FREDERICK S. ARNOLD. 107 



women were busied cleaning up, washing, and cooking 

 in and about the tents, and the bushes were covered with 

 linen which they had hung out to air. A confused 

 medley of chdbos (children) and dogs, of both of which 

 articles there is always a surplus in the Romany tdn^ 

 and a few chickens make up the picture of a Gypsy 

 camp on Krokers or Sunday morning. 



As we approached, coming cross-lots from the woods, 

 the children spied us, and with shouts of " Ramani Hal! 

 Ramani Rai ! " hurried to us, tumbling and falling over 

 each other in their haste to beg for pennies. Amidst 

 barking dogs and with their little chorus of ''''Del mdndi 

 piinjors, del men yek ora!'''' (give me five cents, give me 

 a penny ! ) shouting around us, we entered the camp, 

 shook hands with some of the men, and made up toward 

 the principal tent to pay our respects to the hori dai or 

 grandmother of the tribe. 



Perhaps it will not do to call Ramnipen^ or Gypsydom 

 matriarchal, but certain it is that the old women are 

 very important personages amongst the Romanys, and I 

 think even the younger women have more to say in the 

 tan than their husbands do. This may be partly due to* 

 the fact that they make so much of the tribe's money by 

 their dukerin or fortune-telling. Almost every gang of 

 Gypsies has some old ancestress called their hori dai 

 (grandmother) whose opinion is greatly regarded, and 

 who is much reverenced by the whole company. She is 

 generally quite rich with a kushto wardo te tan (nice 

 van and tent) and a number of grais (horses). While 

 she is of course old, you will find her intelligent and 

 well preserved, and however old she is her hair is nearly 

 black, for with Gypsies, as with some tribes of Hindus, 

 notably the Dom, the hair seldom turns gray, or does so 

 very slightly and late in life. The good will of these 

 old ladies is very important, and once secured will carry 

 you far into the graces of the whole family, and help 



