HOW THEY TEACH THE LANGUAGE, AND RESENT CURIOSITY. 



" strangers." She also mentioned that 

 the Gipsies believe that the laws which 

 were enacted for their extirpation were 

 yet in full force against them. I may 

 mention, however, that she could put 

 confidence in the family in whose house 

 she made these confessions * (p. 294). 



At first, he appeared much alarmed, 

 and seemed to think I had a design to 

 do him harm. His fears, however, were 

 in a short while calmed ; and, after much 

 reluctance, he gave me the following 

 words and expressions, with the corre- 

 sponding English significations. Like a 

 true Gipsy, the first expression which he 

 uttered, as if it came the readiest to him, 

 was, " Choar a chauvie" (rob that 

 person) which he pronounced with a 

 smile on his countenance (p. 295). He 

 stated to me that, at the present day, 

 the Gipsies in Scotland, when by them- 

 selves, transact their business in their 

 own language, and hold all their ordi- 

 nary conversations in the same speech. 

 In the course of a few minutes, Steed- 

 man's fears returned upon him. He ap- 

 peared to regret what he had done. He 

 now said he had forgotten the language, 

 , and referred me to his father, old An- 

 drew Steedman, who, he said, would 

 give me every information I might re- 

 quire. I imprudently sent him out, to 

 bring the old man to me ; for, when 

 both returned, all further communica- 

 tion, with regard to their speech, was at 

 an end. Both were now dead silent on 

 the subject, denied all knowledge of the 

 Gipsy language, and were evidently 

 under great alarm. The old man would 

 not face me at all ; and when I went to 

 him, he appeared to be shaking and 

 trembling, while he stood at the head 

 of his horses, in his own stable. Young 

 Steedman entreated me to tell no one 

 that he had given me any words, as the 

 Tinklers, he said, would be exceedingly 

 displeased with him for doing so. This 

 man, however, by being kindly treated, 



* The Gipsies are always afraid to say 

 what they would do in such cases. Per- 

 haps they don't know, but have only a 

 general impression that the individual 

 would " catch it ;" or there may be some 

 old law on the subject. What Ruthven 

 said of her's being a desperate race is 

 true enough, and murderous too, among 

 themselves, as distinguished from the in- 

 habitants generally. Her remark was 

 evidently part of that frightening policy 

 which keeps the natives from molesting 

 the tribe (Ed., p. 294). 



and seeing no intention of doing him 

 any harm, became, at an after period, 

 communicative, on various subjects rela- 

 tive to the Gipsies * (p. 296). 



This man conducted himself very po- 

 litely, his behaviour being very correct 

 and becoming; and he seemed much 

 pleased at being noticed, and kindly 

 treated. At first, he spoke wholly in 

 the Gipsy language, thinking that I was 

 as well acquainted with it as himself. 

 But when he found that I knew only a 

 few words of it, he, like all his tribe, 

 stopped in his communications, and, in 

 this instance, began Jo quiz and laugh 

 at my ignorance. On returning to the 

 street, I repeated some of the words to 

 one of the females. She laughed, and, 

 with much good humour, said, " You 

 will put me out, by speaking to me in 

 that language " (p. 329). 



This is the way in which the Gip- 

 sies resent the curiosity of others in 

 regard to their language : 



During the following summer, a 

 brother and a cousin of these girls 

 called at my house, selling baskets. 

 The one was about twenty-one, the 

 other fifteen, years of age. I happened 

 to be from home, but one of my family, 

 suspecting them to be Gipsies, invited 

 them into the house, and mentioned to 

 them (although very incorrectly), that I 

 understood every word of their speech. 

 " So I saw," replied the eldest lad, " for 

 when he passed us on the road, some 

 some time ago, I called, in our language, 

 to my neighbour, to come out of the 

 way, and he understood what I said, for 

 he immediately turned round and looked 

 at us." At this moment, one of my 

 daughters, about seven years of age, 

 repeated, in their hearing, the Gipsy 

 word for pot, having picked it up from 

 hearing me mention it. The young 

 Tinklers now thought they were in the 

 midst of a Gipsy family, and seemed 

 quite happy. " But are you really a 

 Nawken? " I asked the eldest of them. 

 " Yes, sir," he replied ; " and to show 

 you I am no impostor, I will give you 

 the names of everything in your house ;" 

 which, in the presence of my family, he 

 did, to the extent I asked of him! " My 

 speech," he continued, " is not the cant 

 of packmen, nor the slang of common 

 thieves " (p. 302). Without entering 

 into any preliminary conversation, for 

 the purpose of smoothing the way for 

 more direct questions, I took him into 



