Paspati, Ascoli or
Grellman, he would have found it an easy thing to translate this
advertisement. The truth simply is, that for _scholars_ there is not a
single secret or hidden word in English Gipsy or in any other Rommany
dialect, and none except scholars will take pains to acquire it. Any man
who wished to learn sufficient Gipsy to maintain a conversation, and
thereby learn all the language, could easily have done so half a century
ago from the vocabularies published by Bright and other writers. A
secret which has been for fifty years published in very practical detail
in fifty books, is indeed a _secret de Ponchinelle_.

I have been asked scores of times, "Have the Gipsies an alphabet of their
own? have they grammars of their language, dictionaries, or books?" Of
course my answer was in the negative. I have heard of vocabularies in
use among crypto-Rommanies, or those who having risen from the roads live
a secret life, so to speak, but I have never seen one. But they have
songs; and one day I was told that in my neighbourhood there lived a
young Gipsy woman who was a poetess and made Rommany ballads. "She can't
write," said my informant; "but her husband's a _Gorgio_, and he can. If
you want them, I'll get you some." The offer was of course accepted, and
the Gipsy dame, flattered by the request, sent me the following. The
lyric is without rhyme, but, as sung, not without rhythm.

"GILLI OF A RUMMANY JUVA.

"Die at the gargers (Gorgios),
The gargers round mandy!
Trying to lel my meripon,
My meripon (meripen) away.

I will care (kair) up to my chungs (chongs),
Up to my chungs in Rat,
All for my happy Racler (raklo).

My mush is lelled to sturribon (staripen),
To sturribon, to sturribon;
Mymush is lelled to sturribon,
To the Tan where mandy gins (jins)."

TRANSLATION.

"Look at the Gorgios, the Gorgios around me! trying to take my life away.

"I will wade up to my knees in blood, all for my happy boy.

"My husband is taken to prison, to prison, to prison; my husband is taken
to prison, to the place of which I know."

CHAPTER X. GIPSIES IN EGYPT.

Difficulty of obtaining Information.--The Khedive on the Gipsies.--Mr
Edward Elias.--Mahomet introduces me to the Gipsies.--They call
themselves Tataren.--The Rhagarin or Gipsies at Boulac.--Cophts.--Herr
Seetzen on Egyptian Gipsies.--The Gipsy with the Monkey in Cairo.--Street-
cries of the Gips