers, who tell the future by the lines of the hand, which +is what they call BUENA VENTURA, and are in general addicted to all +kind of superstition. + +'This is the opinion entertained of them universally, and which is +confirmed every day by experience; and some think that they are +caller Cingary, from the great Magian Cineus, from whom it is said +they learned their sorceries, and from which result in Spain +(especially amongst the vulgar) great errors, and superstitious +credulity, mighty witchcrafts, and heavy evils, both spiritual and +corporeal. + +'Sixthly, because very devout men consider them as heretics, and +many as Gentile idolaters, or atheists, without any religion, +although they exteriorly accommodate themselves to the religion of +the country in which they wander, being Turks with the Turks, +heretics with the heretics, and, amongst the Christians, baptizing +now and then a child for form's sake. Friar Jayme Bleda produces a +hundred signs, from which he concludes that the Moriscos were not +Christians, all which are visible in the Gitanos; very few are +known to baptize their children; they are not married, but it is +believed that they keep the women in common; they do not use +dispensations, nor receive the sacraments; they pay no respect to +images, rosaries, bulls, neither do they hear mass, nor divine +services; they never enter the churches, nor observe fasts, Lent, +nor any ecclesiastical precept; which enormities have been attested +by long experience, as every person says. + +'Finally, they practise every kind of wickedness in safety, by +discoursing amongst themselves in a language with which they +understand each other without being understood, which in Spain is +called Gerigonza, which, as some think, ought to be called +Cingerionza, or language of Cingary. The king our lord saw the +evil of such a practice in the law which he enacted at Madrid, in +the year 1566, in which he forbade the Arabic to the Moriscos, as +the use of different languages amongst the natives of one kingdom +opens a door to treason, and is a source of heavy inconvenience; +and this is exemplified more in the case of the Gitanos than of any +other people. + + +'THE GITANOS OUGHT TO BE SEIZED WHEREVER FOUND + + +'The civil law ordains that vagrants be seized wherever they are +found, without any favour being shown to them; in conformity with +which, the Gitanos in the Greek empire were given as slaves to +those who should capture them; as respectable authors write. +Moreover, the emperor, our lord, has decreed by a law made in +Toledo, in the year 1525, THAT THE THIRD TIME THEY BE FOUND +WANDERING THEY SHALL SERVE AS SLAVES DURING THEIR WHOLE LIFE TO +THOSE WHO CAPTURE THEM. Which can be easily justified, inasmuch as +there is no shepherd who does not place barriers against the +wolves, and does not endeavour to save his flock, and I have +already exposed to your Majesty the damage which the Gitanos +perpetrate in Spain. + + +'THE GITANOS OUGHT TO BE CONDEMNED TO DEATH + + +'The reasons are many. The first, for being spies, and traitors to +the crown; the second as idlers and vagabonds. + +'It ought always to be considered, that no sooner did the race of +man begin, after the creation of the world, than the important +point of civil policy arose of condemning vagrants to death; for +Cain was certain that he should meet his destruction in wandering +as a vagabond for the murder of Abel. ERO VAGUS ET PROFUGUS IN +TERRA: OMNIS IGITUR QUI INVENERIT ME, OCCIDET ME. Now, the IGITUR +stands here as the natural consequence of VAGUS ERO; as it is +evident, that whoever shall see me must kill me, because he sees me +a wanderer. And it must always be remembered, that at that time +there were no people in the world but the parents and brothers of +Cain, as St. Ambrose has remarked. Moreover, God, by the mouth of +Jeremias, menaced his people, that all should devour them whilst +they went wandering amongst the mountains. And it is a doctrine +entertained by theologians, that the mere act of wandering, without +anything else, carries with it a vehement suspicion of capital +crime. Nature herself demonstrates it in the curious political +system of the bees, in whose well-governed republic the drones are +killed in April, when they commence working. + +'The third, because they are stealers of four-footed beasts, who +are condemned to death by the laws of Spain, in the wise code of +the famous King Don Alonso; which enactment became a part of the +common law. + +'The fourth, for wizards, diviners, and for practising arts which +are prohibited under pain of death by the divine law itself. And +Saul is praised for having caused this law to be put in execution +in the beginning of his reign; and the Holy Scripture attributes to +the breach of it (namely, his consulting the witch) his disastrous +death, and the transfer of the kingdom to David. The Emperor +Constantine the Great, and other emperors who founded the civil +law, condemned to death those who should practise such +facinorousness, - as the President of Tolosa has written. + +'The last and most urgent cause is, that they are heretics, if what +is said be truth; and it is the practice of the law in Spain to +burn such. + + +'THE GITANOS ARE EXPELLED FROM THE COUNTRY BY THE LAWS OF SPAIN + + +'Firstly, they are comprehended as hale beggars in the law of the +wise king, Don Alonso, by which he expelled all sturdy beggars, as +being idle and useless. + +'Secondly, the law expels public harlots from the city; and of this +matter I have already said something in my second chapter. + +'Thirdly, as people who cause scandal, and who, as is visible at +the first glance, are prejudicial to morals and common decency. +Now, it is established by the statute law of these kingdoms, that +such people be expelled therefrom; it is said so in the well- +pondered words of the edict for the expulsion of the Moors: "And +forasmuch as the sense of good and Christian government makes it a +matter of conscience to expel from the kingdoms the things which +cause scandal, injury to honest subjects, danger to the state, and +above all, disloyalty to the Lord our God." Therefore, considering +the incorrigibility of the Gitanos, the Spanish kings made many +holy laws in order to deliver their subjects from such pernicious +people. + +'Fourthly, the Catholic princes, Ferdinand and Isabella, by a law +which they made in Medina del Campo, in the year 1494, and which +the emperor our lord renewed in Toledo in 1523, and in Madrid in +1528 and 1534, and the late king our lord, in 1560, banished them +perpetually from Spain, and gave them as slaves to whomsoever +should find them, after the expiration of the term specified in the +edict - laws which are notorious even amongst strangers. The words +are:- "We declare to be vagabonds, and subject to the aforesaid +penalty, the Egyptians and foreign tinkers, who by laws and +statutes of these kingdoms are commanded to depart therefrom; and +the poor sturdy beggars, who contrary to the order given in the new +edict, beg for alms and wander about." + + +'THE LAWS ARE VERY JUST WHICH EXPEL THE GITANOS FROM THE STATES + + +All the doctors, who are of opinion that the Gitanos may be +condemned to death, would consider it as an act of mercy in your +Majesty to banish them perpetually from Spain, and at the same time +as exceedingly just. Many and learned men not only consider that +it is just to expel them, but cannot sufficiently wonder that they +are tolerated in Christian states, and even consider that such +toleration is an insult to the kingdoms. + +'Whilst engaged in writing this, I have seen a very learned +memorial, in which Doctor Salazar de Mendoza makes the same +supplication to your Majesty which is made in this discourse, +holding it to be the imperious duty of every good government. + +'It stands in reason that the prince is bound to watch for the +welfare of his subjects, and the wrongs which those of your Majesty +receive from the Gitanos I have already exposed in my second +chapter; it being a point worthy of great consideration that the +wrongs caused by the Moriscos moved your royal and merciful bosom +to drive them out, although they were many, and their departure +would be felt as a loss to the population, the commerce, the royal +revenues, and agriculture. Now, with respect to the Gitanos, as +they are few, and perfectly useless for everything, it appears more +necessary to drive them forth, the injuries which they cause being +so numerous. + +'Secondly, because the Gitanos, as I have already said, are +Spaniards; and as others profess the sacred orders of religion, +even so do these fellows profess gypsying, which is robbery and all +the other vices enumerated in chapter the second. And whereas it +is just to banish from the kingdom those who have committed any +heavy delinquency, it is still more so to banish those who profess +to be injurious to all. + +'Thirdly, because all the kings and rulers have always endeavoured +to eject from their kingdoms the idle and useless. And it is very +remarkable, that the law invariably commands them to be expelled, +and the republics of Athens and Corinth were accustomed to do so - +casting them forth like dung, even as Athenaeus writes: NOS GENUS +HOC MORTALIUM EJICIMUS EX HAC URBE VELUT PURGAMINA. Now the +profession of the Gypsy is idleness. + +'Fourthly, because the Gitanos are diviners, enchanters, and +mischievous wretches, and the law commands us to expel such from +the state. + +'In the fifth place, because your Majesty, in the Cortes at present +assembled, has obliged your royal conscience to fulfil all the +articles voted for the public service, and the forty-ninth says: +"One of the things at present most necessary to be done in these +kingdoms, is to afford a remedy for the robberies, plundering and +murders committed by the Gitanos, who go wandering about the +country, stealing the cattle of the poor, and committing a thousand +outrages, living without any fear of God, and being Christians only +in name. It is therefore deemed expedient, that your Majesty +command them to quit these kingdoms within six months, to be +reckoned from the day of the ratification of these presents, and +that they do not return to the same under pain of death." + +'Against this, two things may possibly be urged:- + +'The first, that the laws of Spain give unto the Gitanos the +alternative of residing in large towns, which, it appears, would be +better than expelling them. But experience, recognised by grave +and respectable men, has shown that it is not well to harbour these +people; for their houses are dens of thieves, from whence they +prowl abroad to rob the land. + +'The second, that it appears a pity to banish the women and +children. But to this can be opposed that holy act of your Majesty +which expelled the Moriscos, and the children of the Moriscos, for +the reason given in the royal edict. WHENEVER ANY DETESTABLE CRIME +IS COMMITTED BY ANY UNIVERSITY, IT IS WELL TO PUNISH ALL. And the +most detestable crimes of all are those which the Gitanos commit, +since it is notorious that they subsist on what they steal; and as +to the children, there is no law which obliges us to bring up wolf- +whelps, to cause here-after certain damage to the flock. + + +'IT HAS EVER BEEN THE PRACTICE OF PRINCES TO EXPEL THE GITANOS + + +'Every one who considers the manner of your Majesty's government as +the truly Christian pattern must entertain fervent hope that the +advice proffered in this discourse will be attended to; more +especially on reflecting that not only the good, but even the most +barbarous kings have acted up to it in their respective dominions. + +'Pharaoh was bad enough, nevertheless he judged that the children +of Israel were dangerous to the state, because they appeared to him +to be living without any certain occupation; and for this very +reason the Chaldeans cast them out of Babylon. Amasis, king of +Egypt, drove all the vagrants from his kingdom, forbidding them to +return under pain of death. The Soldan of Egypt expelled the +Torlaquis. The Moors did the same; and Bajazet cast them out of +all the Ottoman empire, according to Leo Clavius. + +'In the second place, the Christian princes have deemed it an +important measure of state. + +'The emperor our Lord, in the German Diets of the year 1548, +expelled the Gitanos from all his empire, and these were the words +of the decree: "Zigeuner quos compertum est proditores esse, et +exploratores hostium nusquam in imperio locum inveniunto. In +deprehensos vis et injuria sine fraude esto. Fides publica +Zigeuners ne dator, nec data servator." + +'The King of France, Francis, expelled them from thence; and the +Duke of Terranova, when Governor of Milan for our lord the king, +obliged them to depart from that territory under pain of death. + +'Thirdly, there is one grand reason which ought to be conclusive in +moving him who so much values himself in being a faithful son of +the church, - I mean the example which Pope Pius the Fifth gave to +all the princes; for he drove the Gitanos from all his domains, and +in the year 1568, he expelled the Jews, assigning as reasons for +their expulsion those which are more closely applicable to the +Gitanos; - namely, that they sucked the vitals of the state, +without being of any utility whatever; that they were thieves +themselves, and harbourers of others; that they were wizards, +diviners, and wretches who induced people to believe that they knew +the future, which is what the Gitanos at present do by telling +fortunes. + +'Your Majesty has already freed us from greater and more dangerous +enemies; finish, therefore, the enterprise begun, whence will +result universal joy and security, and by which your Majesty will +earn immortal honour. Amen. + +'O Regum summe, horum plura ne temnas (absit) ne forte tempsisse +Hispaniae periculosum existat.' + + + +CHAPTER XI + + + +PERHAPS there is no country in which more laws have been framed, +having in view the extinction and suppression of the Gypsy name, +race, and manner of life, than Spain. Every monarch, during a +period of three hundred years, appears at his accession to the +throne to have considered that one of his first and most imperative +duties consisted in suppressing or checking the robberies, frauds, +and other enormities of the Gitanos, with which the whole country +seems to have resounded since the time of their first appearance. + +They have, by royal edicts, been repeatedly banished from Spain, +under terrible penalties, unless they renounced their inveterate +habits; and for the purpose of eventually confounding them with the +residue of the population, they have been forbidden, even when +stationary, to reside together, every family being enjoined to live +apart, and neither to seek nor to hold communication with others of +the race. + +We shall say nothing at present as to the wisdom which dictated +these provisions, nor whether others might not have been devised, +better calculated to produce the end desired. Certain it is, that +the laws were never, or very imperfectly, put in force, and for +reasons with which their expediency or equity (which no one at the +time impugned) had no connection whatever. + +It is true that, in a country like Spain, abounding in wildernesses +and almost inaccessible mountains, the task of hunting down and +exterminating or banishing the roving bands would have been found +one of no slight difficulty, even if such had ever been attempted; +but it must be remembered, that from an early period colonies of +Gitanos have existed in the principal towns of Spain, where the men +have plied the trades of jockeys and blacksmiths, and the women +subsisted by divination, and all kinds of fraud. These colonies +were, of course, always within the reach of the hand of justice, +yet it does not appear that they were more interfered with than the +roving and independent bands, and that any serious attempts were +made to break them up, though notorious as nurseries and refuges of +crime. + +It is a lamentable fact, that pure and uncorrupt justice has never +existed in Spain, as far at least as record will allow us to judge; +not that the principles of justice have been less understood there +than in other countries, but because the entire system of +justiciary administration has ever been shamelessly profligate and +vile. + +Spanish justice has invariably been a mockery, a thing to be bought +and sold, terrible only to the feeble and innocent, and an +instrument of cruelty and avarice. + +The tremendous satires of Le Sage upon Spanish corregidors and +alguazils are true, even at the present day, and the most notorious +offenders can generally escape, if able to administer sufficient +bribes to the ministers (40) of what is misnamed justice. + +The reader, whilst perusing the following extracts from the laws +framed against the Gitanos, will be filled with wonder that the +Gypsy sect still exists in Spain, contrary to the declared will of +the sovereign and the nation, so often repeated during a period of +three hundred years; yet such is the fact, and it can only be +accounted for on the ground of corruption. + +It was notorious that the Gitanos had powerful friends and +favourers in every district, who sanctioned and encouraged them in +their Gypsy practices. These their fautors were of all ranks and +grades, from the corregidor of noble blood to the low and obscure +escribano; and from the viceroy of the province to the archer of +the Hermandad. + +To the high and noble, they were known as Chalanes, and to the +plebeian functionaries, as people who, notwithstanding their +general poverty, could pay for protection. + +A law was even enacted against these protectors of the Gitanos, +which of course failed, as the execution of the law was confided to +the very delinquents against whom it was directed. Thus, the +Gitano bought, sold, and exchanged animals openly, though he +subjected himself to the penalty of death by so doing, or left his +habitation when he thought fit, though such an act, by the law of +the land, was punishable with the galleys. + +In one of their songs they have commemorated the impunity with +which they wandered about. The escribano, to whom the Gitanos of +the neighbourhood pay contribution, on a strange Gypsy being +brought before him, instantly orders him to be liberated, assigning +as a reason that he is no Gitano, but a legitimate Spaniard:- + + +'I left my house, and walked about +They seized me fast, and bound: +It is a Gypsy thief, they shout, +The Spaniards here have found. + +'From out the prison me they led, +Before the scribe they brought; +It is no Gypsy thief, he said, +The Spaniards here have caught.' + + +In a word, nothing was to be gained by interfering with the +Gitanos, by those in whose hands the power was vested; but, on the +contrary, something was to be lost. The chief sufferers were the +labourers, and they had no power to right themselves, though their +wrongs were universally admitted, and laws for their protection +continually being made, which their enemies contrived to set at +nought; as will presently be seen. + +The first law issued against the Gypsies appears to have been that +of Ferdinand and Isabella, at Medina del Campo, in 1499. In this +edict they were commanded, under certain penalties, to become +stationary in towns and villages, and to provide themselves with +masters whom they might serve for their maintenance, or in default +thereof, to quit the kingdom at the end of sixty days. No mention +is made of the country to which they were expected to betake +themselves in the event of their quitting Spain. Perhaps, as they +are called Egyptians, it was concluded that they would forthwith +return to Egypt; but the framers of the law never seem to have +considered what means these Egyptians possessed of transporting +their families and themselves across the sea to such a distance, or +if they betook themselves to other countries, what reception a host +of people, confessedly thieves and vagabonds, were likely to meet +with, or whether it was fair in the TWO CHRISTIAN PRINCES to get +rid of such a nuisance at the expense of their neighbours. Such +matters were of course left for the Gypsies themselves to settle. + +In this edict, a class of individuals is mentioned in conjunction +with the Gitanos, or Gypsies, but distinguished from them by the +name of foreign tinkers, or Calderos estrangeros. By these, we +presume, were meant the Calabrians, who are still to be seen upon +the roads of Spain, wandering about from town to town, in much the +same way as the itinerant tinkers of England at the present day. A +man, half a savage, a haggard woman, who is generally a Spaniard, a +wretched child, and still more miserable donkey, compose the group; +the gains are of course exceedingly scanty, nevertheless this life, +seemingly so wretched, has its charms for these outcasts, who live +without care and anxiety, without a thought beyond the present +hour, and who sleep as sound in ruined posadas and ventas, or in +ravines amongst rocks and pines, as the proudest grandee in his +palace at Seville or Madrid. + +Don Carlos and Donna Juanna, at Toledo, 1539, confirmed the edict +of Medina del Campo against the Egyptians, with the addition, that +if any Egyptian, after the expiration of the sixty days, should be +found wandering about, he should be sent to the galleys for six +years, if above the age of twenty and under that of fifty, and if +under or above those years, punished as the preceding law provides. + +Philip the Second, at Madrid, 1586, after commanding that all the +laws and edicts be observed, by which the Gypsies are forbidden to +wander about, and commanded to establish themselves, ordains, with +the view of restraining their thievish and cheating practices, that +none of them be permitted to sell anything, either within or +without fairs or markets, if not provided with a testimony signed +by the notary public, to prove that they have a settled residence, +and where it may be; which testimony must also specify and describe +the horses, cattle, linen, and other things, which they carry forth +for sale; otherwise they are to be punished as thieves, and what +they attempt to sell considered as stolen property. + +Philip the Third, at Belem, in Portugal, 1619, commands all the +Gypsies of the kingdom to quit the same within the term of six +months, and never to return, under pain of death; those who should +wish to remain are to establish themselves in cities, towns, and +villages, of one thousand families and upwards, and are not to be +allowed the use of the dress, name, and language of Gypsies, IN +ORDER THAT, FORASMUCH AS THEY ARE NOT SUCH BY NATION, THIS NAME AND +MANNER OF LIFE MAY BE FOR EVERMORE CONFOUNDED AND FORGOTTEN. They +are moreover forbidden, under the same penalty, to have anything to +do with the buying or selling of cattle, whether great or small. + +The most curious portion of the above law is the passage in which +these people are declared not to be Gypsies by nation. If they are +not Gypsies, who are they then? Spaniards? If so, what right had +the King of Spain to send the refuse of his subjects abroad, to +corrupt other lands, over which he had no jurisdiction? + +The Moors were sent back to Africa, under some colour of justice, +as they came originally from that part of the world; but what would +have been said to such a measure, if the edict which banished them +had declared that they were not Moors, but Spaniards? + +The law, moreover, in stating that they are not Gypsies by nation, +seems to have forgotten that in that case it would be impossible to +distinguish them from other Spaniards, so soon as they should have +dropped the name, language, and dress of Gypsies. How, provided +they were like other Spaniards, and did not carry the mark of +another nation on their countenances, could it be known whether or +not they obeyed the law, which commanded them to live only in +populous towns or villages, or how could they be detected in the +buying or selling of cattle, which the law forbids them under pain +of death? + +The attempt to abolish the Gypsy name and manner of life might have +been made without the assertion of a palpable absurdity. + +Philip the Fourth, May 8, 1633, after reference to the evil lives +and want of religion of the Gypsies, and the complaints made +against them by prelates and others, declares 'that the laws +hitherto adopted since the year 1499, have been inefficient to +restrain their excesses; that they are not Gypsies by origin or +nature, but have adopted this form of life'; and then, after +forbidding them, according to custom, the dress and language of +Gypsies, under the usual severe penalties, he ordains:- + +'1st. That under the same penalties, the aforesaid people shall, +within two months, leave the quarters (barrios) where they now live +with the denomination of Gitanos, and that they shall separate from +each other, and mingle with the other inhabitants, and that they +shall hold no more meetings, neither in public nor in secret; that +the ministers of justice are to observe, with particular diligence, +how they fulfil these commands, and whether they hold communication +with each other, or marry amongst themselves; and how they fulfil +the obligations of Christians by assisting at sacred worship in the +churches; upon which latter point they are to procure information +with all possible secrecy from the curates and clergy of the +parishes where the Gitanos reside. + +'2ndly. And in order to extirpate, in every way, the name of +Gitanos, we ordain that they be not called so, and that no one +venture to call them so, and that such shall be esteemed a very +heavy injury, and shall be punished as such, if proved, and that +nought pertaining to the Gypsies, their name, dress, or actions, be +represented, either in dances or in any other performance, under +the penalty of two years' banishment, and a mulct of fifty thousand +maravedis to whomsoever shall offend for the first time, and double +punishment for the second.' + +The above two articles seem to have in view the suppression and +breaking up of the Gypsy colonies established in the large towns, +more especially the suburbs; farther on, mention is made of the +wandering bands. + +'4thly. And forasmuch as we have understood that numerous Gitanos +rove in bands through various parts of the kingdom, committing +robberies in uninhabited places, and even invading some small +villages, to the great terror and danger of the inhabitants, we +give by this our law a general commission to all ministers of +justice, whether appertaining to royal domains, lordships, or +abbatial territories, that every one may, in his district, proceed +to the imprisonment and chastisement of the delinquents, and may +pass beyond his own jurisdiction in pursuit of them; and we also +command all the ministers of justice aforesaid, that on receiving +information that Gitanos or highwaymen are prowling in their +districts, they do assemble at an appointed day, and with the +necessary preparation of men and arms they do hunt down, take, and +deliver them under a good guard to the nearest officer holding the +royal commission.' + +Carlos the Second followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, +with respect to the Gitanos. By a law of the 20th of November +1692, he inhibits the Gitanos from living in towns of less than one +thousand heads of families (vecinos), and pursuing any trade or +employment, save the cultivation of the ground; from going in the +dress of Gypsies, or speaking the language or gibberish which they +use; from living apart in any particular quarter of the town; from +visiting fairs with cattle, great or small, or even selling or +exchanging such at any time, unless with the testimonial of the +public notary, that they were bred within their own houses. By +this law they are also forbidden to have firearms in their +possession. + +So far from being abashed by this law, or the preceding one, the +Gitanos seem to have increased in excesses of every kind. Only +three years after (12th June 1695), the same monarch deemed it +necessary to publish a new law for their persecution and +chastisement. This law, which is exceedingly severe, consists of +twenty-nine articles. By the fourth they are forbidden any other +exercise or manner of life than that of the cultivation of the +fields, in which their wives and children, if of competent age, are +to assist them. + +Of every other office, employment, or commerce, they are declared +incapable, and especially of being BLACKSMITHS. + +By the fifth, they are forbidden to keep horses or mares, either +within or without their houses, or to make use of them in any way +whatever, under the penalty of two months' imprisonment and the +forfeiture of such animals; and any one lending them a horse or a +mare is to forfeit the same, if it be found in their possession. +They are declared only capable of keeping a mule, or some lesser +beast, to assist them in their labour, or for the use of their +families. + +By the twelfth, they are to be punished with six years in the +galleys, if they leave the towns or villages in which they are +located, and pass to others, or wander in the fields or roads; and +they are only to be permitted to go out, in order to exercise the +pursuit of husbandry. In this edict, particular mention is made of +the favour and protection shown to the Gitanos, by people of +various descriptions, by means of which they had been enabled to +follow their manner of life undisturbed, and to baffle the severity +of the laws:- + +'Article 16. - And because we understand that the continuance in +these kingdoms of those who are called Gitanos has depended on the +favour, protection, and assistance which they have experienced from +persons of different stations, we do ordain, that whosoever, +against whom shall be proved the fact of having, since the day of +the publication hereof, favoured, received, or assisted the said +Gitanos, in any manner whatever, whether within their houses or +without, the said person, provided he is noble, shall be subjected +to the fine of six thousand ducats, the half of which shall be +applied to our treasury, and the other half to the expenses of the +prosecution; and, if a plebeian, to a punishment of ten years in +the galleys. And we declare, that in order to proceed to the +infliction of such fine and punishment, the evidence of two +respectable witnesses, without stain or suspicion, shall be +esteemed legitimate and conclusive, although they depose to +separate acts, or three depositions of the Gitanos themselves, MADE +UPON THE RACK, although they relate to separate and different acts +of abetting and harbouring.' + +The following article is curious, as it bears evidence to Gypsy +craft and cunning:- + +'Article 18. - And whereas it is very difficult to prove against +the Gitanos the robberies and delinquencies which they commit, +partly because they happen in uninhabited places, but more +especially on account of the MALICE and CUNNING with which they +execute them; we do ordain, in order that they may receive the +merited chastisement, that to convict, in these cases, those who +are called Gitanos, the depositions of the persons whom they have +robbed in uninhabited places shall be sufficient, provided there +are at least two witnesses to one and the same fact, and these of +good fame and reputation; and we also declare, that the CORPUS +DELICTI may be proved in the same manner in these cases, in order +that the culprits may be proceeded against, and condemned to the +corresponding pains and punishments.' + +The council of Madrid published a schedule, 18th of August 1705, +from which it appears that the villages and roads were so much +infested by the Gitano race, that there was neither peace nor +safety for labourers and travellers; the corregidors and justices +are therefore exhorted to use their utmost endeavour to apprehend +these outlaws, and to execute upon them the punishments enjoined by +the preceding law. The ministers of justice are empowered to fire +upon them as public enemies, wherever they meet them, in case of +resistance or refusal to deliver up the arms they carry about them. + +Philip the Fifth, by schedule, October 1st, 1726, forbade any +complaints which the Gitanos might have to make against the +inferior justices being heard in the higher tribunals, and, on that +account, banished all the Gypsy women from Madrid, and, indeed, +from all towns where royal audiences were held, it being the custom +of the women to flock up to the capital from the small towns and +villages, under pretence of claiming satisfaction for wrongs +inflicted upon their husbands and relations, and when there to +practise the art of divination, and to sing obscene songs through +the streets; by this law, also, the justices are particularly +commanded not to permit the Gitanos to leave their places of +domicile, except in cases of very urgent necessity. + +This law was attended with the same success as the others; the +Gitanos left their places of domicile whenever they thought proper, +frequented the various fairs, and played off their jockey tricks as +usual, or traversed the country in armed gangs, plundering the +small villages, and assaulting travellers. + +The same monarch, in October, published another law against them, +from St. Lorenzo, of the Escurial. From the words of this edict, +and the measures resolved upon, the reader may form some idea of +the excesses of the Gitanos at this period. They are to be hunted +down with fire and sword, and even the sanctity of the temples is +to be invaded in their pursuit, and the Gitanos dragged from the +horns of the altar, should they flee thither for refuge. It was +impossible, in Spain, to carry the severity of persecution farther, +as the very parricide was in perfect safety, could he escape to the +church. Here follows part of this law:- + +'I have resolved that all the lord-lieutenants, intendants, and +corregidors shall publish proclamations, and fix edicts, to the +effect that all the Gitanos who are domiciled in the cities and +towns of their jurisdiction shall return within the space of +fifteen days to their places of domicile, under penalty of being +declared, at the expiration of that term, as public banditti, +subject to be fired at in the event of being found with arms, or +without them, beyond the limits of their places of domicile; and at +the expiration of the term aforesaid, the lord-lieutenants, +intendants, and corregidors are strictly commanded, that either +they themselves, or suitable persons deputed by them, march out +with armed soldiery, or if there be none at hand, with the +militias, and their officers, accompanied by the horse rangers, +destined for the protection of the revenue, for the purpose of +scouring the whole district within their jurisdiction, making use +of all possible diligence to apprehend such Gitanos as are to be +found on the public roads and other places beyond their domiciliary +bounds, and to inflict upon them the penalty of death, for the mere +act of being found. + +'And in the event of their taking refuge in sacred places, they are +empowered to drag them forth, and conduct them to the neighbouring +prisons and fortresses, and provided the ecclesiastical judges +proceed against the secular, in order that they be restored to the +church, they are at liberty to avail themselves of the recourse to +force, countenanced by laws declaring, even as I now declare, that +all the Gitanos who shall leave their allotted places of abode, are +to be held as incorrigible rebels, and enemies of the public +peace.' + +From this period, until the year 1780, various other laws and +schedules were directed against the Gitanos, which, as they contain +nothing very new or remarkable, we may be well excused from +particularising. In 1783, a law was passed by the government, +widely differing in character from any which had hitherto been +enacted in connection with the Gitano caste or religion in Spain. + + + +CHAPTER XII + + + +CARLOS TERCERO, or Charles the Third, ascended the throne of Spain +in the year 1759, and died in 1788. No Spanish monarch has left +behind a more favourable impression on the minds of the generality +of his countrymen; indeed, he is the only one who is remembered at +all by all ranks and conditions; - perhaps he took the surest means +for preventing his name being forgotten, by erecting a durable +monument in every large town, - we do not mean a pillar surmounted +by a statue, or a colossal figure on horseback, but some useful and +stately public edifice. All the magnificent modern buildings which +attract the eye of the traveller in Spain, sprang up during the +reign of Carlos Tercero, - for example, the museum at Madrid, the +gigantic tobacco fabric at Seville, - half fortress, half +manufactory, - and the Farol, at Coruna. We suspect that these +erections, which speak to the eye, have gained him far greater +credit amongst Spaniards than the support which he afforded to +liberal opinions, which served to fan the flame of insurrection in +the new world, and eventually lost for Spain her transatlantic +empire. + +We have said that he left behind him a favourable impression +amongst the generality of his countrymen; by which we mean the +great body found in every nation, who neither think nor reason, - +for there are amongst the Spaniards not a few who deny that any of +his actions entitle him to the gratitude of the nation. 'All his +thoughts,' say they, 'were directed to hunting - and hunting alone; +and all the days of the year he employed himself either in hunting +or in preparation for the sport. In one expedition, in the parks +of the Pardo, he spent several millions of reals. The noble +edifices which adorn Spain, though built by his orders, are less +due to his reign than to the anterior one, - to the reign of +Ferdinand the Sixth, who left immense treasures, a small portion of +which Carlos Tercero devoted to these purposes, squandering away +the remainder. It is said that Carlos Tercero was no friend to +superstition; yet how little did Spain during his time gain in +religious liberty! The great part of the nation remained +intolerant and theocratic as before, the other and smaller section +turned philosophic, but after the insane manner of the French +revolutionists, intolerant in its incredulity, and believing more +in the ENCYCLOPEDIE than in the Gospel of the Nazarene.' (41) + +We should not have said thus much of Carlos Tercero, whose +character has been extravagantly praised by the multitude, and +severely criticised by the discerning few who look deeper than the +surface of things, if a law passed during his reign did not connect +him intimately with the history of the Gitanos, whose condition to +a certain extent it has already altered, and over whose future +destinies there can be no doubt that it will exert considerable +influence. Whether Carlos Tercero had anything farther to do with +its enactment than subscribing it with his own hand, is a point +difficult to determine; the chances are that he had not; there is +damning evidence to prove that in many respects he was a mere +Nimrod, and it is not probable that such a character would occupy +his thoughts much with plans for the welfare of his people, +especially such a class as the Gitanos, however willing to build +public edifices, gratifying to his vanity, with the money which a +provident predecessor had amassed. + +The law in question is dated 19th September 1783. It is entitled, +'Rules for repressing and chastising the vagrant mode of life, and +other excesses, of those who are called Gitanos.' It is in many +respects widely different from all the preceding laws, and on that +account we have separated it from them, deeming it worthy of +particular notice. It is evidently the production of a +comparatively enlightened spirit, for Spain had already begun to +emerge from the dreary night of monachism and bigotry, though the +light which beamed upon her was not that of the Gospel, but of +modern philosophy. The spirit, however, of the writers of the +ENCYCLOPEDIE is to be preferred to that of TORQUEMADA AND MONCADA, +and however deeply we may lament the many grievous omissions in the +law of Carlos Tercero (for no provision was made for the spiritual +instruction of the Gitanos), we prefer it in all points to that of +Philip the Third, and to the law passed during the reign of that +unhappy victim of monkish fraud, perfidy, and poison, Charles the +Second. + +Whoever framed the law of Carlos Tercero with respect to the +Gitanos, had sense enough to see that it would be impossible to +reclaim and bring them within the pale of civilised society by +pursuing the course invariably adopted on former occasions - to see +that all the menacing edicts for the last three hundred years, +breathing a spirit of blood and persecution, had been unable to +eradicate Gitanismo from Spain; but on the contrary, had rather +served to extend it. Whoever framed this law was, moreover, well +acquainted with the manner of administering justice in Spain, and +saw the folly of making statutes which were never put into effect. +Instead, therefore, of relying on corregidors and alguazils for the +extinction of the Gypsy sect, the statute addresses itself more +particularly to the Gitanos themselves, and endeavours to convince +them that it would be for their interest to renounce their much +cherished Gitanismo. Those who framed the former laws had +invariably done their best to brand this race with infamy, and had +marked out for its members, in the event of abandoning their Gypsy +habits, a life to which death itself must have been preferable in +every respect. They were not to speak to each other, nor to +intermarry, though, as they were considered of an impure caste, it +was scarcely to be expected that the other Spaniards would form +with them relations of love or amity, and they were debarred the +exercise of any trade or occupation but hard labour, for which +neither by nature nor habit they were at all adapted. The law of +Carlos Tercero, on the contrary, flung open to them the whole +career of arts and sciences, and declared them capable of following +any trade or profession to which they might please to addict +themselves. Here follow extracts from the above-mentioned law:- + +'Art. 1. I declare that those who go by the name of Gitanos are +not so by origin or nature, nor do they proceed from any infected +root. + +'2. I therefore command that neither they, nor any one of them +shall use the language, dress, or vagrant kind of life which they +have followed unto the present time, under the penalties here below +contained. + +'3. I forbid all my vassals, of whatever state, class, and +condition they may be, to call or name the above-mentioned people +by the names of Gitanos, or new Castilians, under the same +penalties to which those are subject who injure others by word or +writing. + +'5. It is my will that those who abandon the said mode of life, +dress, language, or jargon, be admitted to whatever offices or +employments to which they may apply themselves, and likewise to any +guilds or communities, without any obstacle or contradiction being +offered to them, or admitted under this pretext within or without +courts of law. + +'6. Those who shall oppose and refuse the admission of this class +of reclaimed people to their trades and guilds shall be mulcted ten +ducats for the first time, twenty for the second, and a double +quantity for the third; and during the time they continue in their +opposition they shall be prohibited from exercising the same trade, +for a certain period, to be determined by the judge, and +proportioned to the opposition which they display. + +'7. I grant the term of ninety days, to be reckoned from the +publication of this law in the principal town of every district, in +order that all the vagabonds of this and any other class may retire +to the towns and villages where they may choose to locate +themselves, with the exception, for the present, of the capital and +the royal residences, in order that, abandoning the dress, +language, and behaviour of those who are called Gitanos, they may +devote themselves to some honest office, trade, or occupation, it +being a matter of indifference whether the same be connected with +labour or the arts. + +'8. It will not be sufficient for those who have been formerly +known to follow this manner of life to devote themselves solely to +the occupation of shearing and clipping animals, nor to the traffic +of markets and fairs, nor still less to the occupation of keepers +of inns and ventas in uninhabited places, although they may be +innkeepers within towns, which employment shall be considered as +sufficient, provided always there be no well-founded indications of +their being delinquents themselves, or harbourers of such people. + +'9. At the expiration of ninety days, the justices shall proceed +against the disobedient in the following manner:- Those who, having +abandoned the dress, name, language or jargon, association, and +manners of Gitanos, and shall have moreover chosen and established +a domicile, but shall not have devoted themselves to any office or +employment, though it be only that of day-labourers, shall be +considered as vagrants, and be apprehended and punished according +to the laws in force against such people without any distinction +being made between them and the other vassals. + +'10. Those who henceforth shall commit any crimes, having +abandoned the language, dress, and manners of Gitanos, chosen a +domicile, and applied themselves to any office, shall be prosecuted +and chastised like others guilty of the same crimes, without any +difference being made between them. + +'11. But those who shall have abandoned the aforesaid dress, +language and behaviour, and those who, pretending to speak and +dress like the other vassals, and even to choose a domiciliary +residence, shall continue to go forth, wandering about the roads +and uninhabited places, although it be with the pretext of visiting +markets and fairs, such people shall be pursued and taken by the +justices, and a list of them formed, with their names and +appellations, age, description, with the places where they say they +reside and were born. + +'16. I, however, except from punishment the children and young +people of both sexes who are not above sixteen years of age. + +'17. Such, although they may belong to a family, shall be +separated from their parents who wander about and have no +employment, and shall be destined to learn something, or shall be +placed out in hospices or houses of instruction. + +'20. When the register of the Gitanos who have proved disobedient +shall have taken place, it shall be notified and made known to +them, that in case of another relapse, the punishment of death +shall be executed upon them without remission, on the examination +of the register, and proof being adduced that they have returned to +their former life.' + +What effect was produced by this law, and whether its results at +all corresponded to the views of those who enacted it, will be +gathered from the following chapters of this work, in which an +attempt will be made to delineate briefly the present condition of +the Gypsies in Spain. + + + + +THE ZINCALI - PART II + + + + +CHAPTER I + + + +ABOUT twelve in the afternoon of the 6th of January 1836, I crossed +the bridge of the Guadiana, a boundary river between Portugal and +Spain, and entered Badajoz, a strong town in the latter kingdom, +containing about eight thousand inhabitants, supposed to have been +founded by the Romans. I instantly returned thanks to God for +having preserved me in a journey of five days through the wilds of +the Alemtejo, the province of Portugal the most infested by robbers +and desperate characters, which I had traversed with no other human +companion than a lad, almost an idiot, who was to convey back the +mules which had brought me from Aldea Gallega. I intended to make +but a short stay, and as a diligence would set out for Madrid the +day next but one to my arrival, I purposed departing therein for +the capital of Spain. + +I was standing at the door of the inn where I had taken up my +temporary abode; the weather was gloomy, and rain seemed to be at +hand; I was thinking on the state of the country I had just +entered, which was involved in bloody anarchy and confusion, and +where the ministers of a religion falsely styled Catholic and +Christian were blowing the trump of war, instead of preaching the +love-engendering words of the blessed Gospel. + +Suddenly two men, wrapped in long cloaks, came down the narrow and +almost deserted street; they were about to pass, and the face of +the nearest was turned full towards me; I knew to whom the +countenance which he displayed must belong, and I touched him on +the arm. The man stopped, and likewise his companion; I said a +certain word, to which, after an exclamation of surprise, he +responded in the manner I expected. The men were Gitanos or +Gypsies, members of that singular family or race which has diffused +itself over the face of the civilised globe, and which, in all +lands, has preserved more or less its original customs and its own +peculiar language. + +We instantly commenced discoursing in the Spanish dialect of this +language, with which I was tolerably well acquainted. I asked my +two newly-made acquaintances whether there were many of their race +in Badajoz and the vicinity: they informed me that there were +eight or ten families in the town, and that there were others at +Merida, a town about six leagues distant. I inquired by what means +they lived, and they replied that they and their brethren +principally gained a livelihood by trafficking in mules and asses, +but that all those in Badajoz were very poor, with the exception of +one man, who was exceedingly BALBALO, or rich, as he was in +possession of many mules and other cattle. They removed their +cloaks for a moment, and I found that their under-garments were +rags. + +They left me in haste, and went about the town informing the rest +that a stranger had arrived who spoke Rommany as well as +themselves, who had the face of a Gitano, and seemed to be of the +'errate,' or blood. In less than half an hour the street before +the inn was filled with the men, women, and children of Egypt. I +went out amongst them, and my heart sank within me as I surveyed +them: so much vileness, dirt, and misery I had never seen amongst +a similar number of human beings; but worst of all was the evil +expression of their countenances, which spoke plainly that they +were conversant with every species of crime, and it was not long +before I found that their countenances did not belie them. After +they had asked me an infinity of questions, and felt my hands, +face, and clothes, they retired to their own homes. + +That same night the two men of whom I have already particularly +spoken came to see me. They sat down by the brasero in the middle +of the apartment, and began to smoke small paper cigars. We +continued for a considerable time in silence surveying each other. +Of the two Gitanos one was an elderly man, tall and bony, with +lean, skinny, and whimsical features, though perfectly those of a +Gypsy; he spoke little, and his expressions were generally singular +and grotesque. His companion, who was the man whom I had first +noticed in the street, differed from him in many respects; he could +be scarcely thirty, and his figure, which was about the middle +height, was of Herculean proportions; shaggy black hair, like that +of a wild beast, covered the greatest part of his immense head; his +face was frightfully seamed with the small-pox, and his eyes, which +glared like those of ferrets, peered from beneath bushy eyebrows; +he wore immense moustaches, and his wide mouth was garnished with +teeth exceedingly large and white. There was one peculiarity about +him which must not be forgotten: his right arm was withered, and +hung down from his shoulder a thin sapless stick, which contrasted +strangely with the huge brawn of the left. A figure so perfectly +wild and uncouth I had scarcely ever before seen. He had now flung +aside his cloak, and sat before me gaunt in his rags and nakedness. +In spite of his appearance, however, he seemed to be much the most +sensible of the two; and the conversation which ensued was carried +on chiefly between him and myself. This man, whom I shall call the +first Gypsy, was the first to break silence; and he thus addressed +me, speaking in Spanish, broken with words of the Gypsy tongue:- + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'Arromali (in truth), I little thought when I saw +the errano standing by the door of the posada that I was about to +meet a brother - one too who, though well dressed, was not ashamed +to speak to a poor Gitano; but tell me, I beg you, brother, from +whence you come; I have heard that you have just arrived from +Laloro, but I am sure you are no Portuguese; the Portuguese are +very different from you; I know it, for I have been in Laloro; I +rather take you to be one of the Corahai, for I have heard say that +there is much of our blood there. You are a Corahano, are you +not?' + +MYSELF. - 'I am no Moor, though I have been in the country. I was +born in an island in the West Sea, called England, which I suppose +you have heard spoken of.' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'Yes, yes, I have a right to know something of the +English. I was born in this foros, and remember the day when the +English hundunares clambered over the walls, and took the town from +the Gabine: well do I remember that day, though I was but a child; +the streets ran red with blood and wine! Are there Gitanos then +amongst the English?' + +MYSELF. - 'There are numbers, and so there are amongst most nations +of the world.' + +SECOND GYPSY. - 'Vaya! And do the English Calore gain their bread +in the same way as those of Spain? Do they shear and trim? Do +they buy and change beasts, and (lowering his voice) do they now +and then chore a gras?' (42) + +MYSELF. - 'They do most of these things: the men frequent fairs +and markets with horses, many of which they steal; and the women +tell fortunes and perform all kinds of tricks, by which they gain +more money than their husbands.' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'They would not be callees if they did not: I have +known a Gitana gain twenty ounces of gold, by means of the hokkano +baro, in a few hours, whilst the silly Gypsy, her husband, would be +toiling with his shears for a fortnight, trimming the horses of the +Busne, and yet not be a dollar richer at the end of the time.' + +MYSELF. - 'You seem wretchedly poor. Are you married?' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'I am, and to the best-looking and cleverest callee +in Badajoz; nevertheless we have never thriven since the day of our +marriage, and a curse seems to rest upon us both. Perhaps I have +only to thank myself; I was once rich, and had never less than six +borricos to sell or exchange, but the day before my marriage I sold +all I possessed, in order to have a grand fiesta. For three days +we were merry enough; I entertained every one who chose to come in, +and flung away my money by handfuls, so that when the affair was +over I had not a cuarto in the world; and the very people who had +feasted at my expense refused me a dollar to begin again, so we +were soon reduced to the greatest misery. True it is, that I now +and then shear a mule, and my wife tells the bahi (fortune) to the +servant-girls, but these things stand us in little stead: the +people are now very much on the alert, and my wife, with all her +knowledge, has been unable to perform any grand trick which would +set us up at once. She wished to come to see you, brother, this +night, but was ashamed, as she has no more clothes than myself. +Last summer our distress was so great that we crossed the frontier +into Portugal: my wife sung, and I played the guitar, for though I +have but one arm, and that a left one, I have never felt the want +of the other. At Estremoz I was cast into prison as a thief and +vagabond, and there I might have remained till I starved with +hunger. My wife, however, soon got me out: she went to the lady +of the corregidor, to whom she told a most wonderful bahi, +promising treasures and titles, and I wot not what; so I was set at +liberty, and returned to Spain as quick as I could.' + +MYSELF. - 'Is it not the custom of the Gypsies of Spain to relieve +each other in distress? - it is the rule in other countries.' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'El krallis ha nicobado la liri de los Cales - (The +king has destroyed the law of the Gypsies); we are no longer the +people we were once, when we lived amongst the sierras and deserts, +and kept aloof from the Busne; we have lived amongst the Busne till +we are become almost like them, and we are no longer united, ready +to assist each other at all times and seasons, and very frequently +the Gitano is the worst enemy of his brother.' + +MYSELF. - 'The Gitanos, then, no longer wander about, but have +fixed residences in the towns and villages?' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'In the summer time a few of us assemble together, +and live about amongst the plains and hills, and by doing so we +frequently contrive to pick up a horse or a mule for nothing, and +sometimes we knock down a Busne, and strip him, but it is seldom we +venture so far. We are much looked after by the Busne, who hold us +in great dread, and abhor us. Sometimes, when wandering about, we +are attacked by the labourers, and then we defend ourselves as well +as we can. There is no better weapon in the hands of a Gitano than +his "cachas," or shears, with which he trims the mules. I once +snipped off the nose of a Busne, and opened the greater part of his +cheek in an affray up the country near Trujillo.' + +MYSELF. - 'Have you travelled much about Spain?' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'Very little; I have never been out of this province +of Estremadura, except last year, as I told you, into Portugal. +When we wander we do not go far, and it is very rare that we are +visited by our brethren of other parts. I have never been in +Andalusia, but I have heard say that the Gitanos are many in +Andalusia, and are more wealthy than those here, and that they +follow better the Gypsy law.' + +MYSELF. - 'What do you mean by the Gypsy law?' + +FIRST GYPSY. - 'Wherefore do you ask, brother? You know what is +meant by the law of the Cales better even than ourselves.' + +MYSELF. - 'I know what it is in England and in Hungary, but I can +only give a guess as to what it is in Spain.' + +BOTH GYPSIES. - 'What do you consider it to be in Spain?' + +MYSELF. - 'Cheating and choring the Busne on all occasions, and +being true to the errate in life and in death.' + +At these words both the Gitanos sprang simultaneously from their +seats, and exclaimed with a boisterous shout - 'Chachipe.' + +This meeting with the Gitanos was the occasion of my remaining at +Badajoz a much longer time than I originally intended. I wished to +become better acquainted with their condition and manners, and +above all to speak to them of Christ and His Word; for I was +convinced, that should I travel to the end of the universe, I +should meet with no people more in need of a little Christian +exhortation, and I accordingly continued at Badajoz for nearly +three weeks. + +During this time I was almost constantly amongst them, and as I +spoke their language, and was considered by them as one of +themselves, I had better opportunity of arriving at a fair +conclusion respecting their character than any other person could +have had, whether Spanish or foreigner, without such an advantage. +I found that their ways and pursuits were in almost every respect +similar to those of their brethren in other countries. By cheating +and swindling they gained their daily bread; the men principally by +the arts of the jockey, - by buying, selling, and exchanging +animals, at which they are wonderfully expert; and the women by +telling fortunes, selling goods smuggled from Portugal, and dealing +in love-draughts and diablerie. The most innocent occupation which +I observed amongst them was trimming and shearing horses and mules, +which in their language is called 'monrabar,' and in Spanish +'esquilar'; and even whilst exercising this art, they not +unfrequently have recourse to foul play, doing the animal some +covert injury, in hope that the proprietor will dispose of it to +themselves at an inconsiderable price, in which event they soon +restore it to health; for knowing how to inflict the harm, they +know likewise how to remove it. + +Religion they have none; they never attend mass, nor did I ever +hear them employ the names of God, Christ, and the Virgin, but in +execration and blasphemy. From what I could learn, it appeared +that their fathers had entertained some belief in metempsychosis; +but they themselves laughed at the idea, and were of opinion that +the soul perished when the body ceased to breathe; and the argument +which they used was rational enough, so far as it impugned +metempsychosis: 'We have been wicked and miserable enough in this +life,' they said; 'why should we live again?' + +I translated certain portions of Scripture into their dialect, +which I frequently read to them; especially the parable of Lazarus +and the Prodigal Son, and told them that the latter had been as +wicked as themselves, and both had suffered as much or more; but +that the sufferings of the former, who always looked forward to a +blessed resurrection, were recompensed by admission, in the life to +come, to the society of Abraham and the Prophets, and that the +latter, when he repented of his sins, was forgiven, and received +into as much favour as the just son. + +They listened with admiration; but, alas! not of the truths, the +eternal truths, I was telling them, but to find that their broken +jargon could be written and read. The only words denoting anything +like assent to my doctrine which I ever obtained, were the +following from the mouth of a woman: 'Brother, you tell us strange +things, though perhaps you do not lie; a month since I would sooner +have believed these tales, than that this day I should see one who +could write Rommany.' + +Two or three days after my arrival, I was again visited by the +Gypsy of the withered arm, who I found was generally termed Paco, +which is the diminutive of Francisco; he was accompanied by his +wife, a rather good-looking young woman with sharp intelligent +features, and who appeared in every respect to be what her husband +had represented her on the former visit. She was very poorly clad, +and notwithstanding the extreme sharpness of the weather, carried +no mantle to protect herself from its inclemency, - her raven black +hair depended behind as far down as her hips. Another Gypsy came +with them, but not the old fellow whom I had before seen. This was +a man about forty-five, dressed in a zamarra of sheep-skin, with a +high-crowned Andalusian hat; his complexion was dark as pepper, and +his eyes were full of sullen fire. In his appearance he exhibited +a goodly compound of Gypsy and bandit. + +PACO. - 'Laches chibeses te dinele Undebel (May God grant you good +days, brother). This is my wife, and this is my wife's father.' + +MYSELF. - 'I am glad to see them. What are their names?' + +PACO. - 'Maria and Antonio; their other name is Lopez.' + +MYSELF. - 'Have they no Gypsy names?' + +PACO. - 'They have no other names than these.' + +MYSELF. - 'Then in this respect the Gitanos of Spain are unlike +those of my country. Every family there has two names; one by +which they are known to the Busne, and another which they use +amongst themselves.' + +ANTONIO. - 'Give me your hand, brother! I should have come to see +you before, but I have been to Olivenzas in search of a horse. +What I have heard of you has filled me with much desire to know +you, and I now see that you can tell me many things which I am +ignorant of. I am Zincalo by the four sides - I love our blood, +and I hate that of the Busne. Had I my will I would wash my face +every day in the blood of the Busne, for the Busne are made only to +be robbed and to be slaughtered; but I love the Calore, and I love +to hear of things of the Calore, especially from those of foreign +lands; for the Calore of foreign lands know more than we of Spain, +and more resemble our fathers of old.' + +MYSELF. - 'Have you ever met before with Calore who were not +Spaniards?' + +ANTONIO. - 'I will tell you, brother. I served as a soldier in the +war of the independence against the French. War, it is true, is +not the proper occupation of a Gitano, but those were strange +times, and all those who could bear arms were compelled to go forth +to fight: so I went with the English armies, and we chased the +Gabine unto the frontier of France; and it happened once that we +joined in desperate battle, and there was a confusion, and the two +parties became intermingled and fought sword to sword and bayonet +to bayonet, and a French soldier singled me out, and we fought for +a long time, cutting, goring, and cursing each other, till at last +we flung down our arms and grappled; long we wrestled, body to +body, but I found that I was the weaker, and I fell. The French +soldier's knee was on my breast, and his grasp was on my throat, +and he seized his bayonet, and he raised it to thrust me through +the jaws; and his cap had fallen off, and I lifted up my eyes +wildly to his face, and our eyes met, and I gave a loud shriek, and +cried Zincalo, Zincalo! and I felt him shudder, and he relaxed his +grasp and started up, and he smote his forehead and wept, and then +he came to me and knelt down by my side, for I was almost dead, and +he took my hand and called me Brother and Zincalo, and he produced +his flask and poured wine into my mouth, and I revived, and he +raised me up, and led me from the concourse, and we sat down on a +knoll, and the two parties were fighting all around, and he said, +"Let the dogs fight, and tear each others' throats till they are +all destroyed, what matters it to the Zincali? they are not of our +blood, and shall that be shed for them?" So we sat for hours on +the knoll and discoursed on matters pertaining to our people; and I +could have listened for years, for he told me secrets which made my +ears tingle, and I soon found that I knew nothing, though I had +before considered myself quite Zincalo; but as for him, he knew the +whole cuenta; the Bengui Lango (43) himself could have told him +nothing but what he knew. So we sat till the sun went down and the +battle was over, and he proposed that we should both flee to his +own country and live there with the Zincali; but my heart failed +me; so we embraced, and he departed to the Gabine, whilst I +returned to our own battalions.' + +MYSELF. - 'Do you know from what country he came?' + +ANTONIO. - 'He told me that he was a Mayoro.' + +MYSELF. - 'You mean a Magyar or Hungarian.' + +ANTONIO. - 'Just so; and I have repented ever since that I did not +follow him.' + +MYSELF. - 'Why so?' + +ANTONIO. - 'I will tell you: the king has destroyed the law of the +Cales, and has put disunion amongst us. There was a time when the +house of every Zincalo, however rich, was open to his brother, +though he came to him naked; and it was then the custom to boast of +the "errate." It is no longer so now: those who are rich keep +aloof from the rest, will not speak in Calo, and will have no +dealings but with the Busne. Is there not a false brother in this +foros, the only rich man among us, the swine, the balichow? he is +married to a Busnee and he would fain appear as a Busno! Tell me +one thing, has he been to see you? The white blood, I know he has +not; he was afraid to see you, for he knew that by Gypsy law he was +bound to take you to his house and feast you, whilst you remained, +like a prince, like a crallis of the Cales, as I believe you are, +even though he sold the last gras from the stall. Who have come to +see you, brother? Have they not been such as Paco and his wife, +wretches without a house, or, at best, one filled with cold and +poverty; so that you have had to stay at a mesuna, at a posada of +the Busne; and, moreover, what have the Cales given you since you +have been residing here? Nothing, I trow, better than this +rubbish, which is all I can offer you, this Meligrana de los +Bengues.' + +Here he produced a pomegranate from the pocket of his zamarra, and +flung it on the table with such force that the fruit burst, and the +red grains were scattered on the floor. + +The Gitanos of Estremadura call themselves in general Chai or +Chabos, and say that their original country was Chal or Egypt. I +frequently asked them what reason they could assign for calling +themselves Egyptians, and whether they could remember the names of +any places in their supposed fatherland; but I soon found that, +like their brethren in other parts of the world, they were unable +to give any rational account of themselves, and preserved no +recollection of the places where their forefathers had wandered; +their language, however, to a considerable extent, solved the +riddle, the bulk of which being Hindui, pointed out India as the +birthplace of their race, whilst the number of Persian, Sclavonian, +and modern Greek words with which it is checkered, spoke plainly as +to the countries through which these singular people had wandered +before they arrived in Spain. + +They said that they believed themselves to be Egyptians, because +their fathers before them believed so, who must know much better +than themselves. They were fond of talking of Egypt and its former +greatness, though it was evident that they knew nothing farther of +the country and its history than what they derived from spurious +biblical legends current amongst the Spaniards; only from such +materials could they have composed the following account of the +manner of their expulsion from their native land. + +'There was a great king in Egypt, and his name was Pharaoh. He had +numerous armies, with which he made war on all countries, and +conquered them all. And when he had conquered the entire world, he +became sad and sorrowful; for as he delighted in war, he no longer +knew on what to employ himself. At last he bethought him on making +war on God; so he sent a defiance to God, daring him to descend +from the sky with his angels, and contend with Pharaoh and his +armies; but God said, I will not measure my strength with that of a +man. But God was incensed against Pharaoh, and resolved to punish +him; and he opened a hole in the side of an enormous mountain, and +he raised a raging wind, and drove before it Pharaoh and his armies +to that hole, and the abyss received them, and the mountain closed +upon them; but whosoever goes to that mountain on the night of St. +John can hear Pharaoh and his armies singing and yelling therein. +And it came to pass, that when Pharaoh and his armies had +disappeared, all the kings and the nations which had become subject +to Egypt revolted against Egypt, which, having lost her king and +her armies, was left utterly without defence; and they made war +against her, and prevailed against her, and took her people and +drove them forth, dispersing them over all the world.' + +So that now, say the Chai, 'Our horses drink the water of the +Guadiana' - (Apilyela gras Chai la panee Lucalee). + + +'THE STEEDS OF THE EGYPTIANS DRINK THE WATERS OF THE GUADIANA + +'The region of Chal was our dear native soil, +Where in fulness of pleasure we lived without toil; +Till dispersed through all lands, 'twas our fortune to be - +Our steeds, Guadiana, must now drink of thee. + +'Once kings came from far to kneel down at our gate, +And princes rejoic'd on our meanest to wait; +But now who so mean but would scorn our degree - +Our steeds, Guadiana, must now drink of thee. + +'For the Undebel saw, from his throne in the cloud, +That our deeds they were foolish, our hearts they were proud; +And in anger he bade us his presence to flee - +Our steeds, Guadiana, must now drink of thee. + +'Our horses should drink of no river but one; +It sparkles through Chal, 'neath the smile of the sun, +But they taste of all streams save that only, and see - +Apilyela gras Chai la panee Lucalee.' + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +IN Madrid the Gitanos chiefly reside in the neighbourhood of the +'mercado,' or the place where horses and other animals are sold, - +in two narrow and dirty lanes, called the Calle de la Comadre and +the Callejon de Lavapies. It is said that at the beginning of last +century Madrid abounded with these people, who, by their lawless +behaviour and dissolute lives, gave occasion to great scandal; if +such were the case, their numbers must have considerably diminished +since that period, as it would be difficult at any time to collect +fifty throughout Madrid. These Gitanos seem, for the most part, to +be either Valencians or of Valencian origin, as they in general +either speak or understand the dialect of Valencia; and whilst +speaking their own peculiar jargon, the Rommany, are in the habit +of making use of many Valencian words and terms. + +The manner of life of the Gitanos of Madrid differs in no material +respect from that of their brethren in other places. The men, +every market-day, are to be seen on the skirts of the mercado, +generally with some miserable animal - for example, a foundered +mule or galled borrico, by means of which they seldom fail to gain +a dollar or two, either by sale or exchange. It must not, however, +be supposed that they content themselves with such paltry earnings. +Provided they have any valuable animal, which is not unfrequently +the case, they invariably keep such at home snug in the stall, +conducting thither the chapman, should they find any, and +concluding the bargain with the greatest secrecy. Their general +reason for this conduct is an unwillingness to exhibit anything +calculated to excite the jealousy of the chalans, or jockeys of +Spanish blood, who on the slightest umbrage are in the habit of +ejecting them from the fair by force of palos or cudgels, in which +violence the chalans are to a certain extent countenanced by law; +for though by the edict of Carlos the Third the Gitanos were in +other respects placed upon an equality with the rest of the +Spaniards, they were still forbidden to obtain their livelihood by +the traffic of markets and fairs. + +They have occasionally however another excellent reason for not +exposing the animal in the public mercado - having obtained him by +dishonest means. The stealing, concealing, and receiving animals +when stolen, are inveterate Gypsy habits, and are perhaps the last +from which the Gitano will be reclaimed, or will only cease when +the race has become extinct. In the prisons of Madrid, either in +that of the Saladero or De la Corte, there are never less than a +dozen Gitanos immured for stolen horses or mules being found in +their possession, which themselves or their connections have +spirited away from the neighbouring villages, or sometimes from a +considerable distance. I say spirited away, for so well do the +thieves take their measures, and watch their opportunity, that they +are seldom or never taken in the fact. + +The Madrilenian Gypsy women are indefatigable in the pursuit of +prey, prowling about the town and the suburbs from morning till +night, entering houses of all descriptions, from the highest to the +lowest; telling fortunes, or attempting to play off various kinds +of Gypsy tricks, from which they derive much greater profit, and of +which we shall presently have occasion to make particular mention. + +From Madrid let us proceed to Andalusia, casting a cursory glance +on the Gitanos of that country. I found them very numerous at +Granada, which in the Gitano language is termed Meligrana. Their +general condition in this place is truly miserable, far exceeding +in wretchedness the state of the tribes of Estremadura. It is +right to state that Granada itself is the poorest city in Spain; +the greatest part of the population, which exceeds sixty thousand, +living in beggary and nakedness, and the Gitanos share in the +general distress. + +Many of them reside in caves scooped in the sides of the ravines +which lead to the higher regions of the Alpujarras, on a skirt of +which stands Granada. A common occupation of the Gitanos of +Granada is working in iron, and it is not unfrequent to find these +caves tenanted by Gypsy smiths and their families, who ply the +hammer and forge in the bowels of the earth. To one standing at +the mouth of the cave, especially at night, they afford a +picturesque spectacle. Gathered round the forge, their bronzed and +naked bodies, illuminated by the flame, appear like figures of +demons; while the cave, with its flinty sides and uneven roof, +blackened by the charcoal vapours which hover about it in festoons, +seems to offer no inadequate representation of fabled purgatory. +Working in iron was an occupation strictly forbidden to the Gitanos +by the ancient laws, on what account does not exactly appear; +though, perhaps, the trade of the smith was considered as too much +akin to that of the chalan to be permitted to them. The Gypsy +smith of Granada is still a chalan, even as his brother in England +is a jockey and tinker alternately. + +Whilst speaking of the Gitanos of Granada, we cannot pass by in +silence a tragedy which occurred in this town amongst them, some +fifteen years ago, and the details of which are known to every +Gitano in Spain, from Catalonia to Estremadura. We allude to the +murder of Pindamonas by Pepe Conde. Both these individuals were +Gitanos; the latter was a celebrated contrabandista, of whom many +remarkable tales are told. On one occasion, having committed some +enormous crime, he fled over to Barbary and turned Moor, and was +employed by the Moorish emperor in his wars, in company with the +other renegade Spaniards, whose grand depot or presidio is the town +of Agurey in the kingdom of Fez. After the lapse of some years, +when his crime was nearly forgotten, he returned to Granada, where +he followed his old occupations of contrabandista and chalan. +Pindamonas was a Gitano of considerable wealth, and was considered +as the most respectable of the race at Granada, amongst whom he +possessed considerable influence. Between this man and Pepe Conde +there existed a jealousy, especially on the part of the latter, +who, being a man of proud untamable spirit, could not well brook a +superior amongst his own people. It chanced one day that +Pindamonas and other Gitanos, amongst whom was Pepe Conde, were in +a coffee-house. After they had all partaken of some refreshment, +they called for the reckoning, the amount of which Pindamonas +insisted on discharging. It will be necessary here to observe, +that on such occasions in Spain it is considered as a species of +privilege to be allowed to pay, which is an honour generally +claimed by the principal man of the party. Pepe Conde did not fail +to take umbrage at the attempt of Pindamonas, which he considered +as an undue assumption of superiority, and put in his own claim; +but Pindamonas insisted, and at last flung down the money on the +table, whereupon Pepe Conde instantly unclasped one of those +terrible Manchegan knives which are generally carried by the +contrabandistas, and with a frightful gash opened the abdomen of +Pindamonas, who presently expired. + +After this exploit, Pepe Conde fled, and was not seen for some +time. The cave, however, in which he had been in the habit of +residing was watched, as a belief was entertained that sooner or +later he would return to it, in the hope of being able to remove +some of the property contained in it. This belief was well +founded. Early one morning he was observed to enter it, and a band +of soldiers was instantly despatched to seize him. This +circumstance is alluded to in a Gypsy stanza:- + + +'Fly, Pepe Conde, seek the hill; +To flee's thy only chance; +With bayonets fixed, thy blood to spill, +See soldiers four advance.' + + +And before the soldiers could arrive at the cave, Pepe Conde had +discovered their approach and fled, endeavouring to make his escape +amongst the rocks and barrancos of the Alpujarras. The soldiers +instantly pursued, and the chase continued a considerable time. +The fugitive was repeatedly summoned to surrender himself, but +refusing, the soldiers at last fired, and four balls entered the +heart of the Gypsy contrabandista and murderer. + +Once at Madrid I received a letter from the sister's son of +Pindamonas, dated from the prison of the Saladero. In this letter +the writer, who it appears was in durance for stealing a pair of +mules, craved my charitable assistance and advice; and possibly in +the hope of securing my favour, forwarded some uncouth lines +commemorative of the death of his relation, and commencing thus:- + + +'The death of Pindamonas fill'd all the world with pain; +At the coffee-house's portal, by Pepe he was slain.' + + +The faubourg of Triana, in Seville, has from time immemorial been +noted as a favourite residence of the Gitanos; and here, at the +present day, they are to be found in greater number than in any +other town in Spain. This faubourg is indeed chiefly inhabited by +desperate characters, as, besides the Gitanos, the principal part +of the robber population of Seville is here congregated. Perhaps +there is no part even of Naples where crime so much abounds, and +the law is so little respected, as at Triana, the character of +whose inmates was so graphically delineated two centuries and a +half back by Cervantes, in one of the most amusing of his tales. +(44) + +In the vilest lanes of this suburb, amidst dilapidated walls and +ruined convents, exists the grand colony of Spanish Gitanos. Here +they may be seen wielding the hammer; here they may be seen +trimming the fetlocks of horses, or shearing the backs of mules and +borricos with their cachas; and from hence they emerge to ply the +same trade in the town, or to officiate as terceros, or to buy, +sell, or exchange animals in the mercado, and the women to tell the +bahi through the streets, even as in other parts of Spain, +generally attended by one or two tawny bantlings in their arms or +by their sides; whilst others, with baskets and chafing-pans, +proceed to the delightful banks of the Len Baro, (45) by the Golden +Tower, where, squatting on the ground and kindling their charcoal, +they roast the chestnuts which, when well prepared, are the +favourite bonne bouche of the Sevillians; whilst not a few, in +league with the contrabandistas, go from door to door offering for +sale prohibited goods brought from the English at Gibraltar. Such +is Gitano life at Seville; such it is in the capital of Andalusia. + +It is the common belief of the Gitanos of other provinces that in +Andalusia the language, customs, habits, and practices peculiar to +their race are best preserved. This opinion, which probably +originated from the fact of their being found in greater numbers in +this province than in any other, may hold good in some instances, +but certainly not in all. In various parts of Spain I have found +the Gitanos retaining their primitive language and customs better +than in Seville, where they most abound: indeed, it is not plain +that their number has operated at all favourably in this respect. +At Cordova, a town at the distance of twenty leagues from Seville, +which scarcely contains a dozen Gitano families, I found them +living in much more brotherly amity, and cherishing in a greater +degree the observances of their forefathers. + +I shall long remember these Cordovese Gitanos, by whom I was very +well received, but always on the supposition that I was one of +their own race. They said that they never admitted strangers to +their houses save at their marriage festivals, when they flung +their doors open to all, and save occasionally people of influence +and distinction, who wished to hear their songs and converse with +their women; but they assured me, at the same time, that these they +invariably deceived, and merely made use of as instruments to serve +their own purposes. As for myself, I was admitted without scruple +to their private meetings, and was made a participator of their +most secret thoughts. During our intercourse some remarkable +scenes occurred. One night more than twenty of us, men and women, +were assembled in a long low room on the ground floor, in a dark +alley or court in the old gloomy town of Cordova. After the +Gitanos had discussed several jockey plans, and settled some +private bargains amongst themselves, we all gathered round a huge +brasero of flaming charcoal, and began conversing SOBRE LAS COSAS +DE EGYPTO, when I proposed that, as we had no better means of +amusing ourselves, we should endeavour to turn into the Calo +language some pieces of devotion, that we might see whether this +language, the gradual decay of which I had frequently heard them +lament, was capable of expressing any other matters than those +which related to horses, mules, and Gypsy traffic. It was in this +cautious manner that I first endeavoured to divert the attention of +these singular people to matters of eternal importance. My +suggestion was received with acclamations, and we forthwith +proceeded to the translation of the Apostles' creed. I first +recited in Spanish, in the usual manner and without pausing, this +noble confession, and then repeated it again, sentence by sentence, +the Gitanos translating as I proceeded. They exhibited the +greatest eagerness and interest in their unwonted occupation, and +frequently broke into loud disputes as to the best rendering - many +being offered at the same time. In the meanwhile, I wrote down +from their dictation; and at the conclusion I read aloud the +translation, the result of the united wisdom of the assembly, +whereupon they all raised a shout of exultation, and appeared not a +little proud of the composition. + +The Cordovese Gitanos are celebrated esquiladors. Connected with +them and the exercise of the ARTE DE ESQUILAR, in Gypsy monrabar, I +have a curious anecdote to relate. In the first place, however, it +may not be amiss to say something about the art itself, of all +relating to which it is possible that the reader may be quite +ignorant. + +Nothing is more deserving of remark in Spanish grooming than the +care exhibited in clipping and trimming various parts of the horse, +where the growth of hair is considered as prejudicial to the +perfect health and cleanliness of the animal, particular attention +being always paid to the pastern, that part of the foot which lies +between the fetlock and the hoof, to guard against the arestin - +that cutaneous disorder which is the dread of the Spanish groom, on +which account the services of a skilful esquilador are continually +in requisition. + +The esquilador, when proceeding to the exercise of his vocation, +generally carries under his arm a small box containing the +instruments necessary, and which consist principally of various +pairs of scissors, and the ACIAL, two short sticks tied together +with whipcord at the end, by means of which the lower lip of the +horse, should he prove restive, is twisted, and the animal reduced +to speedy subjection. In the girdle of the esquilador are stuck +the large scissors called in Spanish TIJERAS, and in the Gypsy +tongue CACHAS, with which he principally works. He operates upon +the backs, ears, and tails of mules and borricos, which are +invariably sheared quite bare, that if the animals are galled, +either by their harness or the loads which they carry, the wounds +may be less liable to fester, and be more easy to cure. Whilst +engaged with horses, he confines himself to the feet and ears. The +esquiladores in the two Castiles, and in those provinces where the +Gitanos do not abound, are for the most part Aragonese; but in the +others, and especially in Andalusia, they are of the Gypsy race. +The Gitanos are in general very expert in the use of the cachas, +which they handle in a manner practised nowhere but in Spain; and +with this instrument the poorer class principally obtain their +bread. + +In one of their couplets allusion is made to this occupation in the +following manner:- + + +'I'll rise to-morrow bread to earn, +For hunger's worn me grim; +Of all I meet I'll ask in turn, +If they've no beasts to trim.' + + +Sometimes, whilst shearing the foot of a horse, exceedingly small +scissors are necessary for the purpose of removing fine solitary +hairs; for a Spanish groom will tell you that a horse's foot behind +ought to be kept as clean and smooth as the hand of a senora: such +scissors can only be procured at Madrid. My sending two pair of +this kind to a Cordovese Gypsy, from whom I had experienced much +attention whilst in that city, was the occasion of my receiving a +singular epistle from another whom I scarcely knew, and which I +shall insert as being an original Gypsy composition, and in some +points not a little characteristic of the people of whom I am now +writing. + + +'Cordova, 20th day of January, 1837. +'SENOR DON JORGE, + +'After saluting you and hoping that you are well, I proceed to tell +you that the two pair of scissors arrived at this town of Cordova +with him whom you sent them by; but, unfortunately, they were given +to another Gypsy, whom you neither knew nor spoke to nor saw in +your life; for it chanced that he who brought them was a friend of +mine, and he told me that he had brought two pair of scissors which +an Englishman had given him for the Gypsies; whereupon I, +understanding it was yourself, instantly said to him, "Those +scissors are for me"; he told me, however, that he had already +given them to another, and he is a Gypsy who was not even in +Cordova during the time you were. Nevertheless, Don Jorge, I am +very grateful for your thus remembering me, although I did not +receive your present, and in order that you may know who I am, my +name is Antonio Salazar, a man pitted with the small-pox, and the +very first who spoke to you in Cordova in the posada where you +were; and you told me to come and see you next day at eleven, and I +went, and we conversed together alone. Therefore I should wish you +to do me the favour to send me scissors for trimming beasts, - good +scissors, mind you, - such would be a very great favour, and I +should be ever grateful, for here in Cordova there are none, or if +there be, they are good for nothing. Senor Don Jorge, you remember +I told you that I was an esquilador by trade, and only by that I +got bread for my babes. Senor Don Jorge, if you do send me the +scissors for trimming, pray write and direct to the alley De la +Londiga, No. 28, to Antonio Salazar, in Cordova. This is what I +have to tell you, and do you ever command your trusty servant, who +kisses your hand and is eager to serve you. + +'ANTONIO SALAZAR.' + +FIRST COUPLET + +'That I may clip and trim the beasts, a pair of cachas grant, +If not, I fear my luckless babes will perish all of want.' + +SECOND COUPLET + +'If thou a pair of cachas grant, that I my babes may feed, +I'll pray to the Almighty God, that thee he ever speed.' + + +It is by no means my intention to describe the exact state and +condition of the Gitanos in every town and province where they are +to be found; perhaps, indeed, it will be considered that I have +already been more circumstantial and particular than the case +required. The other districts which they inhabit are principally +those of Catalonia, Murcia, and Valencia; and they are likewise to +be met with in the Basque provinces, where they are called +Egipcioac, or Egyptians. What I next purpose to occupy myself with +are some general observations on the habits, and the physical and +moral state of the Gitanos throughout Spain, and of the position +which they hold in society. + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +ALREADY, from the two preceding chapters, it will have been +perceived that the condition of the Gitanos in Spain has been +subjected of late to considerable modification. The words of the +Gypsy of Badajoz are indeed, in some respects, true; they are no +longer the people that they were; the roads and 'despoblados' have +ceased to be infested by them, and the traveller is no longer +exposed to much danger on their account; they at present confine +themselves, for the most part, to towns and villages, and if they +occasionally wander abroad, it is no longer in armed bands, +formidable for their numbers, and carrying terror and devastation +in all directions, bivouacking near solitary villages, and +devouring the substance of the unfortunate inhabitants, or +occasionally threatening even large towns, as in the singular case +of Logrono, mentioned by Francisco de Cordova. As the reader will +probably wish to know the cause of this change in the lives and +habits of these people, we shall, as briefly as possible, afford as +much information on the subject as the amount of our knowledge will +permit. + +One fact has always struck us with particular force in the history +of these people, namely, that Gitanismo - which means Gypsy +villainy of every description - flourished and knew nothing of +decay so long as the laws recommended and enjoined measures the +most harsh and severe for the suppression of the Gypsy sect; the +palmy days of Gitanismo were those in which the caste was +proscribed, and its members, in the event of renouncing their Gypsy +habits, had nothing farther to expect than the occupation of +tilling the earth, a dull hopeless toil; then it was that the +Gitanos paid tribute to the inferior ministers of justice, and were +engaged in illicit connection with those of higher station, and by +such means baffled the law, whose vengeance rarely fell upon their +heads; and then it was that they bid it open defiance, retiring to +the deserts and mountains, and living in wild independence by +rapine and shedding of blood; for as the law then stood they would +lose all by resigning their Gitanismo, whereas by clinging to it +they lived either in the independence so dear to them, or beneath +the protection of their confederates. It would appear that in +proportion as the law was harsh and severe, so was the Gitano bold +and secure. The fiercest of these laws was the one of Philip the +Fifth, passed in the year 1745, which commands that the refractory +Gitanos be hunted down with fire and sword; that it was quite +inefficient is satisfactorily proved by its being twice reiterated, +once in the year '46, and again in '49, which would scarcely have +been deemed necessary had it quelled the Gitanos. This law, with +some unimportant modifications, continued in force till the year +'83, when the famous edict of Carlos Tercero superseded it. Will +any feel disposed to doubt that the preceding laws had served to +foster what they were intended to suppress, when we state the +remarkable fact, that since the enactment of that law, as humane as +the others were unjust, WE HAVE HEARD NOTHING MORE OF THE GITANOS +FROM OFFICIAL QUARTERS; THEY HAVE CEASED TO PLAY A DISTINCT PART IN +THE HISTORY OF SPAIN; AND THE LAW NO LONGER SPEAKS OF THEM AS A +DISTINCT PEOPLE? The caste of the Gitano still exists, but it is +neither so extensive nor so formidable as a century ago, when the +law in denouncing Gitanismo proposed to the Gitanos the +alternatives of death for persisting in their profession, or +slavery for abandoning it. + +There are fierce and discontented spirits amongst them, who regret +such times, and say that Gypsy law is now no more, that the Gypsy +no longer assists his brother, and that union has ceased among +them. If this be true, can better proof be adduced of the +beneficial working of the later law? A blessing has been conferred +on society, and in a manner highly creditable to the spirit of +modern times; reform has been accomplished, not by persecution, not +by the gibbet and the rack, but by justice and tolerance. The +traveller has flung aside his cloak, not compelled by the angry +buffeting of the north wind, but because the mild, benignant +weather makes such a defence no longer necessary. The law no +longer compels the Gitanos to stand back to back, on the principal +of mutual defence, and to cling to Gitanismo to escape from +servitude and thraldom. + +Taking everything into consideration, and viewing the subject in +all its bearings with an impartial glance, we are compelled to come +to the conclusion that the law of Carlos Tercero, the provisions of +which were distinguished by justice and clemency, has been the +principal if not the only cause of the decline of Gitanismo in +Spain. Some importance ought to be attached to the opinion of the +Gitanos themselves on this point. 'El Crallis ha nicobado la liri +de los Cales,' is a proverbial saying among them. By Crallis, or +King, they mean Carlos Tercero, so that the saying, the proverbial +saying, may be thus translated: THE LAW OF CARLOS TERCERO HAS +SUPERSEDED GYPSY LAW. + +By the law the schools are open to them, and there is no art or +science which they may not pursue, if they are willing. Have they +availed themselves of the rights which the law has conferred upon +them? + +Up to the present period but little - they still continue jockeys +and blacksmiths; but some of these Gypsy chalans, these bronzed +smiths, these wild-looking esquiladors, can read or write in the +proportion of one man in three or four; what more can be expected? +Would you have the Gypsy bantling, born in filth and misery, 'midst +mules and borricos, amidst the mud of a choza or the sand of a +barranco, grasp with its swarthy hands the crayon and easel, the +compass, or the microscope, or the tube which renders more distinct +the heavenly orbs, and essay to become a Murillo, or a Feijoo, or a +Lorenzo de Hervas, as soon as the legal disabilities are removed +which doomed him to be a thievish jockey or a sullen husbandman? +Much will have been accomplished, if, after the lapse of a hundred +years, one hundred human beings shall have been evolved from the +Gypsy stock, who shall prove sober, honest, and useful members of +society, - that stock so degraded, so inveterate in wickedness and +evil customs, and so hardened by brutalising laws. Should so many +beings, should so many souls be rescued from temporal misery and +eternal woe; should only the half of that number, should only the +tenth, nay, should only one poor wretched sheep be saved, there +will be joy in heaven, for much will have been accomplished on +earth, and those lines will have been in part falsified which +filled the stout heart of Mahmoud with dismay:- + + +'For the root that's unclean, hope if you can; +No washing e'er whitens the black Zigan: +The tree that's bitter by birth and race, +If in paradise garden to grow you place, +And water it free with nectar and wine, +From streams in paradise meads that shine, +At the end its nature it still declares, +For bitter is all the fruit it bears. +If the egg of the raven of noxious breed +You place 'neath the paradise bird, and feed +The splendid fowl upon its nest, +With immortal figs, the food of the blest, +And give it to drink from Silisbel, (46) +Whilst life in the egg breathes Gabriel, +A raven, a raven, the egg shall bear, +And the fostering bird shall waste its care.' - + +FERDOUSI. + + +The principal evidence which the Gitanos have hitherto given that a +partial reformation has been effected in their habits, is the +relinquishment, in a great degree, of that wandering life of which +the ancient laws were continually complaining, and which was the +cause of infinite evils, and tended not a little to make the roads +insecure. + +Doubtless there are those who will find some difficulty in +believing that the mild and conciliatory clauses of the law in +question could have much effect in weaning the Gitanos from this +inveterate habit, and will be more disposed to think that this +relinquishment was effected by energetic measures resorted to by +the government, to compel them to remain in their places of +location. It does not appear, however, that such measures were +ever resorted to. Energy, indeed, in the removal of a nuisance, is +scarcely to be expected from Spaniards under any circumstances. +All we can say on the subject, with certainty, is, that since the +repeal of the tyrannical laws, wandering has considerably decreased +among the Gitanos. + +Since the law has ceased to brand them, they have come nearer to +the common standard of humanity, and their general condition has +been ameliorated. At present, only the very poorest, the parias of +the race, are to be found wandering about the heaths and mountains, +and this only in the summer time, and their principal motive, +according to their own confession, is to avoid the expense of house +rent; the rest remain at home, following their avocations, unless +some immediate prospect of gain, lawful or unlawful, calls them +forth; and such is frequently the case. They attend most fairs, +women and men, and on the way frequently bivouac in the fields, but +this practice must not be confounded with systematic wandering. + +Gitanismo, therefore, has not been extinguished, only modified; but +that modification has been effected within the memory of man, +whilst previously near four centuries elapsed, during which no +reform had been produced amongst them by the various measures +devised, all of which were distinguished by an absence not only of +true policy, but of common-sense; it is therefore to be hoped, that +if the Gitanos are abandoned to themselves, by which we mean no +arbitrary laws are again enacted for their extinction, the sect +will eventually cease to be, and its members become confounded with +the residue of the population; for certainly no Christian nor +merely philanthropic heart can desire the continuance of any sect +or association of people whose fundamental principle seems to be to +hate all the rest of mankind, and to live by deceiving them; and +such is the practice of the Gitanos. + +During the last five years, owing to the civil wars, the ties which +unite society have been considerably relaxed; the law has been +trampled under foot, and the greatest part of Spain overrun with +robbers and miscreants, who, under pretence of carrying on partisan +warfare, and not unfrequently under no pretence at all, have +committed the most frightful excesses, plundering and murdering the +defenceless. Such a state of things would have afforded the +Gitanos a favourable opportunity to resume their former kind of +life, and to levy contributions as formerly, wandering about in +bands. Certain it is, however, that they have not sought to repeat +their ancient excesses, taking advantage of the troubles of the +country; they have gone on, with a few exceptions, quietly pursuing +that part of their system to which they still cling, their +jockeyism, which, though based on fraud and robbery, is far +preferable to wandering brigandage, which necessarily involves the +frequent shedding of blood. Can better proof be adduced, that +Gitanismo owes its decline, in Spain, not to force, not to +persecution, not to any want of opportunity of exercising it, but +to some other cause? - and we repeat that we consider the principal +if not the only cause of the decline of Gitanismo to be the +conferring on the Gitanos the rights and privileges of other +subjects. + +We have said that the Gitanos have not much availed themselves of +the permission, which the law grants them, of embarking in various +spheres of life. They remain jockeys, but they have ceased to be +wanderers; and the grand object of the law is accomplished. The +law forbids them to be jockeys, or to follow the trade of trimming +and shearing animals, without some other visible mode of +subsistence. This provision, except in a few isolated instances, +they evade; and the law seeks not, and perhaps wisely, to disturb +them, content with having achieved so much. The chief evils of +Gitanismo which still remain consist in the systematic frauds of +the Gypsy jockeys and the tricks of the women. It is incurring +considerable risk to purchase a horse or a mule, even from the most +respectable Gitano, without a previous knowledge of the animal and +his former possessor, the chances being that it is either diseased +or stolen from a distance. Of the practices of the females, +something will be said in particular in a future chapter. + +The Gitanos in general are very poor, a pair of large cachas and +various scissors of a smaller description constituting their whole +capital; occasionally a good hit is made, as they call it, but the +money does not last long, being quickly squandered in feasting and +revelry. He who has habitually in his house a couple of donkeys is +considered a thriving Gitano; there are some, however, who are +wealthy in the strict sense of the word, and carry on a very +extensive trade in horses and mules. These, occasionally, visit +the most distant fairs, traversing the greatest part of Spain. +There is a celebrated cattle-fair held at Leon on St. John's or +Midsummer Day, and on one of these occasions, being present, I +observed a small family of Gitanos, consisting of a man of about +fifty, a female of the same age, and a handsome young Gypsy, who +was their son; they were richly dressed after the Gypsy fashion, +the men wearing zamarras with massy clasps and knobs of silver, and +the woman a species of riding-dress with much gold embroidery, and +having immense gold rings attached to her ears. They came from +Murcia, a distance of one hundred leagues and upwards. Some +merchants, to whom I was recommended, informed me that they had +credit on their house to the amount of twenty thousand dollars. + +They experienced rough treatment in the fair, and on a very +singular account: immediately on their appearing on the ground, +the horses in the fair, which, perhaps, amounted to three thousand, +were seized with a sudden and universal panic; it was one of those +strange incidents for which it is difficult to assign a rational +cause; but a panic there was amongst the brutes, and a mighty one; +the horses neighed, screamed, and plunged, endeavouring to escape +in all directions; some appeared absolutely possessed, stamping and +tearing, their manes and tails stiffly erect, like the bristles of +the wild boar - many a rider lost his seat. When the panic had +ceased, and it did cease almost as suddenly as it had arisen, the +Gitanos were forthwith accused as the authors of it; it was said +that they intended to steal the best horses during the confusion, +and the keepers of the ground, assisted by a rabble of chalans, who +had their private reasons for hating the Gitanos, drove them off +the field with sticks and cudgels. So much for having a bad name. + +These wealthy Gitanos, when they are not ashamed of their blood or +descent, and are not addicted to proud fancies, or 'barbales,' as +they are called, possess great influence with the rest of their +brethren, almost as much as the rabbins amongst the Jews; their +bidding is considered law, and the other Gitanos are at their +devotion. On the contrary, when they prefer the society of the +Busne to that of their own race, and refuse to assist their less +fortunate brethren in poverty or in prison, they are regarded with +unbounded contempt and abhorrence, as in the case of the rich Gypsy +of Badajoz, and are not unfrequently doomed to destruction: such +characters are mentioned in their couplets:- + + +'The Gypsy fiend of Manga mead, +Who never gave a straw, +He would destroy, for very greed, +The good Egyptian law. + +'The false Juanito day and night +Had best with caution go; +The Gypsy carles of Yeira height +Have sworn to lay him low.' + + +However some of the Gitanos may complain that there is no longer +union to be found amongst them, there is still much of that fellow- +feeling which springs from a consciousness of proceeding from one +common origin, or, as they love to term it, 'blood.' At present +their system exhibits less of a commonwealth than when they roamed +in bands amongst the wilds, and principally subsisted by foraging, +each individual contributing to the common stock, according to his +success. The interests of individuals are now more distinct, and +that close connection is of course dissolved which existed when +they wandered about, and their dangers, gains, and losses were felt +in common; and it can never be too often repeated that they are no +longer a proscribed race, with no rights nor safety save what they +gained by a close and intimate union. Nevertheless, the Gitano, +though he naturally prefers his own interest to that of his +brother, and envies him his gain when he does not expect to share +in it, is at all times ready to side with him against the Busno, +because the latter is not a Gitano, but of a different blood, and +for no other reason. When one Gitano confides his plans to +another, he is in no fear that they will be betrayed to the Busno, +for whom there is no sympathy, and when a plan is to be executed +which requires co-operation, they seek not the fellowship of the +Busne, but of each other, and if successful, share the gain like +brothers. + +As a proof of the fraternal feeling which is not unfrequently +displayed amongst the Gitanos, I shall relate a circumstance which +occurred at Cordova a year or two before I first visited it. One +of the poorest of the Gitanos murdered a Spaniard with the fatal +Manchegan knife; for this crime he was seized, tried, and found +guilty. Blood-shedding in Spain is not looked upon with much +abhorrence, and the life of the culprit is seldom taken, provided +he can offer a bribe sufficient to induce the notary public to +report favourably upon his case; but in this instance money was of +no avail; the murdered individual left behind him powerful friends +and connections, who were determined that justice should take its +course. It was in vain that the Gitanos exerted all their +influence with the authorities in behalf of their comrade, and such +influence was not slight; it was in vain that they offered +extravagant sums that the punishment of death might be commuted to +perpetual slavery in the dreary presidio of Ceuta; I was credibly +informed that one of the richest Gitanos, by name Fruto, offered +for his own share of the ransom the sum of five thousand crowns, +whilst there was not an individual but contributed according to his +means - nought availed, and the Gypsy was executed in the Plaza. +The day before the execution, the Gitanos, perceiving that the fate +of their brother was sealed, one and all quitted Cordova, shutting +up their houses and carrying with them their horses, their mules, +their borricos, their wives and families, and the greatest part of +their household furniture. No one knew whither they directed their +course, nor were they seen in Cordova for some months, when they +again suddenly made their appearance; a few, however, never +returned. So great was the horror of the Gitanos at what had +occurred, that they were in the habit of saying that the place was +cursed for evermore; and when I knew them, there were many amongst +them who, on no account, would enter the Plaza which had witnessed +the disgraceful end of their unfortunate brother. + +The position which the Gitanos hold in society in Spain is the +lowest, as might be expected; they are considered at best as +thievish chalans, and the women as half sorceresses, and in every +respect thieves; there is not a wretch, however vile, the outcast +of the prison and the presidio, who calls himself Spaniard, but +would feel insulted by being termed Gitano, and would thank God +that he is not; and yet, strange to say, there are numbers, and +those of the higher classes, who seek their company, and endeavour +to imitate their manners and way of speaking. The connections +which they form with the Spaniards are not many; occasionally some +wealthy Gitano marries a Spanish female, but to find a Gitana +united to a Spaniard is a thing of the rarest occurrence, if it +ever takes place. It is, of course, by intermarriage alone that +the two races will ever commingle, and before that event is brought +about, much modification must take place amongst the Gitanos, in +their manners, in their habits, in their affections, and their +dislikes, and, perhaps, even in their physical peculiarities; much +must be forgotten on both sides, and everything is forgotten in the +course of time. + +The number of the Gitano population of Spain at the present day may +be estimated at about forty thousand. At the commencement of the +present century it was said to amount to sixty thousand. There can +be no doubt that the sect is by no means so numerous as it was at +former periods; witness those barrios in various towns still +denominated Gitanerias, but from whence the Gitanos have +disappeared even like the Moors from the Morerias. Whether this +diminution in number has been the result of a partial change of +habits, of pestilence or sickness, of war or famine, or of all +these causes combined, we have no means of determining, and shall +abstain from offering conjectures on the subject. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +IN the autumn of the year 1839, I landed at Tarifa, from the coast +of Barbary. I arrived in a small felouk laden with hides for +Cadiz, to which place I was myself going. We stopped at Tarifa in +order to perform quarantine, which, however, turned out a mere +farce, as we were all permitted to come on shore; the master of the +felouk having bribed the port captain with a few fowls. We formed +a motley group. A rich Moor and his son, a child, with their +Jewish servant Yusouf, and myself with my own man Hayim Ben Attar, +a Jew. After passing through the gate, the Moors and their +domestics were conducted by the master to the house of one of his +acquaintance, where he intended they should lodge; whilst a sailor +was despatched with myself and Hayim to the only inn which the +place afforded. I stopped in the street to speak to a person whom +I had known at Seville. Before we had concluded our discourse, +Hayim, who had walked forward, returned, saying that the quarters +were good, and that we were in high luck, for that he knew the +people of the inn were Jews. 'Jews,' said I, 'here in Tarifa, and +keeping an inn, I should be glad to see them.' So I left my +acquaintance, and hastened to the house. We first entered a +stable, of which the ground floor of the building consisted, and +ascending a flight of stairs entered a very large room, and from +thence passed into a kitchen, in which were several people. One of +these was a stout, athletic, burly fellow of about fifty, dressed +in a buff jerkin, and dark cloth pantaloons. His hair was black as +a coal and exceedingly bushy, his face much marked from some +disorder, and his skin as dark as that of a toad. A very tall +woman stood by the dresser, much resembling him in feature, with +the same hair and complexion, but with more intelligence in her +eyes than the man, who looked heavy and dogged. A dark woman, whom +I subsequently discovered to be lame, sat in a corner, and two or +three swarthy girls, from fifteen to eighteen years of age, were +flitting about the room. I also observed a wicked-looking boy, who +might have been called handsome, had not one of his eyes been +injured. 'Jews,' said I, in Moorish, to Hayim, as I glanced at +these people and about the room; 'these are not Jews, but children +of the Dar-bushi-fal.' + +'List to the Corahai,' said the tall woman, in broken Gypsy slang, +'hear how they jabber (hunelad como chamulian), truly we will make +them pay for the noise they raise in the house.' Then coming up to +me, she demanded with a shout, fearing otherwise that I should not +understand, whether I would not wish to see the room where I was to +sleep. I nodded: whereupon she led me out upon a back terrace, +and opening the door of a small room, of which there were three, +asked me if it would suit. 'Perfectly,' said I, and returned with +her to the kitchen. + +'O, what a handsome face! what a royal person!' exclaimed the whole +family as I returned, in Spanish, but in the whining, canting tones +peculiar to the Gypsies, when they are bent on victimising. 'A +more ugly Busno it has never been our chance to see,' said the same +voices in the next breath, speaking in the jargon of the tribe. +'Won't your Moorish Royalty please to eat something?' said the tall +hag. 'We have nothing in the house; but I will run out and buy a +fowl, which I hope may prove a royal peacock to nourish and +strengthen you.' 'I hope it may turn to drow in your entrails,' +she muttered to the rest in Gypsy. She then ran down, and in a +minute returned with an old hen, which, on my arrival, I had +observed below in the stable. 'See this beautiful fowl,' said she, +'I have been running over all Tarifa to procure it for your +kingship; trouble enough I have had to obtain it, and dear enough +it has cost me. I will now cut its throat.' 'Before you kill it,' +said I, 'I should wish to know what you paid for it, that there may +be no dispute about it in the account.' 'Two dollars I paid for +it, most valorous and handsome sir; two dollars it cost me, out of +my own quisobi - out of my own little purse.' I saw it was high +time to put an end to these zalamerias, and therefore exclaimed in +Gitano, 'You mean two brujis (reals), O mother of all the witches, +and that is twelve cuartos more than it is worth.' 'Ay Dios mio, +whom have we here?' exclaimed the females. 'One,' I replied, 'who +knows you well and all your ways. Speak! am I to have the hen for +two reals? if not, I shall leave the house this moment.' 'O yes, +to be sure, brother, and for nothing if you wish it,' said the tall +woman, in natural and quite altered tones; 'but why did you enter +the house speaking in Corahai like a Bengui? We thought you a +Busno, but we now see that you are of our religion; pray sit down +and tell us where you have been.' . . + +MYSELF. - 'Now, my good people, since I have answered your +questions, it is but right that you should answer some of mine; +pray who are you? and how happens it that you are keeping this +inn?' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'Verily, brother, we can scarcely tell you who we are. +All we know of ourselves is, that we keep this inn, to our trouble +and sorrow, and that our parents kept it before us; we were all +born in this house, where I suppose we shall die.' + +MYSELF. - 'Who is the master of the house, and whose are these +children?' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'The master of the house is the fool, my brother, who +stands before you without saying a word; to him belong these +children, and the cripple in the chair is his wife, and my cousin. +He has also two sons who are grown-up men; one is a chumajarri +(shoemaker), and the other serves a tanner.' + +MYSELF. - 'Is it not contrary to the law of the Cales to follow +such trades?' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'We know of no law, and little of the Cales +themselves. Ours is the only Calo family in Tarifa, and we never +left it in our lives, except occasionally to go on the smuggling +lay to Gibraltar. True it is that the Cales, when they visit +Tarifa, put up at our house, sometimes to our cost. There was one +Rafael, son of the rich Fruto of Cordova, here last summer, to buy +up horses, and he departed a baria and a half in our debt; however, +I do not grudge it him, for he is a handsome and clever Chabo - a +fellow of many capacities. There was more than one Busno had cause +to rue his coming to Tarifa.' + +MYSELF. - 'Do you live on good terms with the Busne of Tarifa?' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'Brother, we live on the best terms with the Busne of +Tarifa; especially with the errays. The first people in Tarifa +come to this house, to have their baji told by the cripple in the +chair and by myself. I know not how it is, but we are more +considered by the grandees than the poor, who hate and loathe us. +When my first and only infant died, for I have been married, the +child of one of the principal people was put to me to nurse, but I +hated it for its white blood, as you may well believe. It never +throve, for I did it a private mischief, and though it grew up and +is now a youth, it is - mad.' + +MYSELF. - 'With whom will your brother's children marry? You say +there are no Gypsies here.' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'Ay de mi, hermano! It is that which grieves me. I +would rather see them sold to the Moors than married to the Busne. +When Rafael was here he wished to persuade the chumajarri to +accompany him to Cordova, and promised to provide for him, and to +find him a wife among the Callees of that town; but the faint heart +would not, though I myself begged him to comply. As for the +curtidor (tanner), he goes every night to the house of a Busnee; +and once, when I reproached him with it, he threatened to marry +her. I intend to take my knife, and to wait behind the door in the +dark, and when she comes out to gash her over the eyes. I trow he +will have little desire to wed with her then.' + +MYSELF. - 'Do many Busne from the country put up at this house?' + +GYPSY HAG. - 'Not so many as formerly, brother; the labourers from +the Campo say that we are all thieves; and that it is impossible +for any one but a Calo to enter this house without having the shirt +stripped from his back. They go to the houses of their +acquaintance in the town, for they fear to enter these doors. I +scarcely know why, for my brother is the veriest fool in Tarifa. +Were it not for his face, I should say that he is no Chabo, for he +cannot speak, and permits every chance to slip through his fingers. +Many a good mule and borrico have gone out of the stable below, +which he might have secured, had he but tongue enough to have +cozened the owners. But he is a fool, as I said before; he cannot +speak, and is no Chabo.' + +How far the person in question, who sat all the while smoking his +pipe, with the most unperturbed tranquillity, deserved the +character bestowed upon him by his sister, will presently appear. +It is not my intention to describe here all the strange things I +both saw and heard in this Gypsy inn. Several Gypsies arrived from +the country during the six days that I spent within its walls; one +of them, a man, from Moron, was received with particular +cordiality, he having a son, whom he was thinking of betrothing to +one of the Gypsy daughters. Some females of quality likewise +visited the house to gossip, like true Andalusians. It was +singular to observe the behaviour of the Gypsies to these people, +especially that of the remarkable woman, some of whose conversation +I have given above. She whined, she canted, she blessed, she +talked of beauty of colour, of eyes, of eyebrows, and pestanas +(eyelids), and of hearts which were aching for such and such a +lady. Amongst others, came a very fine woman, the widow of a +colonel lately slain in battle; she brought with her a beautiful +innocent little girl, her daughter, between three and four years of +age. The Gypsy appeared to adore her; she sobbed, she shed tears, +she kissed the child, she blessed it, she fondled it. I had my eye +upon her countenance, and it brought to my recollection that of a +she-wolf, which I had once seen in Russia, playing with her whelp +beneath a birch-tree. 'You seem to love that child very much, O my +mother,' said I to her, as the lady was departing. + +GYPSY HAG. - 'No lo camelo, hijo! I do not love it, O my son, I do +not love it; I love it so much, that I wish it may break its leg as +it goes downstairs, and its mother also.' + +On the evening of the fourth day, I was seated on the stone bench +at the stable door, taking the fresco; the Gypsy innkeeper sat +beside me, smoking his pipe, and silent as usual; presently a man +and woman with a borrico, or donkey, entered the portal. I took +little or no notice of a circumstance so slight, but I was +presently aroused by hearing the Gypsy's pipe drop upon the ground. +I looked at him, and scarcely recognised his face. It was no +longer dull, black, and heavy, but was lighted up with an +expression so extremely villainous that I felt uneasy. His eyes +were scanning the recent comers, especially the beast of burden, +which was a beautiful female donkey. He was almost instantly at +their side, assisting to remove its housings, and the alforjas, or +bags. His tongue had become unloosed, as if by sorcery; and far +from being unable to speak, he proved that, when it suited his +purpose, he could discourse with wonderful volubility. The donkey +was soon tied to the manger, and a large measure of barley emptied +before it, the greatest part of which the Gypsy boy presently +removed, his father having purposely omitted to mix the barley with +the straw, with which the Spanish mangers are always kept filled. +The guests were hurried upstairs as soon as possible. I remained +below, and subsequently strolled about the town and on the beach. +It was about nine o'clock when I returned to the inn to retire to +rest; strange things had evidently been going on during my absence. +As I passed through the large room on my way to my apartment, lo, +the table was set out with much wine, fruits, and viands. There +sat the man from the country, three parts intoxicated; the Gypsy, +already provided with another pipe, sat on his knee, with his right +arm most affectionately round his neck; on one side sat the +chumajarri drinking and smoking, on the other the tanner. Behold, +poor humanity, thought I to myself, in the hands of devils; in this +manner are human souls ensnared to destruction by the fiends of the +pit. The females had already taken possession of the woman at the +other end of the table, embracing her, and displaying every mark of +friendship and affection. I passed on, but ere I reached my +apartment I heard the words mule and donkey. 'Adios,' said I, for +I but too well knew what was on the carpet. + +In the back stable the Gypsy kept a mule, a most extraordinary +animal, which was employed in bringing water to the house, a task +which it effected with no slight difficulty; it was reported to be +eighteen years of age; one of its eyes had been removed by some +accident, it was foundered, and also lame, the result of a broken +leg. This animal was the laughing-stock of all Tarifa; the Gypsy +grudged it the very straw on while alone he fed it, and had +repeatedly offered it for sale at a dollar, which he could never +obtain. During the night there was much merriment going on, and I +could frequently distinguish the voice of the Gypsy raised to a +boisterous pitch. In the morning the Gypsy hag entered my +apartment, bearing the breakfast of myself and Hayim. 'What were +you about last night?' said I. + +'We were bargaining with the Busno, evil overtake him, and he has +exchanged us the ass, for the mule and the reckoning,' said the +hag, in whose countenance triumph was blended with anxiety. + +'Was he drunk when he saw the mule?' I demanded. + +'He did not see her at all, O my son, but we told him we had a +beautiful mule, worth any money, which we were anxious to dispose +of, as a donkey suited our purpose better. We are afraid that when +he sees her he will repent his bargain, and if he calls off within +four-and-twenty hours, the exchange is null, and the justicia will +cause us to restore the ass; we have, however, already removed her +to our huerta out of the town, where we have hid her below the +ground. Dios sabe (God knows) how it will turn out.' + +When the man and woman saw the lame, foundered, one-eyed creature, +for which and the reckoning they had exchanged their own beautiful +borrico, they stood confounded. It was about ten in the morning, +and they had not altogether recovered from the fumes of the wine of +the preceding night; at last the man, with a frightful oath, +exclaimed to the innkeeper, 'Restore my donkey, you Gypsy villain!' + +'It cannot be, brother,' replied the latter, 'your donkey is by +this time three leagues from here: I sold her this morning to a +man I do not know, and I am afraid I shall have a hard bargain with +her, for he only gave two dollars, as she was unsound. O, you have +taken me in, I am a poor fool as they call me here, and you +understand much, very much, baribu.' (47) + +'Her value was thirty-five dollars, thou demon,' said the +countryman, 'and the justicia will make you pay that.' + +'Come, come, brother,' said the Gypsy, 'all this is mere +conversation; you have a capital bargain, to-day the mercado is +held, and you shall sell the mule; I will go with you myself. O, +you understand baribu; sister, bring the bottle of anise; the senor +and the senora must drink a copita.' After much persuasion, and +many oaths, the man and woman were weak enough to comply; when they +had drunk several glasses, they departed for the market, the Gypsy +leading the mule. In about two hours they returned with the +wretched beast, but not exactly as they went; a numerous crowd +followed, laughing and hooting. The man was now frantic, and the +woman yet more so. They forced their way upstairs to collect their +baggage, which they soon effected, and were about to leave the +house, vowing revenge. Now ensued a truly terrific scene, there +were no more blandishments; the Gypsy men and women were in arms, +uttering the most frightful execrations; as the woman came +downstairs, the females assailed her like lunatics; the cripple +poked at her with a stick, the tall hag clawed at her hair, whilst +the father Gypsy walked close beside the man, his hand on his +clasp-knife, looking like nothing in this world: the man, however, +on reaching the door, turned to him and said: 'Gypsy demon, my +borrico by three o'clock - or you know the rest, the justicia.' + +The Gypsies remained filled with rage and disappointment; the hag +vented her spite on her brother. ''Tis your fault,' said she; +'fool! you have no tongue; you a Chabo, you can't speak'; whereas, +within a few hours, he had perhaps talked more than an auctioneer +during a three days' sale: but he reserved his words for fitting +occasions, and now sat as usual, sullen and silent, smoking his +pipe. + +The man and woman made their appearance at three o'clock, but they +came - intoxicated; the Gypsy's eyes glistened - blandishment was +again had recourse to. 'Come and sit down with the cavalier here,' +whined the family; 'he is a friend of ours, and will soon arrange +matters to your satisfaction.' I arose, and went into the street; +the hag followed me. 'Will you not assist us, brother, or are you +no Chabo?' she muttered. + +'I will have nothing to do with your matters,' said I. + +'I know who will,' said the hag, and hurried down the street. + +The man and woman, with much noise, demanded their donkey; the +innkeeper made no answer, and proceeded to fill up several glasses +with the ANISADO. In about a quarter of an hour, the Gypsy hag +returned with a young man, well dressed, and with a genteel air, +but with something wild and singular in his eyes. He seated +himself by the table, smiled, took a glass of liquor, drank part of +it, smiled again, and handed it to the countryman. The latter +seeing himself treated in this friendly manner by a caballero, was +evidently much flattered, took off his hat to the newcomer, and +drank, as did the woman also. The glass was filled, and refilled, +till they became yet more intoxicated. I did not hear the young +man say a word: he appeared a passive automaton. The Gypsies, +however, spoke for him, and were profuse of compliments. It was +now proposed that the caballero should settle the dispute; a long +and noisy conversation ensued, the young man looking vacantly on: +the strange people had no money, and had already run up another +bill at a wine-house to which they had retired. At last it was +proposed, as if by the young man, that the Gypsy should purchase +his own mule for two dollars, and forgive the strangers the +reckoning of the preceding night. To this they agreed, being +apparently stultified with the liquor, and the money being paid to +them in the presence of witnesses, they thanked the friendly +mediator, and reeled away. + +Before they left the town that night, they had contrived to spend +the entire two dollars, and the woman, who first recovered her +senses, was bitterly lamenting that they had permitted themselves +to be despoiled so cheaply of a PRENDA TAN PRECIOSA, as was the +donkey. Upon the whole, however, I did not much pity them. The +woman was certainly not the man's wife. The labourer had probably +left his village with some strolling harlot, bringing with him the +animal which had previously served to support himself and family. + +I believe that the Gypsy read, at the first glance, their history, +and arranged matters accordingly. The donkey was soon once more in +the stable, and that night there was much rejoicing in the Gypsy +inn. + +Who was the singular mediator? He was neither more nor less than +the foster child of the Gypsy hag, the unfortunate being whom she +had privately injured in his infancy. After having thus served +them as an instrument in their villainy, he was told to go home. . +. . + + +THE GYPSY SOLDIER OF VALDEPENAS + + +It was at Madrid one fine afternoon in the beginning of March 1838, +that, as I was sitting behind my table in a cabinete, as it is +called, of the third floor of No. 16, in the Calle de Santiago, +having just taken my meal, my hostess entered and informed me that +a military officer wished to speak to me, adding, in an undertone, +that he looked a STRANGE GUEST. I was acquainted with no military +officer in the Spanish service; but as at that time I expected +daily to be arrested for having distributed the Bible, I thought +that very possibly this officer might have been sent to perform +that piece of duty. I instantly ordered him to be admitted, +whereupon a thin active figure, somewhat above the middle height, +dressed in a blue uniform, with a long sword hanging at his side, +tripped into the room. Depositing his regimental hat on the +ground, he drew a chair to the table, and seating himself, placed +his elbows on the board, and supporting his face with his hands, +confronted me, gazing steadfastly upon me, without uttering a word. +I looked no less wistfully at him, and was of the same opinion as +my hostess, as to the strangeness of my guest. He was about fifty, +with thin flaxen hair covering the sides of his head, which at the +top was entirely bald. His eyes were small, and, like ferrets', +red and fiery. His complexion like a brick, a dull red, checkered +with spots of purple. 'May I inquire your name and business, sir?' +I at length demanded. + +STRANGER. - 'My name is Chaleco of Valdepenas; in the time of the +French I served as bragante, fighting for Ferdinand VII. I am now +a captain on half-pay in the service of Donna Isabel; as for my +business here, it is to speak with you. Do you know this book?' + +MYSELF. - 'This book is Saint Luke's Gospel in the Gypsy language; +how can this book concern you?' + +STRANGER. - 'No one more. It is in the language of my people.' + +MYSELF. - 'You do not pretend to say that you are a Calo?' + +STRANGER. - 'I do! I am Zincalo, by the mother's side. My father, +it is true, was one of the Busne; but I glory in being a Calo, and +care not to acknowledge other blood.' + +MYSELF. - 'How became you possessed of that book?' + +STRANGER. - 'I was this morning in the Prado, where I met two women +of our people, and amongst other things they told me that they had +a gabicote in our language. I did not believe them at first, but +they pulled it out, and I found their words true. They then spoke +to me of yourself, and told me where you live, so I took the book +from them and am come to see you.' + +MYSELF. - 'Are you able to understand this book?' + +STRANGER. - 'Perfectly, though it is written in very crabbed +language: (48) but I learnt to read Calo when very young. My +mother was a good Calli, and early taught me both to speak and read +it. She too had a gabicote, but not printed like this, and it +treated of a different matter.' + +MYSELF. - 'How came your mother, being a good Calli, to marry one +of a different blood?' + +STRANGER. - 'It was no fault of hers; there was no remedy. In her +infancy she lost her parents, who were executed; and she was +abandoned by all, till my father, taking compassion on her, brought +her up and educated her: at last he made her his wife, though +three times her age. She, however, remembered her blood and hated +my father, and taught me to hate him likewise, and avoid him. When +a boy, I used to stroll about the plains, that I might not see my +father; and my father would follow me and beg me to look upon him, +and would ask me what I wanted; and I would reply, Father, the only +thing I want is to see you dead.' + +MYSELF. - 'That was strange language from a child to its parent.' + +STRANGER. - 'It was - but you know the couplet, (49) which says, "I +do not wish to be a lord - I am by birth a Gypsy - I do not wish to +be a gentleman - I am content with being a Calo!"' + +MYSELF. - 'I am anxious to hear more of your history - pray +proceed.' + +STRANGER. - 'When I was about twelve years old my father became +distracted, and died. I then continued with my mother for some +years; she loved me much, and procured a teacher to instruct me in +Latin. At last she died, and then there was a pleyto (law-suit). +I took to the sierra and became a highwayman; but the wars broke +out. My cousin Jara, of Valdepenas, raised a troop of brigantes. +(50) I enlisted with him and distinguished myself very much; there +is scarcely a man or woman in Spain but has heard of Jara and +Chaleco. I am now captain in the service of Donna Isabel - I am +covered with wounds - I am - ugh! ugh! ugh - !' + +He had commenced coughing, and in a manner which perfectly +astounded me. I had heard hooping coughs, consumptive coughs, +coughs caused by colds, and other accidents, but a cough so +horrible and unnatural as that of the Gypsy soldier, I had never +witnessed in the course of my travels. In a moment he was bent +double, his frame writhed and laboured, the veins of his forehead +were frightfully swollen, and his complexion became black as the +blackest blood; he screamed, he snorted, he barked, and appeared to +be on the point of suffocation - yet more explosive became the +cough; and the people of the house, frightened, came running into +the apartment. I cries, 'The man is perishing, run instantly for a +surgeon!' He heard me, and with a quick movement raised his left +hand as if to countermand the order; another struggle, then one +mighty throe, which seemed to search his deepest intestines; and he +remained motionless, his head on his knee. The cough had left him, +and within a minute or two he again looked up. + +'That is a dreadful cough, friend,' said I, when he was somewhat +recovered. 'How did you get it?' + +GYPSY SOLDIER. - 'I am - shot through the lungs - brother! Let me +but take breath, and I will show you the hole - the agujero.' + +He continued with me a considerable time, and showed not the +slightest disposition to depart; the cough returned twice, but not +so violently; - at length, having an engagement, I arose, and +apologising, told him I must leave him. The next day he came again +at the same hour, but he found me not, as I was abroad dining with +a friend. On the third day, however, as I was sitting down to +dinner, in he walked, unannounced. I am rather hospitable than +otherwise, so I cordially welcomed him, and requested him to +partake of my meal. 'Con mucho gusto,' he replied, and instantly +took his place at the table. I was again astonished, for if his +cough was frightful, his appetite was yet more so. He ate like a +wolf of the sierra; - soup, puchero, fowl and bacon disappeared +before him in a twinkling. I ordered in cold meat, which he +presently despatched; a large piece of cheese was then produced. +We had been drinking water. + +'Where is the wine?' said he. + +'I never use it,' I replied. + +He looked blank. The hostess, however, who was present waiting, +said, 'If the gentleman wish for wine, I have a bota nearly full, +which I will instantly fetch.' + +The skin bottle, when full, might contain about four quarts. She +filled him a very large glass, and was removing the skin, but he +prevented her, saying, 'Leave it, my good woman; my brother here +will settle with you for the little I shall use.' + +He now lighted his cigar, and it was evident that he had made good +his quarters. On the former occasion I thought his behaviour +sufficiently strange, but I liked it still less on the present. +Every fifteen minutes he emptied his glass, which contained at +least a pint; his conversation became horrible. He related the +atrocities which he had committed when a robber and bragante in La +Mancha. 'It was our custom,' said he, 'to tie our prisoners to the +olive-trees, and then, putting our horses to full speed, to tilt at +them with our spears.' As he continued to drink he became waspish +and quarrelsome: he had hitherto talked Castilian, but he would +now only converse in Gypsy and in Latin, the last of which +languages he spoke with great fluency, though ungrammatically. He +told me that he had killed six men in duels; and, drawing his +sword, fenced about the room. I saw by the manner in which he +handled it, that he was master of his weapon. His cough did not +return, and he said it seldom afflicted him when he dined well. He +gave me to understand that he had received no pay for two years. +'Therefore you visit me,' thought I. At the end of three hours, +perceiving that he exhibited no signs of taking his departure, I +arose, and said I must again leave him. 'As you please, brother,' +said he; 'use no ceremony with me, I am fatigued, and will wait a +little while.' I did not return till eleven at night, when my +hostess informed me that he had just departed, promising to return +next day. He had emptied the bota to the last drop, and the cheese +produced being insufficient for him, he sent for an entire Dutch +cheese on my account; part of which he had eaten and the rest +carried away. I now saw that I had formed a most troublesome +acquaintance, of whom it was highly necessary to rid myself, if +possible; I therefore dined out for the next nine days. + +For a week he came regularly at the usual hour, at the end of which +time he desisted; the hostess was afraid of him, as she said that +he was a brujo or wizard, and only spoke to him through the wicket. + +On the tenth day I was cast into prison, where I continued several +weeks. Once, during my confinement, he called at the house, and +being informed of my mishap, drew his sword, and vowed with +horrible imprecations to murder the prime minister of Ofalia, for +having dared to imprison his brother. On my release, I did not +revisit my lodgings for some days, but lived at an hotel. I +returned late one afternoon, with my servant Francisco, a Basque of +Hernani, who had served me with the utmost fidelity during my +imprisonment, which he had voluntarily shared with me. The first +person I saw on entering was the Gypsy soldier, seated by the +table, whereon were several bottles of wine which he had ordered +from the tavern, of course on my account. He was smoking, and +looked savage and sullen; perhaps he was not much pleased with the +reception he had experienced. He had forced himself in, and the +woman of the house sat in a corner looking upon him with dread. I +addressed him, but he would scarcely return an answer. At last he +commenced discoursing with great volubility in Gypsy and Latin. I +did not understand much of what he said. His words were wild and +incoherent, but he repeatedly threatened some person. The last +bottle was now exhausted: he demanded more. I told him in a +gentle manner that he had drunk enough. He looked on the ground +for some time, then slowly, and somewhat hesitatingly, drew his +sword and laid it on the table. It was become dark. I was not +afraid of the fellow, but I wished to avoid anything unpleasant. I +called to Francisco to bring lights, and obeying a sign which I +made him, he sat down at the table. The Gypsy glared fiercely upon +him - Francisco laughed, and began with great glee to talk in +Basque, of which the Gypsy understood not a word. The Basques, +like all Tartars, (51) and such they are, are paragons of fidelity +and good nature; they are only dangerous when outraged, when they +are terrible indeed. Francisco, to the strength of a giant joined +the disposition of a lamb. He was beloved even in the patio of the +prison, where he used to pitch the bar and wrestle with the +murderers and felons, always coming off victor. He continued +speaking Basque. The Gypsy was incensed; and, forgetting the +languages in which, for the last hour, he had been speaking, +complained to Francisco of his rudeness in speaking any tongue but +Castilian. The Basque replied by a loud carcajada, and slightly +touched the Gypsy on the knee. The latter sprang up like a mine +discharged, seized his sword, and, retreating a few steps, made a +desperate lunge at Francisco. + +The Basques, next to the Pasiegos, (52) are the best cudgel-players +in Spain, and in the world. Francisco held in his hand part of a +broomstick, which he had broken in the stable, whence he had just +ascended. With the swiftness of lightning he foiled the stroke of +Chaleco, and, in another moment, with a dexterous blow, struck the +sword out of his hand, sending it ringing against the wall. + +The Gypsy resumed his seat and his cigar. He occasionally looked +at the Basque. His glances were at first atrocious, but presently +changed their expression, and appeared to me to become prying and +eagerly curious. He at last arose, picked up his sword, sheathed +it, and walked slowly to the door; when there he stopped, turned +round, advanced close to Francisco, and looked him steadfastly in +the face. 'My good fellow,' said he, 'I am a Gypsy, and can read +baji. Do you know where you will be at this time to-morrow?' (53) +Then, laughing like a hyena, he departed, and I never saw him +again. + +At that time on the morrow, Francisco was on his death-bed. He had +caught the jail fever, which had long raged in the Carcel de la +Corte, where I was imprisoned. In a few days he was buried, a mass +of corruption, in the Campo Santo of Madrid. + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +THE Gitanos, in their habits and manner of life, are much less +cleanly than the Spaniards. The hovels in which they reside +exhibit none of the neatness which is observable in the habitations +of even the poorest of the other race. The floors are unswept, and +abound with filth and mud, and in their persons they are scarcely +less vile. Inattention to cleanliness is a characteristic of the +Gypsies, in all parts of the world. + +The Bishop of Forli, as far back as 1422, gives evidence upon this +point, and insinuates that they carried the plague with them; as he +observes that it raged with peculiar violence the year of their +appearance at Forli. (54) + +At the present day they are almost equally disgusting, in this +respect, in Hungary, England, and Spain. Amongst the richer +Gitanos, habits of greater cleanliness of course exist than amongst +the poorer. An air of sluttishness, however, pervades their +dwellings, which, to an experienced eye, would sufficiently attest +that the inmates were Gitanos, in the event of their absence. + +What can be said of the Gypsy dress, of which such frequent mention +is made in the Spanish laws, and which is prohibited together with +the Gypsy language and manner of life? Of whatever it might +consist in former days, it is so little to be distinguished from +the dress of some classes amongst the Spaniards, that it is almost +impossible to describe the difference. They generally wear a high- +peaked, narrow-brimmed hat, a zamarra of sheep-skin in winter, and, +during summer, a jacket of brown cloth; and beneath this they are +fond of exhibiting a red plush waistcoat, something after the +fashion of the English jockeys, with numerous buttons and clasps. +A faja, or girdle of crimson silk, surrounds the waist, where, not +unfrequently, are stuck the cachas which we have already described. +Pantaloons of coarse cloth or leather descend to the knee; the legs +are protected by woollen stockings, and sometimes by a species of +spatterdash, either of cloth or leather; stout high-lows complete +the equipment. + +Such is the dress of the Gitanos of most parts of Spain. But it is +necessary to remark that such also is the dress of the chalans, and +of the muleteers, except that the latter are in the habit of +wearing broad sombreros as preservatives from the sun. This dress +appears to be rather Andalusian than Gitano; and yet it certainly +beseems the Gitano better than the chalan or muleteer. He wears it +with more easy negligence or jauntiness, by which he may be +recognised at some distance, even from behind. + +It is still more difficult to say what is the peculiar dress of the +Gitanas; they wear not the large red cloaks and immense bonnets of +coarse beaver which distinguish their sisters of England; they have +no other headgear than a handkerchief, which is occasionally +resorted to as a defence against the severity of the weather; their +hair is sometimes confined by a comb, but more frequently is +permitted to stray dishevelled down their shoulders; they are fond +of large ear-rings, whether of gold, silver, or metal, resembling +in this respect the poissardes of France. There is little to +distinguish them from the Spanish women save the absence of the +mantilla, which they never carry. Females of fashion not +unfrequently take pleasure in dressing a la Gitana, as it is +called; but this female Gypsy fashion, like that of the men, is +more properly the fashion of Andalusia, the principal +characteristic of which is the saya, which is exceedingly short, +with many rows of flounces. + +True it is that the original dress of the Gitanos, male and female, +whatever it was, may have had some share in forming the Andalusian +fashion, owing to the great number of these wanderers who found +their way to that province at an early period. The Andalusians are +a mixed breed of various nations, Romans, Vandals, Moors; perhaps +there is a slight sprinkling of Gypsy blood in their veins, and of +Gypsy fashion in their garb. + +The Gitanos are, for the most part, of the middle size, and the +proportions of their frames convey a powerful idea of strength and +activity united; a deformed or weakly object is rarely found +amongst them in persons of either sex; such probably perish in +their infancy, unable to support the hardships and privations to +which the race is still subjected from its great poverty, and these +same privations have given and still give a coarseness and +harshness to their features, which are all strongly marked and +expressive. Their complexion is by no means uniform, save that it +is invariably darker than the general olive hue of the Spaniards; +not unfrequently countenances as dark as those of mulattos present +themselves, and in some few instances of almost negro blackness. +Like most people of savage ancestry, their teeth are white and +strong; their mouths are not badly formed, but it is in the eye +more than in any other feature that they differ from other human +beings. + +There is something remarkable in the eye of the Gitano: should his +hair and complexion become fair as those of the Swede or the Finn, +and his jockey gait as grave and ceremonious as that of the native +of Old Castile, were he dressed like a king, a priest, or a +warrior, still would the Gitano be detected by his eye, should it +continue unchanged. The Jew is known by his eye, but then in the +Jew that feature is peculiarly small; the Chinese has a remarkable +eye, but then the eye of the Chinese is oblong, and even with the +face, which is flat; but the eye of the Gitano is neither large nor +small, and exhibits no marked difference in its shape from the eyes +of the common cast. Its peculiarity consists chiefly in a strange +staring expression, which to be understood must be seen, and in a +thin glaze, which steals over it when in repose, and seems to emit +phosphoric light. That the Gypsy eye has sometimes a peculiar +effect, we learn from the following stanza:- + + +'A Gypsy stripling's glossy eye +Has pierced my bosom's core, +A feat no eye beneath the sky +Could e'er effect before.' + + +The following passages are extracted from a Spanish work, (55) and +cannot be out of place here, as they relate to those matters to +which we have devoted this chapter. + +'The Gitanos have an olive complexion and very marked physiognomy; +their cheeks are prominent, their lips thick, their eyes vivid and +black; their hair is long, black, and coarse, and their teeth very +white. The general expression of their physiognomy is a compound +of pride, slavishness, and cunning. They are, for the most part, +of good stature, well formed, and support with facility fatigue and +every kind of hardship. When they discuss any matter, or speak +among themselves, whether in Catalan, in Castilian, or in Germania, +which is their own peculiar jargon, they always make use of much +gesticulation, which contributes to give to their conversation and +to the vivacity of their physiognomy a certain expression, still +more penetrating and characteristic. + +To this work we shall revert on a future occasion. + +'When a Gitano has occasion to speak of some business in which his +interest is involved, he redoubles his gestures in proportion as he +knows the necessity of convincing those who hear him, and fears +their impassibility. If any rancorous idea agitate him in the +course of his narrative; if he endeavour to infuse into his +auditors sentiments of jealousy, vengeance, or any violent passion, +his features become exaggerated, and the vivacity of his glances, +and the contraction of his lips, show clearly, and in an imposing +manner, the foreign origin of the Gitanos, and all the customs of +barbarous people. Even his very smile has an expression hard and +disagreeable. One might almost say that joy in him is a forced +sentiment, and that, like unto the savage man, sadness is the +dominant feature of his physiognomy. + +'The Gitana is distinguished by the same complexion, and almost the +same features. In her frame she is as well formed, and as flexible +as the Gitano. Condemned to suffer the same privations and wants, +her countenance, when her interest does not oblige her to dissemble +her feelings, presents the same aspect of melancholy, and shows +besides, with more energy, the rancorous passions of which the +female heart is susceptible. Free in her actions, her carriage, +and her pursuits, she speaks, vociferates, and makes more gestures +than the Gitano, and, in imitation of him, her arms are in +continual motion, to give more expression to the imagery with which +she accompanies her discourse; her whole body contributes to her +gesture, and to increase its force; endeavouring by these means to +sharpen the effect of language in itself insufficient; and her +vivid and disordered imagination is displayed in her appearance and +attitude. + +'When she turns her hand to any species of labour, her hurried +action, the disorder of her hair, which is scarcely subjected by a +little comb, and her propensity to irritation, show how little she +loves toil, and her disgust for any continued occupation. + +'In her disputes, the air of menace and high passion, the flow of +words, and the facility with which she provokes and despises +danger, indicate manners half barbarous, and ignorance of other +means of defence. Finally, both in males and females, their +physical constitution, colour, agility, and flexibility, reveal to +us a caste sprung from a burning clime, and devoted to all those +exercises which contribute to evolve bodily vigour, and certain +mental faculties. + +'The dress of the Gitano varies with the country which he inhabits. +Both in Rousillon and Catalonia his habiliments generally consist +of jacket, waistcoat, pantaloons, and a red faja, which covers part +of his waistcoat; on his feet he wears hempen sandals, with much +ribbon tied round the leg as high as the calf; he has, moreover, +either woollen or cotton stockings; round his neck he wears a +handkerchief, carelessly tied; and in the winter he uses a blanket +or mantle, with sleeves, cast over the shoulder; his head is +covered with the indispensable red cap, which appears to be the +favourite ornament of many nations in the vicinity of the +Mediterranean and Caspian Sea. + +'The neck and the elbows of the jacket are adorned with pieces of +blue and yellow cloth embroidered with silk, as well as the seams +of the pantaloons; he wears, moreover, on the jacket or the +waistcoat, various rows of silver buttons, small and round, +sustained by rings or chains of the same metal. The old people, +and those who by fortune, or some other cause, exercise, in +appearance, a kind of authority over the rest, are almost always +dressed in black or dark-blue velvet. Some of those who affect +elegance amongst them keep for holidays a complete dress of sky- +blue velvet, with embroidery at the neck, pocket-holes, arm-pits, +and in all the seams; in a word, with the exception of the turban, +this was the fashion of dress of the ancient Moors of Granada, the +only difference being occasioned by time and misery. + +'The dress of the Gitanas is very varied: the young girls, or +those who are in tolerably easy circumstances, generally wear a +black bodice laced up with a string, and adjusted to their figures, +and contrasting with the scarlet-coloured saya, which only covers a +part of the leg; their shoes are cut very low, and are adorned with +little buckles of silver; the breast, and the upper part of the +bodice, are covered either with a white handkerchief, or one of +some vivid colour; and on the head is worn another handkerchief, +tied beneath the chin, one of the ends of which falls on the +shoulder, in the manner of a hood. When the cold or the heat +permit, the Gitana removes the hood, without untying the knots, and +exhibits her long and shining tresses restrained by a comb. The +old women, and the very poor, dress in the same manner, save that +their habiliments are more coarse and the colours less in harmony. +Amongst them misery appears beneath the most revolting aspect; +whilst the poorest Gitano preserves a certain deportment which +would make his aspect supportable, if his unquiet and ferocious +glance did not inspire us with aversion.' + + + +CHAPTER VI + + + +WHILST their husbands are engaged in their jockey vocation, or in +wielding the cachas, the Callees, or Gypsy females, are seldom +idle, but are endeavouring, by various means, to make all the gain +they can. The richest amongst them are generally contrabandistas, +and in the large towns go from house to house with prohibited +goods, especially silk and cotton, and occasionally with tobacco. +They likewise purchase cast-off female wearing-apparel, which, when +vamped up and embellished, they sometimes contrive to sell as new, +with no inconsiderable profit. + +Gitanas of this description are of the most respectable class; the +rest, provided they do not sell roasted chestnuts, or esteras, +which are a species of mat, seek a livelihood by different tricks +and practices, more or less fraudulent; for example - + +LA BAHI, or fortune-telling, which is called in Spanish, BUENA +VENTURA. - This way of extracting money from the credulity of dupes +is, of all those practised by the Gypsies, the readiest and most +easy; promises are the only capital requisite, and the whole art of +fortune-telling consists in properly adapting these promises to the +age and condition of the parties who seek for information. The +Gitanas are clever enough in the accomplishment of this, and in +most cases afford perfect satisfaction. Their practice chiefly +lies amongst females, the portion of the human race most given to +curiosity and credulity. To the young maidens they promise lovers, +handsome invariably, and sometimes rich; to wives children, and +perhaps another husband; for their eyes are so penetrating, that +occasionally they will develop your most secret thoughts and +wishes; to the old, riches - and nothing but riches; for they have +sufficient knowledge of the human heart to be aware that avarice is +the last passion that becomes extinct within it. These riches are +to proceed either from the discovery of hidden treasures or from +across the water; from the Americas, to which the Spaniards still +look with hope, as there is no individual in Spain, however poor, +but has some connection in those realms of silver and gold, at +whose death he considers it probable that he may succeed to a +brilliant 'herencia.' The Gitanas, in the exercise of this +practice, find dupes almost as readily amongst the superior +classes, as the veriest dregs of the population. It is their +boast, that the best houses are open to them; and perhaps in the +space of one hour, they will spae the bahi to a duchess, or +countess, in one of the hundred palaces of Madrid, and to half a +dozen of the lavanderas engaged in purifying the linen of the +capital, beneath the willows which droop on the banks of the +murmuring Manzanares. One great advantage which the Gypsies +possess over all other people is an utter absence of MAUVAISE +HONTE; their speech is as fluent, and their eyes as unabashed, in +the presence of royalty, as before those from whom they have +nothing to hope or fear; the result being, that most minds quail +before them. There were two Gitanas at Madrid, one Pepita by name, +and the other La Chicharona; the first was a spare, shrewd, witch- +like female, about fifty, and was the mother-in-law of La +Chicharona, who was remarkable for her stoutness. These women +subsisted entirely by fortune-telling and swindling. It chanced +that the son of Pepita, and husband of Chicharona, having spirited +away a horse, was sent to the presidio of Malaga for ten years of +hard labour. This misfortune caused inexpressible affliction to +his wife and mother, who determined to make every effort to procure +his liberation. The readiest way which occurred to them was to +procure an interview with the Queen Regent Christina, who they +doubted not would forthwith pardon the culprit, provided they had +an opportunity of assailing her with their Gypsy discourse; for, to +use their own words, 'they well knew what to say.' I at that time +lived close by the palace, in the street of Santiago, and daily, +for the space of a month, saw them bending their steps in that +direction. + +One day they came to me in a great hurry, with a strange expression +on both their countenances. 'We have seen Christina, hijo' (my +son), said Pepita to me. + +'Within the palace?' I inquired. + +'Within the palace, O child of my garlochin,' answered the sibyl: +'Christina at last saw and sent for us, as I knew she would; I told +her "bahi," and Chicharona danced the Romalis (Gypsy dance) before +her.' + +'What did you tell her?' + +'I told her many things,' said the hag, 'many things which I need +not tell you: know, however, that amongst other things, I told her +that the chabori (little queen) would die, and then she would be +Queen of Spain. I told her, moreover, that within three years she +would marry the son of the King of France, and it was her bahi to +die Queen of France and Spain, and to be loved much, and hated +much.' + +'And did you not dread her anger, when you told her these things?' + +'Dread her, the Busnee?' screamed Pepita: 'No, my child, she +dreaded me far more; I looked at her so - and raised my finger so - +and Chicharona clapped her hands, and the Busnee believed all I +said, and was afraid of me; and then I asked for the pardon of my +son, and she pledged her word to see into the matter, and when we +came away, she gave me this baria of gold, and to Chicharona this +other, so at all events we have hokkanoed the queen. May an evil +end overtake her body, the Busnee!' + +Though some of the Gitanas contrive to subsist by fortune-telling +alone, the generality of them merely make use of it as an +instrument towards the accomplishment of greater things. The +immediate gains are scanty; a few cuartos being the utmost which +they receive from the majority of their customers. But the bahi is +an excellent passport into houses, and when they spy a convenient +opportunity, they seldom fail to avail themselves of it. It is +necessary to watch them strictly, as articles frequently disappear +in a mysterious manner whilst Gitanas are telling fortunes. The +bahi, moreover, is occasionally the prelude to a device which we +shall now attempt to describe, and which is called HOKKANO BARO, or +the great trick, of which we have already said something in the +former part of this work. It consists in persuading some credulous +person to deposit whatever money and valuables the party can muster +in a particular spot, under the promise that the deposit will +increase many manifold. Some of our readers will have difficulty +in believing that any people can be found sufficiently credulous to +allow themselves to be duped by a trick of this description, the +grossness of the intended fraud seeming too palpable. Experience, +however, proves the contrary. The deception is frequently +practised at the present day, and not only in Spain but in England +- enlightened England - and in France likewise; an instance being +given in the memoirs of Vidocq, the late celebrated head of the +secret police of Paris, though, in that instance, the perpetrator +of the fraud was not a Gypsy. The most subtle method of +accomplishing the hokkano baro is the following:- + +When the dupe - a widow we will suppose, for in these cases the +dupes are generally widows - has been induced to consent to make +the experiment, the Gitana demands of her whether she has in the +house some strong chest with a safe lock. On receiving an +affirmative answer, she will request to see all the gold and silver +of any description which she may chance to have in her possession. +The treasure is shown her; and when the Gitana has carefully +inspected and counted it, she produces a white handkerchief, +saying, Lady, I give you this handkerchief, which is blessed. +Place in it your gold and silver, and tie it with three knots. I +am going for three days, during which period you must keep the +bundle beneath your pillow, permitting no one to go near it, and +observing the greatest secrecy, otherwise the money will take wings +and fly away. Every morning during the three days it will be well +to open the bundle, for your own satisfaction, to see that no +misfortune has befallen your treasure; be always careful, however, +to fasten it again with the three knots. On my return, we will +place the bundle, after having inspected it, in the chest, which +you shall yourself lock, retaining the key in your possession. +But, thenceforward, for three weeks, you must by no means unlock +the chest, nor look at the treasure - if you do it will fly away. +Only follow my directions, and you will gain much, very much, +baribu. + +The Gitana departs, and, during the three days, prepares a bundle +as similar as possible to the one which contains the money of her +dupe, save that instead of gold ounces, dollars, and plate, its +contents consist of copper money and pewter articles of little or +no value. With this bundle concealed beneath her cloak, she +returns at the end of three days to her intended victim. The +bundle of real treasure is produced and inspected, and again tied +up by the Gitana, who then requests the other to open the chest, +which done, she formally places A BUNDLE in it; but, in the +meanwhile, she has contrived to substitute the fictitious for the +real one. The chest is then locked, the lady retaining the key. +The Gitana promises to return at the end of three weeks, to open +the chest, assuring the lady that if it be not unlocked until that +period, it will be found filled with gold and silver; but +threatening that in the event of her injunctions being disregarded, +the money deposited will vanish. She then walks off with great +deliberation, bearing away the spoil. It is needless to say that +she never returns. + +There are other ways of accomplishing the hokkano baro. The most +simple, and indeed the one most generally used by the Gitanas, is +to persuade some simple individual to hide a sum of money in the +earth, which they afterwards carry away. A case of this +description occurred within my own knowledge, at Madrid, towards +the latter part of the year 1837. There was a notorious Gitana, of +the name of Aurora; she was about forty years of age, a Valencian +by birth, and immensely fat. This amiable personage, by some +means, formed the acquaintance of a wealthy widow lady; and was not +slow in attempting to practise the hokkano baro upon her. She +succeeded but too well. The widow, at the instigation of Aurora, +buried one hundred ounces of gold beneath a ruined arch in a field, +at a short distance from the wall of Madrid. The inhumation was +effected at night by the widow alone. Aurora was, however, on the +watch, and, in less than ten minutes after the widow had departed, +possessed herself of the treasure; perhaps the largest one ever +acquired by this kind of deceit. The next day the widow had +certain misgivings, and, returning to the spot, found her money +gone. About six months after this event, I was imprisoned in the +Carcel de la Corte, at Madrid, and there I found Aurora, who was in +durance for defrauding the widow. She said that it had been her +intention to depart for Valencia with the 'barias,' as she styled +her plunder, but the widow had discovered the trick too soon, and +she had been arrested. She added, however, that she had contrived +to conceal the greatest part of the property, and that she expected +her liberation in a few days, having been prodigal of bribes to the +'justicia.' In effect, her liberation took place sooner than my +own. Nevertheless, she had little cause to triumph, as before she +left the prison she had been fleeced of the last cuarto of her ill- +gotten gain, by alguazils and escribanos, who, she admitted, +understood hokkano baro much better than herself. + +When I next saw Aurora, she informed me that she was once more on +excellent terms with the widow, whom she had persuaded that the +loss of the money was caused by her own imprudence, in looking for +it before the appointed time; the spirit of the earth having +removed it in anger. She added that her dupe was quite disposed to +make another venture, by which she hoped to retrieve her former +loss. + +USTILAR PASTESAS. - Under this head may be placed various kinds of +theft committed by the Gitanos. The meaning of the words is +stealing with the hands; but they are more generally applied to the +filching of money by dexterity of hand, when giving or receiving +change. For example: a Gitana will enter a shop, and purchase +some insignificant article, tendering in payment a baria or golden +ounce. The change being put down before her on the counter, she +counts the money, and complains that she has received a dollar and +several pesetas less than her due. It seems impossible that there +can be any fraud on her part, as she has not even taken the pieces +in her hand, but merely placed her fingers upon them; pushing them +on one side. She now asks the merchant what he means by attempting +to deceive the poor woman. The merchant, supposing that he has +made a mistake, takes up the money, counts it, and finds in effect +that the just sum is not there. He again hands out the change, but +there is now a greater deficiency than before, and the merchant is +convinced that he is dealing with a witch. The Gitana now pushes +the money to him, uplifts her voice, and talks of the justicia. +Should the merchant become frightened, and, emptying a bag of +dollars, tell her to pay herself, as has sometimes been the case, +she will have a fine opportunity to exercise her powers, and whilst +taking the change will contrive to convey secretly into her sleeves +five or six dollars at least; after which she will depart with much +vociferation, declaring that she will never again enter the shop of +so cheating a picaro. + +Of all the Gitanas at Madrid, Aurora the fat was, by their own +confession, the most dexterous at this species of robbery; she +having been known in many instances, whilst receiving change for an +ounce, to steal the whole value, which amounts to sixteen dollars. +It was not without reason that merchants in ancient times were, +according to Martin Del Rio, advised to sell nothing out of their +shops to Gitanas, as they possessed an infallible secret for +attracting to their own purses from the coffers of the former the +money with which they paid for the articles they purchased. This +secret consisted in stealing a pastesas, which they still practise. +Many accounts of witchcraft and sorcery, which are styled old +women's tales, are perhaps equally well founded. Real actions have +been attributed to wrong causes. + +Shoplifting, and other kinds of private larceny, are connected with +stealing a pastesas, for in all dexterity of hand is required. +Many of the Gitanas of Madrid are provided with large pockets, or +rather sacks, beneath their gowns, in which they stow away their +plunder. Some of these pockets are capacious enough to hold, at +one time, a dozen yards of cloth, a Dutch cheese and a bottle of +wine. Nothing that she can eat, drink, or sell, comes amiss to a +veritable Gitana; and sometimes the contents of her pocket would +afford materials for an inventory far more lengthy and curious than +the one enumerating the effects found on the person of the man- +mountain at Lilliput. + +CHIVING DRAO. - In former times the Spanish Gypsies of both sexes +were in the habit of casting a venomous preparation into the +mangers of the cattle for the purpose of causing sickness. At +present this practice has ceased, or nearly so; the Gitanos, +however, talk of it as universal amongst their ancestors. They +were in the habit of visiting the stalls and stables secretly, and +poisoning the provender of the animals, who almost immediately +became sick. After a few days the Gitanos would go to the +labourers and offer to cure the sick cattle for a certain sum, and +if their proposal was accepted would in effect perform the cure. + +Connected with the cure was a curious piece of double dealing. +They privately administered an efficacious remedy, but pretended to +cure the animals not by medicines but by charms, which consisted of +small variegated beans, called in their language bobis, (56) +dropped into the mangers. By this means they fostered the idea, +already prevalent, that they were people possessed of supernatural +gifts and powers, who could remove diseases without having recourse +to medicine. By means of drao, they likewise procured themselves +food; poisoning swine, as their brethren in England still do, (57) +and then feasting on the flesh, which was abandoned as worthless: +witness one of their own songs:- + + +'By Gypsy drow the Porker died, +I saw him stiff at evening tide, +But I saw him not when morning shone, +For the Gypsies ate him flesh and bone.' + + +By drao also they could avenge themselves on their enemies by +destroying their cattle, without incurring a shadow of suspicion. +Revenge for injuries, real or imaginary, is sweet to all +unconverted minds; to no one more than the Gypsy, who, in all parts +of the world, is, perhaps, the most revengeful of human beings. + +Vidocq in his memoirs states, that having formed a connection with +an individual whom he subsequently discovered to be the captain of +a band of Walachian Gypsies, the latter, whose name was Caroun, +wished Vidocq to assist in scattering certain powders in the +mangers of the peasants' cattle; Vidocq, from prudential motives, +refused the employment. There can be no doubt that these powders +were, in substance, the drao of the Spanish Gitanos. + +LA BAR LACHI, OR THE LOADSTONE. - If the Gitanos in general be +addicted to any one superstition, it is certainly with respect to +this stone, to which they attribute all kinds of miraculous powers. +There can be no doubt, that the singular property which it +possesses of attracting steel, by filling their untutored minds +with amazement, first gave rise to this veneration, which is +carried beyond all reasonable bounds. + +They believe that he who is in possession of it has nothing to fear +from steel or lead, from fire or water, and that death itself has +no power over him. The Gypsy contrabandistas are particularly +anxious to procure this stone, which they carry upon their persons +in their expeditions; they say, that in the event of being pursued +by the jaracanallis, or revenue officers, whirlwinds of dust will +arise, and conceal them from the view of their enemies; the horse- +stealers say much the same thing, and assert that they are +uniformly successful, when they bear about them the precious stone. +But it is said to be able to effect much more. Extraordinary +things are related of its power in exciting the amorous passions, +and, on this account, it is in great request amongst the Gypsy +hags; all these women are procuresses, and find persons of both +sexes weak and wicked enough to make use of their pretended +knowledge in the composition of love-draughts and decoctions. + +In the case of the loadstone, however, there is no pretence, the +Gitanas believing all they say respecting it, and still more; this +is proved by the eagerness with which they seek to obtain the stone +in its natural state, which is somewhat difficult to accomplish. + +In the museum of natural curiosities at Madrid there is a large +piece of loadstone originally extracted from the American mines. +There is scarcely a Gitana in Madrid who is not acquainted with +this circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a +part of it; its being placed in a royal museum serving to augment, +in their opinion, its real value. Several attempts have been made +to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuccessful. The +Gypsies seem not to be the only people who envy royalty the +possession of this stone. Pepita, the old Gitana of whose talent +at telling fortunes such honourable mention has already been made, +informed me that a priest, who was muy enamorado (in love), +proposed to her to steal the loadstone, offering her all his +sacerdotal garments in the event of success: whether the singular +reward that was promised had but slight temptations for her, or +whether she feared that her dexterity was not equal to the +accomplishment of the task, we know not, but she appears to have +declined attempting it. According to the Gypsy account, the person +in love, if he wish to excite a corresponding passion in another +quarter by means of the loadstone, must swallow, IN AGUARDIENTE, a +small portion of the stone pulverised, at the time of going to +rest, repeating to himself the following magic rhyme:- + + +'To the Mountain of Olives one morning I hied, +Three little black goats before me I spied, +Those three little goats on three cars I laid, +Black cheeses three from their milk I made; +The one I bestow on the loadstone of power, +That save me it may from all ills that lower; +The second to Mary Padilla I give, +And to all the witch hags about her that live; +The third I reserve for Asmodeus lame, +That fetch me he may whatever I name.' + + +LA RAIZ DEL BUEN BARON, OR THE ROOT OF THE GOOD BARON. - On this +subject we cannot be very explicit. It is customary with the +Gitanas to sell, under this title, various roots and herbs, to +unfortunate females who are desirous of producing a certain result; +these roots are boiled in white wine, and the abominable decoction +is taken fasting. I was once shown the root of the good baron, +which, in this instance, appeared to be parsley root. By the good +baron is meant his Satanic majesty, on whom the root is very +appropriately fathered. + + + +CHAPTER VII + + + +IT is impossible to dismiss the subject of the Spanish Gypsies +without offering some remarks on their marriage festivals. There +is nothing which they retain connected with their primitive rites +and principles, more characteristic perhaps of the sect of the +Rommany, of the sect of the HUSBANDS AND WIVES, than what relates +to the marriage ceremony, which gives the female a protector, and +the man a helpmate, a sharer of his joys and sorrows. The Gypsies +are almost entirely ignorant of the grand points of morality; they +have never had sufficient sense to perceive that to lie, to steal, +and to shed human blood violently, are crimes which are sure, +eventually, to yield bitter fruits to those who perpetrate them; +but on one point, and that one of no little importance as far as +temporal happiness is concerned, they are in general wiser than +those who have had far better opportunities than such unfortunate +outcasts, of regulating their steps, and distinguishing good from +evil. They know that chastity is a jewel of high price, and that +conjugal fidelity is capable of occasionally flinging a sunshine +even over the dreary hours of a life passed in the contempt of +almost all laws, whether human or divine. + +There is a word in the Gypsy language to which those who speak it +attach ideas of peculiar reverence, far superior to that connected +with the name of the Supreme Being, the creator of themselves and +the universe. This word is LACHA, which with them is the corporeal +chastity of the females; we say corporeal chastity, for no other do +they hold in the slightest esteem; it is lawful amongst them, nay +praiseworthy, to be obscene in look, gesture, and discourse, to be +accessories to vice, and to stand by and laugh at the worst +abominations of the Busne, provided their LACHA YE TRUPOS, or +corporeal chastity, remains unblemished. The Gypsy child, from her +earliest years, is told by her strange mother, that a good Calli +need only dread one thing in this world, and that is the loss of +Lacha, in comparison with which that of life is of little +consequence, as in such an event she will be provided for, but what +provision is there for a Gypsy who has lost her Lacha? 'Bear this +in mind, my child,' she will say, 'and now eat this bread, and go +forth and see what you can steal.' + +A Gypsy girl is generally betrothed at the age of fourteen to the +youth whom her parents deem a suitable match, and who is generally +a few years older than herself. Marriage is invariably preceded by +betrothment; and the couple must then wait two years before their +union can take place, according to the law of the Cales. During +this period it is expected that they treat each other as common +acquaintance; they are permitted to converse, and even occasionally +to exchange slight presents. One thing, however, is strictly +forbidden, and if in this instance they prove contumacious, the +betrothment is instantly broken and the pair are never united, and +thenceforward bear an evil reputation amongst their sect. This one +thing is, going into the campo in each other's company, or having +any rendezvous beyond the gate of the city, town, or village, in +which they dwell. Upon this point we can perhaps do no better than +quote one of their own stanzas:- + + +'Thy sire and mother wrath and hate +Have vowed against us, love! +The first, first night that from the gate +We two together rove.' + + +With all the other Gypsies, however, and with the Busne or +Gentiles, the betrothed female is allowed the freest intercourse, +going whither she will, and returning at all times and seasons. +With respect to the Busne, indeed, the parents are invariably less +cautious than with their own race, as they conceive it next to an +impossibility that their child should lose her Lacha by any +intercourse with THE WHITE BLOOD; and true it is that experience +has proved that their confidence in this respect is not altogether +idle. The Gitanas have in general a decided aversion to the white +men; some few instances, however, to the contrary are said to have +occurred. + +A short time previous to the expiration of the term of the +betrothment, preparations are made for the Gypsy bridal. The +wedding-day is certainly an eventful period in the life of every +individual, as he takes a partner for better or for worse, whom he +is bound to cherish through riches and poverty; but to the Gypsy +particularly the wedding festival is an important affair. If he is +rich, he frequently becomes poor before it is terminated; and if he +is poor, he loses the little which he possesses, and must borrow of +his brethren; frequently involving himself throughout life, to +procure the means of giving a festival; for without a festival, he +could not become a Rom, that is, a husband, and would cease to +belong to this sect of Rommany. + +There is a great deal of what is wild and barbarous attached to +these festivals. I shall never forget a particular one at which I +was present. After much feasting, drinking, and yelling, in the +Gypsy house, the bridal train sallied forth - a frantic spectacle. +First of all marched a villainous jockey-looking fellow, holding in +his hands, uplifted, a long pole, at the top of which fluttered in +the morning air a snow-white cambric handkerchief, emblem of the +bride's purity. Then came the betrothed pair, followed by their +nearest friends; then a rabble rout of Gypsies, screaming and +shouting, and discharging guns and pistols, till all around rang +with the din, and the village dogs barked. On arriving at the +church gate, the fellow who bore the pole stuck it into the ground +with a loud huzza, and the train, forming two ranks, defiled into +the church on either side of the pole and its strange ornaments. +On the conclusion of the ceremony, they returned in the same manner +in which they had come. + +Throughout the day there was nothing going on but singing, +drinking, feasting, and dancing; but the most singular part of the +festival was reserved for the dark night. Nearly a ton weight of +sweetmeats had been prepared, at an enormous expense, not for the +gratification of the palate, but for a purpose purely Gypsy. These +sweetmeats of all kinds, and of all forms, but principally yemas, +or yolks of eggs prepared with a crust of sugar (a delicious bonne- +bouche), were strewn on the floor of a large room, at least to the +depth of three inches. Into this room, at a given signal, tripped +the bride and bridegroom DANCING ROMALIS, followed amain by all the +Gitanos and Gitanas, DANCING ROMALIS. To convey a slight idea of +the scene is almost beyond the power of words. In a few minutes +the sweetmeats were reduced to a powder, or rather to a mud, the +dancers were soiled to the knees with sugar, fruits, and yolks of +eggs. Still more terrific became the lunatic merriment. The men +sprang high into the air, neighed, brayed, and crowed; whilst the +Gitanas snapped their fingers in their own fashion, louder than +castanets, distorting their forms into all kinds of obscene +attitudes, and uttering words to repeat which were an abomination. +In a corner of the apartment capered the while Sebastianillo, a +convict Gypsy from Melilla, strumming the guitar most furiously, +and producing demoniacal sounds which had some resemblance to +Malbrun (Malbrouk), and, as he strummed, repeating at intervals the +Gypsy modification of the song:- + + +'Chala Malbrun chinguerar, +Birandon, birandon, birandera - +Chala Malbrun chinguerar, +No se bus trutera - +No se bus trutera. +No se bus trutera. +La romi que le camela, +Birandon, birandon,' etc. + + +The festival endures three days, at the end of which the greatest +part of the property of the bridegroom, even if he were previously +in easy circumstances, has been wasted in this strange kind of riot +and dissipation. Paco, the Gypsy of Badajoz, attributed his ruin +to the extravagance of his marriage festival; and many other +Gitanos have confessed the same thing of themselves. They said +that throughout the three days they appeared to be under the +influence of infatuation, having no other wish or thought but to +make away with their substance; some have gone so far as to cast +money by handfuls into the street. Throughout the three days all +the doors are kept open, and all corners, whether Gypsies or Busne, +welcomed with a hospitality which knows no bounds. + +In nothing do the Jews and Gitanos more resemble each other than in +their marriages, and what is connected therewith. In both sects +there is a betrothment: amongst the Jews for seven, amongst the +Gitanos for a period of two years. In both there is a wedding +festival, which endures amongst the Jews for fifteen and amongst +the Gitanos for three days, during which, on both sides, much that +is singular and barbarous occurs, which, however, has perhaps its +origin in antiquity the most remote. But the wedding ceremonies of +the Jews are far more complex and allegorical than those of the +Gypsies, a more simple people. The Nazarene gazes on these +ceremonies with mute astonishment; the washing of the bride - the +painting of the face of herself and her companions with chalk and +carmine - her ensconcing herself within the curtains of the bed +with her female bevy, whilst the bridegroom hides himself within +his apartment with the youths his companions - her envelopment in +the white sheet, in which she appears like a corse, the +bridegroom's going to sup with her, when he places himself in the +middle of the apartment with his eyes shut, and without tasting a +morsel. His going to the synagogue, and then repairing to +breakfast with the bride, where he practises the same self-denial - +the washing of the bridegroom's plate and sending it after him, +that he may break his fast - the binding his hands behind him - his +ransom paid by the bride's mother - the visit of the sages to the +bridegroom - the mulct imposed in case he repent - the killing of +the bullock at the house of the bridegroom - the present of meat +and fowls, meal and spices, to the bride - the gold and silver - +that most imposing part of the ceremony, the walking of the bride +by torchlight to the house of her betrothed, her eyes fixed in +vacancy, whilst the youths of her kindred sing their wild songs +around her - the cup of milk and the spoon presented to her by the +bridegroom's mother - the arrival of the sages in the morn - the +reading of the Ketuba - the night - the half-enjoyment - the old +woman - the tantalising knock at the door - and then the festival +of fishes which concludes all, and leaves the jaded and wearied +couple to repose after a fortnight of persecution. + +The Jews, like the Gypsies, not unfrequently ruin themselves by the +riot and waste of their marriage festivals. Throughout the entire +fortnight, the houses, both of bride and bridegroom, are flung open +to all corners; - feasting and song occupy the day - feasting and +song occupy the hours of the night, and this continued revel is +only broken by the ceremonies of which we have endeavoured to +convey a faint idea. In these festivals the sages or ULEMMA take a +distinguished part, doing their utmost to ruin the contracted +parties, by the wonderful despatch which they make of the fowls and +viands, sweetmeats, AND STRONG WATERS provided for the occasion. + +After marriage the Gypsy females generally continue faithful to +their husbands through life; giving evidence that the exhortations +of their mothers in early life have not been without effect. Of +course licentious females are to be found both amongst the matrons +and the unmarried; but such instances are rare, and must be +considered in the light of exceptions to a principle. The Gypsy +women (I am speaking of those of Spain), as far as corporeal +chastity goes, are very paragons; but in other respects, alas! - +little can be said in praise of their morality. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + + +WHILST in Spain I devoted as much time as I could spare from my +grand object, which was to circulate the Gospel through that +benighted country, to attempt to enlighten the minds of the Gitanos +on the subject of religion. I cannot say that I experienced much +success in my endeavours; indeed, I never expected much, being +fully acquainted with the stony nature of the ground on which I was +employed; perhaps some of the seed that I scattered may eventually +spring up and yield excellent fruit. Of one thing I am certain: +if I did the Gitanos no good, I did them no harm. + +It has been said that there is a secret monitor, or conscience, +within every heart, which immediately upbraids the individual on +the commission of a crime; this may be true, but certainly the +monitor within the Gitano breast is a very feeble one, for little +attention is ever paid to its reproofs. With regard to conscience, +be it permitted to observe, that it varies much according to +climate, country, and religion; perhaps nowhere is it so terrible +and strong as in England; I need not say why. Amongst the English, +I have seen many individuals stricken low, and broken-hearted, by +the force of conscience; but never amongst the Spaniards or +Italians; and I never yet could observe that the crimes which the +Gitanos were daily and hourly committing occasioned them the +slightest uneasiness. + +One important discovery I made among them: it was, that no +individual, however wicked and hardened, is utterly GODLESS. Call +it superstition, if you will, still a certain fear and reverence of +something sacred and supreme would hang about them. I have heard +Gitanos stiffly deny the existence of a Deity, and express the +utmost contempt for everything holy; yet they subsequently never +failed to contradict themselves, by permitting some expression to +escape which belied their assertions, and of this I shall presently +give a remarkable instance. + +I found the women much more disposed to listen to anything I had to +say than the men, who were in general so taken up with their +traffic that they could think and talk of nothing else; the women, +too, had more curiosity and more intelligence; the conversational +powers of some of them I found to be very great, and yet they were +destitute of the slightest rudiments of education, and were thieves +by profession. At Madrid I had regular conversaziones, or, as they +are called in Spanish, tertulias, with these women, who generally +visited me twice a week; they were perfectly unreserved towards me +with respect to their actions and practices, though their +behaviour, when present, was invariably strictly proper. I have +already had cause to mention Pepa the sibyl, and her daughter-in- +law, Chicharona; the manners of the first were sometimes almost +elegant, though, next to Aurora, she was the most notorious she- +thug in Madrid; Chicharona was good-humoured, like most fat +personages. Pepa had likewise two daughters, one of whom, a very +remarkable female, was called La Tuerta, from the circumstance of +her having but one eye, and the other, who was a girl of about +thirteen, La Casdami, or the scorpion, from the malice which she +occasionally displayed. + +Pepa and Chicharona were invariably my most constant visitors. One +day in winter they arrived as usual; the One-eyed and the Scorpion +following behind. + +MYSELF. - 'I am glad to see you, Pepa: what have you been doing +this morning?' + +PEPA. - 'I have been telling baji, and Chicharona has been stealing +a pastesas; we have had but little success, and have come to warm +ourselves at the brasero. As for the One-eyed, she is a very +sluggard (holgazana), she will neither tell fortunes nor steal.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'Hold your peace, mother of the Bengues; I will +steal, when I see occasion, but it shall not be a pastesas, and I +will hokkawar (deceive), but it shall not be by telling fortunes. +If I deceive, it shall be by horses, by jockeying. (58) If I +steal, it shall be on the road - I'll rob. You know already what I +am capable of, yet knowing that, you would have me tell fortunes +like yourself, or steal like Chicharona. Me dinela conche (it +fills me with fury) to be asked to tell fortunes, and the next +Busnee that talks to me of bajis, I will knock all her teeth out.' + +THE SCORPION. - 'My sister is right; I, too, would sooner be a +salteadora (highwaywoman), or a chalana (she-jockey), than steal +with the hands, or tell bajis.' + +MYSELF. - 'You do not mean to say, O Tuerta, that you are a jockey, +and that you rob on the highway.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'I am a chalana, brother, and many a time I have +robbed upon the road, as all our people know. I dress myself as a +man, and go forth with some of them. I have robbed alone, in the +pass of the Guadarama, with my horse and escopeta. I alone once +robbed a cuadrilla of twenty Gallegos, who were returning to their +own country, after cutting the harvests of Castile; I stripped them +of their earnings, and could have stripped them of their very +clothes had I wished, for they were down on their knees like +cowards. I love a brave man, be he Busne or Gypsy. When I was not +much older than the Scorpion, I went with several others to rob the +cortijo of an old man; it was more than twenty leagues from here. +We broke in at midnight, and bound the old man: we knew he had +money; but he said no, and would not tell us where it was; so we +tortured him, pricking him with our knives and burning his hands +over the lamp; all, however, would not do. At last I said, "Let us +try the PIMIENTOS"; so we took the green pepper husks, pulled open +his eyelids, and rubbed the pupils with the green pepper fruit. +That was the worst pinch of all. Would you believe it? the old man +bore it. Then our people said, "Let us kill him," but I said, no, +it were a pity: so we spared him, though we got nothing. I have +loved that old man ever since for his firm heart, and should have +wished him for a husband.' + +THE SCORPION. - 'Ojala, that I had been in that cortijo, to see +such sport!' + +MYSELF. - 'Do you fear God, O Tuerta?' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'Brother, I fear nothing.' + +MYSELF. - 'Do you believe in God, O Tuerta?' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'Brother, I do not; I hate all connected with that +name; the whole is folly; me dinela conche. If I go to church, it +is but to spit at the images. I spat at the bulto of Maria this +morning; and I love the Corojai, and the Londone, (59) because they +are not baptized.' + +MYSELF. - 'You, of course, never say a prayer.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'No, no; there are three or four old words, taught +me by some old people, which I sometimes say to myself; I believe +they have both force and virtue.' + +MYSELF. - 'I would fain hear; pray tell me them.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'Brother, they are words not to be repeated.' + +MYSELF. - 'Why not?' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'They are holy words, brother.' + +MYSELF. - 'Holy! You say there is no God; if there be none, there +can be nothing holy; pray tell me the words, O Tuerta.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'Brother, I dare not.' + +MYSELF. - 'Then you do fear something.' + +THE ONE-EYED.- 'Not I - + +'SABOCA ENRECAR MARIA ERERIA, (60) + +and now I wish I had not said them.' + +MYSELF. - 'You are distracted, O Tuerta: the words say simply, +'Dwell within us, blessed Maria.' You have spitten on her bulto +this morning in the church, and now you are afraid to repeat four +words, amongst which is her name.' + +THE ONE-EYED. - 'I did not understand them; but I wish I had not +said them.' + +. . . . . . . + +I repeat that there is no individual, however hardened, who is +utterly GODLESS. + +The reader will have already gathered from the conversations +reported in this volume, and especially from the last, that there +is a wide difference between addressing Spanish Gitanos and Gitanas +and English peasantry: of a certainty what will do well for the +latter is calculated to make no impression on these thievish half- +wild people. Try them with the Gospel, I hear some one cry, which +speaks to all: I did try them with the Gospel, and in their own +language. I commenced with Pepa and Chicharona. Determined that +they should understand it, I proposed that they themselves should +translate it. They could neither read nor write, which, however, +did not disqualify them from being translators. I had myself +previously translated the whole Testament into the Spanish Rommany, +but I was desirous to circulate amongst the Gitanos a version +conceived in the exact language in which they express their ideas. +The women made no objection, they were fond of our tertulias, and +they likewise reckoned on one small glass of Malaga wine, with +which I invariably presented them. Upon the whole, they conducted +themselves much better than could have been expected. We commenced +with Saint Luke: they rendering into Rommany the sentences which I +delivered to them in Spanish. They proceeded as far as the eighth +chapter, in the middle of which they broke down. Was that to be +wondered at? The only thing which astonished me was, that I had +induced two such strange beings to advance so far in a task so +unwonted, and so entirely at variance with their habits, as +translation. + +These chapters I frequently read over to them, explaining the +subject in the best manner I was able. They said it was lacho, and +jucal, and misto, all of which words express approval of the +quality of a thing. Were they improved, were their hearts softened +by these Scripture lectures? I know not. Pepa committed a rather +daring theft shortly afterwards, which compelled her to conceal +herself for a fortnight; it is quite possible, however, that she +may remember the contents of those chapters on her death-bed; if +so, will the attempt have been a futile one? + +I completed the translation, supplying deficiencies from my own +version begun at Badajoz in 1836. This translation I printed at +Madrid in 1838; it was the first book which ever appeared in +Rommany, and was called 'Embeo e Majaro Lucas,' or Gospel of Luke +the Saint. I likewise published, simultaneously, the same Gospel +in Basque, which, however, I had no opportunity of circulating. + +The Gitanos of Madrid purchased the Gypsy Luke freely: many of the +men understood it, and prized it highly, induced of course more by +the language than the doctrine; the women were particularly anxious +to obtain copies, though unable to read; but each wished to have +one in her pocket, especially when engaged in thieving expeditions, +for they all looked upon it in the light of a charm, which would +preserve them from all danger and mischance; some even went so far +as to say, that in this respect it was equally efficacious as the +Bar Lachi, or loadstone, which they are in general so desirous of +possessing. Of this Gospel (61) five hundred copies were printed, +of which the greater number I contrived to circulate amongst the +Gypsies in various parts; I cast the book upon the waters and left +it to its destiny. + +I have counted seventeen Gitanas assembled at one time in my +apartment in the Calle de Santiago in Madrid; for the first quarter +of an hour we generally discoursed upon indifferent matters, I then +by degrees drew their attention to religion and the state of souls. +I finally became so bold that I ventured to speak against their +inveterate practices, thieving and lying, telling fortunes, and +stealing a pastesas; this was touching upon delicate ground, and I +experienced much opposition and much feminine clamour. I +persevered, however, and they finally assented to all I said, not +that I believe that my words made much impression upon their +hearts. In a few months matters were so far advanced that they +would sing a hymn; I wrote one expressly for them in Rommany, in +which their own wild couplets were, to a certain extent, imitated. + +The people of the street in which I lived, seeing such numbers of +these strange females continually passing in and out, were struck +with astonishment, and demanded the reason. The answers which they +obtained by no means satisfied them. 'Zeal for the conversion of +souls, - the souls too of Gitanas, - disparate! the fellow is a +scoundrel. Besides he is an Englishman, and is not baptized; what +cares he for souls? They visit him for other purposes. He makes +base ounces, which they carry away and circulate. Madrid is +already stocked with false money.' Others were of opinion that we +met for the purposes of sorcery and abomination. The Spaniard has +no conception that other springs of action exist than interest or +villainy. + +My little congregation, if such I may call it, consisted entirely +of women; the men seldom or never visited me, save they stood in +need of something which they hoped to obtain from me. This +circumstance I little regretted, their manners and conversation +being the reverse of interesting. It must not, however, be +supposed that, even with the women, matters went on invariably in a +smooth and satisfactory manner. The following little anecdote will +show what slight dependence can be placed upon them, and how +disposed they are at all times to take part in what is grotesque +and malicious. One day they arrived, attended by a Gypsy jockey +whom I had never previously seen. We had scarcely been seated a +minute, when this fellow, rising, took me to the window, and +without any preamble or circumlocution, said - 'Don Jorge, you +shall lend me two barias' (ounces of gold). 'Not to your whole +race, my excellent friend,' said I; 'are you frantic? Sit down and +be discreet.' He obeyed me literally, sat down, and when the rest +departed, followed with them. We did not invariably meet at my own +house, but occasionally at one in a street inhabited by Gypsies. +On the appointed day I went to this house, where I found the women +assembled; the jockey was also present. On seeing me he advanced, +again took me aside, and again said - 'Don Jorge, you shall lend me +two barias.' I made him no answer, but at once entered on the +subject which brought me thither. I spoke for some time in +Spanish; I chose for the theme of my discourse the situation of the +Hebrews in Egypt, and pointed out its similarity to that of the +Gitanos in Spain. I spoke of the power of God, manifested in +preserving both as separate and distinct people amongst the nations +until the present day. I warmed with my subject. I subsequently +produced a manuscript book, from which I read a portion of +Scripture, and the Lord's Prayer and Apostles' Creed, in Rommany. +When I had concluded I looked around me. + +The features of the assembly were twisted, and the eyes of all +turned upon me with a frightful squint; not an individual present +but squinted, - the genteel Pepa, the good-humoured Chicharona, the +Casdami, etc. etc. The Gypsy fellow, the contriver of the jest, +squinted worst of all. Such are Gypsies. + + + + +THE ZINCALI PART III + + + +CHAPTER I + + + +THERE is no nation in the world, however exalted or however +degraded, but is in possession of some peculiar poetry. If the +Chinese, the Hindoos, the Greeks, and the Persians, those splendid +and renowned races, have their moral lays, their mythological +epics, their tragedies, and their immortal love songs, so also have +the wild and barbarous tribes of Soudan, and the wandering +Esquimaux, their ditties, which, however insignificant in +comparison with the compositions of the former nations, still are +entitled in every essential point to the name of poetry; if poetry +mean metrical compositions intended to soothe and recreate the mind +fatigued by the cares, distresses, and anxieties to which mortality +is subject. + +The Gypsies too have their poetry. Of that of the Russian Zigani +we have already said something. It has always been our opinion, +and we believe that in this we are by no means singular, that in +nothing can the character of a people be read with greater +certainty and exactness than in its songs. How truly do the +warlike ballads of the Northmen and the Danes, their DRAPAS and +KOEMPE-VISER, depict the character of the Goth; and how equally do +the songs of the Arabians, replete with homage to the one high, +uncreated, and eternal God, 'the fountain of blessing,' 'the only +conqueror,' lay bare to us the mind of the Moslem of the desert, +whose grand characteristic is religious veneration, and +uncompromising zeal for the glory of the Creator. + +And well and truly do the coplas and gachaplas of the Gitanos +depict the character of the race. This poetry, for poetry we will +call it, is in most respects such as might be expected to originate +among people of their class; a set of Thugs, subsisting by cheating +and villainy of every description; hating the rest of the human +species, and bound to each other by the bonds of common origin, +language, and pursuits. The general themes of this poetry are the +various incidents of Gitano life and the feelings of the Gitanos. +A Gypsy sees a pig running down a hill, and imagines that it cries +'Ustilame Caloro!' (62) - a Gypsy reclining sick on the prison +floor beseeches his wife to intercede with the alcayde for the +removal of the chain, the weight of which is bursting his body - +the moon arises, and two Gypsies, who are about to steal a steed, +perceive a Spaniard, and instantly flee - Juanito Ralli, whilst +going home on his steed, is stabbed by a Gypsy who hates him - +Facundo, a Gypsy, runs away at the sight of the burly priest of +Villa Franca, who hates all Gypsies. Sometimes a burst of wild +temper gives occasion to a strain - the swarthy lover threatens to +slay his betrothed, even AT THE FEET OF JESUS, should she prove +unfaithful. It is a general opinion amongst the Gitanos that +Spanish women are very fond of Rommany chals and Rommany. There is +a stanza in which a Gitano hopes to bear away a beauty of Spanish +race by means of a word of Rommany whispered in her ear at the +window. + +Amongst these effusions are even to be found tender and beautiful +thoughts; for Thugs and Gitanos have their moments of gentleness. +True it is that such are few and far between, as a flower or a +shrub is here and there seen springing up from the interstices of +the rugged and frightful rocks of which the Spanish sierras are +composed: a wicked mother is afraid to pray to the Lord with her +own lips, and calls on her innocent babe to beseech him to restore +peace and comfort to her heart - an imprisoned youth appears to +have no earthly friend on whom he can rely, save his sister, and +wishes for a messenger to carry unto her the tale of his +sufferings, confident that she would hasten at once to his +assistance. And what can be more touching than the speech of the +relenting lover to the fair one whom he has outraged? + + +'Extend to me the hand so small, +Wherein I see thee weep, +For O thy balmy tear-drops all +I would collect and keep.' + + +This Gypsy poetry consists of quartets, or rather couplets, but two +rhymes being discernible, and those generally imperfect, the vowels +alone agreeing in sound. Occasionally, however, sixains, or +stanzas of six lines, are to be found, but this is of rare +occurrence. The thought, anecdote or adventure described, is +seldom carried beyond one stanza, in which everything is expressed +which the poet wishes to impart. This feature will appear singular +to those who are unacquainted with the character of the popular +poetry of the south, and are accustomed to the redundancy and +frequently tedious repetition of a more polished muse. It will be +well to inform such that the greater part of the poetry sung in the +south, and especially in Spain, is extemporary. The musician +composes it at the stretch of his voice, whilst his fingers are +tugging at the guitar; which style of composition is by no means +favourable to a long and connected series of thought. Of course, +the greater part of this species of poetry perishes as soon as +born. A stanza, however, is sometimes caught up by the bystanders, +and committed to memory; and being frequently repeated, makes, in +time, the circuit of the country. For example, the stanza about +Coruncho Lopez, which was originally made at the gate of a venta by +a Miquelet, (63) who was conducting the said Lopez to the galleys +for a robbery. It is at present sung through the whole of the +peninsula, however insignificant it may sound to foreign ears:- + + +'Coruncho Lopez, gallant lad, +A smuggling he would ride; +He stole his father's ambling prad, +And therefore to the galleys sad +Coruncho now I guide.' + + +The couplets of the Gitanos are composed in the same off-hand +manner, and exactly resemble in metre the popular ditties of the +Spaniards. In spirit, however, as well as language, they are in +general widely different, as they mostly relate to the Gypsies and +their affairs, and not unfrequently abound with abuse of the Busne +or Spaniards. Many of these creations have, like the stanza of +Coruncho Lopez, been wafted over Spain amongst the Gypsy tribes, +and are even frequently repeated by the Spaniards themselves; at +least, by those who affect to imitate the phraseology of the +Gitanos. Those which appear in the present collection consist +partly of such couplets, and partly of such as we have ourselves +taken down, as soon as they originated, not unfrequently in the +midst of a circle of these singular people, dancing and singing to +their wild music. In no instance have they been subjected to +modification; and the English translation is, in general, very +faithful to the original, as will easily be perceived by referring +to the lexicon. To those who may feel disposed to find fault with +or criticise these songs, we have to observe, that the present work +has been written with no other view than to depict the Gitanos such +as they are, and to illustrate their character; and, on that +account, we have endeavoured, as much as possible, to bring them +before the reader, and to make them speak for themselves. They are +a half-civilised, unlettered people, proverbial for a species of +knavish acuteness, which serves them in lieu of wisdom. To place +in the mouth of such beings the high-flown sentiments of modern +poetry would not answer our purpose, though several authors have +not shrunk from such an absurdity. + +These couplets have been collected in Estremadura and New Castile, +in Valencia and Andalusia; the four provinces where the Gitano race +most abounds. We wish, however, to remark, that they constitute +scarcely a tenth part of our original gleanings, from which we have +selected one hundred of the most remarkable and interesting. + +The language of the originals will convey an exact idea of the +Rommany of Spain, as used at the present day amongst the Gitanos in +the fairs, when they are buying and selling animals, and wish to +converse with each other in a way unintelligible to the Spaniards. +We are free to confess that it is a mere broken jargon, but it +answers the purpose of those who use it; and it is but just to +remark that many of its elements are of the most remote antiquity, +and the most illustrious descent, as will be shown hereafter. We +have uniformly placed the original by the side of the translation; +for though unwilling to make the Gitanos speak in any other manner +than they are accustomed, we are equally averse to have it supposed +that many of the thoughts and expressions which occur in these +songs, and which are highly objectionable, originated with +ourselves. (64) + + +RHYMES OF THE GITANOS + + +Unto a refuge me they led, +To save from dungeon drear; +Then sighing to my wife I said, +I leave my baby dear. + +Back from the refuge soon I sped, +My child's sweet face to see; +Then sternly to my wife I said, +You've seen the last of me. + +O when I sit my courser bold, +My bantling in my rear, +And in my hand my musket hold, +O how they quake with fear. + +Pray, little baby, pray the Lord, +Since guiltless still thou art, +That peace and comfort he afford +To this poor troubled heart. + +The false Juanito, day and night, +Had best with caution go, +The Gypsy carles of Yeira height +Have sworn to lay him low. + +There runs a swine down yonder hill, +As fast as e'er he can, +And as he runs he crieth still, +Come, steal me, Gypsy man. + +I wash'd not in the limpid flood +The shirt which binds my frame; +But in Juanito Ralli's blood +I bravely wash'd the same. + +I sallied forth upon my grey, +With him my hated foe, +And when we reach'd the narrow way +I dealt a dagger blow. + +To blessed Jesus' holy feet +I'd rush to kill and slay +My plighted lass so fair and sweet, +Should she the wanton play. + +I for a cup of water cried, +But they refus'd my prayer, +Then straight into the road I hied, +And fell to robbing there. + +I ask'd for fire to warm my frame, +But they'd have scorn'd my prayer, +If I, to pay them for the same, +Had stripp'd my body bare. + +Then came adown the village street, +With little babes that cry, +Because they have no crust to eat, +A Gypsy company; +And as no charity they meet, +They curse the Lord on high. + +I left my house and walk'd about, +They seized me fast and bound; +It is a Gypsy thief, they shout, +The Spaniards here have found. + +From out the prison me they led, +Before the scribe they brought; +It is no Gypsy thief, he said, +The Spaniards here have caught. + +Throughout the night, the dusky night, +I prowl in silence round, +And with my eyes look left and right, +For him, the Spanish hound, +That with my knife I him may smite, +And to the vitals wound. + +Will no one to the sister bear +News of her brother's plight, +How in this cell of dark despair, +To cruel death he's dight? + +The Lord, as e'en the Gentiles state, +By Egypt's race was bred, +And when he came to man's estate, +His blood the Gentiles shed. + +O never with the Gentiles wend, +Nor deem their speeches true; +Or else, be certain in the end +Thy blood will lose its hue. + +From out the prison me they bore, +Upon an ass they placed, +And scourg'd me till I dripp'd with gore, +As down the road it paced. + +They bore me from the prison nook, +They bade me rove at large; +When out I'd come a gun I took, +And scathed them with its charge. + +My mule so bonny I bestrode, +To Portugal I'd flee, +And as I o'er the water rode +A man came suddenly; +And he his love and kindness show'd +By setting his dog on me. + +Unless within a fortnight's space +Thy face, O maid, I see; +Flamenca, of Egyptian race, +My lady love shall be. + +Flamenca, of Egyptian race, +If thou wert only mine, +Within a bonny crystal case +For life I'd thee enshrine. + +Sire nor mother me caress, +For I have none on earth; +One little brother I possess, +And he's a fool by birth. + +Thy sire and mother wrath and hate +Have vow'd against me, love! +The first, first night that from the gate +We two together rove. + +Come to the window, sweet love, do, +And I will whisper there, +In Rommany, a word or two, +And thee far off will bear. + +A Gypsy stripling's sparkling eye +Has pierced my bosom's core, +A feat no eye beneath the sky +Could e'er effect before. + +Dost bid me from the land begone, +And thou with child by me? +Each time I come, the little one, +I'll greet in Rommany. + +With such an ugly, loathly wife +The Lord has punish'd me; +I dare not take her for my life +Where'er the Spaniards be. + +O, I am not of gentle clan, +I'm sprung from Gypsy tree; +And I will be no gentleman, +But an Egyptian free. + +On high arose the moon so fair, +The Gypsy 'gan to sing: +I see a Spaniard coming there, +I must be on the wing. + +This house of harlotry doth smell, +I flee as from the pest; +Your mother likes my sire too well; +To hie me home is best. + +The girl I love more dear than life, +Should other gallant woo, +I'd straight unsheath my dudgeon knife +And cut his weasand through; +Or he, the conqueror in the strife, +The same to me should do. + +Loud sang the Spanish cavalier, +And thus his ditty ran: +God send the Gypsy lassie here, +And not the Gypsy man. + +At midnight, when the moon began +To show her silver flame, +There came to him no Gypsy man, +The Gypsy lassie came. + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +THE Gitanos, abject and vile as they have ever been, have +nevertheless found admirers in Spain, individuals who have taken +pleasure in their phraseology, pronunciation, and way of life; but +above all, in the songs and dances of the females. This desire for +cultivating their acquaintance is chiefly prevalent in Andalusia, +where, indeed, they most abound; and more especially in the town of +Seville, the capital of the province, where, in the barrio or +Faubourg of Triana, a large Gitano colon has long flourished, with +the denizens of which it is at all times easy to have intercourse, +especially to those who are free of their money, and are willing to +purchase such a gratification at the expense of dollars and +pesetas. + +When we consider the character of the Andalusians in general, we +shall find little to surprise us in this predilection for the +Gitanos. They are an indolent frivolous people, fond of dancing +and song, and sensual amusements. They live under the most +glorious sun and benign heaven in Europe, and their country is by +nature rich and fertile, yet in no province of Spain is there more +beggary and misery; the greater part of the land being +uncultivated, and producing nothing but thorns and brushwood, +affording in itself a striking emblem of the moral state of its +inhabitants. + +Though not destitute of talent, the Andalusians are not much +addicted to intellectual pursuits, at least in the present day. +The person in most esteem among them is invariably the greatest +MAJO, and to acquire that character it is necessary to appear in +the dress of a Merry Andrew, to bully, swagger, and smoke +continually, to dance passably, and to strum the guitar. They are +fond of obscenity and what they term PICARDIAS. Amongst them +learning is at a terrible discount, Greek, Latin, or any of the +languages generally termed learned, being considered in any light +but accomplishments, but not so the possession of thieves' slang or +the dialect of the Gitanos, the knowledge of a few words of which +invariably creates a certain degree of respect, as indicating that +the individual is somewhat versed in that kind of life or TRATO for +which alone the Andalusians have any kind of regard. + +In Andalusia the Gitano has been studied by those who, for various +reasons, have mingled with the Gitanos. It is tolerably well +understood by the chalans, or jockeys, who have picked up many +words in the fairs and market-places which the former frequent. It +has, however, been cultivated to a greater degree by other +individuals, who have sought the society of the Gitanos from a zest +for their habits, their dances, and their songs; and such +individuals have belonged to all classes, amongst them have been +noblemen and members of the priestly order. + +Perhaps no people in Andalusia have been more addicted in general +to the acquaintance of the Gitanos than the friars, and pre- +eminently amongst these the half-jockey half-religious personages +of the Cartujan convent at Xeres. This community, now suppressed, +was, as is well known, in possession of a celebrated breed of +horses, which fed in the pastures of the convent, and from which +they derived no inconsiderable part of their revenue. These +reverend gentlemen seem to have been much better versed in the +points of a horse than in points of theology, and to have +understood thieves' slang and Gitano far better than the language +of the Vulgate. A chalan, who had some knowledge of the Gitano, +related to me the following singular anecdote in connection with +this subject. + +He had occasion to go to the convent, having been long in treaty +with the friars for a steed which he had been commissioned by a +nobleman to buy at any reasonable price. The friars, however, were +exorbitant in their demands. On arriving at the gate, he sang to +the friar who opened it a couplet which he had composed in the +Gypsy tongue, in which he stated the highest price which he was +authorised to give for the animal in question; whereupon the friar +instantly answered in the same tongue in an extemporary couplet +full of abuse of him and his employer, and forthwith slammed the +door in the face of the disconcerted jockey. + +An Augustine friar of Seville, called, we believe, Father Manso, +who lived some twenty years ago, is still remembered for his +passion for the Gitanos; he seemed to be under the influence of +fascination, and passed every moment that he could steal from his +clerical occupations in their company. His conduct at last became +so notorious that he fell under the censure of the Inquisition, +before which he was summoned; whereupon he alleged, in his defence, +that his sole motive for following the Gitanos was zeal for their +spiritual conversion. Whether this plea availed him we know not; +but it is probable that the Holy Office dealt mildly with him; such +offenders, indeed, have never had much to fear from it. Had he +been accused of liberalism, or searching into the Scriptures, +instead of connection with the Gitanos, we should, doubtless, have +heard either of his execution or imprisonment for life in the cells +of the cathedral of Seville. + +Such as are thus addicted to the Gitanos and their language, are +called, in Andalusia, Los del' Aficion, or those of the +predilection. These people have, during the last fifty years, +composed a spurious kind of Gypsy literature: we call it spurious +because it did not originate with the Gitanos, who are, moreover, +utterly unacquainted with it, and to whom it would be for the most +part unintelligible. It is somewhat difficult to conceive the +reason which induced these individuals to attempt such +compositions; the only probable one seems to have been a desire to +display to each other their skill in the language of their +predilection. It is right, however, to observe, that most of these +compositions, with respect to language, are highly absurd, the +greatest liberties being taken with the words picked up amongst the +Gitanos, of the true meaning of which the writers, in many +instances, seem to have been entirely ignorant. From what we can +learn, the composers of this literature flourished chiefly at the +commencement of the present century: Father Manso is said to have +been one of the last. Many of their compositions, which are both +in poetry and prose, exist in manuscript in a compilation made by +one Luis Lobo. It has never been our fortune to see this +compilation, which, indeed, we scarcely regret, as a rather curious +circumstance has afforded us a perfect knowledge of its contents. + +Whilst at Seville, chance made us acquainted with a highly +extraordinary individual, a tall, bony, meagre figure, in a +tattered Andalusian hat, ragged capote, and still more ragged +pantaloons, and seemingly between forty and fifty years of age. +The only appellation to which he answered was Manuel. His +occupation, at the time we knew him, was selling tickets for the +lottery, by which he obtained a miserable livelihood in Seville and +the neighbouring villages. His appearance was altogether wild and +uncouth, and there was an insane expression in his eye. Observing +us one day in conversation with a Gitana, he addressed us, and we +soon found that the sound of the Gitano language had struck a chord +which vibrated through the depths of his soul. His history was +remarkable; in his early youth a manuscript copy of the compilation +of Luis Lobo had fallen into his hands. This book had so taken +hold of his imagination, that he studied it night and day until he +had planted it in his memory from beginning to end; but in so +doing, his brain, like that of the hero of Cervantes, had become +dry and heated, so that he was unfitted for any serious or useful +occupation. After the death of his parents he wandered about the +streets in great distress, until at last he fell into the hands of +certain toreros, or bull-fighters, who kept him about them, in +order that he might repeat to them the songs of the AFICION. They +subsequently carried him to Madrid, where, however, they soon +deserted him after he had experienced much brutality from their +hands. He returned to Seville, and soon became the inmate of a +madhouse, where he continued several years. Having partially +recovered from his malady, he was liberated, and wandered about as +before. During the cholera at Seville, when nearly twenty thousand +human beings perished, he was appointed conductor of one of the +death-carts, which went through the streets for the purpose of +picking up the dead bodies. His perfect inoffensiveness eventually +procured him friends, and he obtained the situation of vendor of +lottery tickets. He frequently visited us, and would then recite +long passages from the work of Lobo. He was wont to say that he +was the only one in Seville, at the present day, acquainted with +the language of the Aficion; for though there were many pretenders, +their knowledge was confined to a few words. + +From the recitation of this individual, we wrote down the +Brijindope, or Deluge, and the poem on the plague which broke out +in Seville in the year 1800. These and some songs of less +consequence, constitute the poetical part of the compilation in +question; the rest, which is in prose, consisting chiefly of +translations from the Spanish, of proverbs and religious pieces. + + +BRIJINDOPE. - THE DELUGE (65) +A POEM: IN TWO PARTS +PART THE FIRST + + +I with fear and terror quake, +Whilst the pen to write I take; +I will utter many a pray'r +To the heaven's Regent fair, +That she deign to succour me, +And I'll humbly bend my knee; +For but poorly do I know +With my subject on to go; +Therefore is my wisest plan +Not to trust in strength of man. +I my heavy sins bewail, +Whilst I view the wo and wail +Handed down so solemnly +In the book of times gone by. +Onward, onward, now I'll move +In the name of Christ above, +And his Mother true and dear, +She who loves the wretch to cheer. +All I know, and all I've heard +I will state - how God appear'd +And to Noah thus did cry: +Weary with the world am I; +Let an ark by thee be built, +For the world is lost in guilt; +And when thou hast built it well, +Loud proclaim what now I tell: +Straight repent ye, for your Lord +In his hand doth hold a sword. +And good Noah thus did call: +Straight repent ye one and all, +For the world with grief I see +Lost in vileness utterly. +God's own mandate I but do, +He hath sent me unto you. +Laugh'd the world to bitter scorn, +I his cruel sufferings mourn; +Brawny youths with furious air +Drag the Patriarch by the hair; +Lewdness governs every one: +Leaves her convent now the nun, +And the monk abroad I see +Practising iniquity. +Now I'll tell how God, intent +To avenge, a vapour sent, +With full many a dreadful sign - +Mighty, mighty fear is mine: +As I hear the thunders roll, +Seems to die my very soul; +As I see the world o'erspread +All with darkness thick and dread; +I the pen can scarcely ply +For the tears which dim my eye, +And o'ercome with grievous wo, +Fear the task I must forego +I have purposed to perform. - +Hark, I hear upon the storm +Thousand, thousand devils fly, +Who with awful howlings cry: +Now's the time and now's the hour, +We have licence, we have power +To obtain a glorious prey. - +I with horror turn away; +Tumbles house and tumbles wall; +Thousands lose their lives and all, +Voiding curses, screams and groans, +For the beams, the bricks and stones +Bruise and bury all below - +Nor is that the worst, I trow, +For the clouds begin to pour +Floods of water more and more, +Down upon the world with might, +Never pausing day or night. +Now in terrible distress +All to God their cries address, +And his Mother dear adore, - +But the time of grace is o'er, +For the Almighty in the sky +Holds his hand upraised on high. +Now's the time of madden'd rout, +Hideous cry, despairing shout; +Whither, whither shall they fly? +For the danger threat'ningly +Draweth near on every side, +And the earth, that's opening wide, +Swallows thousands in its womb, +Who would 'scape the dreadful doom. +Of dear hope exists no gleam, +Still the water down doth stream; +Ne'er so little a creeping thing +But from out its hold doth spring: +See the mouse, and see its mate +Scour along, nor stop, nor wait; +See the serpent and the snake +For the nearest highlands make; +The tarantula I view, +Emmet small and cricket too, +All unknowing where to fly, +In the stifling waters die. +See the goat and bleating sheep, +See the bull with bellowings deep. +And the rat with squealings shrill, +They have mounted on the hill: +See the stag, and see the doe, +How together fond they go; +Lion, tiger-beast, and pard, +To escape are striving hard: +Followed by her little ones, +See the hare how swift she runs: +Asses, he and she, a pair. +Mute and mule with bray and blare, +And the rabbit and the fox, +Hurry over stones and rocks, +With the grunting hog and horse, +Till at last they stop their course - +On the summit of the hill +All assembled stand they still; +In the second part I'll tell +Unto them what there befell. + + +PART THE SECOND + + +When I last did bid farewell, +I proposed the world to tell, +Higher as the Deluge flow'd, +How the frog and how the toad, +With the lizard and the eft, +All their holes and coverts left, +And assembled on the height; +Soon I ween appeared in sight +All that's wings beneath the sky, +Bat and swallow, wasp and fly, +Gnat and sparrow, and behind +Comes the crow of carrion kind; +Dove and pigeon are descried, +And the raven fiery-eyed, +With the beetle and the crane +Flying on the hurricane: +See they find no resting-place, +For the world's terrestrial space +Is with water cover'd o'er, +Soon they sink to rise no more: +'To our father let us flee!' +Straight the ark-ship openeth he, +And to everything that lives +Kindly he admission gives. +Of all kinds a single pair, +And the members safely there +Of his house he doth embark, +Then at once he shuts the ark; +Everything therein has pass'd, +There he keeps them safe and fast. +O'er the mountain's topmost peak +Now the raging waters break. +Till full twenty days are o'er, +'Midst the elemental roar, +Up and down the ark forlorn, +Like some evil thing is borne: +O what grief it is to see +Swimming on the enormous sea +Human corses pale and white, +More, alas! than I can write: +O what grief, what grief profound, +But to think the world is drown'd: +True a scanty few are left, +All are not of life bereft, +So that, when the Lord ordain, +They may procreate again, +In a world entirely new, +Better people and more true, +To their Maker who shall bow; +And I humbly beg you now, +Ye in modern times who wend, +That your lives ye do amend; +For no wat'ry punishment, +But a heavier shall be sent; +For the blessed saints pretend +That the latter world shall end +To tremendous fire a prey, +And to ashes sink away. +To the Ark I now go back, +Which pursues its dreary track, +Lost and 'wilder'd till the Lord +In his mercy rest accord. +Early of a morning tide +They unclosed a window wide, +Heaven's beacon to descry, +And a gentle dove let fly, +Of the world to seek some trace, +And in two short hours' space +It returns with eyes that glow, +In its beak an olive bough. +With a loud and mighty sound, +They exclaim: 'The world we've found.' +To a mountain nigh they drew, +And when there themselves they view, +Bound they swiftly on the shore, +And their fervent thanks outpour, +Lowly kneeling to their God; +Then their way a couple trod, +Man and woman, hand in hand, +Bent to populate the land, +To the Moorish region fair - +And another two repair +To the country of the Gaul; +In this manner wend they all, +And the seeds of nations lay. +I beseech ye'll credence pay, +For our father, high and sage, +Wrote the tale in sacred page, +As a record to the world, +Record sad of vengeance hurl'd. +I, a low and humble wight, +Beg permission now to write +Unto all that in our land +Tongue Egyptian understand. +May our Virgin Mother mild +Grant to me, her erring child, +Plenteous grace in every way, +And success. Amen I say. + + + +THE PESTILENCE + + + +I'm resolved now to tell +In the speech of Gypsy-land +All the horror that befell +In this city huge and grand. + +In the eighteenth hundred year +In the midst of summertide, +God, with man dissatisfied, +His right hand on high did rear, +With a rigour most severe; +Whence we well might understand +He would strict account demand +Of our lives and actions here. +The dread event to render clear +Now the pen I take in hand. + +At the dread event aghast, +Straight the world reform'd its course; +Yet is sin in greater force, +Now the punishment is past; +For the thought of God is cast +All and utterly aside, +As if death itself had died. +Therefore to the present race +These memorial lines I trace +In old Egypt's tongue of pride. + +As the streets you wander'd through +How you quail'd with fear and dread, +Heaps of dying and of dead +At the leeches' door to view. +To the tavern O how few +To regale on wine repair; +All a sickly aspect wear. +Say what heart such sights could brook - +Wail and woe where'er you look - +Wail and woe and ghastly care. + +Plying fast their rosaries, +See the people pace the street, +And for pardon God entreat +Long and loud with streaming eyes. +And the carts of various size, +Piled with corses, high in air, +To the plain their burden bear. +O what grief it is to me +Not a friar or priest to see +In this city huge and fair. + + + +ON THE LANGUAGE OF THE GITANOS + + + +'I am not very willing that any language should be totally +extinguished; the similitude and derivation of languages afford the +most indubitable proof of the traduction of nations, and the +genealogy of mankind; they add often physical certainty to +historical evidence of ancient migrations, and of the revolutions +of ages which left no written monuments behind them.' - JOHNSON. + + +THE Gypsy dialect of Spain is at present very much shattered and +broken, being rather the fragments of the language which the +Gypsies brought with them from the remote regions of the East than +the language itself: it enables, however, in its actual state, the +Gitanos to hold conversation amongst themselves, the import of +which is quite dark and mysterious to those who are not of their +race, or by some means have become acquainted with their +vocabulary. The relics of this tongue, singularly curious in +themselves, must be ever particularly interesting to the +philological antiquarian, inasmuch as they enable him to arrive at +a satisfactory conclusion respecting the origin of the Gypsy race. +During the later part of the last century, the curiosity of some +learned individuals, particularly Grellmann, Richardson, and +Marsden, induced them to collect many words of the Romanian +language, as spoken in Germany, Hungary, and England, which, upon +analysing, they discovered to be in general either pure Sanscrit or +Hindustani words, or modifications thereof; these investigations +have been continued to the present time by men of equal curiosity +and no less erudition, the result of which has been the +establishment of the fact, that the Gypsies of those countries are +the descendants of a tribe of Hindus who for some particular reason +had abandoned their native country. In England, of late, the +Gypsies have excited particular attention; but a desire far more +noble and laudable than mere antiquarian curiosity has given rise +to it, namely, the desire of propagating the glory of Christ +amongst those who know Him not, and of saving souls from the jaws +of the infernal wolf. It is, however, with the Gypsies of Spain, +and not with those of England and other countries, that we are now +occupied, and we shall merely mention the latter so far as they may +serve to elucidate the case of the Gitanos, their brethren by blood +and language. Spain for many centuries has been the country of +error; she has mistaken stern and savage tyranny for rational +government; base, low, and grovelling superstition for clear, +bright, and soul-ennobling religion; sordid cheating she has +considered as the path to riches; vexatious persecution as the path +to power; and the consequence has been, that she is now poor and +powerless, a pagan amongst the pagans, with a dozen kings, and with +none. Can we be surprised, therefore, that, mistaken in policy, +religion, and moral conduct, she should have fallen into error on +points so naturally dark and mysterious as the history and origin +of those remarkable people whom for the last four hundred years she +has supported under the name of Gitanos? The idea entertained at +the present day in Spain respecting this race is, that they are the +descendants of the Moriscos who remained in Spain, wandering about +amongst the mountains and wildernesses, after the expulsion of the +great body of the nation from the country in the time of Philip the +Third, and that they form a distinct body, entirely unconnected +with the wandering tribes known in other countries by the names of +Bohemians, Gypsies, etc. This, like all unfounded opinions, of +course originated in ignorance, which is always ready to have +recourse to conjecture and guesswork, in preference to travelling +through the long, mountainous, and stony road of patient +investigation; it is, however, an error far more absurd and more +destitute of tenable grounds than the ancient belief that the +Gitanos were Egyptians, which they themselves have always professed +to be, and which the original written documents which they brought +with them on their first arrival in Western Europe, and which bore +the signature of the king of Bohemia, expressly stated them to be. +The only clue to arrive at any certainty respecting their origin, +is the language which they still speak amongst themselves; but +before we can avail ourselves of the evidence of this language, it +will be necessary to make a few remarks respecting the principal +languages and dialects of that immense tract of country, peopled by +at least eighty millions of human beings, generally known by the +name of Hindustan, two Persian words tantamount to the land of Ind, +or, the land watered by the river Indus. + +The most celebrated of these languages is the Sanskrida, or, as it +is known in Europe, the Sanscrit, which is the language of religion +of all those nations amongst whom the faith of Brahma has been +adopted; but though the language of religion, by which we mean the +tongue in which the religious books of the Brahmanic sect were +originally written and are still preserved, it has long since +ceased to be a spoken language; indeed, history is silent as to any +period when it was a language in common use amongst any of the +various tribes of the Hindus; its knowledge, as far as reading and +writing it went, having been entirely confined to the priests of +Brahma, or Brahmans, until within the last half-century, when the +British, having subjugated the whole of Hindustan, caused it to be +openly taught in the colleges which they established for the +instruction of their youth in the languages of the country. Though +sufficiently difficult to acquire, principally on account of its +prodigious richness in synonyms, it is no longer a sealed language, +- its laws, structure, and vocabulary being sufficiently well known +by means of numerous elementary works, adapted to facilitate its +study. It has been considered by famous philologists as the mother +not only of all the languages of Asia, but of all others in the +world. So wild and preposterous an idea, however, only serves to +prove that a devotion to philology, whose principal object should +be the expansion of the mind by the various treasures of learning +and wisdom which it can unlock, sometimes only tends to its +bewilderment, by causing it to embrace shadows for reality. The +most that can be allowed, in reason, to the Sanscrit is that it is +the mother of a certain class or family of languages, for example, +those spoken in Hindustan, with which most of the European, whether +of the Sclavonian, Gothic, or Celtic stock, have some connection. +True it is that in this case we know not how to dispose of the +ancient Zend, the mother of the modern Persian, the language in +which were written those writings generally attributed to +Zerduscht, or Zoroaster, whose affinity to the said tongues is as +easily established as that of the Sanscrit, and which, in respect +to antiquity, may well dispute the palm with its Indian rival. +Avoiding, however, the discussion of this point, we shall content +ourselves with observing, that closely connected with the Sanscrit, +if not derived from it, are the Bengali, the high Hindustani, or +grand popular language of Hindustan, generally used by the learned +in their intercourse and writings, the languages of Multan, +Guzerat, and other provinces, without mentioning the mixed dialect +called Mongolian Hindustani, a corrupt jargon of Persian, Turkish, +Arabic, and Hindu words, first used by the Mongols, after the +conquest, in their intercourse with the natives. Many of the +principal languages of Asia are totally unconnected with the +Sanscrit, both in words and grammatical structure; these are mostly +of the great Tartar family, at the head of which there is good +reason for placing the Chinese and Tibetian. + +Bearing the same analogy to the Sanscrit tongue as the Indian +dialects specified above, we find the Rommany, or speech of the +Roma, or Zincali, as they style themselves, known in England and +Spain as Gypsies and Gitanos. This speech, wherever it is spoken, +is, in all principal points, one and the same, though more or less +corrupted by foreign words, picked up in the various countries to +which those who use it have penetrated. One remarkable feature +must not be passed over without notice, namely, the very +considerable number of Sclavonic words, which are to be found +embedded within it, whether it be spoken in Spain or Germany, in +England or Italy; from which circumstance we are led to the +conclusion, that these people, in their way from the East, +travelled in one large compact body, and that their route lay +through some region where the Sclavonian language, or a dialect +thereof, was spoken. This region I have no hesitation in asserting +to have been Bulgaria, where they probably tarried for a +considerable period, as nomad herdsmen, and where numbers of them +are still to be found at the present day. Besides the many +Sclavonian words in the Gypsy tongue, another curious feature +attracts the attention of the philologist - an equal or still +greater quantity of terms from the modern Greek; indeed, we have +full warranty for assuming that at one period the Spanish section, +if not the rest of the Gypsy nation, understood the Greek language +well, and that, besides their own Indian dialect, they occasionally +used it for considerably upwards of a century subsequent to their +arrival, as amongst the Gitanos there were individuals to whom it +was intelligible so late as the year 1540. + +Where this knowledge was obtained it is difficult to say, - perhaps +in Bulgaria, where two-thirds of the population profess the Greek +religion, or rather in Romania, where the Romaic is generally +understood; that they DID understand the Romaic in 1540, we gather +from a very remarkable work, called EL ESTUDIOSO CORTESANO, written +by Lorenzo Palmireno: this learned and highly extraordinary +individual was by birth a Valencian, and died about 1580; he was +professor at various universities - of rhetoric at Valencia, of +Greek at Zaragossa, where he gave lectures, in which he explained +the verses of Homer; he was a proficient in Greek, ancient and +modern, and it should be observed that, in the passage which we are +about to cite, he means himself by the learned individual who held +conversation with the Gitanos. (66) EL ESTUDIOSO CORTESANO was +reprinted at Alcala in 1587, from which edition we now copy. + +'Who are the Gitanos? I answer; these vile people first began to +show themselves in Germany, in the year 1417, where they call them +Tartars or Gentiles; in Italy they are termed Ciani. They pretend +that they come from Lower Egypt, and that they wander about as a +penance, and to prove this, they show letters from the king of +Poland. They lie, however, for they do not lead the life of +penitents, but of dogs and thieves. A learned person, in the year +1540, prevailed with them, by dint of much persuasion, to show him +the king's letter, and he gathered from it that the time of their +penance was already expired; he spoke to them in the Egyptian +tongue; they said, however, as it was a long time since their +departure from Egypt, they did not understand it; he then spoke to +them in the vulgar Greek, such as is used at present in the Morea +and Archipelago; SOME UNDERSTOOD IT, others did not; so that as all +did not understand it, we may conclude that the language which they +use is a feigned one, (67) got up by thieves for the purpose of +concealing their robberies, like the jargon of blind beggars.' + +Still more abundant, however, than the mixture of Greek, still more +abundant than the mixture of Sclavonian, is the alloy in the Gypsy +language, wherever spoken, of modern Persian words, which +circumstance will compel us to offer a few remarks on the share +which the Persian has had in the formation of the dialects of +India, as at present spoken. + +The modern Persian, as has been already observed, is a daughter of +the ancient Zend, and, as such, is entitled to claim affinity with +the Sanscrit, and its dialects. With this language none in the +world would be able to vie in simplicity and beauty, had not the +Persians, in adopting the religion of Mahomet, unfortunately +introduces into their speech an infinity of words of the rude +coarse language used by the barbaric Arab tribes, the immediate +followers of the warlike Prophet. With the rise of Islam the +modern Persian was doomed to be carried into India. This country, +from the time of Alexander, had enjoyed repose from external +aggression, had been ruled by its native princes, and been +permitted by Providence to exercise, without control or reproof, +the degrading superstitions, and the unnatural and bloody rites of +a religion at the formation of which the fiends of cruelty and lust +seem to have presided; but reckoning was now about to be demanded +of the accursed ministers of this system for the pain, torture, and +misery which they had been instrumental in inflicting on their +countrymen for the gratification of their avarice, filthy passions, +and pride; the new Mahometans were at hand - Arab, Persian, and +Afghan, with the glittering scimitar upraised, full of zeal for the +glory and adoration of the one high God, and the relentless +persecutors of the idol-worshippers. Already, in the four hundred +and twenty-sixth year of the Hegeira, we read of the destruction of +the great Butkhan, or image-house of Sumnaut, by the armies of the +far-conquering Mahmoud, when the dissevered heads of the Brahmans +rolled down the steps of the gigantic and Babel-like temple of the +great image - + +[Text which cannot be reproduced - Arabic?] + +(This image grim, whose name was Laut, +Bold Mahmoud found when he took Sumnaut.) + +It is not our intention to follow the conquests of the Mahometans +from the days of Walid and Mahmoud to those of Timour and Nadir; +sufficient to observe, that the greatest part of India was subdued, +new monarchies established, and the old religion, though far too +powerful and widely spread to be extirpated, was to a considerable +extent abashed and humbled before the bright rising sun of Islam. +The Persian language, which the conquerors (68) of whatever +denomination introduced with them to Hindustan, and which their +descendants at the present day still retain, though not lords of +the ascendant, speedily became widely extended in these regions, +where it had previously been unknown. As the language of the +court, it was of course studied and acquired by all those natives +whose wealth, rank, and influence necessarily brought them into +connection with the ruling powers; and as the language of the camp, +it was carried into every part of the country where the duties of +the soldiery sooner or later conducted them; the result of which +relations between the conquerors and conquered was the adoption +into the popular dialects of India of an infinity of modern Persian +words, not merely those of science, such as it exists in the East, +and of luxury and refinement, but even those which serve to express +many of the most common objects, necessities, and ideas, so that at +the present day a knowledge of the Persian is essential for the +thorough understanding of the principal dialects of Hindustan, on +which account, as well as for the assistance which it affords in +communication with the Mahometans, it is cultivated with peculiar +care by the present possessors of the land. + +No surprise, therefore, can be entertained that the speech of the +Gitanos in general, who, in all probability, departed from +Hindustan long subsequent to the first Mahometan invasions, +abounds, like other Indian dialects, with words either purely +Persian, or slightly modified to accommodate them to the genius of +the language. Whether the Rommany originally constituted part of +the natives of Multan or Guzerat, and abandoned their native land +to escape from the torch and sword of Tamerlane and his Mongols, as +Grellmann and others have supposed, or whether, as is much more +probable, they were a thievish caste, like some others still to be +found in Hindustan, who fled westward, either from the vengeance of +justice, or in pursuit of plunder, their speaking Persian is alike +satisfactorily accounted for. With the view of exhibiting how +closely their language is connected with the Sanscrit and Persian, +we subjoin the first ten numerals in the three tongues, those of +the Gypsy according to the Hungarian dialect. (69) + + + Gypsy. Persian. Sanscrit. (70) + +1 Jek Ek Ega +2 Dui Du Dvaya +3 Trin Se Treya +4 Schtar Chehar Tschatvar +5 Pansch Pansch Pantscha +6 Tschov Schesche Schasda +7 Efta Heft Sapta +8 Ochto Hescht Aschta +9 Enija Nu Nava +10 Dosch De Dascha + + +It would be easy for us to adduce a thousand instances, as striking +as the above, of the affinity of the Gypsy tongue to the Persian, +Sanscrit, and the Indian dialects, but we have not space for +further observation on a point which long since has been +sufficiently discussed by others endowed with abler pens than our +own; but having made these preliminary remarks, which we deemed +necessary for the elucidation of the subject, we now hasten to +speak of the Gitano language as used in Spain, and to determine, by +its evidence (and we again repeat, that the language is the only +criterion by which the question can be determined), how far the +Gitanos of Spain are entitled to claim connection with the tribes +who, under the names of Zingani, etc., are to be found in various +parts of Europe, following, in general, a life of wandering +adventure, and practising the same kind of thievish arts which +enable those in Spain to obtain a livelihood at the expense of the +more honest and industrious of the community. + +The Gitanos of Spain, as already stated, are generally believed to +be the descendants of the Moriscos, and have been asserted to be +such in printed books. (71) Now they are known to speak a language +or jargon amongst themselves which the other natives of Spain do +not understand; of course, then, supposing them to be of Morisco +origin, the words of this tongue or jargon, which are not Spanish, +are the relics of the Arabic or Moorish tongue once spoken in +Spain, which they have inherited from their Moorish ancestors. Now +it is well known, that the Moorish of Spain was the same tongue as +that spoken at present by the Moors of Barbary, from which country +Spain was invaded by the Arabs, and to which they again retired +when unable to maintain their ground against the armies of the +Christians. We will, therefore, collate the numerals of the +Spanish Gitano with those of the Moorish tongue, preceding both +with those of the Hungarian Gypsy, of which we have already made +use, for the purpose of making clear the affinity of that language +to the Sanscrit and Persian. By this collation we shall at once +perceive whether the Gitano of Spain bears most resemblance to the +Arabic, or the Rommany of other lands. + + + Hungarian Spanish Moorish + Gypsy. Gitano. Arabic. + +1 Jek Yeque Wahud +2 Dui Dui Snain +3 Trin Trin Slatza +4 Schtar Estar Arba +5 Pansch Pansche Khamsa +6 Tschov Job. Zoi Seta +7 Efta Hefta Sebea +8 Ochto Otor Sminia +9 Enija Esnia (Nu. PERS.) Tussa +10 Dosch Deque Aschra + +We believe the above specimens will go very far to change the +opinion of those who have imbibed the idea that the Gitanos of +Spain are the descendants of Moors, and are of an origin different +from that of the wandering tribes of Rommany in other parts of the +world, the specimens of the two dialects of the Gypsy, as far as +they go, being so strikingly similar, as to leave no doubt of their +original identity, whilst, on the contrary, with the Moorish +neither the one nor the other exhibits the slightest point of +similarity or connection. But with these specimens we shall not +content ourselves, but proceed to give the names of the most common +things and objects in the Hungarian and Spanish Gitano, +collaterally, with their equivalents in the Moorish Arabic; from +which it will appear that whilst the former are one and the same +language, they are in every respect at variance with the latter. +When we consider that the Persian has adopted so many words and +phrases from the Arabic, we are at first disposed to wonder that a +considerable portion of these words are not to be discovered in +every dialect of the Gypsy tongue, since the Persian has lent it so +much of its vocabulary. Yet such is by no means the case, as it is +very uncommon, in any one of these dialects, to discover words +derived from the Arabic. Perhaps, however, the following +consideration will help to solve this point. The Gitanos, even +before they left India, were probably much the same rude, thievish, +and ignorant people as they are at the present day. Now the words +adopted by the Persian from the Arabic, and which it subsequently +introduced into the dialects of India, are sounds representing +objects and ideas with which such a people as the Gitanos could +necessarily be but scantily acquainted, a people whose circle of +ideas only embraces physical objects, and who never commune with +their own minds, nor exert them but in devising low and vulgar +schemes of pillage and deceit. Whatever is visible and common is +seldom or never represented by the Persians, even in their books, +by the help of Arabic words: the sun and stars, the sea and river, +the earth, its trees, its fruits, its flowers, and all that it +produces and supports, are seldom named by them by other terms than +those which their own language is capable of affording; but in +expressing the abstract thoughts of their minds, and they are a +people who think much and well, they borrow largely from the +language of their religion - the Arabic. We therefore, perhaps, +ought not to be surprised that in the scanty phraseology of the +Gitanos, amongst so much Persian, we find so little that is Arabic; +had their pursuits been less vile, their desires less animal, and +their thoughts less circumscribed, it would probably have been +otherwise; but from time immemorial they have shown themselves a +nation of petty thieves, horse-traffickers, and the like, without a +thought of the morrow, being content to provide against the evil of +the passing day. + +The following is a comparison of words in the three languages:- + + + Hungarian Spanish Moorish + Gypsy.(72) Gitano. Arabic. + +Bone Cokalos Cocal Adorn +City Forjus Foros Beled +Day Dives Chibes Youm +Drink (to) Piava Piyar Yeschrab +Ear Kan Can Oothin +Eye Jakh Aquia Ein +Feather Por Porumia Risch +Fire Vag Yaque Afia +Fish Maczo Macho Hutz +Foot Pir Piro, pindro Rjil +Gold Sonkai Sonacai Dahab +Great Baro Baro Quibir +Hair Bala Bal Schar +He, pron. Wow O Hu +Head Tschero Jero Ras +House Ker Quer Dar +Husband Rom Ron Zooje +Lightning Molnija Maluno Brak +Love (to) Camaba Camelar Yehib +Man Manusch Manu Rajil +Milk Tud Chuti Helib +Mountain Bar Bur Djibil +Mouth Mui Mui Fum +Name Nao Nao Ism +Night Rat Rachi Lila +Nose Nakh Naqui Munghar +Old Puro Puro Shaive +Red Lal Lalo Hamr +Salt Lon Lon Mela +Sing Gjuwawa Gilyabar Iganni +Sun Cam Can Schems +Thief Tschor Choro Haram +Thou Tu Tucue Antsin +Tongue Tschib Chipe Lsan +Tooth Dant Dani Sinn +Tree Karscht Caste Schizara +Water Pani Pani Ma +Wind Barbar Barban Ruhk + + +We shall offer no further observations respecting the affinity of +the Spanish Gitano to the other dialects, as we conceive we have +already afforded sufficient proof of its original identity with +them, and consequently shaken to the ground the absurd opinion that +the Gitanos of Spain are the descendants of the Arabs and Moriscos. +We shall now conclude with a few remarks on the present state of +the Gitano language in Spain, where, perhaps, within the course of +a few years, it will have perished, without leaving a vestige of +its having once existed; and where, perhaps, the singular people +who speak it are likewise doomed to disappear, becoming sooner or +later engulfed and absorbed in the great body of the nation, +amongst whom they have so long existed a separate and peculiar +class. + +Though the words or a part of the words of the original tongue +still remain, preserved by memory amongst the Gitanos, its +grammatical peculiarities have disappeared, the entire language +having been modified and subjected to the rules of Spanish grammar, +with which it now coincides in syntax, in the conjugation of verbs, +and in the declension of its nouns. Were it possible or necessary +to collect all the relics of this speech, they would probably +amount to four or five thousand words; but to effect such an +achievement, it would be necessary to hold close and long +intercourse with almost every Gitano in Spain, and to extract, by +various means, the peculiar information which he might be capable +of affording; for it is necessary to state here, that though such +an amount of words may still exist amongst the Gitanos in general, +no single individual of their sect is in possession of one-third +part thereof, nor indeed, we may add, those of any single city or +province of Spain; nevertheless all are in possession, more or +less, of the language, so that, though of different provinces, they +are enabled to understand each other tolerably well, when +discoursing in this their characteristic speech. Those who travel +most are of course best versed in it, as, independent of the words +of their own village or town, they acquire others by intermingling +with their race in various places. Perhaps there is no part of +Spain where it is spoken better than in Madrid, which is easily +accounted for by the fact, that Madrid, as the capital, has always +been the point of union of the Gitanos, from all those provinces of +Spain where they are to be found. It is least of all preserved in +Seville, notwithstanding that its Gitano population is very +considerable, consisting, however, almost entirely of natives of +the place. As may well be supposed, it is in all places best +preserved amongst the old people, their children being +comparatively ignorant of it, as perhaps they themselves are in +comparison with their own parents. We are persuaded that the +Gitano language of Spain is nearly at its last stage of existence, +which persuasion has been our main instigator to the present +attempt to collect its scanty remains, and by the assistance of the +press, rescue it in some degree from destruction. It will not be +amiss to state here, that it is only by listening attentively to +the speech of the Gitanos, whilst discoursing amongst themselves, +that an acquaintance with their dialect can be formed, and by +seizing upon all unknown words as they fall in succession from +their lips. Nothing can be more useless and hopeless than the +attempt to obtain possession of their vocabulary by inquiring of +them how particular objects and ideas are styled; for with the +exception of the names of the most common things, they are totally +incapable, as a Spanish writer has observed, of yielding the +required information, owing to their great ignorance, the shortness +of their memories, or rather the state of bewilderment to which +their minds are brought by any question which tends to bring their +reasoning faculties into action, though not unfrequently the very +words which have been in vain required of them will, a minute +subsequently, proceed inadvertently from their mouths. + +We now take leave of their language. When wishing to praise the +proficiency of any individual in their tongue, they are in the +habit of saying, 'He understands the seven jargons.' In the Gospel +which we have printed in this language, and in the dictionary which +we have compiled, we have endeavoured, to the utmost of our +ability, to deserve that compliment; and at all times it will +afford us sincere and heartfelt pleasure to be informed that any +Gitano, capable of appreciating the said little works, has +observed, whilst reading them or hearing them read: It is clear +that the writer of these books understood + + +THE SEVEN JARGONS. + + + +ON ROBBER LANGUAGE; OR, AS IT IS CALLED IN SPAIN, GERMANIA + + +'So I went with them to a music booth, where they made me almost +drunk with gin, and began to talk their FLASH LANGUAGE, which I did +not understand.' - Narrative of the Exploits of Henry Simms, +executed at Tyburn, 1746. + +'Hablaronse los dos en Germania, de lo qual resulto darme un +abraco, y ofrecerseme.' - QUEVEDO. Vida dal gran Tacano. + + +HAVING in the preceding article endeavoured to afford all necessary +information concerning the Rommany, or language used by the Gypsies +amongst themselves, we now propose to turn our attention to a +subject of no less interest, but which has hitherto never been +treated in a manner calculated to lead to any satisfactory result +or conclusion; on the contrary, though philosophic minds have been +engaged in its consideration, and learned pens have not disdained +to occupy themselves with its details, it still remains a singular +proof of the errors into which the most acute and laborious writers +are apt to fall, when they take upon themselves the task of writing +on matters which cannot be studied in the closet, and on which no +information can be received by mixing in the society of the wise, +the lettered, and the respectable, but which must be investigated +in the fields, and on the borders of the highways, in prisons, and +amongst the dregs of society. Had the latter system been pursued +in the matter now before us, much clearer, more rational, and more +just ideas would long since have been entertained respecting the +Germania, or language of thieves. + +In most countries of Europe there exists, amongst those who obtain +their existence by the breach of the law, and by preying upon the +fruits of the labours of the quiet and orderly portion of society, +a particular jargon or dialect, in which the former discuss their +schemes and plans of plunder, without being in general understood +by those to whom they are obnoxious. The name of this jargon +varies with the country in which it is spoken. In Spain it is +called 'Germania'; in France, 'Argot'; in Germany, 'Rothwelsch,' or +Red Italian; in Italy, 'Gergo'; whilst in England it is known by +many names; for example, 'cant, slang, thieves' Latin,' etc. The +most remarkable circumstance connected with the history of this +jargon is, that in all the countries in which it is spoken, it has +invariably, by the authors who have treated of it, and who are +numerous, been confounded with the Gypsy language, and asserted to +be the speech of those wanderers who have so long infested Europe +under the name of Gitanos, etc. How far this belief is founded in +justice we shall now endeavour to show, with the premise that +whatever we advance is derived, not from the assertions or opinions +of others, but from our own observation; the point in question +being one which no person is capable of solving, save him who has +mixed with Gitanos and thieves, - not with the former merely or the +latter, but with both. + +We have already stated what is the Rommany or language of the +Gypsies. We have proved that when properly spoken it is to all +intents and purposes entitled to the appellation of a language, and +that wherever it exists it is virtually the same; that its origin +is illustrious, it being a daughter of the Sanscrit, and in +consequence in close connection with some of the most celebrated +languages of the East, although it at present is only used by the +most unfortunate and degraded of beings, wanderers without home and +almost without country, as wherever they are found they are +considered in the light of foreigners and interlopers. We shall +now state what the language of thieves is, as it is generally +spoken in Europe; after which we shall proceed to analyse it +according to the various countries in which it is used. + +The dialect used for their own peculiar purposes amongst thieves is +by no means entitled to the appellation of a language, but in every +sense to that of a jargon or gibberish, it being for the most part +composed of words of the native language of those who use it, +according to the particular country, though invariably in a meaning +differing more or less from the usual and received one, and for the +most part in a metaphorical sense. Metaphor and allegory, indeed, +seem to form the nucleus of this speech, notwithstanding that other +elements are to be distinguished; for it is certain that in every +country where it is spoken, it contains many words differing from +the language of that country, and which may either be traced to +foreign tongues, or are of an origin at which, in many instances, +it is impossible to arrive. That which is most calculated to +strike the philosophic mind when considering this dialect, is +doubtless the fact of its being formed everywhere upon the same +principle - that of metaphor, in which point all the branches +agree, though in others they differ as much from each other as the +languages on which they are founded; for example, as the English +and German from the Spanish and Italian. This circumstance +naturally leads to the conclusion that the robber language has not +arisen fortuitously in the various countries where it is at present +spoken, but that its origin is one and the same, it being probably +invented by the outlaws of one particular country; by individuals +of which it was, in course of time, carried to others, where its +principles, if not its words, were adopted; for upon no other +supposition can we account for its general metaphorical character +in regions various and distant. It is, of course, impossible to +state with certainty the country in which this jargon first arose, +yet there is cogent reason for supposing that it may have been +Italy. The Germans call it Rothwelsch, which signifies 'Red +Italian,' a name which appears to point out Italy as its +birthplace; and which, though by no means of sufficient importance +to determine the question, is strongly corroborative of the +supposition, when coupled with the following fact. We have already +intimated, that wherever it is spoken, this speech, though composed +for the most part of words of the language of the particular +country, applied in a metaphorical sense, exhibits a considerable +sprinkling of foreign words; now of these words no slight number +are Italian or bastard Latin, whether in Germany, whether in Spain, +or in other countries more or less remote from Italy. When we +consider the ignorance of thieves in general, their total want of +education, the slight knowledge which they possess even of their +mother tongue, it is hardly reasonable to suppose that in any +country they were ever capable of having recourse to foreign +languages, for the purpose of enriching any peculiar vocabulary or +phraseology which they might deem convenient to use among +themselves; nevertheless, by associating with foreign thieves, who +had either left their native country for their crimes, or from a +hope of reaping a rich harvest of plunder in other lands, it would +be easy for them to adopt a considerable number of words belonging +to the languages of their foreign associates, from whom perhaps +they derived an increase of knowledge in thievish arts of every +description. At the commencement of the fifteenth century no +nation in Europe was at all calculated to vie with the Italian in +arts of any kind, whether those whose tendency was the benefit or +improvement of society, or those the practice of which serves to +injure and undermine it. The artists and artisans of Italy were to +be found in all the countries of Europe, from Madrid to Moscow, and +so were its charlatans, its jugglers, and multitudes of its +children, who lived by fraud and cunning. Therefore, when a +comprehensive view of the subject is taken, there appears to be +little improbability in supposing, that not only were the Italians +the originators of the metaphorical robber jargon, which has been +termed 'Red Italian,' but that they were mainly instrumental in +causing it to be adopted by the thievish race in various countries +of Europe. + +It is here, however, necessary to state, that in the robber jargon +of Europe, elements of another language are to be discovered, and +perhaps in greater number than the Italian words. The language +which we allude to is the Rommany; this language has been, in +general, confounded with the vocabulary used among thieves, which, +however, is a gross error, so gross, indeed, that it is almost +impossible to conceive the manner in which it originated: the +speech of the Gypsies being a genuine language of Oriental origin, +and the former little more than a phraseology of convenience, +founded upon particular European tongues. It will be sufficient +here to remark, that the Gypsies do not understand the jargon of +the thieves, whilst the latter, with perhaps a few exceptions, are +ignorant of the language of the former. Certain words, however, of +the Rommany have found admission into the said jargon, which may be +accounted for by the supposition that the Gypsies, being themselves +by birth, education, and profession, thieves of the first water, +have, on various occasions, formed alliances with the outlaws of +the various countries in which they are at present to be found, +which association may have produced the result above alluded to; +but it will be as well here to state, that in no country of Europe +have the Gypsies forsaken or forgotten their native tongue, and in +its stead adopted the 'Germania,' 'Red Italian,' or robber jargon, +although in some they preserve their native language in a state of +less purity than in others. We are induced to make this statement +from an assertion of the celebrated Lorenzo Hervas, who, in the +third volume of his CATALOGO DE LAS LENGUAS, trat. 3, cap. vi., p. +311, expresses himself to the following effect:- 'The proper +language of the Gitanos neither is nor can be found amongst those +who scattered themselves through the western kingdoms of Europe, +but only amongst those who remained in the eastern, where they are +still to be found. The former were notably divided and disunited, +receiving into their body a great number of European outlaws, on +which account the language in question was easily adulterated and +soon perished. In Spain, and also in Italy, the Gitanos have +totally forgotten and lost their native language; yet still wishing +to converse with each other in a language unknown to the Spaniards +and Italians, they have invented some words, and have transformed +many others by changing the signification which properly belongs to +them in Spanish and Italian.' In proof of which assertion he then +exhibits a small number of words of the 'Red Italian,' or +allegorical tongue of the thieves of Italy. + +It is much to be lamented that a man like Hervas, so learned, of +such knowledge, and upon the whole well-earned celebrity, should +have helped to propagate three such flagrant errors as are +contained in the passages above quoted: 1st. That the Gypsy +language, within a very short period after the arrival of those who +spoke it in the western kingdoms of Europe, became corrupted, and +perished by the admission of outlaws into the Gypsy fraternity. +2ndly. That the Gypsies, in order to supply the loss of their +native tongue, invented some words, and modified others, from the +Spanish and Italian. 3rdly. That the Gypsies of the present day +in Spain and Italy speak the allegorical robber dialect. +Concerning the first assertion, namely, that the Gypsies of the +west lost their language shortly after their arrival, by mixing +with the outlaws of those parts, we believe that its erroneousness +will be sufficiently established by the publication of the present +volume, which contains a dictionary of the Spanish Gitano, which we +have proved to be the same language in most points as that spoken +by the eastern tribes. There can be no doubt that the Gypsies have +at various times formed alliances with the robbers of particular +countries, but that they ever received them in considerable numbers +into their fraternity, as Hervas has stated, so as to become +confounded with them, the evidence of our eyesight precludes the +possibility of believing. If such were the fact, why do the +Italian and Spanish Gypsies of the present day still present +themselves as a distinct race, differing from the other inhabitants +of the west of Europe in feature, colour, and constitution? Why +are they, in whatever situation and under whatever circumstances, +to be distinguished, like Jews, from the other children of the +Creator? But it is scarcely necessary to ask such a question, or +indeed to state that the Gypsies of Spain and Italy have kept +themselves as much apart as, or at least have as little mingled +their blood with the Spaniards and Italians as their brethren in +Hungaria and Transylvania with the inhabitants of those countries, +on which account they still strikingly resemble them in manners, +customs, and appearance. The most extraordinary assertion of +Hervas is perhaps his second, namely, that the Gypsies have +invented particular words to supply the place of others which they +had lost. The absurdity of this supposition nearly induces us to +believe that Hervas, who has written so much and so laboriously on +language, was totally ignorant of the philosophy of his subject. +There can be no doubt, as we have before admitted, that in the +robber jargon, whether spoken in Spain, Italy, or England, there +are many words at whose etymology it is very difficult to arrive; +yet such a fact is no excuse for the adoption of the opinion that +these words are of pure invention. A knowledge of the Rommany +proves satisfactorily that many have been borrowed from that +language, whilst many others may be traced to foreign tongues, +especially the Latin and Italian. Perhaps one of the strongest +grounds for concluding that the origin of language was divine is +the fact that no instance can be adduced of the invention, we will +not say of a language, but even of a single word that is in use in +society of any kind. Although new dialects are continually being +formed, it is only by a system of modification, by which roots +almost coeval with time itself are continually being reproduced +under a fresh appearance, and under new circumstances. The third +assertion of Hervas, as to the Gitanos speaking the allegorical +language of which he exhibits specimens, is entitled to about equal +credence as the two former. The truth is, that the entire store of +erudition of the learned Jesuit, and he doubtless was learned to a +remarkable degree, was derived from books, either printed or +manuscript. He compared the Gypsy words in the publication of +Grellmann with various vocabularies, which had long been in +existence, of the robber jargons of Spain and Italy, which jargons +by a strange fatuity had ever been considered as belonging to the +Gypsies. Finding that the Gypsy words of Grellmann did not at all +correspond with the thieves' slang, he concluded that the Gypsies +of Spain and Italy had forgotten their own language, and to supply +its place had invented the jargons aforesaid, but he never gave +himself the trouble to try whether the Gypsies really understood +the contents of his slang vocabularies; had he done so, he would +have found that the slang was about as unintelligible to the +Gypsies as he would have found the specimens of Grellmann +unintelligible to the thieves had he quoted those specimens to +them. The Gypsies of Spain, it will be sufficient to observe, +speak the language of which a vocabulary is given in the present +work, and those of Italy who are generally to be found existing in +a half-savage state in the various ruined castles, relics of the +feudal times, with which Italy abounds, a dialect very similar, and +about as much corrupted. There are, however, to be continually +found in Italy roving bands of Rommany, not natives of the country, +who make excursions from Moldavia and Hungaria to France and Italy, +for the purpose of plunder; and who, if they escape the hand of +justice, return at the expiration of two or three years to their +native regions, with the booty they have amassed by the practice of +those thievish arts, perhaps at one period peculiar to their race, +but at present, for the most part, known and practised by thieves +in general. These bands, however, speak the pure Gypsy language, +with all its grammatical peculiarities. It is evident, however, +that amongst neither of these classes had Hervas pushed his +researches, which had he done, it is probable that his +investigations would have resulted in a work of a far different +character from the confused, unsatisfactory, and incorrect details +of which is formed his essay on the language of the Gypsies. + +Having said thus much concerning the robber language in general, we +shall now proceed to offer some specimens of it, in order that our +readers may be better able to understand its principles. We shall +commence with the Italian dialect, which there is reason for +supposing to be the prototype of the rest. To show what it is, we +avail ourselves of some of the words adduced by Hervas, as +specimens of the language of the Gitanos of Italy. 'I place them,' +he observes, 'with the signification which the greater number +properly have in Italian.' + + Robber jargon Proper signification of + of Italy. the words. + +Arm { Ale Wings + { Barbacane Barbican +Belly Fagiana Pheasant +Devil Rabuino Perhaps RABBIN, which, + in Hebrew, is Master +Earth Calcosa Street, road +Eye Balco Balcony +Father Grimo Old, wrinkled +Fire Presto Quick +God Anticrotto Probably ANTICHRIST +Hair Prusa (73) + { Elmo Helmet +Head { Borella (74) + { Chiurla (75) +Heart Salsa Sauce +Man Osmo From the Italian UOMO, + which is man +Moon Mocoloso di Wick of the firmament + Sant' Alto +Night Brunamaterna Mother-brown +Nose Gambaro Crab +Sun Ruffo di Sant' Red one of the firmament + Alto +Tongue { Serpentina Serpent-like + { Danosa Hurtful +Water { Lenza Fishing-net + { Vetta (76) Top, bud + +The Germania of Spain may be said to divide itself into two +dialects, the ancient and modern. Of the former there exists a +vocabulary, published first by Juan Hidalgo, in the year 1609, at +Barcelona, and reprinted in Madrid, 1773. Before noticing this +work, it will perhaps be advisable to endeavour to ascertain the +true etymology of the word Germania, which signifies the slang +vocabulary, or robber language of Spain. We have no intention to +embarrass our readers by offering various conjectures respecting +its origin; its sound, coupled with its signification, affording +sufficient evidence that it is but a corruption of Rommany, which +properly denotes the speech of the Roma or Gitanos. The thieves +who from time to time associated with this wandering people, and +acquired more or less of their language, doubtless adopted this +term amongst others, and, after modifying it, applied it to the +peculiar phraseology which, in the course of time, became prevalent +amongst them. The dictionary of Hidalgo is appended to six +ballads, or romances, by the same author, written in the Germanian +dialect, in which he describes the robber life at Seville at the +period in which he lived. All of these romances possess their +peculiar merit, and will doubtless always be considered valuable, +and be read as faithful pictures of scenes and habits which now no +longer exist. In the prologue, the author states that his +principal motive for publishing a work written in so strange a +language was his observing the damage which resulted from an +ignorance of the Germania, especially to the judges and ministers +of justice, whose charge it is to cleanse the public from the +pernicious gentry who use it. By far the greatest part of the +vocabulary consists of Spanish words used allegorically, which are, +however, intermingled with many others, most of which may be traced +to the Latin and Italian, others to the Sanscrit or Gitano, +Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, and German languages. (77) The +circumstances of words belonging to some of the languages last +enumerated being found in the Gitano, which at first may strike the +reader as singular, and almost incredible, will afford but slight +surprise, when he takes into consideration the peculiar +circumstances of Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries. Spain was at that period the most powerful monarchy in +Europe; her foot reposed upon the Low Countries, whilst her +gigantic arms embraced a considerable portion of Italy. +Maintaining always a standing army in Flanders and in Italy, it +followed as a natural consequence, that her Miquelets and soldiers +became tolerably conversant with the languages of those countries; +and, in course of time, returning to their native land, not a few, +especially of the former class, a brave and intrepid, but always a +lawless and dissolute species of soldiery, either fell in or +returned to evil society, and introduced words which they had +learnt abroad into the robber phraseology; whilst returned galley- +slaves from Algiers, Tunis, and Tetuan, added to its motley variety +of words from the relics of the broken Arabic and Turkish, which +they had acquired during their captivity. The greater part of the +Germania, however, remained strictly metaphorical, and we are aware +of no better means of conveying an idea of the principle on which +it is formed, than by quoting from the first romance of Hidalgo, +where particular mention is made of this jargon:- + + +'A la cama llama Blanda +Donde Sornan en poblado +A la Fresada Vellosa, +Que mucho vello ha criado. +Dice a la sabana Alba +Porque es alba en sumo grado, +A la camisa Carona, +Al jubon llama apretado: +Dice al Sayo Tapador +Porque le lleva tapado. +Llama a los zapatos Duros, +Que las piedras van pisando. +A la capa llama nuve, +Dice al Sombrero Texado. +Respeto llama a la Espada, +Que por ella es respetado,' etc. etc. + +HIDALGO, p. 22-3. + + +After these few remarks on the ancient Germania of Spain, we now +proceed to the modern, which differs considerably from the former. +The principal cause of this difference is to be attributed to the +adoption by the Spanish outlaws, in latter years, of a considerable +number of words belonging to, or modified from, the Rommany, or +language of the Gitanos. The Gitanos of Spain, during the last +half-century, having, in a great degree, abandoned the wandering +habit of life which once constituted one of their most remarkable +peculiarities, and residing, at present, more in the cities than in +the fields, have come into closer contact with the great body of +the Spanish nation than was in former days their practice. From +their living thus in towns, their language has not only undergone +much corruption, but has become, to a slight degree, known to the +dregs of society, amongst whom they reside. The thieves' dialect +of the present day exhibits, therefore, less of the allegorical +language preserved in the pages of Hidalgo than of the Gypsy +tongue. It must be remarked, however, that it is very scanty, and +that the whole robber phraseology at present used in Spain barely +amounts to two hundred words, which are utterly insufficient to +express the very limited ideas of the outcasts who avail themselves +of it. + +Concerning the Germania of France, or 'Argot,' as it is called, it +is unnecessary to make many observations, as what has been said of +the language of Hidalgo and the Red Italian is almost in every +respect applicable to it. As early as the middle of the sixteenth +century a vocabulary of this jargon was published under the title +of LANGUE DES ESCROCS, at Paris. Those who wish to study it as it +at present exists can do no better than consult LES MEMOIRES DE +VIDOCQ, where a multitude of words in Argot are to be found, and +also several songs, the subjects of which are thievish adventures. + +The first vocabulary of the 'Cant Language,' or English Germania, +appeared in the year 1680, appended to the life of THE ENGLISH +ROGUE, a work which, in many respects, resembles the HISTORY OF +GUZMAN D'ALFARACHE, though it is written with considerably more +genius than the Spanish novel, every chapter abounding with +remarkable adventures of the robber whose life it pretends to +narrate, and which are described with a kind of ferocious energy, +which, if it do not charm the attention of the reader, at least +enslaves it, holding it captive with a chain of iron. Amongst his +other adventures, the hero falls in with a Gypsy encampment, is +enrolled amongst the fraternity, and is allotted a 'mort,' or +concubine; a barbarous festival ensues, at the conclusion of which +an epithalamium is sung in the Gypsy language, as it is called in +the work in question. Neither the epithalamium, however, nor the +vocabulary, are written in the language of the English Gypsies, but +in the 'Cant,' or allegorical robber dialect, which is sufficient +proof that the writer, however well acquainted with thieves in +general, their customs and manners of life, was in respect to the +Gypsies profoundly ignorant. His vocabulary, however, has been +always accepted as the speech of the English Gypsies, whereas it is +at most entitled to be considered as the peculiar speech of the +thieves and vagabonds of his time. The cant of the present day, +which, though it differs in some respects from the vocabulary +already mentioned, is radically the same, is used not only by the +thieves in town and country, but by the jockeys of the racecourse +and the pugilists of the 'ring.' As a specimen of the cant of +England, we shall take the liberty of quoting the epithalamium to +which we have above alluded:- + + +'Bing out, bien morts, and tour and tour +Bing out, bien morts and tour; +For all your duds are bing'd awast, +The bien cove hath the loure. (78) + +'I met a dell, I viewed her well, +She was benship to my watch: +So she and I did stall and cloy +Whatever we could catch. + +'This doxy dell can cut ben whids, +And wap well for a win, +And prig and cloy so benshiply, +All daisy-ville within. + +'The hoyle was up, we had good luck, +In frost for and in snow; +Men they did seek, then we did creep +And plant the roughman's low.' + + +It is scarcely necessary to say anything more upon the Germania in +general or in particular; we believe that we have achieved the task +which we marked out for ourselves, and have conveyed to our readers +a clear and distinct idea of what it is. We have shown that it has +been erroneously confounded with the Rommany, or Gitano language, +with which it has nevertheless some points of similarity. The two +languages are, at the present day, used for the same purpose, +namely, to enable habitual breakers of the law to carry on their +consultations with more secrecy and privacy than by the ordinary +means. Yet it must not be forgotten that the thieves' jargon was +invented for that purpose, whilst the Rommany, originally the +proper and only speech of a particular nation, has been preserved +from falling into entire disuse and oblivion, because adapted to +answer the same end. It was impossible to treat of the Rommany in +a manner calculated to exhaust the subject, and to leave no ground +for future cavilling, without devoting a considerable space to the +consideration of the robber dialect, on which account we hope we +shall be excused many of the dry details which we have introduced +into the present essay. There is a link of connection between the +history of the Roma, or wanderers from Hindustan, who first made +their appearance in Europe at the commencement of the fifteenth +century, and that of modern roguery. Many of the arts which the +Gypsies proudly call their own, and which were perhaps at one +period peculiar to them, have become divulged, and are now +practised by the thievish gentry who infest the various European +states, a result which, we may assert with confidence, was brought +about by the alliance of the Gypsies being eagerly sought on their +first arrival by the thieves, who, at one period, were less skilful +than the former in the ways of deceit and plunder; which kind of +association continued and held good until the thieves had acquired +all they wished to learn, when they left the Gypsies in the fields +and plains, so dear to them from their vagabond and nomad habits, +and returned to the towns and cities. Yet from this temporary +association were produced two results; European fraud became +sharpened by coming into contact with Asiatic craft, whilst +European tongues, by imperceptible degrees, became recruited with +various words (some of them wonderfully expressive), many of which +have long been stumbling-stocks to the philologist, who, whilst +stigmatising them as words of mere vulgar invention, or of unknown +origin, has been far from dreaming that by a little more research +he might have traced them to the Sclavonic, Persian, or Romaic, or +perhaps to the mysterious object of his veneration, the Sanscrit, +the sacred tongue of the palm-covered regions of Ind; words +originally introduced into Europe by objects too miserable to +occupy for a moment his lettered attention - the despised denizens +of the tents of Roma. + + +ON THE TERM 'BUSNO' + + +Those who have done me the honour to peruse this strange wandering +book of mine, must frequently have noticed the word 'Busno,' a term +bestowed by the Spanish Gypsy on his good friend the Spaniard. As +the present will probably be the last occasion which I shall have +to speak of the Gitanos or anything relating to them, it will +perhaps be advisable to explain the meaning of this word. In the +vocabulary appended to former editions I have translated Busno by +such words as Gentile, savage, person who is not a Gypsy, and have +stated that it is probably connected with a certain Sanscrit noun +signifying an impure person. It is, however, derived immediately +from a Hungarian term, exceedingly common amongst the lower orders +of the Magyars, to their disgrace be it spoken. The Hungarian +Gypsies themselves not unfrequently style the Hungarians Busnoes, +in ridicule of their unceasing use of the word in question. The +first Gypsies who entered Spain doubtless brought with them the +term from Hungary, the language of which country they probably +understood to a certain extent. That it was not ill applied by +them in Spain no one will be disposed to deny when told that it +exactly corresponds with the Shibboleth of the Spaniards, 'Carajo,' +an oath equally common in Spain as its equivalent in Hungary. +Busno, therefore, in Spanish means EL DEL CARAJO, or he who has +that term continually in his mouth. The Hungarian words in Spanish +Gypsy may amount to ten or twelve, a very inconsiderable number; +but the Hungarian Gypsy tongue itself, as spoken at the present +day, exhibits only a slight sprinkling of Hungarian words, whilst +it contains many words borrowed from the Wallachian, some of which +have found their way into Spain, and are in common use amongst the +Gitanos. + + + + +SPECIMENS OF GYPSY DIALECTS + + + + +THE ENGLISH DIALECT OF THE ROMMANY + + + +'TACHIPEN if I jaw 'doi, I can lel a bit of tan to hatch: N'etist +I shan't puch kekomi wafu gorgies.' + +The above sentence, dear reader, I heard from the mouth of Mr. +Petulengro, the last time that he did me the honour to visit me at +my poor house, which was the day after Mol-divvus (79), 1842: he +stayed with me during the greater part of the morning, discoursing +on the affairs of Egypt, the aspect of which, he assured me, was +becoming daily worse and worse. 'There is no living for the poor +people, brother,' said he, 'the chokengres (police) pursue us from +place to place, and the gorgios are become either so poor or +miserly, that they grudge our cattle a bite of grass by the +wayside, and ourselves a yard of ground to light a fire upon. +Unless times alter, brother, and of that I see no probability, +unless you are made either poknees or mecralliskoe geiro (justice +of the peace or prime minister), I am afraid the poor persons will +have to give up wandering altogether, and then what will become of +them?' + +'However, brother,' he continued, in a more cheerful tone, 'I am no +hindity mush, (80) as you well know. I suppose you have not forgot +how, fifteen years ago, when you made horseshoes in the little +dingle by the side of the great north road, I lent you fifty +cottors (81) to purchase the wonderful trotting cob of the +innkeeper with the green Newmarket coat, which three days after you +sold for two hundred. + +'Well, brother, if you had wanted the two hundred instead of the +fifty, I could have lent them to you, and would have done so, for I +knew you would not be long pazorrhus to me. I am no hindity mush, +brother, no Irishman; I laid out the other day twenty pounds in +buying ruponoe peamengries; (82) and in the Chonggav, (83) have a +house of my own with a yard behind it. + +'AND, FORSOOTH, IF I GO THITHER, I CAN CHOOSE A PLACE TO LIGHT +AFIRE UPON, AND SHALL HAVE NO NECESSITY TO ASK LEAVE OF THESE HERE +GENTILES.' + +Well, dear reader, this last is the translation of the Gypsy +sentence which heads the chapter, and which is a very +characteristic specimen of the general way of speaking of the +English Gypsies. + +The language, as they generally speak it, is a broken jargon, in +which few of the grammatical peculiarities of the Rommany are to be +distinguished. In fact, what has been said of the Spanish Gypsy +dialect holds good with respect to the English as commonly spoken: +yet the English dialect has in reality suffered much less than the +Spanish, and still retains its original syntax to a certain extent, +its peculiar manner of conjugating verbs, and declining nouns and +pronouns. + + +ENGLISH DIALECT + + +Moro Dad, savo djives oteh drey o charos, te caumen Gorgio ta +Romany Chal tiro nav, te awel tiro tem, te kairen tiro lav aukko +prey puv, sar kairdios oteh drey o charos. Dey men to-divvus moro +divvuskoe moro, ta for-dey men pazorrhus tukey sar men for-denna +len pazorrhus amande; ma muk te petrenna drey caik temptacionos; +ley men abri sor doschder. Tiro se o tem, Mi-duvel, tiro o zoozlu +vast, tiro sor koskopen drey sor cheros. Avali. Ta-chipen. + + +SPANISH DIALECT + + +Batu monro sos socabas ote enre ye char, que camele Gacho ta Romani +Cha tiro nao, qu'abillele tiro chim, querese tiro lao acoi opre ye +puve sarta se querela ote enre ye char. Dinanos sejonia monro +manro de cata chibes, ta estormenanos monrias bisauras sasta mu +estormenamos a monrias bisabadores; na nos meques petrar enre +cayque pajandia, lillanos abri de saro chungalipen. Persos tiro +sinela o chim, Undevel, tiro ye silna bast, tiro saro lachipen enre +saro chiros. Unga. Chachipe. + + +ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE + + +OUR Father who dwellest there in heaven, may Gentile and Gypsy love +thy name, thy kingdom come, may they do thy word here on earth as +it is done there in heaven. Give us to-day our daily bread, (84) +and forgive us indebted to thee as we forgive them indebted to us, +(85) suffer not that we fall into NO temptation, take us out from +all evil. (86) Thine (87) is the kingdom my God, thine the strong +hand, thine all goodness in all time. Aye. Truth. + + +HUNGARIAN DIALECT + + +The following short sentences in Hungarian Gypsy, in addition to +the prayer to the Virgin given in the Introduction, will perhaps +not prove unacceptable to the reader. In no part of the world is +the Gypsy tongue at the present day spoken with more purity than in +Hungary, (88) where it is used by the Gypsies not only when they +wish to be unintelligible to the Hungarians, but in their common +conversation amongst themselves. + +From these sentences the reader, by the help of the translations +which accompany them, may form a tolerable idea not only of what +the Gypsy tongue is, but of the manner in which the Hungarian +Gypsies think and express themselves. They are specimens of +genuine Gypsy talk - sentences which I have myself heard proceed +from the mouths of the Czigany; they are not Busno thoughts done +into gentle Rommany. Some of them are given here as they were +written down by me at the time, others as I have preserved them in +my memory up to the present moment. It is not improbable that at +some future time I may return to the subject of the Hungarian +Gypsies. + +Vare tava soskei me puchelas cai soskei avillara catari. +Mango le gulo Devlas vas o erai, hodj o erai te pirel misto, te +n'avel pascotia l'eras, ta na avel o erai nasvalo. +Cana cames aves pale. +Ki'som dhes keral avel o rai catari? (89) +Kit somu berschengro hal tu? (90) +Cade abri mai lachi e mol sar ando foro. +Sin o mas balichano, ta i gorkhe garasheskri; (91) sin o manro +parno, cai te felo do garashangro. +Yeck quartalli mol ando lende. +Ande mol ote mestchibo. +Khava piava - dui shel, tri shel predinava. +Damen Devla saschipo ando mure cocala. +Te rosarow labio tarraco le Mujeskey miro pralesco, ta vela mi anao +tukey le Mujeskey miro pralesky. +Llundun baro foro, bishwar mai baro sar Cosvaro. +Nani yag, mullas. +Nasiliom cai purdiom but; besh te pansch bersch mi homas slugadhis +pa Baron Splini regimentos. +Saro chiro cado Del; cavo o puro dinas o Del. +Me camov te jav ando Buka-resti - cado Bukaresti lachico tem dur +drom jin keri. +Mi hom nasvallo. +Soskei nai jas ke baro ful-cheri? +Wei mangue ke nani man love nastis jav. +Belgra sho mille pu cado Cosvarri; hin oter miro chabo. +Te vas Del l'erangue ke meclan man abri ando a pan-dibo. +Opre rukh sarkhi ye chiriclo, ca kerel anre e chiricli. +Ca hin tiro ker? +Ando calo berkho, oter bin miro ker, av prala mensar; jas mengue +keri. +Ando bersch dui chiro, ye ven, ta nilei. +O felhegos del o breschino, te purdel o barbal. +Hir mi Devlis camo but cavo erai - lacho manus o, Anglus, tama +rakarel Ungarica; avel catari ando urdon le trin gras-tensas - +beshel cate abri po buklo tan; le poivasis ando bas irinel ando +lel. Bo zedun stadji ta bari barba. + +Much I ponder why you ask me (questions), and why you should come +hither. +I pray the sweet Goddess for the gentleman, that the gentleman may +journey well, that misfortune come not to the gentleman, and that +the gentleman fall not sick. +When you please come back. +How many days did the gentleman take to come hither? +How many years old are you? +Here out better (is) the wine than in the city. +The meat is of pig, and the gherkins cost a grosh - the bread is +white, and the lard costs two groshen. +One quart of wine amongst us. +In wine there (is) happiness. +I will eat, I will drink - two hundred, three hundred I will place +before. +Give us Goddess health in our bones. +I will seek a waistcoat, which I have, for Moses my brother, and I +will change names with Moses my brother. (92) +London (is) a big city, twenty times more big than Colosvar. +There is no fire, it is dead. +I have suffered and toiled much: twenty and five years I was +serving in Baron Splini's regiment. +Every time (cometh) from God; that old (age) God gave. +I wish to go unto Bukarest - from Bukarest, the good country, (it +is) a far way unto (my) house. +I am sick. +Why do you not go to the great physician +Because I have no money I can't go +Belgrade (is) six miles of land from Colosvar; there is my son. +May God help the gentlemen that they let me out (from) in the +prison. +On the tree (is) the nest of the bird, where makes eggs the female +bird. +Where is your house? +In the black mountain, there is my house; come brother with me; let +us go to my house. +In the year (are) two seasons, the winter and summer. +The cloud gives the rain, and puffs (forth) the wind. +By my God I love much that gentleman - a good man he, an +Englishman, but he speaks Hungarian; he came (93) hither in a +waggon with three horses, he sits here out in the wilderness; (94) +with a pencil in his hand he writes in a book. He has a green hat +and a big beard. + + + +VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE + + +[This section of the book could not be transcribed as it contained +many non-european languages] + + + +APPENDIX - MISCELLANIES IN THE GITANO LANGUAGE + + + +ADVERTISEMENT + + + +IT is with the view of preserving as many as possible of the +monuments of the Spanish Gypsy tongue that the author inserts the +following pieces; they are for the most part, whether original or +translated, the productions of the 'Aficion' of Seville, of whom +something has been said in the Preface to the Spurious Gypsy Poetry +of Andalusia; not the least remarkable, however, of these pieces is +a genuine Gypsy composition, the translation of the Apostles' Creed +by the Gypsies of Cordova, made under the circumstances detailed in +the second part of the first volume. To all have been affixed +translations, more or less literal, to assist those who may wish to +form some acquaintance with the Gitano language. + + +COTORRES ON CHIPE CALLI / MISCELLANIES + + +BATO Nonrro sos socabas on o tarpe, manjirificado quejesa tute +acnao; abillanos or tute sichen, y querese tute orependola andial +on la chen sata on o tarpe; or manrro nonrro de cata chibel +dinanoslo sejonia, y estormenanos nonrrias bisauras andial sata +gaberes estormenamos a nonrros bisaraores; y nasti nes muques +petrar on la bajanbo, bus listrabanos de chorre. - Anarania. + +FATHER Our, who dwellest in the heaven, sanctified become thy name; +come-to-us the thy kingdom, and be-done thy will so in the earth as +in the heaven; the bread our of every day give-us-it to-day, and +pardon-us our debts so as we-others pardon (to) our debtors; and +not let us fall in the temptation, but deliver-us from wickedness. +- Amen. + +Panchabo on Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, Perbaraor de o tarpe y la +chen, y on Gresone desquero Beyio Chabal nonrrio Erano, sos guillo +sar-trujatapucherido per troecane y sardana de or Chanispero +Manjaro, y purelo de Manjari ostelinda debla; Bricholo ostele de or +asislar de Brono Alienicato; guillo trejuficao, mule y cabanao; y +sundilo a los casinobes, (95) y a or brodelo chibel repurelo de +enrre los mules, y encalomo a los otarpes, y soscabela bestique a +la tabastorre de Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, ende aoter a de +abillar a sarplar a los Apucheris y mules. Panchabo on or +Chanispero Manjaro, la Manjari Cangari Pebuldorica y Rebuldorica, +la Erunon de los Manjaros, or Estormen de los crejetes, la repurelo +de la mansenquere y la chibiben verable. - Anarania, Tebleque. + +I believe in God, Father all-powerful, creator of the heaven and +the earth, and in Christ his only Son our Lord, who went conceived +by deed and favour of the Spirit Holy, and born of blessed goddess +divine; suffered under (of) the might of Bronos Alienicatos; (96) +went crucified, dead and buried; and descended to the +conflagrations, and on the third day revived (97) from among the +dead, and ascended to the heavens, and dwells seated at the right- +hand of God, Father all-powerful, from there he-has to come to +impeach (to) the living and dead. I believe in the Spirit Holy, +the Holy Church Catholic and Apostolic, the communion of the +saints, the remission of the sins, the re-birth of the flesh, and +the life everlasting. - Amen, Jesus. + + +OCANAJIMIA A LA DEBLA / PRAYER TO THE VIRGIN + + +O Debla quirindia, Day de saros los Bordeles on coin panchabo: per +los duquipenes sos naquelastes a or pindre de la trejul de tute +Chaborro majarolisimo te manguelo, Debla, me alcorabises de tute +chaborro or estormen de sares las dojis y crejetes sos menda +udicare aquerao on andoba surdete. - Anarania, Tebleque. + +Ostebe te berarbe Ostelinda! perdoripe sirles de sardana; or Erano +sin sartute; bresban tute sirles enrre sares las rumiles, y bresban +sin or frujero de tute po. - Tebleque. + +Manjari Ostelinda, day de Ostebe, brichardila per gaberes +crejetaores aocana y on la ocana de nonrra beriben! - Anarania, +Tebleque. + +Chimuclani or Bato, or Chabal, or Chanispero manjaro; sata sia on +or presimelo, aocana, y gajeres: on los sicles de los sicles. - +Anarania. + +O most holy Virgin, Mother of all the Christians in whom I believe; +for the agony which thou didst endure at the foot of the cross of +thy most blessed Son, I entreat thee, Virgin, that thou wilt obtain +for me, from thy Son, the remission of all the crimes and sins +which I may have committed in this world. - Amen, Jesus. + +God save thee, Maria! full art thou of grace; the Lord is with +thee; blessed art thou amongst all women, and blessed is the fruit +of thy womb. - Jesus. + +Holy Maria, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour +of our death! - Amen, Jesus. + +Glory (to) the Father, the Son, (and) the Holy Ghost; as was in the +beginning, now, and for ever: in the ages of the ages. - Amen. + + +OR CREDO / THE CREED +SARTA LO CHIBELARON LOS CALES DE CORDOVATI / TRANSLATED BY THE +GYSPIES OF CORDOVA + + +Pachabelo en Un-debel batu tosaro-baro, que ha querdi el char y la +chique; y en Un-debel chinoro su unico chaboro erano de amangue, +que chalo en el trupo de la Majari por el Duquende Majoro, y abio +del veo de la Majari; guillo curado debajo de la sila de Pontio +Pilato el chinobaro; guillo mulo y garabado; se chale a las +jacharis; al trin chibe se ha sicobado de los mules al char; sinela +bejado a las baste de Un-debel barrea; y de ote abiara a juzgar a +los mules y a los que no lo sinelan; pachabelo en el Majaro; la +Cangri Majari barea; el jalar de los Majaries; lo meco de los +grecos; la resureccion de la maas, y la ochi que no marela. + + +I believe in God the Father all-great, who has made the heaven and +the earth; and in God the young, his only Son, the Lord of us, who +went into the body of the blessed (maid) by (means of) the Holy +Ghost, and came out of the womb of the blessed; he was tormented +beneath the power of Pontius Pilate, the great Alguazil; was dead +and buried; he went (down) to the fires; on the third day he raised +himself from the dead unto the heaven; he is seated at the major +hand of God; and from thence he shall come to judge the dead and +those who are not (dead). I believe in the blessed one; in the +church holy and great; the banquet of the saints; the remission of +sins; the resurrection of the flesh, and the life which does not +die. + + +REJELENDRES / PROVERBS + + +Or soscabela juco y terable garipe no le sin perfine anelar +relichi. +Bus yes manupe cha machagarno le pendan chuchipon los brochabos. +Sacais sos ne dicobelan calochin ne bridaquelan. +Coin terelare trasardos e dinastes nasti le buchare berrandanas a +desquero contique. +On sares las cachimanes de Sersen abillen reches. +Bus mola yes chirriclo on la ba sos gres balogando. +A Ostebe brichardilando y sar or mochique dinelando. +Bus mola quesar jero de gabuno sos manpori de bombardo. +Dicar y panchabar, sata penda Manjaro Lillar. +Or esorjie de or narsichisle sin chismar lachinguel. +Las queles mistos grobelas: per macara chibel la piri y de rachi +la operisa. +Aunsos me dicas vriardao de jorpoy ne sirlo braco. +Chachipe con jujana - Calzones de buchi y medias de lana. +Chuquel sos pirela cocal terela. +Len sos sonsi bela pani o reblandani terela. + +He who is lean and has scabs needs not carry a net. (98) +When a man goes drunk the boys say to him 'suet.' (99) +Eyes which see not break no heart. +He who has a roof of glass let him not fling stones at his +neighbour. +Into all the taverns of Spain may reeds come. +A bird in the hand is worth more than a hundred flying. +To God (be) praying and with the flail plying. +It is worth more to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion. +To see and to believe, as Saint Thomas says. +The extreme (100) of a dwarf is to spit largely. +Houses well managed:- at mid-day the stew-pan, (101) and at night +salad. +Although thou seest me dressed in wool I am no sheep. +Truth with falsehood-Breeches of silk and stockings of Wool. (102) +The dog who walks finds a bone. +The river which makes a noise (103) has either water or stones. + + +ODORES YE TILICHE / THE LOVER'S JEALOUSY + + +Dica Calli sos linastes terelas, plasarandote misto men calochin +desquinao de trinchas punis y canrrias, sata anjella terelaba +dicando on los chorres naquelos sos me tesumiaste, y andial reutila +a men Jeli, dinela gao a sos menda orobibele; men puni sin trincha +per la quimbila nevel de yes manu barbalo; sos saro se muca per or +jandorro. Lo sos bus prejeno Calli de los Bengorros sin sos nu +muqueis per yes manu barbalo. . . . On tute orchiri nu chismo, +tramisto on coin te araquera, sos menda terela men nostus pa avel +sos me camela bus sos tute. + +Reflect, O Callee! (104) what motives hast thou (now that my heart +is doting on thee, having rested awhile from so many cares and +griefs which formerly it endured, beholding the evil passages which +thou preparedst for me;) to recede thus from my love, giving +occasion to me to weep. My agony is great on account of thy recent +acquaintance with a rich man; for every thing is abandoned for +money's sake. What I most feel, O Callee, of the devils is, that +thou abandonest me for a rich man . . . I spit upon thy beauty, and +also upon him who converses with thee, for I keep my money for +another who loves me more than thou. + + +OR PERSIBARARSE SIN CHORO / THE EVILS OF CONCUBINAGE + + +Gajeres sin corbo rifian soscabar yes manu persibarao, per sos saro +se linbidian odoros y beslli, y per esegriton apuchelan on sardana +de saros los Benjes, techescando grejos y olajais - de sustiri sos +lo resaronomo niquilla murmo; y andial lo fendi sos terelamos de +querar sin techescarle yes sulibari a or Jeli, y ne panchabar on +caute manusardi, persos trutan a yesque lili. + +It is always a strange danger for a man to live in concubinage, +because all turns to jealousy and quarrelling, and at last they +live in the favour of all the devils, voiding oaths and curses: so +that what is cheap turns out dear. So the best we can do, is to +cast a bridle on love, and trust to no woman, for they (105) make a +man mad. + + +LOS CHORES / THE ROBBERS + + +On grejelo chiro begoreo yesque berbanilla de chores a la burda de +yes mostipelo a oleba rachi - Andial sos la prejenaron los cambrais +presimelaron a cobadrar; sar andoba linaste changano or lanbro, se +sustino de la charipe de lapa, utilo la pusca, y niquillo +platanando per or platesquero de or mostipelo a la burda sos +socabelaba pandi, y per or jobi de la clichi chibelo or jundro de +la pusca, le dino pesquibo a or langute, y le sumuquelo yes +bruchasno on la tesquera a or Jojerian de los ostilaores y lo +techesco de or grate a ostele. Andial sos los debus quimbilos +dicobelaron a desquero Jojerian on chen sar las canrriales de la +Beriben, lo chibelaron espusifias a los grastes, y niquillaron +chapescando, trutando la romuy apala, per bausale de las machas o +almedalles de liripio. + +On a certain time arrived a band of thieves at the gate of a farm- +house at midnight. So soon as the dogs heard them they began to +bark, which causing (106) the labourer to awake, he raised himself +from his bed with a start, took his musket, and went running to the +court-yard of the farm-house to the gate, which was shut, placed +the barrel of his musket to the keyhole, gave his finger its +desire, (107) and sent a bullet into the forehead of the captain of +the robbers, casting him down from his horse. Soon as the other +fellows saw their captain on the ground in the agonies of death, +they clapped spurs to their horses, and galloped off fleeing, +turning their faces back on account of the flies (108) or almonds +of lead. + + +COTOR YE GABICOTE MAJARO / SPECIMEN OF THE GOSPEL +OR SOS SARO LO HA CHIBADO EN CHIPE CALLI OR RANDADOR DE OCONOS +PAPIRIS AUNSOS NARDIAN LO HA DINADO AL SURDETE. +FROM THE AUTHOR'S UNPUBLISHED TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT + + +Y soscabando dicando dico los Barbalos sos techescaban desqueros +mansis on or Gazofilacio; y dico tramisto yesque pispiricha +chorrorita, sos techescaba duis chinorris saraballis, y penelo: en +chachipe os penelo, sos caba chorrorri pispiricha a techescao bus +sos sares los aveles: persos saros ondobas han techescao per los +mansis de Ostebe, de lo sos les costuna; bus caba e desquero +chorrorri a techescao saro or susalo sos terelaba. Y pendo a +cormunis, sos pendaban del cangaripe, soscabelaba uriardao de +orchiris berrandanas, y de denes: Cabas buchis sos dicais, +abillaran chibeles, bus ne muquelara berrandana costune berrandana, +sos ne quesesa demarabea. Y le prucharon y pendaron: Docurdo, bus +quesa ondoba? Y sos simachi abicara bus ondoba presimare? Ondole +penclo: Dicad, sos nasti queseis jonjabaos; persos butes abillaran +on men acnao, pendando: man sirlo, y or chiro soscabela pajes: +Garabaos de guillelar apala, de ondolayos: y bus junureis barganas +y sustines, ne os espajueis; persos sin perfine sos ondoba chundee +brotobo, bus nasti quesa escotria or egresiton. Oclinde les +pendaba: se sustinara sueste sartra sueste, y sichen sartra +sichen, y abicara bareles dajiros de chenes per los gaos, y +retreques y bocatas, y abicara buchengeres espajuis, y bareles +simachis de otarpe: bus anjella de saro ondoba os sinastraran y +preguillaran, enregandoos a la Socreteria, y los ostardos, y os +legeraran a los Oclayes, y a los Baquedunis, per men acnao: y +ondoba os chundeara on chachipe. Terelad pus seraji on bros +garlochines de ne orobrar anjella sata abicais de brudilar, persos +man os dinare rotuni y chanar, la sos ne asislaran resistir ne +sartra pendar satos bros enormes. Y quesareis enregaos de bros +batos, y opranos, y sastris, y monrrores, y queraran merar a +cormuni de averes; y os cangelaran saros per men acnao; bus ne +carjibara ies bal de bros jeros. Sar bras opachirima avelareis +bras orchis: pus bus dicareis a Jerusalen relli, oclinde chanad +sos, desquero petra soscabela pajes; oclinde los soscabelan on la +Chutea, chapesguen a los tober-jelis; y los que on macara de +ondolaya, niquillense; y lo sos on los oltariques, nasti enrren on +ondolaya; persos ondoba sen chibeles de Abillaza, pa sos chundeen +sares las buchis soscabelan libanas; bus isna de las araris, y de +las sos dinan de oropielar on asirios chibeles; persos abicara bare +quichartura costune la chen, e guillara pa andoba Gao; y petraran a +surabi de janrro; y quesan legeraos sinastros a sares las chenes, y +Jerusalen quesa omana de los suestiles, sasta sos quejesen los +chiros de las sichenes; y abicara simaches on or orcan, y on la +chimutia, y on las uchurganis; y on la chen chalabeo on la suete +per or dan sos bausalara la loria y des-queros gulas; muquelando +los romares bifaos per dajiralo de las buchis sos costune abillaran +a saro or surdete; persos los solares de los otarpes quesan sar- +chalabeaos; y oclinde dicaran a or Chaboro e Manu abillar costune +yesque minrricla sar baro asislar y Chimusolano: bus presimelaren +a chundear caba buchis, dicad, y sustinad bros jeros, persos pajes +soscabela bras redencion. + +And whilst looking he saw the rich who cast their treasures into +the treasury; and he saw also a poor widow, who cast two small +coins, and he said: In truth I tell you, that this poor widow has +cast more than all the others; because all those have cast, as +offerings to God, from that which to them abounded; but she from +her poverty has cast all the substance which she had. And he said +to some, who said of the temple, that it was adorned with fair +stones, and with gifts: These things which ye see, days shall +come, when stone shall not remain upon stone, which shall not be +demolished. And they asked him and said: Master, when shall this +be? and what sign shall there be when this begins? He said: See, +that ye be not deceived, because many shall come in my name, +saying: I am (he), and the time is near: beware ye of going after +them: and when ye shall hear (of) wars and revolts do not fear, +because it is needful that this happen first, for the end shall not +be immediately. Then he said to them: Nation shall rise against +nation, and country against country, and there shall be great +tremblings of earth among the towns, and pestilences and famines; +and there shall be frightful things, and great signs in the heaven: +but before all this they shall make ye captive, and shall +persecute, delivering ye over to the synagogue, and prisons; and +they shall carry ye to the kings, and the governors, on account of +my name: and this shall happen to you for truth. Keep then firm +in your hearts, not to think before how ye have to answer, for I +will give you mouth and wisdom, which all your enemies shall not be +able to resist, or contradict. And ye shall be delivered over by +your fathers, and brothers, and relations, and friends, and they +shall put to death some of you; and all shall hate you for my name; +but not one hair of your heads shall perish. With your patience ye +shall possess your souls: but when ye shall see Jerusalem +surrounded, then know that its fall is near; then those who are in +Judea, let them escape to the mountains; and those who are in the +midst of her, let them go out; and those who are in the fields, let +them not enter into her; because those are days of vengeance, that +all the things which are written may happen; but alas to the +pregnant and those who give suck in those days, for there shall be +great distress upon the earth, and it shall move onward against +this people; and they shall fall by the edge of the sword; and they +shall be carried captive to all the countries, and Jerusalem shall +be trodden by the nations, until are accomplished the times of the +nations; and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and +in the stars; and in the earth trouble of nations from the fear +which the sea and its billows shall cause; leaving men frozen with +terror of the things which shall come upon all the world; because +the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then they shall see +the Son of Man coming upon a cloud with great power and glory: +when these things begin to happen, look ye, and raise your heads, +for your redemption is near. + + + +THE ENGLISH DIALECT OF THE ROMMANY + + + +'TACHIPEN if I jaw 'doi, I can lel a bit of tan to hatch: N'etist +I shan't puch kekomi wafu gorgies.' + +The above sentence, dear reader, I heard from the mouth of Mr. +Petulengro, the last time that he did me the honour to visit me at +my poor house, which was the day after Mol-divvus, (109) 1842: he +stayed with me during the greatest part of the morning, discoursing +on the affairs of Egypt, the aspect of which, he assured me, was +becoming daily worse and worse. 'There is no living for the poor +people, brother,' said he, 'the chok-engres (police) pursue us from +place to place, and the gorgios are become either so poor or +miserly, that they grudge our cattle a bite of grass by the way +side, and ourselves a yard of ground to light a fire upon. Unless +times alter, brother, and of that I see no probability, unless you +are made either poknees or mecralliskoe geiro (justice of the peace +or prime minister), I am afraid the poor persons will have to give +up wandering altogether, and then what will become of them? + +'However, brother,' he continued, in a more cheerful tone, 'I am no +hindity mush, (110) as you well know. I suppose you have not +forgot how, fifteen years ago, when you made horse-shoes in the +little dingle by the side of the great north road, I lent you fifty +cottors (111) to purchase the wonderful trotting cob of the +innkeeper with the green Newmarket coat, which three days after you +sold for two hundred. + +'Well, brother, if you had wanted the two hundred, instead of the +fifty, I could have lent them to you, and would have done so, for I +knew you would not be long pazorrhus to me. I am no hindity mush, +brother, no Irishman; I laid out the other day twenty pounds in +buying rupenoe peam-engries; (112) and in the Chong-gav, (113) have +a house of my own with a yard behind it. + +'AND, FORSOOTH, IF I GO THITHER, I CAN CHOOSE A PLACE TO LIGHT A +FIRE UPON, AND SHALL HAVE NO NECESSITY TO ASK LEAVE OF THESE HERE +GENTILES.' + +Well, dear reader, this last is the translation of the Gypsy +sentence which heads the chapter, and which is a very +characteristic specimen of the general way of speaking of the +English Gypsies. + +The language, as they generally speak it, is a broken jargon, in +which few of the grammatical peculiarities of the Rommany are to be +distinguished. In fact, what has been said of the Spanish Gypsy +dialect holds good with respect to the English as commonly spoken: +yet the English dialect has in reality suffered much less than the +Spanish, and still retains its original syntax to a certain extent, +its peculiar manner of conjugating verbs, and declining nouns and +pronouns. I must, however, qualify this last assertion, by +observing that in the genuine Rommany there are no prepositions, +but, on the contrary, post-positions; now, in the case of the +English dialect, these post-positions have been lost, and their +want, with the exception of the genitive, has been supplied with +English prepositions, as may be seen by a short example:- + + +Hungarian Gypsy.(114) English Gypsy. English. +Job Yow He +Leste Leste Of him +Las Las To him +Les Los Him +Lester From leste From him +Leha With leste With him + +PLURAL. + +Hungarian Gypsy English Gypsy. English +Jole Yaun They +Lente Lente Of them +Len Len To them +Len Len Them +Lender From Lende From them + +The following comparison of words selected at random from the +English and Spanish dialects of the Rommany will, perhaps, not be +uninteresting to the philologist or even to the general reader. +Could a doubt be at present entertained that the Gypsy language is +virtually the same in all parts of the world where it is spoken, I +conceive that such a vocabulary would at once remove it. + + + English Gypsy. Spanish Gypsy. +Ant Cria Crianse +Bread Morro Manro +City Forus Foros +Dead Mulo Mulo +Enough Dosta Dosta +Fish Matcho Macho +Great Boro Baro +House Ker Quer +Iron Saster Sas +King Krallis Cralis +Love(I) Camova Camelo +Moon Tchun Chimutra +Night Rarde Rati +Onion Purrum Porumia +Poison Drav Drao +Quick Sig Sigo +Rain Brishindo Brejindal +Sunday Koorokey Curque +Teeth Danor Dani +Village Gav Gao +White Pauno Parno +Yes Avali Ungale + +As specimens of how the English dialect maybe written, the +following translations of the Lord's Prayer and Belief will perhaps +suffice. + + +THE LORD'S PRAYER + + +Miry dad, odoi oprey adrey tiro tatcho tan; Medeveleskoe si tiro +nav; awel tiro tem, be kairdo tiro lav acoi drey pov sa odoi adrey +kosgo tan: dey mande ke-divvus miry diry morro, ta fordel man sor +so me pazzorrus tute, sa me fordel sor so wavior mushor pazzorrus +amande; ma riggur man adrey kek dosch, ley man abri sor wafodu; +tiro se o tem, tiro or zoozli-wast, tiro or corauni, kanaw ta ever- +komi. Avali. Tatchipen. + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +My Father, yonder up within thy good place; god-like be thy name; +come thy kingdom, be done thy word here in earth as yonder in good +place. Give to me to-day my dear bread, and forgive me all that I +am indebted to thee, as I forgive all that other men are indebted +to me; not lead me into any ill; take me out (of) all evil; thine +is the kingdom, thine the strong hand, thine the crown, now and +evermore. Yea. Truth. + + +THE BELIEF + + +Me apasavenna drey mi-dovvel, Dad soro-ruslo, savo kedas charvus ta +pov: apasavenna drey olescro yeck chavo moro arauno Christos, lias +medeveleskoe Baval-engro, beano of wendror of medeveleskoe gairy +Mary: kurredo tuley me-cralliskoe geiro Pontius Pilaten wast; +nasko pre rukh, moreno, chivios adrey o hev; jas yov tuley o kalo +dron ke wafudo tan, bengeskoe stariben; jongorasa o trito divvus, +atchasa opre to tatcho tan, Mi-dovvels kair; bestela kanaw odoi pre +Mi-dovvels tacho wast Dad soro-boro; ava sig to lel shoonaben opre +mestepen and merripen. Apasa-venna en develeskoe Baval-engro; Boro +develeskoe congri, develeskoe pios of sore tacho foky ketteney, +soror wafudu-penes fordias, soror mulor jongorella, kek merella +apopli. Avali, palor. + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +I believe in my God, Father all powerful, who made heaven and +earth; I believe in his one Son our Lord Christ, conceived by Holy +Ghost, (117) born of bowels of Holy Virgin Mary, beaten under the +royal governor Pontius Pilate's hand; hung on a tree, slain, put +into the grave; went he down the black road to bad place, the +devil's prison; he awaked the third day, ascended up to good place, +my God's house; sits now there on my God's right hand Father-all- +powerful; shall come soon to hold judgment over life and death. I +believe in Holy Ghost; Great Holy Church, Holy festival of all good +people together, all sins forgiveness, that all dead arise, no more +die again. Yea, brothers. + + +SPECIMEN OF A SONG IN THE VULGAR OR BROKEN ROMMANY + + +As I was a jawing to the gav yeck divvus, +I met on the dron miro Rommany chi: +I puch'd yoi whether she com sar mande; +And she penn'd: tu si wafo Rommany, + +And I penn'd, I shall ker tu miro tacho Rommany, +Fornigh tute but dui chave: +Methinks I'll cam tute for miro merripen, +If tu but pen, thou wilt commo sar mande. + + +TRANSLATION + + +One day as I was going to the village, +I met on the road my Rommany lass: +I ask'd her whether she would come with me, +And she said thou hast another wife. + +I said, I will make thee my lawful wife, +Because thou hast but two children; +Methinks I will love thee until my death, +If thou but say thou wilt come with me. + +Many other specimens of the English Gypsy muse might be here +adduced; it is probable, however, that the above will have fully +satisfied the curiosity of the reader. It has been inserted here +for the purpose of showing that the Gypsies have songs in their own +language, a fact which has been denied. In its metre it resembles +the ancient Sclavonian ballads, with which it has another feature +in common - the absence of rhyme. + + + + +Footnotes: + +(1) QUARTERLY REVIEW, Dec. 1842 + +(2) EDINBURGH REVIEW, Feb. 1843. + +(3) EXAMINER, Dec. 17, 1842. + +(4) SPECTATOR, Dec. 7, 1842. + +(5) Thou speakest well, brother! + +(6) This is quite a mistake: I know very little of what has been +written concerning these people: even the work of Grellmann had +not come beneath my perusal at the time of the publication of the +first edition OF THE ZINCALI, which I certainly do not regret: for +though I believe the learned German to be quite right in his theory +with respect to the origin of the Gypsies, his acquaintance with +their character, habits, and peculiarities, seems to have been +extremely limited. + +(7) Good day. + +(8) Glandered horse. + +(9) Two brothers. + +(10) The edition here referred to has long since been out of print. + +(11) It may not be amiss to give the etymology of the word engro, +which so frequently occurs in compound words in the English Gypsy +tongue:- the EN properly belongs to the preceding noun, being one +of the forms of the genitive case; for example, Elik-EN boro +congry, the great Church or Cathedral of Ely; the GRO or GEIRO +(Spanish GUERO), is the Sanscrit KAR, a particle much used in that +language in the formation of compounds; I need scarcely add that +MONGER in the English words Costermonger, Ironmonger, etc., is +derived from the same root. + +(12) For the knowledge of this fact I am indebted to the well-known +and enterprising traveller, Mr. Vigne, whose highly interesting +work on Cashmire and the Panjab requires no recommendation from me. + +(13) Gorgio (Spanish GACHO), a man who is not a Gypsy: the Spanish +Gypsies term the Gentiles Busne, the meaning of which word will be +explained farther on. + +(14) An Eastern image tantamount to the taking away of life. + +(15) Gentes non multum morigeratae, sed quasi bruta animalia et +furentes. See vol. xxii. of the Supplement to the works of +Muratori, p. 890. + +(16) As quoted by Hervas: CATALOGO DE LAS LENGUAS, vol. iii. p. +306. + +(17) We have found this beautiful metaphor both in Gypsy and +Spanish; it runs thus in the former language:- + +'LAS MUCHIS. (The Sparks.) + +'Bus de gres chabalas orchiris man dique a yes chiro purelar +sistilias sata rujias, y or sisli carjibal dinando trutas +discandas. + +(18) In the above little tale the writer confesses that there are +many things purely imaginary; the most material point, however, the +attempt to sack the town during the pestilence, which was defeated +by the courage and activity of an individual, rests on historical +evidence the most satisfactory. It is thus mentioned in the work +of Francisco de Cordova (he was surnamed Cordova from having been +for many years canon in that city):- + +'Annis praeteritis Iuliobrigam urbem, vulgo Logrono, pestilenti +laborantem morbo, et hominibus vacuam invadere hi ac diripere +tentarunt, perfecissentque ni Dens O. M. cuiusdam BIBLIOPOLAE +opera, in corum, capita, quam urbi moliebantur perniciem +avertisset.' DIDASCALIA, Lugduni, 1615, I vol. 8VO. p. 405, cap. +50. + +(19) Yet notwithstanding that we refuse credit to these particular +narrations of Quinones and Fajardo, acts of cannibalism may +certainly have been perpetrated by the Gitanos of Spain in ancient +times, when they were for the most part semi-savages living amongst +mountains and deserts, where food was hard to be procured: famine +may have occasionally compelled them to prey on human flesh, as it +has in modern times compelled people far more civilised than +wandering Gypsies. + +(20) England. + +(21) Spain. + +(22) MITHRIDATES: erster Theil, s. 241. + +(23) Torreblanca: DE MAGIA, 1678. + +(24) Exodus, chap. xiii. v. 9. 'And it shall be for a sign unto +thee upon thy hand.' Eng. Trans. + +(25) No chapter in the book of Job contains any such verse. + +(26) 'And the children of Israel went out with an high hand.' +Exodus, chap. xiv. v. 8. Eng. Trans. + +(27) No such verse is to be found in the book mentioned. + +(28) Prov., chap. vii. vers. 11, 12. 'She is loud and stubborn; +her feet abide not in her house. Now is she without, now in the +streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.' Eng. Trans. + +(29) HISTORIA DE ALONSO, MOZO DE MUCHOS AMOS: or, the story of +Alonso, servant of many masters; an entertaining novel, written in +the seventeenth century, by Geronimo of Alcala, from which some +extracts were given in the first edition of the present work. + +(30) O Ali! O Mahomet! - God is God! - A Turkish war-cry. + +(31) Gen. xlix. 22. + +(32) In the original there is a play on words. - It is not +necessary to enter into particulars farther than to observe that in +the Hebrew language 'ain' means a well, and likewise an eye. + +(33) Gen. xlviii. 16. In the English version the exact sense of +the inspired original is not conveyed. The descendants of Joseph +are to increase like fish. + +(34) Exodus, chap. xii. v. 37, 38. + +(35) Quinones, p. 11. + +(36) The writer will by no means answer for the truth of these +statements respecting Gypsy marriages. + +(37) This statement is incorrect. + +(38) The Torlaquis (idle vagabonds), Hadgies (saints), and +Dervishes (mendicant friars) of the East, are Gypsies neither by +origin nor habits, but are in general people who support themselves +in idleness by practising upon the credulity and superstition of +the Moslems. + +(39) In the Moorish Arabic, [Arabic text which cannot be +reproduced] - or reus al haramin, the literal meaning being, 'heads +or captains of thieves.' + +(40) A favourite saying amongst this class of people is the +following: 'Es preciso que cada uno coma de su oficio'; I.E. every +one must live by his trade. + +(41) For the above well-drawn character of Charles the Third I am +indebted to the pen of Louis de Usoz y Rio, my coadjutor in the +editing of the New Testament in Spanish (Madrid, 1837). For a +further account of this gentleman, the reader is referred to THE +BIBLE IN SPAIN, preface, p. xxii. + +(42) Steal a horse. + +(43) The lame devil: Asmodeus. + +(44) Rinconete and Cortadillo. + +(45) The great river, or Guadalquiver. + +(46) A fountain in Paradise. + +(47) A Gypsy word signifying 'exceeding much.' + +(48) 'Lengua muy cerrada.' + +(49) 'No camelo ser eray, es Calo mi nacimiento; +No camelo ser eray, eon ser Cale me contento.' + +(50) Armed partisans, or guerillas on horseback: they waged a war +of extermination against the French, but at the same time plundered +their countrymen without scruple. + +(51) The Basques speak a Tartar dialect which strikingly resembles +the Mongolian and the Mandchou. + +(52) A small nation or rather sect of contrabandistas, who inhabit +the valley of Pas amidst the mountains of Santander; they carry +long sticks, in the handling of which they are unequalled. Armed +with one of these sticks, a smuggler of Pas has been known to beat +off two mounted dragoons. + +(53) The hostess, Maria Diaz, and her son Joan Jose Lopez, were +present when the outcast uttered these prophetic words. + +(54) Eodem anno precipue fuit pestis seu mortalitas Forlivio. + +(55) This work is styled HISTORIA DE LOS GITANOS, by J. M-, +published at Barcelona in the year 1832; it consists of ninety- +three very small and scantily furnished pages. Its chief, we might +say its only merit, is the style, which is fluent and easy. The +writer is a theorist, and sacrifices truth and probability to the +shrine of one idea, and that one of the most absurd that ever +entered the head of an individual. He endeavours to persuade his +readers that the Gitanos are the descendants of the Moors, and the +greatest part of his work is a history of those Africans, from the +time of their arrival in the Peninsula till their expatriation by +Philip the Third. The Gitanos he supposes to be various tribes of +wandering Moors, who baffled pursuit amidst the fastnesses of the +hills; he denies that they are of the same origin as the Gypsies, +Bohemians, etc., of other lands, though he does not back his denial +by any proofs, and is confessedly ignorant of the Gitano language, +the grand criterion. + +(56) A Russian word signifying beans. + +(57) The term for poisoning swine in English Gypsy is DRABBING +BAWLOR. + +(58) Por medio de chalanerias. + +(59) The English. + +(60) These words are very ancient, and were, perhaps, used by the +earliest Spanish Gypsies; they differ much from the language of the +present day, and are quite unintelligible to the modern Gitanos. + +(61) It was speedily prohibited, together with the Basque gospel; +by a royal ordonnance, however, which appeared in the Gazette of +Madrid, in August 1838, every public library in the kingdom was +empowered to purchase two copies in both languages, as the works in +question were allowed to possess some merit IN A LITERARY POINT OF +VIEW. For a particular account of the Basque translation, and also +some remarks on the Euscarra language, the reader is referred to +THE BIBLE IN SPAIN, vol. ii. p. 385-398. + +(62) Steal me, Gypsy. + +(63) A species of gendarme or armed policeman. The Miquelets have +existed in Spain for upwards of two hundred years. They are called +Miquelets, from the name of their original leader. They are +generally Aragonese by nation, and reclaimed robbers. + +(64) Those who may be desirous of perusing the originals of the +following rhymes should consult former editions of this work. + +(65) For the original, see other editions. + +(66) For this information concerning Palmireno, and also for a +sight of the somewhat rare volume written by him, the author was +indebted to a kind friend, a native of Spain. + +(67) A very unfair inference; that some of the Gypsies did not +understand the author when he spoke Romaic, was no proof that their +own private language was a feigned one, invented for thievish +purposes. + +(68) Of all these, the most terrible, and whose sway endured for +the longest period, were the Mongols, as they were called: few, +however, of his original Mongolian warriors followed Timour in the +invasion of India. His armies latterly appear to have consisted +chiefly of Turcomans and Persians. It was to obtain popularity +amongst these soldiery that he abandoned his old religion, a kind +of fetish, or sorcery, and became a Mahometan. + +(69) As quoted by Adelung, MITHRIDATES, vol. i. + +(70) Mithridates. + +(70) For example, in the HISTORIA DE LOS GITANOS, of which we have +had occasion to speak in the first part of the present work: +amongst other things the author says, p. 95, 'If there exist any +similitude of customs between the Gitanos and the Gypsies, the +Zigeuners, the Zingari, and the Bohemians, they (the Gitanos) +cannot, however, be confounded with these nomad castes, nor the +same origin be attributed to them; . . . all that we shall find in +common between these people will be, that the one (the Gypsies, +etc.) arrived fugitives from the heart of Asia by the steppes of +Tartary, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, while the +Gitanos, descended from the Arab or Morisco tribes, came from the +coast of Africa as conquerors at the beginning of the eighth.' + +He gets rid of any evidence with respect to the origin of the +Gitanos which their language might be capable of affording in the +following summary manner: 'As to the particular jargon which they +use, any investigation which people might pretend to make would be +quite useless; in the first place, on account of the reserve which +they exhibit on this point; and secondly, because, in the event of +some being found sufficiently communicative, the information which +they could impart would lead to no advantageous result, owing to +their extreme ignorance.' + +It is scarcely worth while to offer a remark on reasoning which +could only emanate from an understanding of the very lowest order, +- so the Gitanos are so extremely ignorant, that however frank they +might wish to be, they would be unable to tell the curious inquirer +the names for bread and water, meat and salt, in their own peculiar +tongue - for, assuredly, had they sense enough to afford that +slight quantum of information, it would lead to two very +advantageous results, by proving, first, that they spoke the same +language as the Gypsies, etc., and were consequently the same +people - and secondly, that they came not from the coast of +Northern Africa, where only Arabic and Shillah are spoken, but from +the heart of Asia, three words of the four being pure Sanscrit. + +(72) As given in the MITHRIDATES of Adelung. + +(73) Possibly from the Russian BOLOSS, which has the same +signification. + +(74) Basque, BURUA. + +(75) Sanscrit, SCHIRRA. + +(76) These two words, which Hervas supposes to be Italian used in +an improper sense, are probably of quite another origin. LEN, in +Gitano, signifies 'river,' whilst VADI in Russian is equivalent to +water. + +(77) It is not our intention to weary the reader with prolix +specimens; nevertheless, in corroboration of what we have asserted, +we shall take the liberty of offering a few. Piar, to drink, (p. +188,) is Sanscrit, PIAVA. Basilea, gallows, (p. 158,) is Russian, +BECILITZ. Caramo, wine, and gurapo, galley, (pp. 162, 176,) +Arabic, HARAM (which literally signifies that which is forbidden) +and GRAB. Iza, (p. 179,) harlot, Turkish, KIZE. Harton, bread, +(p. 177,) Greek, ARTOS. Guido, good, and hurgamandera, harlot, +(pp. 177, 178,) German, GUT and HURE. Tiple, wine, (p. 197,) is +the same as the English word tipple, Gypsy, TAPILLAR. + +(78) This word is pure Wallachian ([Greek text which cannot be +reproduced]), and was brought by the Gypsies into England; it means +'booty,' or what is called in the present cant language, 'swag.' +The Gypsies call booty 'louripen.' + +(79) Christmas, literally Wine-day. + +(80) Irishman or beggar, literally a dirty squalid person. + +(81) Guineas. + +(82) Silver teapots. + +(83) The Gypsy word for a certain town. + +(84) In the Spanish Gypsy version, 'our bread of each day.' + +(85) Span., 'forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.' + +(86) Eng., 'all evil FROM'; Span., 'from all ugliness.' + +(87) Span., 'for thine.' + +(88) By Hungary is here meant not only Hungary proper, but +Transylvania. + +(89) How many days made come the gentleman hither. + +(90) How many-year fellow are you. + +(91) Of a grosh. + +(92) My name shall be to you for Moses my brother. + +(93) Comes. + +(94) Empty place. + +(95) V. CASINOBEN in Lexicon. + +(96) By these two words, Pontius Pilate is represented, but whence +they are derived I know not. + +(97) Reborn. + +(98) Poverty is always avoided. + +(99) A drunkard reduces himself to the condition of a hog. + +(100) The most he can do. + +(101) The puchero, or pan of glazed earth, in which bacon, beef, +and garbanzos are stewed. + +(102) Truth contrasts strangely with falsehood; this is a genuine +Gypsy proverb, as are the two which follow; it is repeated +throughout Spain WITHOUT BEING UNDERSTOOD. + +(103) In the original WEARS A MOUTH; the meaning is, ask nothing, +gain nothing. + +(104) Female Gypsy, + +(105) Women UNDERSTOOD. + +(106) With that motive awoke the labourer. ORIG. + +(107) Gave its pleasure to the finger, I.E. his finger was itching +to draw the trigger, and he humoured it. + +(108) They feared the shot and slugs, which are compared, and not +badly, to flies and almonds. + +(109) Christmas, literally Wine-day. + +(110) Irishman or beggar, literally a dirty squalid person. + +(111) Guineas. + +(114) Silver tea-pots. + +(115) The Gypsy word for a certain town. + +(116) As given by Grellmann. + +(117) The English Gypsies having, in their dialect, no other term +for ghost than mulo, which simply means a dead person, I have been +obliged to substitute a compound word. Bavalengro signifies +literally a wind thing, or FORM OF AIR. + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg eText The Gypsies of Spain +The Zincali by George Borrow + diff --git a/old/zncli10.zip b/old/zncli10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..85618d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/zncli10.zip |