LETTER XXV 



TO THE SAME 



SELBORNE, Oct. 2, 1775. 



DEAR SIR, We have two gangs or hordes of gypsies 

 which infest the south and west of England, and come 

 round in their circuit two or three times in the year. One 

 of these tribes calls itself by the noble name of Stanley, of 

 which I have nothing particular to say ; but the other is 

 distinguished by an appellative somewhat remarkable As 

 far as their harsh gibberish can be understood, they seem 

 to say that the name of their clan is Curleople : now the 

 termination of this word is apparently Grecian : and as 

 Mezeray and the gravest historians all agree that these 

 vagrants did certainly migrate from Egypt and the East, 

 two or three centuries ago, and so spread by degrees over 

 Europe, may not this family-name, a little corrupted, be the 

 very name they brought with them from the Levant ? It 

 would be matter of some curiosity, could one meet with 

 an intelligent person among them, to inquire whether, in 

 their jargon, they still retain any Greek words : the Greek 

 radicals will appear in hand, foot, head, water, earth, &c. 

 It is possible that amidst their cant and corrupted dialect 

 many mutilated remains of their native language might 

 still be discovered. 



With regard to those peculiar people, the gypsies, one 

 thing is very remarkable, and especially as they came from 

 warmer climates ; and that is, that while other beggars 

 lodge in barns, stables, and cow-houses, these sturdy 

 savages seem to pride themselves in braving the severities of 



winter, and in living sub dio the whole year round. Last 



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