fflS VISIT TO YETHOLM. 



119 



one more question to ask you, and 

 when I have done so, you may as 

 well go ; for I am quite sure you 

 cannot answer it. What is Nok- 

 kum V (p. 318.)* The question 

 was answered, and they were im- 

 mediately on the most confidential 

 of terms. " Observing her eyeing 

 me rather suspiciously, I changed 

 the subject ; asking her if she had 

 travelled much about" (p. 324). 

 " Wishing to know her age, I in- 

 quired of her what it was. She 

 looked angry [and with much rea- 

 son], and said she did not know" 

 (p. 326), but acknowledged she was 

 sixty-eight. However the " queen " 

 may levy her taxes, or draw her 

 revenue (in the shape of presents 

 and what not) from others, she be- 

 haved with great delicacy or tact 



* The queen said that the Gipsies have 

 a private name for themselves, which is 

 NokkTim or Nokkttms. In the History of 

 the Gipsies we find the following : " When 

 I have spoken to them in their own words, 

 I have been asked, 'Are you a Nawken ? ' 

 a word to which they attach the meaning 

 of a "wanderer or traveller one who can 

 do any sort of work for himself that may 

 be required in the \yorld " (p. 340). 

 " Nawken has a number of significations, 

 such as Tinkler, Gipsy, a wanderer, a 

 worker in iron, a man who can do any- 

 thing for himself in the mechanical arts, 

 etc., etc." (p. 315.) 



Mr. Sorrow's definition of the word is 

 as follows : " The root of nokkum must 

 be nok, which signifieth a nose." " Yes, 

 the root of nokkum is assuredly nok; and 

 I have no doubt that your people call 

 themselves Nokkum, because they are in 

 the habit of nosing the Gorgios. Nokkums 

 means Nosems" (p. 318). On hearing this 

 the queen instantly abdicated in his fa- 

 vor, saying, " Sit down, sir, ... I see 

 there is no danger." 



It is interesting to compare Mr. Bor- 

 row's spelling of Scottish Gipsy words 

 with that of others, thus ; 

 English. Sorrow. Simson. Baird. 



Nose. Nok. Nak. Nak. 



Fire. Yog. Yak, Yak. 



Stone. Cloch. Clack. Clau$i. 

 He gives Morbiittle for Morbattle (an- 

 ciently Morebotle\ but that might have 

 been an error of the printer, which could 

 not be said of Loughmaben for Loch- 

 maben. 



with Mr. Borrow. " There was 

 something of the gentlewoman in 

 her : on my offering her money she 

 refused to take it, saying that she 

 did not want it, and it was with the 

 utmost difficulty I persuaded her to 

 accept a trifle, with which, she said, 

 she would buy herself some tea" 

 (p. 326). Then she said she would 

 be delighted to have him call again 

 the next day ; but fled from the vil- 

 lage, as we have seen. 



Mr. Sorrow's forte is evidently 

 not in judging of circumstances, and 

 discriminating in character ; for, as 

 we have already seen, he contrasted 

 her deportment with that of the 

 " dour set " he addressed with the 

 view of learning what had become 

 of their queen, when he found, on 

 returning to see her, according to 

 appointment, that her house was 

 locked up, and herself not to be 

 found. This is what he said of the 

 two, under the peculiar circum- 

 stances of the case : " Between 

 them and their queen a striking dif- 

 ference was observable. In her 

 there was both fun and cordiality ; 

 in them not the slightest appearance 

 of either" (p. 328) ; the reason be- 

 ing that she had much of " the 

 blood," and they hardly any at all ! 



Mr. Borrow's visit to Yetholm is 

 otherwise unsatisfactory, inasmuch 

 as it led to no information about 

 the Gipsy population in Scotland, 

 and various matters connected with 

 it. It is true that he had not time 

 to make such an inquiry at the first 

 interview with the queen ; but when 

 he met her at the fair, the next day, 

 and found her all " smirks and gig- 

 gling," he could have made another 

 appointment that she might have 

 kept, and stuck to her, in pursuit of 

 knowledge under difficulties, par- 

 ticularly as he had her consider- 

 ably in his power. 



The first woman he met with at 

 Yetholm said : " There are no Faas 

 to keep it [old Will Faa's house]. 

 The name is clean dead in the land, 

 though there is still some of the 



