but the bitti chavis penned him Wacker. Well,
yeck divvus pre the wellgooro o' the graias prasters, my juvo dicked a
boro _doll_ adree some hev of a buttika and penned, 'Dovo odoi dicks just
like moro Wacker!' So we penned him _Wackerdoll_, but a'ter my juvo
mullered I rakkered him Wacker again, because Wackerdoll pet mandy in
cammoben o' my poor juvo."

In English: "Yes. When Gipsy men or women die, their friends don't care
to hear their names again--it makes them too sad, so they are changed to
other names. All don't do it--no--but half of them do so still. My
boy's name was Horfer or Horferus (Orpheus), but the children called him
Wacker. Well, one day at the great fair of the races, my wife saw a
large doll in some window of a shop, and said, 'That looks just like our
Wacker!' So we called him Wackerdoll, but after my wife died I called
him Wacker again, because Wacker_doll_ put me in mind of my poor wife."

When further interrogated on the same subject, he said:

"A'ter my juva mullered, if I dicked a waver rakli with lakis'nav, an'
mandy was a rakkerin laki, mandy'd pen ajaw a waver geeri's nav, an
rakker her by a waver nav:--dovo's to pen I'd lel some bongonav sar's
Polly or Sukey. An' it was the sar covva with my dades nav--if I dicked
a mush with a nav that simmed leskers, mandy'd rakker him by a waver nav.
For 'twould kair any mush wafro to shoon the navyas of the mullas a't
'were cammoben to him."

Or in English, "After my wife died, if I saw another girl with her name,
and I was talking to her, I'd _speak_ another woman's name, and call her
by another name; that's to say, I'd take some nick-name, such as Polly or
Sukey. And it was the same thing with my father's name--if I saw a man
with a name that was the same as his (literally, 'that _samed_ his'), I'd
call him by another name. For 'twould make any man grieve (lit. 'bad')
to hear the names of the dead that were dear to him."

I suppose that there are very few persons, not of Gipsy blood, in
England, to whom the information will not be new, that there are to be
found everywhere among us, people who mourn for their lost friends in
this strange and touching manner.

Another form of respect for the departed among Gipsies, is shown by their
frequently burying some object of value with the corpse, as is, however,
done by most wild races. On questioning the same Gipsy last alluded to,
he spoke as follows on this subject, I taking down his words:-