spread by degrees over Europe, may not this family name, a little corrupted, be the very name they brought with them

Egypt, and, entering Europe from thence, have brought with them the name Egyptians, which has been corrupted in England into gipsies.

This opinion seems to have been early entertained, but soon forgotten; for we find that Hieronymus Foroliviensis, in the nineteenth volume of Muratori, says, that, on the 7th day of August, A.D. 1432, two hundred of the cingari came to his native town, and halted there two days on their journey to Rome, and that some of them said they came from India "et, ut audivi, aliqui dicebant quod erant Indiâ." Munster, who, in 1524, conversed with one of the cingari, found that his belief was, the tribe had come from that country.

The Abbé Dubois says, that in every country of the Peninsula, great numbers of families are to be found, whose ancestors were obliged to emigrate thither in times of trouble or famine from their native land, and to establish themselves amongst strangers. But the most remarkable feature in their history is, that these colonists preserve their own language, from generation to generation, as well as their national peculiarities. Many families might be pointed out who have continued four or five hundred years in particular districts without approximating in the least to the manners, fashions, or language, of the tribes among whom they have been naturalized.

Leaving this species of evidence, we shall proceed to one which seenis to afford more conclusive proofs than any other of the Hindoo origin of the gipsies; namely, a short vocabulary of words, collected from the gipsy of England, the giatano of Spain, and the cygani of Hungary; and if we make allowance for the corruptions, which must necessarily have crept in amongst people wandering through countries whose language was not only distinct from their own, but also unconnected with each other, we shall not wonder at the slight difference, seeing the great variety of provincial dialect spoken even in Britain itself:

Besides these, we may mention, that the gipsies use the word banduk, for a musket, which, in the Hindoo, is bundooq; and kahngeree English, cangri Spanish, and kahngeri Hungarian, all signify church. Could a

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, &c. 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 gipsies, 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 gipsy girl lie in the midst of one of our hop-gardens, on the cold ground, with nothing over her but a piece of a blanket, extended on a few hazel rods bent hoop fashion, and stuck into the earth at each end, in circumstances too trying for a cow in the same condition: yet within this garden there was a large hop-kiln, into the chambers of which she might have retired, had she thought shelter an object worthy her

attention.

Europe itself, it seems, cannot set bounds to the rovings of these vagabonds; for Mr Bell, in his return from Peking, met a gang of these people on the confines of Tartary, who were endeavouring to penetrate those deserts, and try their fortune

in China.*

Gipsies are called in French, Bohemiens; in Italian and modern Greek, Zingani.

vocabulary be formed of the dialect used by gipsies, the era and route by which they entered Europe might possibly be traced by an ingenious linguist.

Ludolf, in the seventeenth century, collected from certain wandering tribes, which he met in Æthiopia and Nubia, a vocabulary of thiry-eight words. These were so fortunately selected, that a counterpart has, in almost every instance, offered itself, both from the language of Hindostan, and from that of the European gipsy. This fact recalls an observation made by Sir William Jones, though it may bear but little upon the question that the ancient Egyptian and Sanscrit are probably the

same. - ED.

* See Bell's Travels in China.

LETTER LXVIII

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, November 1, 1775.

DEAR SIR,

HIC

tædæ pingues, hic plurimus ignis

Semper, et assiduâ postes fuligine nigri.

I shall make no apology for troubling you with the detail of a very simple piece of domestic economy, being satisfied that you think nothing beneath your attention that tends to utility: the matter alluded to is the use of rushes instead of candles, which I am well aware prevails in many districts besides this; but as I know there are countries also where it does not obtain, and as I have considered the subject with some degree of exactness, I shall proceed in my humble story, and leave you to judge of the expediency.

The proper species of rush for this purpose seems to be the juncus conglomeratus, or common soft rush, which is to be found in most moist pastures, by the sides of streams, and under hedges.* These rushes are in best condition in the height of summer; but may be gathered, so as to serve the purpose well, quite on to autumn. It would be needless to add, that the largest and longest are best. Decayed labourers, women, and children, make it their business to procure and prepare them. As soon as they are cut, they must be flung into water, and kept there; for otherwise they will dry and shrink, and the peel will not run. At first, a person would find it no easy matter to divest a rush of its peel, or rind, so as to leave one regular, narrow, even rib, from top to bottom, that may support the pith; but this, like other feats, soon becomes familiar, even to children; and we have seen an old woman, stone blind, performing this business with great despatch, and seldom failing to strip them with the nicest

* In many of the northern parts of Scotland rushes were formerly used in place of cotton for wicks to lamps, which, in Perthshire and the adjoining counties, are termed crozeys. They are much more durable than cotton. In Zetland, a shell, the fusus antiquus of Lamark, suspended horizontally by a cord, was formerly used as a lamp, the canal of the shell serving as a cavity for the reception of the rush-wick. In various places of the same districts, ropes for tethering cattle were formed of rushes by the peasantry during their idle hours, and also by herd boys. If firmly platted, they were pretty durable. We have seen them often used in the north. -ED.

regularity. When these junci are thus far prepared, they must lie out on the grass to be bleached, and take the dew for some nights, and afterwards be dried in the sun.

Some address is required in dipping these rushes in the scalding fat, or grease; but this knack also is to be attained by practice. The careful wife of an industrious Hampshire labourer obtains all her fat for nothing, for she saves the scummings of her bacon-pot for this use; and, if the grease abounds with salt, she causes the salt to precipitate to the bottom, by setting the scummings in a warm oven. Where hogs are not much in use, and especially by the sea-side, the coarser animal oils will come very cheap. A pound of common grease may be procured for fourpence; and about six pounds of grease will dip a pound of rushes; and one pound of rushes may be bought for one shilling; so that a pound of rushes, medicated and ready for use, will cost three shillings. If men that keep bees will mix a little wax with the grease, it will give it a consistency, and render it more cleanly, and make the rushes burn longer: mutton suet would have the same effect.

A good rush, which measured in length two feet four inches and a half, being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour; and a rush of still greater length has been known to burn one hour and a quarter.

These rushes give a good, clear light. Watch-lights, (coated with tallow,) it is true, shed a dismal one-" darkness visible;" but then the wicks of those have two ribs of the rind, or peel, to support the pith, while the wick of the dipped rush has but one. The two ribs are intended to impede the progress of the flame, and make the candle last.

In a pound of dry rushes, avoirdupois, which I caused to be weighed and numbered, we found upwards of one thousand six hundred individuals. Now, suppose each of these burns, one with another, only half an hour, then a poor man will purchase eight hundred hours of light, a time exceeding thirtythree entire days, for three shillings. According to this account, each rush, before dipping, costs one thirty-third of a farthing, and one-eleventh afterwards. Thus a poor family will enjoy five and a half hours of comfortable light for a farthing. An experienced old housekeeper assures me, that one pound and a half of rushes completely supplies his family the year round, since working people burn no candle in the long days, because they rise and go to bed by daylight.

Little farmers use rushes much in the short days, both

but the very

morning and evening, in the dairy and kitchen; poor, who are always the worst economists, and therefore must continue very poor, buy a halfpenny candle every evening, which, in their blowing, open rooms, does not burn much more than two hours. Thus have they only two hours' light for their money, instead of eleven.

While on the subject of rural economy, it may not be improper to mention a pretty implement of housewifery that we have seen nowhere else; that is, little neat besoms which our foresters make from the stalks of the polytricum commune, or great golden maiden-hair, which they call silk-wood, and find plenty in the bogs.* When this moss is well combed and dressed, and divested of its outer skin, it becomes of a beautiful bright chestnut colour; and, being soft and pliant, is very proper for the dusting of beds, curtains, carpets, hangings, &c. If these besoms were known to the brushmakers in town, it is probable they might come much in use for the purpose above mentioned.+

LETTER LXIX

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, December 12, 1775. DEAR SIR,- We had in this village, more than twenty years ago, an idiot boy, whom I well remember, who, from a child, shewed a strong propensity to bees; they were his food, his amusement, his sole object. And as people of this cast have seldom more than one point in view, so this lad exerted all his few faculties on this one pursuit. In the winter, he dozed away his time, within his father's house, by the fire-side, in a kind of torpid state, seldom departing from the chimney corner; but in the summer he was all alert, and in quest of his game in the fields, and on sunny banks. Honey-bees, humblebees, and wasps, were his prey wherever he found them: he had no apprehensions from their stings, but would seize them nudis manibus, and at once disarm them of their weapons, and suck their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags. Sometimes he would fill his bosom, between his shirt and skin, with a number of these captives; and sometimes would confine them

*These besoms are common in the south of Scotland. From the same substance mats and rugs are plaited. In Ireland large mats of this kind are used by the peasantry for beds. -ED.

† A besom of this sort is to be seen in Sir Ashton Lever's museum.