126 GYPSIES. 



'Tis I Double-y-dawli, 

 We got to muler a balo, 

 John rig a de mailer 

 To fetch the mulo balo. 

 (Tis I Double-y-dawli, 

 We got to kill a pig, 

 John go for the donkey 

 To fetch the dead pig.) 



On the title page of Borrow' s Lavo Lil occurs the fol- 

 lowing : 



" Can you rokra Romany ? 



" Can you play the bosh ? 



" Can you jal adre the staripen ? 



" Can you chin the cost ? " 



" Can you speak the Roman tongue ? 



" Can you play the fiddle ? 



" Can you eat the prison loaf ? 



" Can you cut and whittle ? " 



I would like to mention that I once heard one of the 

 Bucklands humming over to himself the words, 

 " Can you raker Ramani ? 

 " Can you play the bash ? " 



And this would seem to show that these lines are a folk- 

 rhyme and were not composed by Borrow. 



The superstitions and folk-lore of the Gypsies are a 

 widely interesting subject I am at present studying up, 

 but I have not thus far collected much of value. 



In east Europe the Gfypsies possess an elaborate my- 

 thology. They believe in the mashurdalo, the great, 

 clumsy, stupid, man-eating giant of the forests, who, 

 like norse trolls and German Rubezahl, will assist peo- 

 ple who do him favors with his enormous strength and 

 great wealth. 



Malignant spirits named and unnamed cause their 

 diseases and are exorcised by their spells. The Pguvu- 



64: 



