Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-06-21

houHteu Cudlr, WdFcu GUITAR oy ltS
neck high in the air as signal of discov-
cry of great prize to those at distance,
repeating rapidly:
" "Ava'kai, ara'kai, Romanichal" Come
here; here's gypsy
And they came, dark and light, great
and small, and got round me- and shook
hands, and held to my arms, and asked
where l came from, and how l did, and if
it wasn't jolly, and what would 1 take to
drink, and said how glad they were to see
me; and when conversation tagged for an
instant, somebody said to his next neigh
Dor, with an air of wisdom, American
Romany," and everybody repeated it with
delight. Then it occurred to the guitarist
and the young lady that we had better sit
down. SO my first acquaintance and dis
coverer, whose name was Liubasha was
placed, in right of pre.emption, at my right
hand, the belle des bellies, Miss Sarsha, at
my left, number of damsels all around
these, and then three or four circles of
gypsies, of different ages and tints, stand
ing up, surrounding US all. In the outer
ring were several fast-looking and pretty
Russian or German blonde girls, whose
mission it is, believe, to dance-an6 flirt
with visitors, and few gentlemanly
| looking Russians, pieur garcoRs, evidently
of the kind who are at home behind the
scenes, and who knew where to come to
enjoy themselves. Altogether there must
have been about fifty present, and l soon
| observed that every word l uttered was
promptly repeated, while every eye was
fixed on me.
OF Mr.. Leland's manner OF ingratiating
himself with English gypsies (among whom
he seems to enjoy wide celebrity the fol.
lowing characteristic anecdote will serve as
an illustration
One evening, as the shadows were dark.
ening the day, met little gypsy boy,
dragging along, with incredible labor,
sack full of wood, which one needed not
| go far a6eld to surmise was neither pur-
chased nor begged. The alarmed and
guilty or despairing look which he cast at
me was very touching. Perhaps he thought
I was the gentleman upon whose property
he had "found" the wood or else
magistrate. How he stared when spoke
to him in Romany, and offered to help him
carry it. As1we bore it along l suggested
that we had better be careful and avoid the
police, which remark established perfect
confidence between us. But as we came
to the tent, what was the amazement of
the boys mother to see him returning with
a gentleman helping him to carry his load .
And to hear me say in Romany, and in q
cheerful tone Mother, here is some
wood we've been stealing for you"
Gypsies have strong nerves and much
cheek, but this was beyond her endow-
ment she was appalled, at the unearthly
strangeness of the whole proceeding and
when she spoke there was skeleton rattle
in her words and quaver of startled
ghastliness in her laugh. She had been
alarmed for her boy, and when l appeared
she thought was swell bringing him ia
under arrest but when l announced my
self in Romany as an accomplice, emotion
stifed thought. And | fingered not, and
spoke no more, but walked away into the
woods and the darkness. However, the
legend went forth on the roads, even unto
Kingston, and was told among the rollick.
ing Romanys of Apply 'Ampton for there
are always a merry, loafing lot of them
| about that festive spot, looking out for
excursionists through the months when
the gorse blooms, and kissing is in season
which is always. And he who seeks
them on Sunday may find them camped in
Green Lane.
There are many persons in England who
are not gypsies yes speak the Romany Ian
guage more or less imperfectly but they
can hardly vie with our author in accom-
plishments, if we are to Judge from the
following account furnished by one of the
mysterious nondescripts
1t appears from his account that they
were "a kind of mixed, you see, and busted
in, you know. and on it, out of the family,
it peppers up; but not exactly, you under
stand, and that's the way it is. And l re-
member case in point. and that was one
day, and had sold horse, and was with
my boy in moramengro' sbuddika barber's
shopl, and my boy says to me in Romanes,
Father, I'd like to have my hair cut.
It's too dear here, my son, said /, Roman
eskes; for the bill says three-pence.
And then the barber, he ups and says, in
Romany, Since you're Romanys, I'll cut
it for tUo. pence, though it's clear out Of all
my rules. And he did it but why that
man rukkered Romanes l don't know, nor
how it comes about for he hadn't no more
call to it than pig has to be a preacher.
| But I've known men in Sussex to take to
diggin' truffies on the same principles, and
one Gorgie in Hastings that adopted sellin'
fried fish for his living, about the town,
because he thought it was kind of romantic.
That's it.
Once Mr.. Leland was with boating
party of gentlefolks on the Thames, and
one of his companions was Mr.. Roebuck !:
| And ss the boat went along by Wey-
bridge we passed bank by which was a
small gypsy camp; tents and wagons,
donkeys and all, reflected in the silent
stream, as much as were the swans in the
fore. water. And in the camp was tall,
handsome, wild beauty, named Britannia,
who knew me well; damsel fond of lark
ing, with as much genuine DEVILS gunpow-
der in her IS would have made an entire
pack or Chinese hundred of sixty-four Of
the small crackers known as fast girls, in
| or around society. She was splendid
creature, long and 1.-the and lissom, but
we'll rounded, of a figure suggestive of
leaping hedges and as the sun shonc on
her white teeth and burning black eyes.
there was hint Of biting, too, about her.
She lay coiled aud basking, in feline
fashion, in the sun but at sight of me on
the boat, up she bounded, and ran along
the bank, easily keeping up with the
steamer, and crying out to me in Romanes.
Now it just SO happened that / by no
means felt certain that all of the company
present were such genial Bohemisns as to
appreciate anything like the joyous init
macy which Britannia was manifesting, as
she, Atalanta- like, coursed along. Conse.
quently, / was not delighted with her at
tentions.
"uow wsi, E she won,d IooL On the .t.as,
e. now ,".s" wen Ine n woa,a @ io0A on 'ne S''se
@ Sart.;ni,, ); - ~. ~ ,ho 1.d;o. Tor
oerIainiy, saia one o. Ine iaaies, OF
sne sr, "ouiu not De speaklng her ianguaee.
why oon you answer her Let US near
conve: sasion;
mus ao]ured, l answered
MTt pen' "i'rt easf.t, pen' 0eng see'g,e' n
ma TaEser sn droran! or ma rdsser no
na,t"essas. ,,. man daeesa te rama Se9n oeat; !,
~ M,r' ea"ef'-non edr mandy .odge!
/ tMy elster, my nice, sweet sister !---ueNii