"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 shivered and began to feel
uneasy. 'Will Antonio be here to-night?' at length I demanded.

"'_No tenga usted cuidao_, my London Caloro,' said the gypsy mother,
in an unearthly tone; 'Pepindorio {70} has been here some time.'

"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 olive.
Antonio, however, produced a leathern bottle of excellent wine; we
dispatched these viands by the light of an earthern 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 gypsy
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 scour'd across the lea,
Then cried the beng {71} with loud halloo,
Where does the Gypsy 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 stock. At last Antonio suddenly laid down the
instrument.

"'I see the London Caloro is weary. Enough, enough; to-morrow more
thereof--we will now to the _charipe_' (bed).

'"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.'"

Perhaps his power in this direction is more fully appreciated when he
deals with material that promises no such wealth of colour as do gypsy
scenes and wanderings in the romantic South.

Cheapside and London Bridge suit him fully as we