MISCELLANIES IN THE GITÁNO 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 Gitáno language.
COTORRES ON CHIPE CALLI / MISCELLANIES
Bato Nonrro sos socabas on o tarpe, manjirificádo quejésa tute acnao; abillános or tute sichén, y querese tute orependola andial on la chen sata on o tarpe; or manrro nonrro de cata chibel diñanoslo sejoñía, y estormenanos nonrrias bisauras andial sata gabéres estormenamos á nonrros bisaraores; y nasti nes muques petrar on la bajanbó, 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-asisiláble, Perbaraor de o tarpe y la chen, y on Gresoné desquero Beyio Chabal nonrrio Eraño, sos guilló sar-trujatapucherído per troecane y sardaña de or Chanispero Manjaro, y pureló de Manjari ostelinda debla; Bricholó ostelé de or asislar de Brono Alieñicato; guilló trejuficao, mule y cabañao; y sundiló á los casinobés, [416] y á or brodeló chibél repureló de enrre los mulés, y encalomó á los otarpes, y soscabela bestíque á la tabastorre de Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, ende aotér á de abillar á sarplar á los Apucheris y mulés. Panchabo on or Chanispero Manjaró, la Manjari Cangari Pebuldórica y Rebuldórica, la Erunon de los Manjarós, or Estormén de los crejétes, la repureló de la mansenquere y la chibibén verable.—Anarania, Tebléque.
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; [417a] went crucified, dead and buried; and descended to the conflagrations, and on the third day revived [417b] 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 Débla quirindía, Day de sarós los Bordeles on coin panchabo: per los duquipénes sos naquelástes á or pindré de la trejúl de tute Chaborró majarolísimo te manguélo, Débla, me alcorabíses de tute chaborró or estormén de sares las dojis y crejétes sos menda udicáre aquerao on andoba surdéte.—Anarania, Tebléque.
Ostebé te berarbe Ostelinda! perdoripe sirles de sardañá; or Erañó sin sartute; bresban tute sirles enrré sares las rumiles, y bresban sin or frujero de tute po.—Tebléque.
Manjari Ostelinda, day de Ostebé, brichardila per gabéres crejetaóres aocaná y on la ocana de nonrra beribén!—Anarania, Tebléque.
Chimuclani or Bato, or Chabal, or Chanispero manjaró; 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
Pachabélo en Un-debel batu tosaro-baro, que ha querdi el char y la chiqué; y en Un-debél chinoró su unico chaboró eraño de amangue, que chaló en el trupo de la Majarí por el Duquende Majoró, y abió del veo de la Majarí; guilló curádo debájo de la sila de Pontio Piláto el chínobaró; guilló mulo y garabado; se chalé á las jacháris; al trin chibé se ha sicobádo de los mulés al char; sinéla bejádo á las baste de Un-debél barreá; y de oté abiará á juzgar á los mulés y á los que no lo sinélan; pachabélo en el Majaró; la Cangrí Majarí bareá; el jalar de los Majaries; lo mecó de los grécos; la resureccion de la maas, y la ochi que no maréla.
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 teráble garipé no le sin perfiné anelar relichi.
Bus yes manupe cha machagarno le pendan chuchipon los brochabos.
Sacais sos ne dicobélan calochin ne bridaquélan.
Coin terelare trasardos e dinastes nasti le buchare berrandáñas á desquero contiqué.
On sares las cachimanes de Sersen abillen rechés.
Bus mola yes chirriclo on la ba sos grés balogando.
A Ostebé brichardilando y sar or mochique diñelando.
Bus mola quesar jero de gabuño sos manporí de bombardo.
Dicár y panchabár, sata penda Manjaró Lillar.
Or esorjié de or narsichislé sin chismar lachinguél.
Las queles mistos grobelás: per macara chibel la pirí y de rachi la operisa.
Aunsos me dicas vriardao de jorpoy ne sirlo braco.
Chachipé con jujána—Calzones de buchí y medias de lana.
Chuquel sos piréla cocal teréla.
Len sos sonsi bela pani ó reblandani teréla.
He who is lean and has scabs needs not carry a net. [419a]
When a man goes drunk the boys say to him ‘suet.’ [419b]
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 [421a] of a dwarf is to spit largely.
Houses well managed:—at mid-day the stew-pan, [421b] 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. [421c]
The dog who walks finds a bone.
The river which makes a noise [421d] has either water or stones.
ODORES YE TILICHE / THE LOVER’S JEALOUSY
Dica Callí sos linastes terelas, plasarandote misto men calochin desquiñao de trinchas puñís y canrrias, sata anjella terelaba dicando on los chorres naquelos sos me tesumiaste, y andial reutilá á men Jelí, diñela gao á sos menda orobibele; men puñi sin trincha per la quimbíla nevel de yes manu barbaló; sos saro se muca per or jandorro. Lo sos bus prejeno Callí de los Bengorros sin sos nu muqueis per yes manú barbalo. . . . On tute orchíri nu chismo, tramistó on coin te araquera, sos menda terela men nostus pa avel sos me caméla bus sos túte.
Reflect, O Callee! [421e] 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 corbó rifian soscabar yes manu persibaraó, per sos saro se linbidían odoros y besllí, y per esegritón apuchelan on sardañá de saros los Benjes, techescándo grejos y olajais—de sustíri sos lo resaronomó niquilla murmo; y andial lo fendi sos terelamos de querar sin techescarle yes sulibári á or Jelí, y ne panchabar on caute manusardí, persos trutan á yesque lilí.
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 [423a] make a man mad.
LOS CHORES / THE ROBBERS
On grejelo chiro begoreó yesque berbanilla de chores á la burda de yes mostipelo a oleba rachí—Andial sos la prejenáron los cambraís presimeláron a cobadrar; sar andoba linaste changanó or lanbró, se sustiñó de la charipé de lapa, utiló la pusca, y niquilló platanando per or platesqueró de or mostipelo á la burda sos socabelába pandí, y per or jobi de la clichí chibeló or jundró de la pusca, le diñó pesquibo á or languté, y le sumuqueló yes bruchasnó on la tesquéra á or Jojerián de los ostilaóres y lo techescó de or gráte á ostelé. Andial sos los debus quimbilos dicobeláron á desquero Jojerian on chen sar las canrriáles de la Beriben, lo chibeláron espusifias á los grastes, y niquilláron chapescando, trutando la romuy apála, per bausalé de las machas ó almedálles de liripió.
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 [423b] 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, [423c] 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 [423d] 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 dicó los Barbalós sos techescában desqueros mansis on or Gazofilacio; y dicó tramisto yesque pispiricha chorrorita, sos techescába duis chinorris sarabállis, y peneló: en chachipé os peneló, sos caba chorrorri pispiricha á techescao bus sos sares los avéles: persos saros ondobas han techescao per los mansis de Ostebé, de lo sos les costuña; bus caba e desquero chorrorri á techescao saro or susalo sos terelaba. Y pendó á cormuñís, sos pendában del cangaripé, soscabelaba uriardao de orchíris berrandáñas, y de dénes: Cabas buchis sos dicais, abillarán chibeles, bus ne muquelará berrandáña costuñé berrandáña, sos ne quesesa demarabeá. Y le prucháron y pendáron: Docurdó, bus quesa ondoba? Y sos simachi abicará bus ondoba presimáre? Ondole pencló: Dicad, sos nasti queseis jonjabaos; persos butes abillarán on men acnao, pendando: man sirlo, y or chiro soscabéla pajes: Garabaos de guillelar apalà, de ondoláyos: y bus junureis bargañas y sustiñés, ne os espajuéis; persos sin perfiné sos ondoba chundée brotobó, bus nasti quesa escotriá or egresitón. Oclinde les pendaba: se sustinará suéste sartra suéste, y sichén sartra sichén, y abicará bareles dajirós de chénes per los gaos, y retréques y bocátas, y abicará buchengerés espajuis, y bareles simachis de otárpe: bus anjella de saro ondoba os sinastrarán y preguillarán, enregandoós á la Socretería, y los ostardós, y os legerarán á los Ocláyes, y á los Baquedunis, per men acnao: y ondoba os chundeará on chachipé. Terelad pus seraji on bros garlochínes de ne orobrár anjella sata abicáis de brudilar, persos man os diñaré rotuñí y chanár, la sos ne asislarán resistír ne sartra pendar satos bros enormes. Y quesaréis enregaos de bros bátos, y oprános, y sastris, y monrrores, y querarán merar á cormuñí de avéres; y os cangelarán saros per men acnao; bus ne carjibará ies bal de bros jerós. Sar bras opachirimá avelaréis bras orchis: pus bus dicaréis á Jerusalén relli, oclinde chanad sos, desqueró petra soscabela pajés; oclinde los soscabelan on la Chutéa, chapésguen á los tober-jélis; y los que on macara de ondolaya, niquillense; y lo sos on los oltariqués, nasti enrren on ondoláya; persos ondoba sen chibéles de Abilláza, pa sos chundéen sares las buchís soscabélan libanás; bus isna de las ararís, y de las sos diñan de oropielar on asirios chibéles; persos abicará bare quichartúra costuñe la chen, e guillará pa andoba Gao; y petrarán á surabi de janrró; y quesan legeraos sinastros á sarés las chénes, y Jerusalén quesá omaná de los suestíles, sasta sos quejesen los chirós de las sichenes; y abicara simachés on or orcán, y on la chimutiá, y on las uchurgañis; y on la chen chalabeó on la suéte per or dán sos bausalará la loria y des-querós gulas; muquelándo los romáres bifaos per dajiraló de las buchís sos costuñe abillarán á saro or surdéte; persos los soláres de los otarpes quesan sar-chalabeaos; y oclinde dicarán á or Chaboró e Manú abillar costuñe yesque minrriclá sar baro asislar y Chimusolano: bus presimelaren á chundear caba buchis, dicád, y sustiñád bros jerós, persos pajes soscabela bras redención.
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, [428a] 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, [428b] 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 [428c] 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; [429a] and in the Chong-gav, [429b] 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. [429c] | 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. | ||
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 | Crális |
| 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 | Avalí | Ungalé |
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
Míry dad, odoi oprey adrey tíro tatcho tan; Medeveleskoe si tíro nav; awel tiro tem, be kairdo tiro lav acoi drey pov sá odoi adrey kosgo tan: dey mande ke-divvus miry diry morro, ta fordel man sor so mé pazzorrus tute, sá mé fordel sor so wavior mushor pazzorrus amande; ma riggur man adrey kek dosch, ley man abri sor wafodu; tiro se o tem, tíro 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
Mé 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 pré rukh, moreno, chivios adrey o hev; jas yov tuley o kálo dron ke wafudo tan, bengeskoe stariben; jongorasa o trito divvus, atchasa opré to tatcho tan, Mí-dovvels kair; bestela kanaw odoi pré Mi-dovvels tacho wast Dad soro-boro; ava sig to lel shoonaben opré mestepen and merripen. Apasa-venna en develeskoe Baval-engro; Boro develeskoe congrí, develeskoe pios of sore tacho foky ketteney, soror wafudu-pénes fordias, soror mulor jongorella, kek merella apopli. Avalí, 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, [432] 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 chavé:
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.