household of him who makes
shoes of iron; at any rate it shan't be said of mine. I tell you what,
my gry, whilst you continue with me, you shall both be better shod and
better fed than you were with your last master.'

I am in the dingle making a petul; and I must here observe that whilst I
am making a horse-shoe the reader need not be surprised if I speak
occasionally in the language of the lord of the horse-shoe--Mr.
Petulengro. I have for some time past been plying the peshota, or
bellows, endeavouring to raise up the yag, or fire, in my primitive
forge. The angar, or coals, are now burning fiercely, casting forth
sparks and long vagescoe chipes, or tongues of flame; a small bar of
sastra, or iron, is lying in the fire, to the length of ten or twelve
inches, and so far it is hot, very hot, exceeding hot, brother. And now
you see me prala, snatch the bar of iron, and place the heated end of it
upon the covantza, or anvil, and forthwith I commence cooring the sastra
as hard as if I had been just engaged by a master at the rate of dui
caulor, or two shillings, a day, brother; and when I have beaten the iron
till it is nearly cool, and my arm tired, I place it again in the angar,
and begin again to rouse the fire with the pudamengro, which signifies
the blowing thing, and is another and more common word for bellows; and
whilst thus employed I sing a gypsy song, the sound of which is
wonderfully in unison with the hoarse moaning of the pudamengro, and ere
the song is finished, the iron is again hot and malleable. Behold, I
place it once more on the covantza, and recommence hammering; and now I
am somewhat at fault; I am in want of assistance; I want you, brother, or
some one else, to take the bar out of my hand and support it upon the
covantza, whilst I, applying a chinomescro, or kind of chisel, to the
heated iron, cut off with a lusty stroke or two of the shukara baro, or
big hammer, as much as is required for the petul. But having no one to
help me, I go on hammering till I have fairly knocked off as much as I
want, and then I place the piece in the fire, and again apply the
bellows, and take up the song where I left it off; and when I have
finished the song, I take out the iron, but this time with my plaistra,
or pincers, and then I recommence hammering, turning the iron round and
round with my pincers; and now I bend the iron and, lo and behold! it has
assumed something of the outline of a petul.

I am not goi