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第60章

the zincali-第60章

小说: the zincali 字数: 每页4000字

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Then straight into the road I hied;



And fell to robbing there。







I ask'd for fire to warm my frame;



But they'd have scorn'd my prayer;



If I; to pay them for the same;



Had stripp'd my body bare。







Then came adown the village street;



With little babes that cry;



Because they have no crust to eat;



A Gypsy company;



And as no charity they meet;



They curse the Lord on high。







I left my house and walk'd about;



They seized me fast and bound;



It is a Gypsy thief; they shout;



The Spaniards here have found。







From out the prison me they led;



Before the scribe they brought;



It is no Gypsy thief; he said;



The Spaniards here have caught。







Throughout the night; the dusky night;



I prowl in silence round;



And with my eyes look left and right;



For him; the Spanish hound;



That with my knife I him may smite;



And to the vitals wound。







Will no one to the sister bear



News of her brother's plight;



How in this cell of dark despair;



To cruel death he's dight?







The Lord; as e'en the Gentiles state;



By Egypt's race was bred;



And when he came to man's estate;



His blood the Gentiles shed。







O never with the Gentiles wend;



Nor deem their speeches true;



Or else; be certain in the end



Thy blood will lose its hue。







From out the prison me they bore;



Upon an ass they placed;



And scourg'd me till I dripp'd with gore;



As down the road it paced。







They bore me from the prison nook;



They bade me rove at large;



When out I'd come a gun I took;



And scathed them with its charge。







My mule so bonny I bestrode;



To Portugal I'd flee;



And as I o'er the water rode



A man came suddenly;



And he his love and kindness show'd



By setting his dog on me。







Unless within a fortnight's space



Thy face; O maid; I see;



Flamenca; of Egyptian race;



My lady love shall be。







Flamenca; of Egyptian race;



If thou wert only mine;



Within a bonny crystal case



For life I'd thee enshrine。







Sire nor mother me caress;



For I have none on earth;



One little brother I possess;



And he's a fool by birth。







Thy sire and mother wrath and hate



Have vow'd against me; love!



The first; first night that from the gate



We two together rove。







Come to the window; sweet love; do;



And I will whisper there;



In Rommany; a word or two;



And thee far off will bear。







A Gypsy stripling's sparkling eye



Has pierced my bosom's core;



A feat no eye beneath the sky



Could e'er effect before。







Dost bid me from the land begone;



And thou with child by me?



Each time I come; the little one;



I'll greet in Rommany。







With such an ugly; loathly wife



The Lord has punish'd me;



I dare not take her for my life



Where'er the Spaniards be。







O; I am not of gentle clan;



I'm sprung from Gypsy tree;



And I will be no gentleman;



But an Egyptian free。







On high arose the moon so fair;



The Gypsy 'gan to sing:



I see a Spaniard coming there;



I must be on the wing。







This house of harlotry doth smell;



I flee as from the pest;



Your mother likes my sire too well;



To hie me home is best。







The girl I love more dear than life;



Should other gallant woo;



I'd straight unsheath my dudgeon knife



And cut his weasand through;



Or he; the conqueror in the strife;



The same to me should do。







Loud sang the Spanish cavalier;



And thus his ditty ran:



God send the Gypsy lassie here;



And not the Gypsy man。







At midnight; when the moon began



To show her silver flame;



There came to him no Gypsy man;



The Gypsy lassie came。















CHAPTER II















THE Gitanos; abject and vile as they have ever been; have 



nevertheless found admirers in Spain; individuals who have taken 



pleasure in their phraseology; pronunciation; and way of life; but 



above all; in the songs and dances of the females。  This desire for 



cultivating their acquaintance is chiefly prevalent in Andalusia; 



where; indeed; they most abound; and more especially in the town of 



Seville; the capital of the province; where; in the barrio or 



Faubourg of Triana; a large Gitano colon has long flourished; with 



the denizens of which it is at all times easy to have intercourse; 



especially to those who are free of their money; and are willing to 



purchase such a gratification at the expense of dollars and 



pesetas。







When we consider the character of the Andalusians in general; we 



shall find little to surprise us in this predilection for the 



Gitanos。  They are an indolent frivolous people; fond of dancing 



and song; and sensual amusements。  They live under the most 



glorious sun and benign heaven in Europe; and their country is by 



nature rich and fertile; yet in no province of Spain is there more 



beggary and misery; the greater part of the land being 



uncultivated; and producing nothing but thorns and brushwood; 



affording in itself a striking emblem of the moral state of its 



inhabitants。







Though not destitute of talent; the Andalusians are not much 



addicted to intellectual pursuits; at least in the present day。  



The person in most esteem among them is invariably the greatest 



MAJO; and to acquire that character it is necessary to appear in 



the dress of a Merry Andrew; to bully; swagger; and smoke 



continually; to dance passably; and to strum the guitar。  They are 



fond of obscenity and what they term PICARDIAS。  Amongst them 



learning is at a terrible discount; Greek; Latin; or any of the 



languages generally termed learned; being considered in any light 



but accomplishments; but not so the possession of thieves' slang or 



the dialect of the Gitanos; the knowledge of a few words of which 



invariably creates a certain degree of respect; as indicating that 



the individual is somewhat versed in that kind of life or TRATO for 



which alone the Andalusians have any kind of regard。







In Andalusia the Gitano has been studied by those who; for various 



reasons; have mingled with the Gitanos。  It is tolerably well 



understood by the chalans; or jockeys; who have picked up many 



words in the fairs and market…places which the former frequent。  It 



has; however; been cultivated to a greater degree by other 



individuals; who have sought the society of the Gitanos from a zest 



for their habits; their dances; and their songs; and such 



individuals have belonged to all classes; amongst them have been 



noblemen and members of the priestly order。







Perhaps no people in Andalusia have been more addicted in general 



to the acquaintance of the Gitanos than the friars; and pre…



eminently amongst these the half…jockey half…religious personages 



of the Cartujan convent at Xeres。  This community; now suppressed; 



was; as is well known; in possession of a celebrated breed of 



horses; which fed in the pastures of the convent; and from which 



they derived no inconsiderable part of their revenue。  These 



reverend gentlemen seem to have been much better versed in the 



points of a horse than in points of theology; and to have 



understood thieves' slang and Gitano far better than the language 



of the Vulgate。  A chalan; who had some knowledge of the Gitano; 



related to me the following singular anecdote in connection with 



this subject。







He had occasion to go to the convent; having been long in treaty 



with the friars for a steed which he had been commissioned by a 



nobleman to buy at any reasonable price。  The friars; however; were 



exorbitant in their demands。  On arriving at the gate; he sang to 



the friar who opened it a couplet which he had composed in th

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