Antonio - All last night I lay awake, thinking of the affairs
of Egypt; and when I arose in the morning I took the bar
lachi from my bosom, and scraping it with a knife, swallowed
some of the dust in aguardiente, as I am in the habit of doing
when I have made up my mind; and I said to myself, I am
wanted on the frontiers of Castumba on a certain matter.
of Egypt; and when I arose in the morning I took the bar
lachi from my bosom, and scraping it with a knife, swallowed
some of the dust in aguardiente, as I am in the habit of doing
when I have made up my mind; and I said to myself, I am
wanted on the frontiers of Castumba on a certain matter.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v04 - Bes to Bro
"Poor fellow,"
said he to me, "he has scarcely been gone an hour, and she is
jealous already. Well," he continued, "what do you think of
her? you have seen her now, and can judge for yourself — that
'ere woman is Tawno Chikno's wife! "
## p. 2184 (#382) ###########################################
2184
GEORGE BORROW
We went to the farthest of the tents, which stood at a slight
distance from the rest, and which exactly resembled the one
which I have described on a former occasion; we went in and
sat down, one on each side of a small fire which was smoldering
on the ground; there was no one else in the tent but a tall
tawny woman of middle age, who was busily knitting.
"Brother,"
said Jasper, "I wish to hold some pleasant discourse with you. "
"As much as you please," said I, "provided you can find
anything pleasant to talk about. ”
"Never fear," said Jasper; "and first of all we will talk of
yourself. Where have you been all this long time? "
"Here and there," said I, "and far and near, going about
with the soldiers; but there is no soldiering now, so we have sat
down, father and family, in the town there. "
"And do you still hunt snakes? " said Jasper.
"No," said I, "I have given up that long ago; I do better
now: read books and learn languages. "
"Well, I am sorry you have given up your snake-hunting;
many's the strange talk I have had with our people about your
snake and yourself, and how you frightened my father and
mother in the lane. "
"And where are your father and mother? "
"Where I shall never see them, brother; at least, I hope so. "
"Not dead? "
"No, not dead; they are bitchadey pawdel. "
"What's that? '
"Sent across - banished. "
―――――
"Ah! I understand; I am sorry for them.
here alone? "
And so you are
"Not quite alone, brother. "
"No, not alone; but with the rest-Tawno Chikno takes care
of you. "
"Takes care of me, brother! "
"Yes, stands to you in the place of a father-keeps you out
of harm's way. >>>
"What do you take me for, brother? "
"For about three years older than myself. "
"Perhaps; but you are of the gorgios, and I am a Romany
Chal. Tawno Chikno take care of Jasper Petulengro! "
"Is that your name? "
"Don't you like it? "
## p. 2185 (#383) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2185
"Very much, I never heard a sweeter; it is something like
what you call me. "
"The horseshoe master and the snake-fellow-I am the first. "
"Who gave you that name ? »
"Ask Pharaoh. "
"I would if he were here, but I do not see him. "
"I am Pharaoh. "
"Then you are a king. "
"Chachipen Pal. "
"I do not understand you. "
"Where are your languages? you want two things, brother:
mother-sense, and gentle Romany.
>>
"What makes you think that I want sense? "
"That being so old, you can't yet guide yourself! "
"I can read Dante, Jasper. "
<< Anan, brother. "
"I can charm snakes, Jasper. "
"I know you can, brother. "
"Yes, and horses too; bring me the most vicious in the land,
if I whisper he'll be tame. "
"Then the more shame for you- a snake-fellow -
-
a horse-
witch and a lil-reader - yet you can't shift for yourself. I
laugh at you, brother! "
"Then you can shift for yourself? »
"For myself and for others, brother. "
"And what does Chikno? "
"Sells me horses, when I bid him.
chong were mine.
>>>
"And has he none of his own? "
-
―――
Those horses on the
"Sometimes he has; but he is not so well off as myself.
When my father and mother were bitchadey pawdel, which, to
tell you the truth, they were for chiving wafodo dloovu, they left
me all they had, which was not a little, and I became the head
of our family, which was not a small one. I was not older than
you when that happened; yet our people said they had never a
better krallis to contrive and plan for them, and to keep them
in order. And this is so well known, that many Romany
Chals, not of our family, come and join themselves to us, living
with us for a time, in order to better themselves, more espe-
cially those of the poorer sort, who have little of their own.
Tawno is one of these. "
## p. 2186 (#384) ###########################################
2186
GEORGE BORROW
"Is that fine fellow poor? "
"One of the poorest, brother. Handsome as he is, he has
not a horse of his own to ride on. Perhaps we may put it
down to his wife, who cannot move about, being a cripple, as
you saw. "
"And you are what is called a Gipsy King? "
"Ay, ay; a Romany Chal. "
"Are there other kings? "
"Those who call themselves so; but the true Pharaoh is Petu-
lengro. »
"Did Pharaoh make horse-shoes?
"The first who ever did, brother. "
"Pharaoh lived in Egypt. "
"So did we once, brother. "
"And you left it? "
"My fathers did, brother. "
"And why did they come here? »
"They had their reasons, brother. "
"And you are not English? "
"We are not gorgios. "
"And you have a language of your own? "
"Avali. "
"This is wonderful. "
“Ha, ha! ” cried the woman who had hitherto sat knitting at
the farther end of the tent without saying a word, though not
inattentive to our conversation, as I could perceive by certain
glances which she occasionally cast upon us both. "Ha, ha! "
she screamed, fixing upon me two eyes which shone like burning
coals, and which were filled with an expression both of scorn
and malignity, "it is wonderful, is it, that we should have a
language of our own? What, you grudge the poor people the
speech they talk among themselves? That's just like you gor-
gios: you would have everybody stupid single-tongued idiots
like yourselves. We are taken before the Poknees of the gav,
myself and sister, to give an account of ourselves. So I says to
my sister's little boy, speaking Romany, I says to the little boy
who is with us, 'Run to my son Jasper and the rest, and tell
them to be off: there are hawks abroad. ' So the Poknees ques-
tions us, and lets us go, not being able to make anything of us;
but as we are going, he calls us back.
'Good woman,' says
the Poknees, 'what was that I heard you say just now to the
-
## p. 2187 (#385) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2187
little boy? ' 'I was telling him, your worship, to go and see
the time of day, and to save trouble I said it in our language. '
'Where did you get that language? ' says the Poknees. Tis
our own language, sir,' I tells him: 'we did not steal it. ' 'Shall
I tell you what it is, my good woman? ' says the Poknees.
would thank you, sir,' says I, 'for 'tis often we are asked about
it. ' 'Well, then,' says the Poknees, it is no language at all,
merely a made-up gibberish. ' 'Oh, bless your wisdom,' says I
with a curtsey, 'you can tell us what our language is without
understanding it! ' Another time. we meet a parson. Good
woman,' says he, 'what's that you are talking? Is it broken
language? ' 'Of course, your reverence,' says I, 'we are broken
people; give a shilling, your reverence, to the poor broken wo-
man. ' Oh, these gorgios! they grudge us our very language! "
"She called you her son, Jasper? "
"I am her son, brother. "
"I thought you said your parents were
"Bitchadey pawdel; you thought right, brother.
wife's mother. "
"Then you are married, Jasper? "
"Ay, truly; I am husband and father. You will see wife and
chabó anon. "
"Where are they now? "
"In the gav, penning dukkerin. "
"We were talking of languages, Jasper.
"True, brother. "
"Yours must be a rum one. "
'Tis called Romany. "
"I would gladly know it. "
"You need it sorely. "
"Would you teach it me? »
"None sooner. "
«<
>>
This is my
"Suppose we begin now? "
Suppose we do, brother. "
"Not whilst I am here," said the woman, flinging her knitting
down, and starting upon her feet; "not whilst I am here shall
this gorgio learn Romany. A pretty manoeuvre, truly; and
what would be the end of it? I goes to the farming ker with
my sister, to tell a fortune, and earn a few sixpences for the
chabés. I sees a jolly pig in the yard, and I says to my sister,
speaking Romany, 'Do so and so,' says I; which the farming
## p. 2188 (#386) ###########################################
2188
GEORGE BORROW
man hearing, asks what we are talking about. Nothing at all,
master,' says I; 'something about the weather,'-when who
should start up from behind a pale, where he has been listening,
but this ugly gorgio, crying out, "They are after poisoning your
pigs, neighbor,' so that we are glad to run, I and my sister,
with perhaps the farm-engro shouting after us. Says my sister
to me, when we have got fairly off, 'How came that ugly one
to know what you said to me? Whereupon I answers, 'It all
comes of my son Jasper, who brings the gorgio to our fire,
and must needs be teaching him. ' 'Who was fool there? ' says
my sister. Who indeed but my son Jasper,' I answers. And
here should I be a greater fool to sit still and suffer it; which I
will not do. I do not like the look of him; he looks over-gor-
geous. An ill day to the Romans when he masters Romany;
and when I says that, I pens a true dukkerin. "
"What do you call God, Jasper ? "
"You had better be jawing," said the woman, raising her
voice to a terrible scream; "you had better be moving off, my
gorgio; hang you for a keen one, sitting there by the fire, and
stealing my language before my face. Do you know whom you
have to deal with? Do you know that I am dangerous? My
name is Herne, and I comes of the Hairy Ones! "
And a hairy one she looked! She wore her hair clubbed
upon her head, fastened with many strings and ligatures; but
now, tearing these off, her locks, originally jet black, but now
partially grizzled with age, fell down on every side of her, cover-
ing her face and back as far down as her knees. No she-bear of
Lapland ever looked more fierce and hairy than did that woman,
as standing in the open part of the tent, with her head bent
down and her shoulders drawn up, seemingly about to precipi-
tate herself upon me, she repeated again and again-
"My name is Herne, and I comes of the Hairy Ones! ".
"I call God Duvel, brother. "
"It sounds very like Devil. ”
"It doth, brother, it doth. "
"And what do you call divine, I mean godly? "
"Oh! I call that duvelskoe. "
"I am thinking of something, Jasper. "
"What are you thinking of, brother? "
"Would it not be a rum thing if divine and devilish were
originally one and the same word? »
## p. 2189 (#387) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2189
"It would, brother, it would. "
From this time I had frequent interviews with Jasper, some-
times in his tent, sometimes on the heath, about which we would
roam for hours, discoursing on various matters. Sometimes
mounted on one of his horses, of which he had several, I would
accompany him to various fairs and markets in the neighbor-
hood, to which he went on his own affairs, or those of his tribe.
I soon found that I had become acquainted with a most singular
people, whose habits and pursuits awakened within me the high-
est interest. Of all connected with them, however, their language
was doubtless that which exercised the greatest influence over
my imagination. I had at first some suspicion that it would
prove a mere made-up gibberish; but I was soon undeceived.
Broken, corrupted, and half in ruins as it was, it was not long
before I found that it was an original speech; far more SO
indeed than one or two others of high name and celebrity, which
up to that time I had been in the habit of regarding with
respect and veneration. Indeed, many obscure points connected
with the vocabulary of these languages, and to which neither
classic nor modern lore afforded any clue, I thought I could now
clear up by means of this strange broken tongue, spoken by
people who dwelt amongst thickets and furze bushes, in tents as
tawny as their faces, and whom the generality of mankind desig-
nated, and with much semblance of justice, as thieves and vaga-
bonds. But where did this speech come from, and who were
they who spoke it? These were questions which I could not
solve, and which Jasper himself, when pressed, confessed his
inability to answer. "But whoever we be, brother," said he,
"we are an old people, and not what folks in general imagine,
broken gorgios; and if we are not Egyptians, we are at any rate
Romany Chals! "
A MEETING
From The Bible in Spain'
IT
WAS at this town of Badajoz, the capital of Estremadura,
that I first fell in with those singular people, the Zincali,
Gitanos, or Spanish gipsies. It was here I met with the
wild Paco, the man with the withered arm, who wielded the
cachas with his left hand; his shrewd wife, Antonia, skilled in
hokkano baro, or the great trick; the fierce gipsy, Antonio
## p. 2190 (#388) ###########################################
2190
GEORGE BORROW
Lopez, their father-in-law; and many other almost equally singu-
lar individuals of the Errate, or gipsy blood. It was here that
I first preached the gospel to the gipsy people, and commenced
that translation of the New Testament in the Spanish gipsy
tongue, a portion of which I subsequently printed at Madrid.
After a stay of three weeks at Badajoz, I prepared to depart
for Madrid. Late one afternoon, as I was arranging my scanty
baggage, the gipsy Antonio entered my apartment, dressed in
his zamarra and high-peaked Andalusian hat.
Antonio-Good evening, brother; they tell me that on the
callicaste you intend to set out for Madrilati.
Myself- Such is my intention; I can stay here no longer.
Antonio-The way is far to Madrilati; there are, moreover,
wars in the land, and many chories walk about; are you not
afraid to journey?
Myself— I have no fears; every man must accomplish his
destiny: what befalls my body or soul was written in a gabicote
a thousand years before the foundation of the world.
Antonio I have no fears myself, brother: the dark night is
the same to me as the fair day, and the wild carrascal as the
market-place or the chardi; I have got the bar lachi in my
bosom, the precious stone to which sticks the needle.
Myself-You mean the loadstone, I suppose. Do you believe
that a lifeless stone can preserve you from the dangers which
occasionally threaten your life?
Antonio-Brother, I am fifty years old, and you see me
standing before you in life and strength; how could that be
unless the bar lachi had power? I have been soldier and con-
trabandista, and I have likewise slain and robbed the Busné.
The bullets of the Gabiné and of the jara canallis have hissed
about my ears without injuring me, for I carried the bar lachi.
I have twenty times done that which by Busné law should have
brought me to the filimicha, yet my neck has never yet been
squeezed by the cold garrote. Brother, I trust in the bar lachi
like the Caloré of old: were I in the midst of the gulf of Bom-
bardó without a plank to float upon, I should feel no fear; for if
I carried the precious stone, it would bring me safe to shore.
The bar lachi has power, brother.
Myself I shall not dispute the matter with you, more espe
cially as I am about to depart from Badajoz: I must speedily bid
you farewell, and we shall see each other no more.
Antonio Brother, do you know what brings me hither?
## p. 2191 (#389) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2191
Myself I cannot tell, unless it be to wish me a happy jour-
ney: I am not gipsy enough to interpret the thoughts of other
people.
Antonio - All last night I lay awake, thinking of the affairs
of Egypt; and when I arose in the morning I took the bar
lachi from my bosom, and scraping it with a knife, swallowed
some of the dust in aguardiente, as I am in the habit of doing
when I have made up my mind; and I said to myself, I am
wanted on the frontiers of Castumba on a certain matter. The
strange Caloró is about to proceed to Madrilati; the journey is
long, and he may fall into evil hands, peradventure into those of
his own blood; for let me tell you, brother, the Calés are leav-
ing their towns and villages, and forming themselves into troops.
to plunder the Busné, for there is now but little law in the land,
and now or never is the time for the Caloré to become once
more what they were in former times. So I said, the strange
Caloró may fall into the hands of his own blood and be ill-
treated by them, which were shame: I will therefore go with
him through the Chim del Manró as far as the frontiers of Cas-
tumba, and upon the frontiers of Castumba I will leave the Lon-
don Caloró to find his own way to Madrilati, for there is less
danger in Castumba than in the Chim del Manró, and I will
then betake me to the affairs of Egypt which call me from
hence.
Myself— This is a very hopeful plan of yours, my friend:
and in what manner do you propose that we shall travel?
Antonio-I will tell you, brother. I have a gras in the stall,
even the one which I purchased at Olivenças, as I told you on a
former occasion; it is good and fleet, and cost me, who am a
gipsy, fifty chulé; upon that gras you shall ride. As for myself,
I will journey upon the macho.
Myself - Before I answer you, I shall wish you to inform me
what business it is which renders your presence necessary in
Castumba: your son-in-law Paco told me that it was no longer
the custom of the gipsies to wander.
Antonio It is an affair of Egypt, brother, and I shall not
acquaint you with it; peradventure it relates to a horse or an
ass, or peradventure it relates to a mule or a macho; it does not
relate to yourself, therefore I advise you not to inquire about
it-Dosta. With respect to my offer, you are free to decline it;
there is a drungruje between here and Madrilati, and you can
-
## p. 2192 (#390) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2192
travel it in the birdoche, or with the dromalis; but I tell you, as
a brother, that there are chories upon the drun, and some of them
are of the Errate.
-Certainly few people in my situation would have accepted
the offer of this singular gipsy. It was not, however, without its
allurements for me; I was fond of adventure, and what more
ready means of gratifying my love of it than by putting myself
under the hands of such a guide? There are many who would
have been afraid of treachery, but I had no fears on this point,
as I did not believe that the fellow harbored the slightest ill-
intention towards me; I saw that he was fully convinced that I
was one of the Errate, and his affection for his own race, and his
hatred for the Busné, were his strongest characteristics. I wished
moreover to lay hold of every opportunity of making myself
acquainted with the ways of the Spanish gipsies, and an excel-
lent one here presented itself on my first entrance into Spain. In
a word, I determined to accompany the gipsy. "I will go with
you," I exclaimed; "as for my baggage, I will dispatch it to
Madrid by the birdoche. " "Do so, brother," he replied, "and the
gras will go lighter. Baggage, indeed! —what need of baggage
have you? How the Busné on the road would laugh if they saw
two Calés with baggage behind them! "
During my stay at Badajoz I had but little intercourse with
the Spaniards, my time being chiefly devoted to the gipsies: with
whom, from long intercourse with various sections of their race
in different parts of the world, I felt myself much more at home
than with the silent, reserved men of Spain, with whom a for-
eigner might mingle for half a century without having half a
dozen words addressed to him, unless he himself made the first
advances to intimacy, which after all might be rejected with a
shrug and a no entiendo; for among the many deeply rooted
prejudices of these people is the strange idea that no foreigner
can speak their language, an idea to which they will still cling
though they hear him conversing with perfect ease; for in that
case the utmost that they will concede to his attainments is,
"Habla quatro palabras y nada mas. " (He can speak four words,
and no more. )
Early one morning, before sunrise, I found myself at the
house of Antonio; it was a small mean building, situated in a
dirty street. The morning was quite dark; the street, however,
was partially illumined by a heap of lighted straw, round which
## p. 2193 (#391) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2193
two or three men were busily engaged, apparently holding an
object over the flames. Presently the gipsy's door opened, and
Antonio made his appearance; and casting his eye in the direc-
tion of the light, exclaimed, "The swine have killed their brother;
would that every Busnó was served as yonder hog is. Come in,
brother, and we will eat the heart of that hog. " I scarcely
understood his words, but following him, he led me into a low
room, in which was a brasero, or small pan full of lighted char-
coal; beside it was a rude table, spread with a coarse linen cloth,
upon which was bread and a large pipkin full of a mess which
emitted no disagreeable savor. "The heart of the balichó is in
that puchera," said Antonio; "eat, brother. " We both sat down
and ate Antonio voraciously. When we had concluded he
arose. "Have you got your li? " he demanded. "Here it is,"
said I, showing him my passport. "Good," said he;
want it. I want none; my passport is the bar lachi.
glass of repañí, and then for the road. "
"you may
Now for a
We left the room, the door of which he locked, hiding the
key beneath a loose brick in a corner of the passage. "Go into
the street, brother, whilst I fetch the caballerias from the stable. "
I obeyed him. The sun had not yet risen, and the air was
piercingly cold; the gray light, however, of dawn enabled me
to distinguish objects with tolerable accuracy; I soon heard the
clattering of the animal's feet, and Antonio presently stepped
forth, leading the horse by the bridle; the macho followed behind.
I looked at the horse, and shrugged my shoulders. As far as I
could scan it, it appeared the most uncouth animal I had ever
beheld. It was of a spectral white, short in the body, but with
remarkably long legs. I observed that it was particularly high
in the cruz, or withers. "You are looking at the grasti," said
Antonio: "it is eighteen years old, but it is the very best in the
Chim del Manró; I have long had my eye upon it; I bought it for
my own use for the affairs of Egypt. Mount, brother, mount,
and let us leave the foros-the gate is about being opened. "
He locked the door, and deposited the key in his faja. In
less than a quarter of an hour we had left the town behind us.
"This does not appear to be a very good horse," said I to Anto-
nio, as we proceeded over the plain: "it is with difficulty that I
can make him move. "
"He is the swiftest horse in the Chim del Manró, brother,"
said Antonio; "at the gallop and at the speedy trot, there is no
IV-138
## p. 2194 (#392) ###########################################
2194
GEORGE BORROW
one to match him. But he is eighteen years old, and his joints
are stiff, especially of a morning; but let him once become
heated, and the genio del viejo comes upon him, and there is no
holding him in with bit or bridle. I bought that horse for the
affairs of Egypt, brother. "
About noon we arrived at a small village in the neighbor-
hood of a high lumpy hill. "There is no Caló house in this
place," said Antonio: "we will therefore go to the posada of the
Busné and refresh ourselves, man and beast. " We entered the
kitchen and sat down at the board, calling for wine and bread.
There were two ill-looking fellows in the kitchen smoking cigars.
I said something to Antonio in the Caló language.
"What is that I hear? " said one of the fellows, who was dis-
tinguished by an immense pair of mustaches. "What is that I
hear? Is it in Caló that you are speaking before me, and I a
chalan and national? Accursed gipsy, how dare you enter this
posada and speak before me in that speech? Is it not forbidden
by the law of the land in which we are, even as it is forbidden
for a gipsy to enter the mercado? I tell you what, friend, if
I hear another word of Caló come from your mouth, I will
cudgel your bones and send you flying over the house-tops with
a kick of my foot. "
(
"You would do right," said his companion; "the insolence of
these gipsies is no longer to be borne. When I am at Merida
or Badajoz I go to the mercado, and there in a corner stand
the accursed gipsies, jabbering to each other in a speech which
I understand not. 'Gipsy gentleman,' say I to one of them,
what will you have for that donkey? ' 'I will have ten dollars
for it, Caballero nacional,' says the gipsy: 'it is the best donkey
in all Spain. ' 'I should like to see its paces,' say I. 'That
you shall, most valorous! ' says the gipsy, and jumping upon its
back, he puts it to its paces, first of all whispering something
into its ear in Caló; and truly the paces of the donkey are most
wonderful, such as I have never seen before. I think it will
just suit me; and after looking at it awhile, I take out the
money and pay for it. 'I shall go to my house,' says the
gipsy; and off he runs. 'I shall go to my village,' say I, and
I mount the donkey. 'Vamonos,' say I, but the donkey won't
move. I give him a switch, but I don't get on the better for
that. What happens then, brother? The wizard no sooner
feels the prick than he bucks down, and flings me over his head
## p. 2195 (#393) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2195
'He is gone to see his kindred
I just saw him running over
with the devil close behind
"
into the mire. I get up and look about me; there stands the
donkey staring at me, and there stand the whole gipsy canaille
squinting at me with their filmy eyes. 'Where is the scamp
who has sold me this piece of furniture? ' I shout.
'He is gone
to Granada, valorous,' says one.
among the Moors,' says another.
the field, in the direction of
him,' says a third. In a word, I am tricked. I wish to dispose
of the donkey: no one, however, will buy him; he is a Caló
donkey, and every person avoids him. At last the gipsies offer
thirty reals for him; and after much chaffering I am glad to get
rid of him at two dollars. It is all a trick, however; he returns
to his master, and the brotherhood share the spoil amongst
them: all which villainy would be prevented, in my opinion,
were the Caló language not spoken; for what but the word of
Caló could have induced the donkey to behave in such an unac-
countable manner? "
Both seemed perfectly satisfied with the justness of this con-
clusion, and continued smoking till their cigars were burnt to
stumps, when they arose, twitched their whiskers, looked at us
with fierce disdain, and dashing the tobacco-ends to the ground,
strode out of the apartment.
"Those people seem no friends to the gipsies," said I to
Antonio, when the two bullies had departed; "nor to the Caló
language either. "
"May evil glanders seize their nostrils," said Antonio: "they
have been jonjabadoed by our people. However, brother, you
did wrong to speak to me in Caló, in a posada like this: it is a
forbidden language; for, as I have often told you, the king has
destroyed the law of the Calés. Let us away, brother, or those
juntunes may set the justicia upon us. "
Towards evening we drew near to a large town or village.
"That is Merida," said Antonio, "formerly, as the Busné say, a
mighty city of the Corahai. We shall stay here to-night, and per-
haps for a day or two, for I have some business of Egypt to
transact in this place. Now, brother, step aside with the horse,
and wait for me beneath yonder wall. I must go before and see
in what condition matters stand. "
I dismounted from the horse, and sat down on a stone be-
neath the ruined wall to which Antonio had motioned me. The
sun went down, and the air was exceedingly keen; I drew close
## p. 2196 (#394) ###########################################
2196
GEORGE BORROW
around me an old tattered gipsy cloak with which my companion
had provided me, and being somewhat fatigued, fell into a doze
which lasted for nearly an hour.
"Is your worship the London Caloró? " said a strange voice
close beside me.
I started, and beheld the face of a woman peering under my
hat. Notwithstanding the dusk, I could see that the features
were hideously ugly and almost black; they belonged, in fact, to
a gipsy crone at least seventy years of age, leaning upon a
staff.
"Is your worship the London Caloró? » repeated she.
"I am he whom you seek," said I; "where is Antonio ? »
Curelando, curelando; baribustres curelós terela," said the
crone. "Come with me, Caloró of my garlochin, come with me
to my little ker; he will be there anon. "
I followed the crone, who led the way into the town, which
was ruinous and seemingly half deserted; we went up the
street, from which she turned into a narrow and dark lane,
and presently opened the gate of a large dilapidated house.
"Come in," said she.
"And the gras? " I demanded.
«< Bring the gras in too, my chabó, bring the gras in too;
there is room for the gras in my little stable. " We entered
a large court, across which we proceeded till we came to a wide
doorway. "Go in, my child of Egypt," said the hag; "go in,
that is my little stable. "
"The place is as dark as pitch," said I, "and may be a well
for what I know; bring a light, or I will not enter. "
"Give me the solabarri," said the hag, "and I will lead your
horse in, my chabó of Egypt - yes, and tether him to my little
manger. "
She led the horse through the doorway, and I heard her busy
in the darkness; presently the horse shook himself. "Grasti
terelamos," said the hag, who now made her appearance with
the bridle in her hand; "the horse has shaken himself, he is
not harmed by his day's journey; now let us go in, my Caloró,
into my little room. "
We entered the house, and found ourselves in a vast room,
which would have been quite dark but for a faint glow which
appeared at the farther end: it proceeded from a brasero, beside
which were squatted two dusky figures.
## p. 2197 (#395) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2197
«<
"These are Callées," said the hag; one is my daughter and
the other is her chabi. Sit down, my London Caloró, and let us
hear you speak. "
I looked about for a chair, but could see none: at a short
distance, however, I perceived the end of a broken pillar lying
on the floor; this I rolled to the brasero, and sat down upon it.
"This is a fine house, mother of the gipsies," said I to the
hag, willing to gratify the desire she had expressed of hearing
me speak; "a fine house is this of yours, rather cold and damp,
though; it appears large enough to be a barrack for hundunares. "
"Plenty of houses in this foros, plenty of houses in Merida,
my London Caloró, some of them just as they were left by the
Corahanós. Ah! a fine people are the Corahanós; I often wish
myself in their chim once more. "
"How is this, mother? " said I; "have you been in the land
of the Moors? "
"Twice have I been in their country, my Caloró - twice have
I been in the land of the Corahai. The first time is more than
fifty years ago; I was then with the Sesé, for my husband was
a soldier of the Crallis of Spain, and Oran at that time belonged
to Spain. "
"You were not then with the real Moors," said I, "but only
with the Spaniards who occupied part of their country. "
"I have been with the real Moors, my London Caloró. Who
knows more of the real Moors than myself? About forty years
ago I was with my ro in Ceuta, for he was still a soldier of the
king; and he said to me one day, 'I am tired of this place,
where there is no bread and less water; I will escape and turn
Corahanó; this night I will kill my sergeant, and flee to the
camp of the Moor. ' 'Do so,' said I, 'my chabó, and as soon as
may be I will follow you and become a Corahani. ’
That same
night he killed his sergeant, who five years before had called
him Caló and cursed him; then running to the wall he dropped
from it, and amidst many shots he escaped to the land of the
Corahai. As for myself, I remained in the presidio of Ceuta as
a sutler, selling wine and repañí to the soldiers.
Two years
passed by, and I neither saw nor heard from my ro.
One day
there came a strange man to my cachimani; he was dressed like
a Corahanó, and yet he did not look like one; he looked more
like a callardo, and yet he was not a callardó either, though he
was almost black; and as I looked upon him, I thought he looked
## p. 2198 (#396) ###########################################
2198
GEORGE BORROW
something like the Errate; and he said to me, 'Zincali, chachipé! '
and then he whispered to me in queer language, which I could
scarcely understand, 'Your ro is waiting; come with me, my
little sister, and I will take you unto him. ' 'Where is he? ' said
I, and he pointed to the west, to the land of the Corahai, and
said, 'He is yonder away; come with me, little sister, the ro is
waiting. For a moment I was afraid, but I bethought me of
my husband, and I wished to be amongst the Corahai; so I took
the little parné I had, and locking up the cachimani, went with
the strange man. The sentinel challenged us at the gate, but I
gave him repañí, and he let us pass; in a moment we were in
the land of the Corahai. About a league from the town, beneath
a hill, we found four people, men and women, all very black
like the strange man, and we joined ourselves with them, and
they all saluted me, 'little sister. ' That was all I understood of
their discourse, which was very crabbed; and they took away my
dress and gave me other clothes, and I looked like a Corahani;
and away we marched for many days amidst deserts and small
villages, and more than once it seemed to me that I was amongst
the Errate, for their ways were the same. The men would
hokkawar with mules and asses, and the women told baji, and
after many days we came before a large town, and the black
man said, 'Go in there, little sister, and there you will find your
ro;' and I went to the gate, and an armed Corahanó stood
within the gate, and I looked in his face, and lo! it was my ro.
"Oh, what a strange town it was that I found myself in, full
of people who had once been Candoré, but had renegaded and
become Corahai! There were Sesé and Laloré, and men of other
nations, and amongst them were some of the Errate from my
own country; all were now soldiers of the Crallis of the Corahai,
and followed him to his wars; and in that town I remained with
my ro a long time, occasionally going out to him to the wars;
and I often asked him about the black men who had brought me
thither, and he told me that he had had dealings with them, and
that he believed them to be of the Errate. Well, brother, to be
short, my ro was killed in the wars, before a town to which the
king of the Corahai laid siege, and I became a piuli, and I
returned to the village of the renegades, as it was called, and
supported myself as well as I could; and one day, as I was sit-
ting weeping, the black man, whom I had never seen since the
day he brought me to my ro, again stood before me, and he said,
## p. 2199 (#397) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2199
'Come with me, little sister, come with me; the ro is at hand;'
and I went with him, and beyond the gate in the desert was the
same party of black men and women which I had seen before.
'Where is my ro? ' said I. 'Here he is, little sister,' said the
black man, 'here he is; from this day I am the ro and you are
the romi. Come, let us go, for there is business to be done. '
"And I went with him, and he was my ro, and we lived
amongst the deserts, and hokkawar'd and choried and told baji;
and I said to myself, 'This is good; sure, I am amongst the
Errate in a better chim than my own. ' And I often said that
they were of the Errate, and then they would laugh and say that
it might be so, and that they were not Corahai, but they could
give no account of themselves.
"Well, things went on in this way for years, and I had three
chai by the black man; two of them died, but the youngest, who
is the Calli who sits by the brasero, was spared. So we roamed
about and choried and told baji; and it came to pass that once
in the winter time our company attempted to pass a wide and
deep river, of which there are many in the Chim del Corahai,
and the boat overset with the rapidity of the current, and all
our people were drowned, all but myself and my chabi, whom
I bore in my bosom. I had no friends amongst the Corahai,
and I wandered about the despoblados howling and lamenting till
I became half lili, and in this manner I found my way to the
coast, where I made friends with the captain of a ship, and
returned to this land of Spain. And now I am here, I often
wish myself back again amongst the Corahai. "
Here she commenced laughing loud and long; and when she
had ceased, her daughter and grandchild took up the laugh,
which they continued so long that I concluded they were all
lunatics.
Hour succeeded hour, and still we sat crouching over the
brasero, from which, by this time, all warmth had departed; the
glow had long since disappeared, and only a few dying sparks
were to be distinguished. The room or hall was now involved
in utter darkness; the women were motionless and still; I shiv-
ered and began to feel uneasy. "Will Antonio be here to-night? "
at length I demanded.
"No tenga usted cuidado, my London Caloró," said the gipsy
mother in an unearthly tone; "Pepindorio has been here some.
time. "
## p. 2200 (#398) ###########################################
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GEORGE BORROW
I was about to rise from my seat and attempt to escape from
the house, when I felt a hand laid upon my shoulder, and in a
moment I heard the voice of Antonio:
"Be not afraid; 'tis I, brother. We will have a light anon,
and then supper. "
The supper was rude enough, consisting of bread, cheese, and
olives; Antonio, however, produced a leathern bottle of excellent
wine. We dispatched these viands by the light of an earthen
lamp, which was placed upon the floor.
"Now," said Antonio to the youngest female, "bring me the
pajandi, and I will sing a gachapla. "
The girl brought the guitar, which with some difficulty the
gipsy tuned, and then, strumming it vigorously, he sang:-
"I stole a plump and bonny fowl,
But ere I well had dined,
The master came with scowl and growl,
And me would captive bind.
«<
My hat and mantle off I threw,
And scoured across the lea;
Then cried the beng with loud halloo,
'Where does the gipsy flee ? >»
He continued playing and singing for a considerable time, the
two younger females dancing in the meanwhile with unwearied
diligence, whilst the aged mother occasionally snapped her fingers
or beat time on the ground with her stick. At last Antonio sud-
denly laid down the instrument, exclaiming:—
"I see the London Caloró is weary; enough, enough,
morrow more thereof. We will now to the charipé. "
to-
"With all my heart," said I: "where are we to sleep? "
"In the stable," said he, "in the manger; however cold the
stable may be, we shall be warm enough in the bufa. "
We remained three days at the gipsies' house, Antonio de
parting early every morning on his mule, and returning late at
night. The house was large and ruinous, the only habitable
part of it with the exception of the stable being the hall, where
we had supped; and there the gipsy females slept at night, on
some mats and mattresses in a corner.
"A strange house is this," said I to Antonio, one morning as
he was on the point of saddling his mule, and departing,
supposed, on the affairs of Egypt; "a strange house and strange
## p. 2201 (#399) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2201
people. That gipsy grandmother has all the appearance of a
sowanee. "
"All the appearance of one! " said Antonio; "and is she not
really one? She knows more crabbed things and crabbed words
than all the Errate betwixt here and Catalonia. She has been
amongst the wild Moors, and can make more draos, poisons, and
philtres than any one alive.
said he to me, "he has scarcely been gone an hour, and she is
jealous already. Well," he continued, "what do you think of
her? you have seen her now, and can judge for yourself — that
'ere woman is Tawno Chikno's wife! "
## p. 2184 (#382) ###########################################
2184
GEORGE BORROW
We went to the farthest of the tents, which stood at a slight
distance from the rest, and which exactly resembled the one
which I have described on a former occasion; we went in and
sat down, one on each side of a small fire which was smoldering
on the ground; there was no one else in the tent but a tall
tawny woman of middle age, who was busily knitting.
"Brother,"
said Jasper, "I wish to hold some pleasant discourse with you. "
"As much as you please," said I, "provided you can find
anything pleasant to talk about. ”
"Never fear," said Jasper; "and first of all we will talk of
yourself. Where have you been all this long time? "
"Here and there," said I, "and far and near, going about
with the soldiers; but there is no soldiering now, so we have sat
down, father and family, in the town there. "
"And do you still hunt snakes? " said Jasper.
"No," said I, "I have given up that long ago; I do better
now: read books and learn languages. "
"Well, I am sorry you have given up your snake-hunting;
many's the strange talk I have had with our people about your
snake and yourself, and how you frightened my father and
mother in the lane. "
"And where are your father and mother? "
"Where I shall never see them, brother; at least, I hope so. "
"Not dead? "
"No, not dead; they are bitchadey pawdel. "
"What's that? '
"Sent across - banished. "
―――――
"Ah! I understand; I am sorry for them.
here alone? "
And so you are
"Not quite alone, brother. "
"No, not alone; but with the rest-Tawno Chikno takes care
of you. "
"Takes care of me, brother! "
"Yes, stands to you in the place of a father-keeps you out
of harm's way. >>>
"What do you take me for, brother? "
"For about three years older than myself. "
"Perhaps; but you are of the gorgios, and I am a Romany
Chal. Tawno Chikno take care of Jasper Petulengro! "
"Is that your name? "
"Don't you like it? "
## p. 2185 (#383) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2185
"Very much, I never heard a sweeter; it is something like
what you call me. "
"The horseshoe master and the snake-fellow-I am the first. "
"Who gave you that name ? »
"Ask Pharaoh. "
"I would if he were here, but I do not see him. "
"I am Pharaoh. "
"Then you are a king. "
"Chachipen Pal. "
"I do not understand you. "
"Where are your languages? you want two things, brother:
mother-sense, and gentle Romany.
>>
"What makes you think that I want sense? "
"That being so old, you can't yet guide yourself! "
"I can read Dante, Jasper. "
<< Anan, brother. "
"I can charm snakes, Jasper. "
"I know you can, brother. "
"Yes, and horses too; bring me the most vicious in the land,
if I whisper he'll be tame. "
"Then the more shame for you- a snake-fellow -
-
a horse-
witch and a lil-reader - yet you can't shift for yourself. I
laugh at you, brother! "
"Then you can shift for yourself? »
"For myself and for others, brother. "
"And what does Chikno? "
"Sells me horses, when I bid him.
chong were mine.
>>>
"And has he none of his own? "
-
―――
Those horses on the
"Sometimes he has; but he is not so well off as myself.
When my father and mother were bitchadey pawdel, which, to
tell you the truth, they were for chiving wafodo dloovu, they left
me all they had, which was not a little, and I became the head
of our family, which was not a small one. I was not older than
you when that happened; yet our people said they had never a
better krallis to contrive and plan for them, and to keep them
in order. And this is so well known, that many Romany
Chals, not of our family, come and join themselves to us, living
with us for a time, in order to better themselves, more espe-
cially those of the poorer sort, who have little of their own.
Tawno is one of these. "
## p. 2186 (#384) ###########################################
2186
GEORGE BORROW
"Is that fine fellow poor? "
"One of the poorest, brother. Handsome as he is, he has
not a horse of his own to ride on. Perhaps we may put it
down to his wife, who cannot move about, being a cripple, as
you saw. "
"And you are what is called a Gipsy King? "
"Ay, ay; a Romany Chal. "
"Are there other kings? "
"Those who call themselves so; but the true Pharaoh is Petu-
lengro. »
"Did Pharaoh make horse-shoes?
"The first who ever did, brother. "
"Pharaoh lived in Egypt. "
"So did we once, brother. "
"And you left it? "
"My fathers did, brother. "
"And why did they come here? »
"They had their reasons, brother. "
"And you are not English? "
"We are not gorgios. "
"And you have a language of your own? "
"Avali. "
"This is wonderful. "
“Ha, ha! ” cried the woman who had hitherto sat knitting at
the farther end of the tent without saying a word, though not
inattentive to our conversation, as I could perceive by certain
glances which she occasionally cast upon us both. "Ha, ha! "
she screamed, fixing upon me two eyes which shone like burning
coals, and which were filled with an expression both of scorn
and malignity, "it is wonderful, is it, that we should have a
language of our own? What, you grudge the poor people the
speech they talk among themselves? That's just like you gor-
gios: you would have everybody stupid single-tongued idiots
like yourselves. We are taken before the Poknees of the gav,
myself and sister, to give an account of ourselves. So I says to
my sister's little boy, speaking Romany, I says to the little boy
who is with us, 'Run to my son Jasper and the rest, and tell
them to be off: there are hawks abroad. ' So the Poknees ques-
tions us, and lets us go, not being able to make anything of us;
but as we are going, he calls us back.
'Good woman,' says
the Poknees, 'what was that I heard you say just now to the
-
## p. 2187 (#385) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2187
little boy? ' 'I was telling him, your worship, to go and see
the time of day, and to save trouble I said it in our language. '
'Where did you get that language? ' says the Poknees. Tis
our own language, sir,' I tells him: 'we did not steal it. ' 'Shall
I tell you what it is, my good woman? ' says the Poknees.
would thank you, sir,' says I, 'for 'tis often we are asked about
it. ' 'Well, then,' says the Poknees, it is no language at all,
merely a made-up gibberish. ' 'Oh, bless your wisdom,' says I
with a curtsey, 'you can tell us what our language is without
understanding it! ' Another time. we meet a parson. Good
woman,' says he, 'what's that you are talking? Is it broken
language? ' 'Of course, your reverence,' says I, 'we are broken
people; give a shilling, your reverence, to the poor broken wo-
man. ' Oh, these gorgios! they grudge us our very language! "
"She called you her son, Jasper? "
"I am her son, brother. "
"I thought you said your parents were
"Bitchadey pawdel; you thought right, brother.
wife's mother. "
"Then you are married, Jasper? "
"Ay, truly; I am husband and father. You will see wife and
chabó anon. "
"Where are they now? "
"In the gav, penning dukkerin. "
"We were talking of languages, Jasper.
"True, brother. "
"Yours must be a rum one. "
'Tis called Romany. "
"I would gladly know it. "
"You need it sorely. "
"Would you teach it me? »
"None sooner. "
«<
>>
This is my
"Suppose we begin now? "
Suppose we do, brother. "
"Not whilst I am here," said the woman, flinging her knitting
down, and starting upon her feet; "not whilst I am here shall
this gorgio learn Romany. A pretty manoeuvre, truly; and
what would be the end of it? I goes to the farming ker with
my sister, to tell a fortune, and earn a few sixpences for the
chabés. I sees a jolly pig in the yard, and I says to my sister,
speaking Romany, 'Do so and so,' says I; which the farming
## p. 2188 (#386) ###########################################
2188
GEORGE BORROW
man hearing, asks what we are talking about. Nothing at all,
master,' says I; 'something about the weather,'-when who
should start up from behind a pale, where he has been listening,
but this ugly gorgio, crying out, "They are after poisoning your
pigs, neighbor,' so that we are glad to run, I and my sister,
with perhaps the farm-engro shouting after us. Says my sister
to me, when we have got fairly off, 'How came that ugly one
to know what you said to me? Whereupon I answers, 'It all
comes of my son Jasper, who brings the gorgio to our fire,
and must needs be teaching him. ' 'Who was fool there? ' says
my sister. Who indeed but my son Jasper,' I answers. And
here should I be a greater fool to sit still and suffer it; which I
will not do. I do not like the look of him; he looks over-gor-
geous. An ill day to the Romans when he masters Romany;
and when I says that, I pens a true dukkerin. "
"What do you call God, Jasper ? "
"You had better be jawing," said the woman, raising her
voice to a terrible scream; "you had better be moving off, my
gorgio; hang you for a keen one, sitting there by the fire, and
stealing my language before my face. Do you know whom you
have to deal with? Do you know that I am dangerous? My
name is Herne, and I comes of the Hairy Ones! "
And a hairy one she looked! She wore her hair clubbed
upon her head, fastened with many strings and ligatures; but
now, tearing these off, her locks, originally jet black, but now
partially grizzled with age, fell down on every side of her, cover-
ing her face and back as far down as her knees. No she-bear of
Lapland ever looked more fierce and hairy than did that woman,
as standing in the open part of the tent, with her head bent
down and her shoulders drawn up, seemingly about to precipi-
tate herself upon me, she repeated again and again-
"My name is Herne, and I comes of the Hairy Ones! ".
"I call God Duvel, brother. "
"It sounds very like Devil. ”
"It doth, brother, it doth. "
"And what do you call divine, I mean godly? "
"Oh! I call that duvelskoe. "
"I am thinking of something, Jasper. "
"What are you thinking of, brother? "
"Would it not be a rum thing if divine and devilish were
originally one and the same word? »
## p. 2189 (#387) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2189
"It would, brother, it would. "
From this time I had frequent interviews with Jasper, some-
times in his tent, sometimes on the heath, about which we would
roam for hours, discoursing on various matters. Sometimes
mounted on one of his horses, of which he had several, I would
accompany him to various fairs and markets in the neighbor-
hood, to which he went on his own affairs, or those of his tribe.
I soon found that I had become acquainted with a most singular
people, whose habits and pursuits awakened within me the high-
est interest. Of all connected with them, however, their language
was doubtless that which exercised the greatest influence over
my imagination. I had at first some suspicion that it would
prove a mere made-up gibberish; but I was soon undeceived.
Broken, corrupted, and half in ruins as it was, it was not long
before I found that it was an original speech; far more SO
indeed than one or two others of high name and celebrity, which
up to that time I had been in the habit of regarding with
respect and veneration. Indeed, many obscure points connected
with the vocabulary of these languages, and to which neither
classic nor modern lore afforded any clue, I thought I could now
clear up by means of this strange broken tongue, spoken by
people who dwelt amongst thickets and furze bushes, in tents as
tawny as their faces, and whom the generality of mankind desig-
nated, and with much semblance of justice, as thieves and vaga-
bonds. But where did this speech come from, and who were
they who spoke it? These were questions which I could not
solve, and which Jasper himself, when pressed, confessed his
inability to answer. "But whoever we be, brother," said he,
"we are an old people, and not what folks in general imagine,
broken gorgios; and if we are not Egyptians, we are at any rate
Romany Chals! "
A MEETING
From The Bible in Spain'
IT
WAS at this town of Badajoz, the capital of Estremadura,
that I first fell in with those singular people, the Zincali,
Gitanos, or Spanish gipsies. It was here I met with the
wild Paco, the man with the withered arm, who wielded the
cachas with his left hand; his shrewd wife, Antonia, skilled in
hokkano baro, or the great trick; the fierce gipsy, Antonio
## p. 2190 (#388) ###########################################
2190
GEORGE BORROW
Lopez, their father-in-law; and many other almost equally singu-
lar individuals of the Errate, or gipsy blood. It was here that
I first preached the gospel to the gipsy people, and commenced
that translation of the New Testament in the Spanish gipsy
tongue, a portion of which I subsequently printed at Madrid.
After a stay of three weeks at Badajoz, I prepared to depart
for Madrid. Late one afternoon, as I was arranging my scanty
baggage, the gipsy Antonio entered my apartment, dressed in
his zamarra and high-peaked Andalusian hat.
Antonio-Good evening, brother; they tell me that on the
callicaste you intend to set out for Madrilati.
Myself- Such is my intention; I can stay here no longer.
Antonio-The way is far to Madrilati; there are, moreover,
wars in the land, and many chories walk about; are you not
afraid to journey?
Myself— I have no fears; every man must accomplish his
destiny: what befalls my body or soul was written in a gabicote
a thousand years before the foundation of the world.
Antonio I have no fears myself, brother: the dark night is
the same to me as the fair day, and the wild carrascal as the
market-place or the chardi; I have got the bar lachi in my
bosom, the precious stone to which sticks the needle.
Myself-You mean the loadstone, I suppose. Do you believe
that a lifeless stone can preserve you from the dangers which
occasionally threaten your life?
Antonio-Brother, I am fifty years old, and you see me
standing before you in life and strength; how could that be
unless the bar lachi had power? I have been soldier and con-
trabandista, and I have likewise slain and robbed the Busné.
The bullets of the Gabiné and of the jara canallis have hissed
about my ears without injuring me, for I carried the bar lachi.
I have twenty times done that which by Busné law should have
brought me to the filimicha, yet my neck has never yet been
squeezed by the cold garrote. Brother, I trust in the bar lachi
like the Caloré of old: were I in the midst of the gulf of Bom-
bardó without a plank to float upon, I should feel no fear; for if
I carried the precious stone, it would bring me safe to shore.
The bar lachi has power, brother.
Myself I shall not dispute the matter with you, more espe
cially as I am about to depart from Badajoz: I must speedily bid
you farewell, and we shall see each other no more.
Antonio Brother, do you know what brings me hither?
## p. 2191 (#389) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2191
Myself I cannot tell, unless it be to wish me a happy jour-
ney: I am not gipsy enough to interpret the thoughts of other
people.
Antonio - All last night I lay awake, thinking of the affairs
of Egypt; and when I arose in the morning I took the bar
lachi from my bosom, and scraping it with a knife, swallowed
some of the dust in aguardiente, as I am in the habit of doing
when I have made up my mind; and I said to myself, I am
wanted on the frontiers of Castumba on a certain matter. The
strange Caloró is about to proceed to Madrilati; the journey is
long, and he may fall into evil hands, peradventure into those of
his own blood; for let me tell you, brother, the Calés are leav-
ing their towns and villages, and forming themselves into troops.
to plunder the Busné, for there is now but little law in the land,
and now or never is the time for the Caloré to become once
more what they were in former times. So I said, the strange
Caloró may fall into the hands of his own blood and be ill-
treated by them, which were shame: I will therefore go with
him through the Chim del Manró as far as the frontiers of Cas-
tumba, and upon the frontiers of Castumba I will leave the Lon-
don Caloró to find his own way to Madrilati, for there is less
danger in Castumba than in the Chim del Manró, and I will
then betake me to the affairs of Egypt which call me from
hence.
Myself— This is a very hopeful plan of yours, my friend:
and in what manner do you propose that we shall travel?
Antonio-I will tell you, brother. I have a gras in the stall,
even the one which I purchased at Olivenças, as I told you on a
former occasion; it is good and fleet, and cost me, who am a
gipsy, fifty chulé; upon that gras you shall ride. As for myself,
I will journey upon the macho.
Myself - Before I answer you, I shall wish you to inform me
what business it is which renders your presence necessary in
Castumba: your son-in-law Paco told me that it was no longer
the custom of the gipsies to wander.
Antonio It is an affair of Egypt, brother, and I shall not
acquaint you with it; peradventure it relates to a horse or an
ass, or peradventure it relates to a mule or a macho; it does not
relate to yourself, therefore I advise you not to inquire about
it-Dosta. With respect to my offer, you are free to decline it;
there is a drungruje between here and Madrilati, and you can
-
## p. 2192 (#390) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2192
travel it in the birdoche, or with the dromalis; but I tell you, as
a brother, that there are chories upon the drun, and some of them
are of the Errate.
-Certainly few people in my situation would have accepted
the offer of this singular gipsy. It was not, however, without its
allurements for me; I was fond of adventure, and what more
ready means of gratifying my love of it than by putting myself
under the hands of such a guide? There are many who would
have been afraid of treachery, but I had no fears on this point,
as I did not believe that the fellow harbored the slightest ill-
intention towards me; I saw that he was fully convinced that I
was one of the Errate, and his affection for his own race, and his
hatred for the Busné, were his strongest characteristics. I wished
moreover to lay hold of every opportunity of making myself
acquainted with the ways of the Spanish gipsies, and an excel-
lent one here presented itself on my first entrance into Spain. In
a word, I determined to accompany the gipsy. "I will go with
you," I exclaimed; "as for my baggage, I will dispatch it to
Madrid by the birdoche. " "Do so, brother," he replied, "and the
gras will go lighter. Baggage, indeed! —what need of baggage
have you? How the Busné on the road would laugh if they saw
two Calés with baggage behind them! "
During my stay at Badajoz I had but little intercourse with
the Spaniards, my time being chiefly devoted to the gipsies: with
whom, from long intercourse with various sections of their race
in different parts of the world, I felt myself much more at home
than with the silent, reserved men of Spain, with whom a for-
eigner might mingle for half a century without having half a
dozen words addressed to him, unless he himself made the first
advances to intimacy, which after all might be rejected with a
shrug and a no entiendo; for among the many deeply rooted
prejudices of these people is the strange idea that no foreigner
can speak their language, an idea to which they will still cling
though they hear him conversing with perfect ease; for in that
case the utmost that they will concede to his attainments is,
"Habla quatro palabras y nada mas. " (He can speak four words,
and no more. )
Early one morning, before sunrise, I found myself at the
house of Antonio; it was a small mean building, situated in a
dirty street. The morning was quite dark; the street, however,
was partially illumined by a heap of lighted straw, round which
## p. 2193 (#391) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2193
two or three men were busily engaged, apparently holding an
object over the flames. Presently the gipsy's door opened, and
Antonio made his appearance; and casting his eye in the direc-
tion of the light, exclaimed, "The swine have killed their brother;
would that every Busnó was served as yonder hog is. Come in,
brother, and we will eat the heart of that hog. " I scarcely
understood his words, but following him, he led me into a low
room, in which was a brasero, or small pan full of lighted char-
coal; beside it was a rude table, spread with a coarse linen cloth,
upon which was bread and a large pipkin full of a mess which
emitted no disagreeable savor. "The heart of the balichó is in
that puchera," said Antonio; "eat, brother. " We both sat down
and ate Antonio voraciously. When we had concluded he
arose. "Have you got your li? " he demanded. "Here it is,"
said I, showing him my passport. "Good," said he;
want it. I want none; my passport is the bar lachi.
glass of repañí, and then for the road. "
"you may
Now for a
We left the room, the door of which he locked, hiding the
key beneath a loose brick in a corner of the passage. "Go into
the street, brother, whilst I fetch the caballerias from the stable. "
I obeyed him. The sun had not yet risen, and the air was
piercingly cold; the gray light, however, of dawn enabled me
to distinguish objects with tolerable accuracy; I soon heard the
clattering of the animal's feet, and Antonio presently stepped
forth, leading the horse by the bridle; the macho followed behind.
I looked at the horse, and shrugged my shoulders. As far as I
could scan it, it appeared the most uncouth animal I had ever
beheld. It was of a spectral white, short in the body, but with
remarkably long legs. I observed that it was particularly high
in the cruz, or withers. "You are looking at the grasti," said
Antonio: "it is eighteen years old, but it is the very best in the
Chim del Manró; I have long had my eye upon it; I bought it for
my own use for the affairs of Egypt. Mount, brother, mount,
and let us leave the foros-the gate is about being opened. "
He locked the door, and deposited the key in his faja. In
less than a quarter of an hour we had left the town behind us.
"This does not appear to be a very good horse," said I to Anto-
nio, as we proceeded over the plain: "it is with difficulty that I
can make him move. "
"He is the swiftest horse in the Chim del Manró, brother,"
said Antonio; "at the gallop and at the speedy trot, there is no
IV-138
## p. 2194 (#392) ###########################################
2194
GEORGE BORROW
one to match him. But he is eighteen years old, and his joints
are stiff, especially of a morning; but let him once become
heated, and the genio del viejo comes upon him, and there is no
holding him in with bit or bridle. I bought that horse for the
affairs of Egypt, brother. "
About noon we arrived at a small village in the neighbor-
hood of a high lumpy hill. "There is no Caló house in this
place," said Antonio: "we will therefore go to the posada of the
Busné and refresh ourselves, man and beast. " We entered the
kitchen and sat down at the board, calling for wine and bread.
There were two ill-looking fellows in the kitchen smoking cigars.
I said something to Antonio in the Caló language.
"What is that I hear? " said one of the fellows, who was dis-
tinguished by an immense pair of mustaches. "What is that I
hear? Is it in Caló that you are speaking before me, and I a
chalan and national? Accursed gipsy, how dare you enter this
posada and speak before me in that speech? Is it not forbidden
by the law of the land in which we are, even as it is forbidden
for a gipsy to enter the mercado? I tell you what, friend, if
I hear another word of Caló come from your mouth, I will
cudgel your bones and send you flying over the house-tops with
a kick of my foot. "
(
"You would do right," said his companion; "the insolence of
these gipsies is no longer to be borne. When I am at Merida
or Badajoz I go to the mercado, and there in a corner stand
the accursed gipsies, jabbering to each other in a speech which
I understand not. 'Gipsy gentleman,' say I to one of them,
what will you have for that donkey? ' 'I will have ten dollars
for it, Caballero nacional,' says the gipsy: 'it is the best donkey
in all Spain. ' 'I should like to see its paces,' say I. 'That
you shall, most valorous! ' says the gipsy, and jumping upon its
back, he puts it to its paces, first of all whispering something
into its ear in Caló; and truly the paces of the donkey are most
wonderful, such as I have never seen before. I think it will
just suit me; and after looking at it awhile, I take out the
money and pay for it. 'I shall go to my house,' says the
gipsy; and off he runs. 'I shall go to my village,' say I, and
I mount the donkey. 'Vamonos,' say I, but the donkey won't
move. I give him a switch, but I don't get on the better for
that. What happens then, brother? The wizard no sooner
feels the prick than he bucks down, and flings me over his head
## p. 2195 (#393) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2195
'He is gone to see his kindred
I just saw him running over
with the devil close behind
"
into the mire. I get up and look about me; there stands the
donkey staring at me, and there stand the whole gipsy canaille
squinting at me with their filmy eyes. 'Where is the scamp
who has sold me this piece of furniture? ' I shout.
'He is gone
to Granada, valorous,' says one.
among the Moors,' says another.
the field, in the direction of
him,' says a third. In a word, I am tricked. I wish to dispose
of the donkey: no one, however, will buy him; he is a Caló
donkey, and every person avoids him. At last the gipsies offer
thirty reals for him; and after much chaffering I am glad to get
rid of him at two dollars. It is all a trick, however; he returns
to his master, and the brotherhood share the spoil amongst
them: all which villainy would be prevented, in my opinion,
were the Caló language not spoken; for what but the word of
Caló could have induced the donkey to behave in such an unac-
countable manner? "
Both seemed perfectly satisfied with the justness of this con-
clusion, and continued smoking till their cigars were burnt to
stumps, when they arose, twitched their whiskers, looked at us
with fierce disdain, and dashing the tobacco-ends to the ground,
strode out of the apartment.
"Those people seem no friends to the gipsies," said I to
Antonio, when the two bullies had departed; "nor to the Caló
language either. "
"May evil glanders seize their nostrils," said Antonio: "they
have been jonjabadoed by our people. However, brother, you
did wrong to speak to me in Caló, in a posada like this: it is a
forbidden language; for, as I have often told you, the king has
destroyed the law of the Calés. Let us away, brother, or those
juntunes may set the justicia upon us. "
Towards evening we drew near to a large town or village.
"That is Merida," said Antonio, "formerly, as the Busné say, a
mighty city of the Corahai. We shall stay here to-night, and per-
haps for a day or two, for I have some business of Egypt to
transact in this place. Now, brother, step aside with the horse,
and wait for me beneath yonder wall. I must go before and see
in what condition matters stand. "
I dismounted from the horse, and sat down on a stone be-
neath the ruined wall to which Antonio had motioned me. The
sun went down, and the air was exceedingly keen; I drew close
## p. 2196 (#394) ###########################################
2196
GEORGE BORROW
around me an old tattered gipsy cloak with which my companion
had provided me, and being somewhat fatigued, fell into a doze
which lasted for nearly an hour.
"Is your worship the London Caloró? " said a strange voice
close beside me.
I started, and beheld the face of a woman peering under my
hat. Notwithstanding the dusk, I could see that the features
were hideously ugly and almost black; they belonged, in fact, to
a gipsy crone at least seventy years of age, leaning upon a
staff.
"Is your worship the London Caloró? » repeated she.
"I am he whom you seek," said I; "where is Antonio ? »
Curelando, curelando; baribustres curelós terela," said the
crone. "Come with me, Caloró of my garlochin, come with me
to my little ker; he will be there anon. "
I followed the crone, who led the way into the town, which
was ruinous and seemingly half deserted; we went up the
street, from which she turned into a narrow and dark lane,
and presently opened the gate of a large dilapidated house.
"Come in," said she.
"And the gras? " I demanded.
«< Bring the gras in too, my chabó, bring the gras in too;
there is room for the gras in my little stable. " We entered
a large court, across which we proceeded till we came to a wide
doorway. "Go in, my child of Egypt," said the hag; "go in,
that is my little stable. "
"The place is as dark as pitch," said I, "and may be a well
for what I know; bring a light, or I will not enter. "
"Give me the solabarri," said the hag, "and I will lead your
horse in, my chabó of Egypt - yes, and tether him to my little
manger. "
She led the horse through the doorway, and I heard her busy
in the darkness; presently the horse shook himself. "Grasti
terelamos," said the hag, who now made her appearance with
the bridle in her hand; "the horse has shaken himself, he is
not harmed by his day's journey; now let us go in, my Caloró,
into my little room. "
We entered the house, and found ourselves in a vast room,
which would have been quite dark but for a faint glow which
appeared at the farther end: it proceeded from a brasero, beside
which were squatted two dusky figures.
## p. 2197 (#395) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2197
«<
"These are Callées," said the hag; one is my daughter and
the other is her chabi. Sit down, my London Caloró, and let us
hear you speak. "
I looked about for a chair, but could see none: at a short
distance, however, I perceived the end of a broken pillar lying
on the floor; this I rolled to the brasero, and sat down upon it.
"This is a fine house, mother of the gipsies," said I to the
hag, willing to gratify the desire she had expressed of hearing
me speak; "a fine house is this of yours, rather cold and damp,
though; it appears large enough to be a barrack for hundunares. "
"Plenty of houses in this foros, plenty of houses in Merida,
my London Caloró, some of them just as they were left by the
Corahanós. Ah! a fine people are the Corahanós; I often wish
myself in their chim once more. "
"How is this, mother? " said I; "have you been in the land
of the Moors? "
"Twice have I been in their country, my Caloró - twice have
I been in the land of the Corahai. The first time is more than
fifty years ago; I was then with the Sesé, for my husband was
a soldier of the Crallis of Spain, and Oran at that time belonged
to Spain. "
"You were not then with the real Moors," said I, "but only
with the Spaniards who occupied part of their country. "
"I have been with the real Moors, my London Caloró. Who
knows more of the real Moors than myself? About forty years
ago I was with my ro in Ceuta, for he was still a soldier of the
king; and he said to me one day, 'I am tired of this place,
where there is no bread and less water; I will escape and turn
Corahanó; this night I will kill my sergeant, and flee to the
camp of the Moor. ' 'Do so,' said I, 'my chabó, and as soon as
may be I will follow you and become a Corahani. ’
That same
night he killed his sergeant, who five years before had called
him Caló and cursed him; then running to the wall he dropped
from it, and amidst many shots he escaped to the land of the
Corahai. As for myself, I remained in the presidio of Ceuta as
a sutler, selling wine and repañí to the soldiers.
Two years
passed by, and I neither saw nor heard from my ro.
One day
there came a strange man to my cachimani; he was dressed like
a Corahanó, and yet he did not look like one; he looked more
like a callardo, and yet he was not a callardó either, though he
was almost black; and as I looked upon him, I thought he looked
## p. 2198 (#396) ###########################################
2198
GEORGE BORROW
something like the Errate; and he said to me, 'Zincali, chachipé! '
and then he whispered to me in queer language, which I could
scarcely understand, 'Your ro is waiting; come with me, my
little sister, and I will take you unto him. ' 'Where is he? ' said
I, and he pointed to the west, to the land of the Corahai, and
said, 'He is yonder away; come with me, little sister, the ro is
waiting. For a moment I was afraid, but I bethought me of
my husband, and I wished to be amongst the Corahai; so I took
the little parné I had, and locking up the cachimani, went with
the strange man. The sentinel challenged us at the gate, but I
gave him repañí, and he let us pass; in a moment we were in
the land of the Corahai. About a league from the town, beneath
a hill, we found four people, men and women, all very black
like the strange man, and we joined ourselves with them, and
they all saluted me, 'little sister. ' That was all I understood of
their discourse, which was very crabbed; and they took away my
dress and gave me other clothes, and I looked like a Corahani;
and away we marched for many days amidst deserts and small
villages, and more than once it seemed to me that I was amongst
the Errate, for their ways were the same. The men would
hokkawar with mules and asses, and the women told baji, and
after many days we came before a large town, and the black
man said, 'Go in there, little sister, and there you will find your
ro;' and I went to the gate, and an armed Corahanó stood
within the gate, and I looked in his face, and lo! it was my ro.
"Oh, what a strange town it was that I found myself in, full
of people who had once been Candoré, but had renegaded and
become Corahai! There were Sesé and Laloré, and men of other
nations, and amongst them were some of the Errate from my
own country; all were now soldiers of the Crallis of the Corahai,
and followed him to his wars; and in that town I remained with
my ro a long time, occasionally going out to him to the wars;
and I often asked him about the black men who had brought me
thither, and he told me that he had had dealings with them, and
that he believed them to be of the Errate. Well, brother, to be
short, my ro was killed in the wars, before a town to which the
king of the Corahai laid siege, and I became a piuli, and I
returned to the village of the renegades, as it was called, and
supported myself as well as I could; and one day, as I was sit-
ting weeping, the black man, whom I had never seen since the
day he brought me to my ro, again stood before me, and he said,
## p. 2199 (#397) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2199
'Come with me, little sister, come with me; the ro is at hand;'
and I went with him, and beyond the gate in the desert was the
same party of black men and women which I had seen before.
'Where is my ro? ' said I. 'Here he is, little sister,' said the
black man, 'here he is; from this day I am the ro and you are
the romi. Come, let us go, for there is business to be done. '
"And I went with him, and he was my ro, and we lived
amongst the deserts, and hokkawar'd and choried and told baji;
and I said to myself, 'This is good; sure, I am amongst the
Errate in a better chim than my own. ' And I often said that
they were of the Errate, and then they would laugh and say that
it might be so, and that they were not Corahai, but they could
give no account of themselves.
"Well, things went on in this way for years, and I had three
chai by the black man; two of them died, but the youngest, who
is the Calli who sits by the brasero, was spared. So we roamed
about and choried and told baji; and it came to pass that once
in the winter time our company attempted to pass a wide and
deep river, of which there are many in the Chim del Corahai,
and the boat overset with the rapidity of the current, and all
our people were drowned, all but myself and my chabi, whom
I bore in my bosom. I had no friends amongst the Corahai,
and I wandered about the despoblados howling and lamenting till
I became half lili, and in this manner I found my way to the
coast, where I made friends with the captain of a ship, and
returned to this land of Spain. And now I am here, I often
wish myself back again amongst the Corahai. "
Here she commenced laughing loud and long; and when she
had ceased, her daughter and grandchild took up the laugh,
which they continued so long that I concluded they were all
lunatics.
Hour succeeded hour, and still we sat crouching over the
brasero, from which, by this time, all warmth had departed; the
glow had long since disappeared, and only a few dying sparks
were to be distinguished. The room or hall was now involved
in utter darkness; the women were motionless and still; I shiv-
ered and began to feel uneasy. "Will Antonio be here to-night? "
at length I demanded.
"No tenga usted cuidado, my London Caloró," said the gipsy
mother in an unearthly tone; "Pepindorio has been here some.
time. "
## p. 2200 (#398) ###########################################
2200
GEORGE BORROW
I was about to rise from my seat and attempt to escape from
the house, when I felt a hand laid upon my shoulder, and in a
moment I heard the voice of Antonio:
"Be not afraid; 'tis I, brother. We will have a light anon,
and then supper. "
The supper was rude enough, consisting of bread, cheese, and
olives; Antonio, however, produced a leathern bottle of excellent
wine. We dispatched these viands by the light of an earthen
lamp, which was placed upon the floor.
"Now," said Antonio to the youngest female, "bring me the
pajandi, and I will sing a gachapla. "
The girl brought the guitar, which with some difficulty the
gipsy tuned, and then, strumming it vigorously, he sang:-
"I stole a plump and bonny fowl,
But ere I well had dined,
The master came with scowl and growl,
And me would captive bind.
«<
My hat and mantle off I threw,
And scoured across the lea;
Then cried the beng with loud halloo,
'Where does the gipsy flee ? >»
He continued playing and singing for a considerable time, the
two younger females dancing in the meanwhile with unwearied
diligence, whilst the aged mother occasionally snapped her fingers
or beat time on the ground with her stick. At last Antonio sud-
denly laid down the instrument, exclaiming:—
"I see the London Caloró is weary; enough, enough,
morrow more thereof. We will now to the charipé. "
to-
"With all my heart," said I: "where are we to sleep? "
"In the stable," said he, "in the manger; however cold the
stable may be, we shall be warm enough in the bufa. "
We remained three days at the gipsies' house, Antonio de
parting early every morning on his mule, and returning late at
night. The house was large and ruinous, the only habitable
part of it with the exception of the stable being the hall, where
we had supped; and there the gipsy females slept at night, on
some mats and mattresses in a corner.
"A strange house is this," said I to Antonio, one morning as
he was on the point of saddling his mule, and departing,
supposed, on the affairs of Egypt; "a strange house and strange
## p. 2201 (#399) ###########################################
GEORGE BORROW
2201
people. That gipsy grandmother has all the appearance of a
sowanee. "
"All the appearance of one! " said Antonio; "and is she not
really one? She knows more crabbed things and crabbed words
than all the Errate betwixt here and Catalonia. She has been
amongst the wild Moors, and can make more draos, poisons, and
philtres than any one alive.
