OF SELBORNE. 
LETTER XXV. 
TO THE SAMEo 
DEAR SIR, Selborne, oa. 2, 1775, 
We have two gangs or hordes of gyplles which infeft the fouth 
and weft of England, and come round in their circuit two or three 
times in the year. One of thefe tribes calls itfelf by the noble name 
of Stanley, of which I have nothing particular to fay; but the other 
is diftinguiflied by an appellative fomewhat remarkable — As far as 
their harfti gibberifh can be underftood, they feem to fay that the 
name of their clan is Curleople : now the termination of this word Is 
apparently Grecian : and as Mezeray and the graveft hiftorians all 
agree that thefe vagrants did certainly migrate from Egypt and the 
Eaft, two or three centuries ago, and fo fpread by degrees over 
Europe, may not this family-name, a little corrupted, be the very 
name they brought with them from the Levant P It would be 
matter of fome curiofity, could one meet with an intelligent perfon 
among them, to inquii-e whether, in their jargon, theyftill retain 
any Greek words : the Greek radicals will appear in hand, foot, 
head, water, earth, &c. It is poflible that amidft their cant and 
corrupted dialed: many mutilated remains of their native language 
might ftill be difcovered. 
With regard to thofe peculiar people, the gypfies, one thing 
is very remarkable, and efpecially as they came from warmer 
elimates ; and that is, that while other beggars lodge in barns, 
C c 2 ftables. 
