130 



NOTES TO THE 



I have measured eacli horse twice, and 

 animal I ever possessed measured most." 



the 



most intelligent 



GIPSIES, p. 193. The gipsies round London are called 

 Eomanies. Their great settling places are Epping and Hainhanlt 

 Forests. This year, 1875, notices have been put up on the trees 

 in Epping Forest that the Romanies are not allowed to encamp 

 on the forest any more. There is no rabbit or hare that is too 

 heavy for a gipsy's dog. Bound the King's Oak, High Beach, 

 Epping Forest, pleasure vans assemble in large numbers from 

 London. The Eomanies get a great deal of money in the 

 summer by letting donkeys and ponies for children and young 

 people to ride. At the beginning of winter many Eomanies 

 may be seen on Fridays in the Islington Cattle-market selling 

 their " mokes " and ponies to costermongers. Mokes fetch from 

 one guinea to five pounds. Little donkey foals can be bought 

 for five shillings each. About May, the Eomanies give very high 

 prices for good donkeys. The Maharajah Dhulep Sing told me 

 that the gipsies' language was very like his own native Sikh 

 tongue ; he could understand many gipsy words. 



While collecting notes for this volume I was fortunate enough 

 to obtain a copy of " The Gipsies' Advocate ; or, Observations 

 on the Origin, Character, Manners, and Habits of the English 

 Gipsies. By James Crabb, 1832." 



The information given by Mr. Crabb exactly coincides with 

 what the Maharajah told me. There is the strongest evidence 

 that gipsies are of Hindoo origin, and there is great resemblance 

 in their language to Hindostani, as will be seen by the following 

 table : 



English. Gipsy. Hindostani. 



Water Pang Pang. 



Prince Rajah Raja 



Fish Mutchee Mutchee 



Father Dad Dada 



It is said that twelve out of thirty words of the gipsies' 

 language are either pure Hindostani or nearly related to it. 



The gipsies are said to have been driven out of India by 

 Timur Beg in the years 1408-9, when making proselytes to 

 the Mohammedan religion. 



IMMUNITY FROM BEE STINGS, p. 197. My brother-in-law, the 

 Eev. H. Gordon, writes me : 



" IDIOT BOY'S FONDNESS FOR BEES. I have in my parish at 

 the present moment an idiot, aged 17 last April, of whom 1 had 

 the following account from his sister, Mrs. Prior, at East Harting, 



