be, mother of Kiomi's mother, aged
ninety-one. The captain paid like a man for doctor and burial fees; he
undertook also to send the old lady a pound of snuff to assist her to a
last sneeze or two on the right side of the grave, and he kept his
word; for, deeming it necessary to paint her in a characteristic, these
prodigious serpents told him gravely that she delighted in snuff; it
was almost the only thing that kept her alive, barring a sip of broth.
Captain William's comment on the interesting piece of longevity
whose well-covered length and framework lay exposed to his respectful
contemplation, was, that she must have been a devilish fine old lady in
her day. 'Six foot' was given as her measurement.

One pound of snuff, a bottle of rum, and five sovereigns were the fruits
of the captain's sensibility. I shattered my ribs with laughter over the
story. Eveleen dwelt on the triumph, twinkling. Kiomi despised laughter
or triumph resulting from the natural exercise of craft in an emergency.
'But my handsome gentleman he won't tell on us, will he, when we've
nursed him and doctored him, and made him one of us, and as good a stick
o' timber as grows in the forest?' whined the old mother. I had to swear
I would not.

'He!' cried Kiomi.

'He may forget us when he's gone,' the mother said. She would have liked
me to kiss a book to seal the oath. Anxiety about the safety of their
'homes,' that is, the assurance of an untroubled reception upon
their customary camping-ground, is a peculiarity of the gipsies,
distinguishing them, equally with their cleanliness and thriftiness,
from mumpers and the common wanderers.

It is their tribute to civilization, which generally keeps them within
the laws.

Who that does not know them will believe that under their domestic
system I had the best broth and the best tea I have ever tasted! They
are very cunning brewers and sagacious buyers too; their maxims show
them to direct all their acuteness upon obtaining quality for their
money. A compliment not backed by silver is hardly intelligible to the
pretty ones: money is a really credible thing to them; and when they
have it, they know how to use it. Apparently because they know so
well, so perfectly appreciating it, they have only vague ideas of a
corresponding sentiment on the opposite side to the bargain, and imagine
that they fool people much more often than they succeed in doing. Once
duped themselves, they are the wariest of the dog