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
[0] Although the present edition is only in one volume, Borrow’s original references to the two volumes in the above Dedication and the Preface have been retained.
[1] Quarterly Review, Dec. 1842
[2] Edinburgh Review, Feb. 1843.
[3] Examiner, Dec. 17, 1842.
[4] Spectator, Dec. 7, 1842.