1 68 The Natural History 



LETTER XXV 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON 



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 Egyi)t and the 

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

 over Europe, may not this 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, etc. 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 September was as wet a month as ever was 

 known ; and yet during those deluges did a young gypsy- 

 girl lie-in in the midst of one of our hop-gardens, on the 

 cold ground, with nothing over her but a piece of blanket 



