Part 25 (2/2)

(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, a.s.suredly, 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 s.h.i.+llah 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 a.s.serted, 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.

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