the zincali-第70章

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The　first　vocabulary　of　the　'Cant　Language；'　or　English　Germania；　



appeared　in　the　year　1680；　appended　to　the　life　of　THE　ENGLISH　



ROGUE；　a　work　which；　in　many　respects；　resembles　the　HISTORY　OF　



GUZMAN　D'ALFARACHE；　though　it　is　written　with　considerably　more　



genius　than　the　Spanish　novel；　every　chapter　abounding　with　



remarkable　adventures　of　the　robber　whose　life　it　pretends　to　



narrate；　and　which　are　described　with　a　kind　of　ferocious　energy；　



which；　if　it　do　not　charm　the　attention　of　the　reader；　at　least　



enslaves　it；　holding　it　captive　with　a　chain　of　iron。　　Amongst　his　



other　adventures；　the　hero　falls　in　with　a　Gypsy　encampment；　is　



enrolled　amongst　the　fraternity；　and　is　allotted　a　'mort；'　or　



concubine；　a　barbarous　festival　ensues；　at　the　conclusion　of　which　



an　epithalamium　is　sung　in　the　Gypsy　language；　as　it　is　called　in　



the　work　in　question。　　Neither　the　epithalamium；　however；　nor　the　



vocabulary；　are　written　in　the　language　of　the　English　Gypsies；　but　



in　the　'Cant；'　or　allegorical　robber　dialect；　which　is　sufficient　



proof　that　the　writer；　however　well　acquainted　with　thieves　in　



general；　their　customs　and　manners　of　life；　was　in　respect　to　the　



Gypsies　profoundly　ignorant。　　His　vocabulary；　however；　has　been　



always　accepted　as　the　speech　of　the　English　Gypsies；　whereas　it　is　



at　most　entitled　to　be　considered　as　the　peculiar　speech　of　the　



thieves　and　vagabonds　of　his　time。　　The　cant　of　the　present　day；　



which；　though　it　differs　in　some　respects　from　the　vocabulary　



already　mentioned；　is　radically　the　same；　is　used　not　only　by　the　



thieves　in　town　and　country；　but　by　the　jockeys　of　the　racecourse　



and　the　pugilists　of　the　'ring。'　As　a　specimen　of　the　cant　of　



England；　we　shall　take　the　liberty　of　quoting　the　epithalamium　to　



which　we　have　above　alluded：…











'Bing　out；　bien　morts；　and　tour　and　tour



Bing　out；　bien　morts　and　tour；



For　all　your　duds　are　bing'd　awast；



The　bien　cove　hath　the　loure。　（78）







'I　met　a　dell；　I　viewed　her　well；



She　was　benship　to　my　watch：



So　she　and　I　did　stall　and　cloy



Whatever　we　could　catch。







'This　doxy　dell　can　cut　ben　whids；



And　wap　well　for　a　win；



And　prig　and　cloy　so　benshiply；



All　daisy…ville　within。







'The　hoyle　was　up；　we　had　good　luck；



In　frost　for　and　in　snow；



Men　they　did　seek；　then　we　did　creep



And　plant　the　roughman's　low。'











It　is　scarcely　necessary　to　say　anything　more　upon　the　Germania　in　



general　or　in　particular；　we　believe　that　we　have　achieved　the　task　



which　we　marked　out　for　ourselves；　and　have　conveyed　to　our　readers　



a　clear　and　distinct　idea　of　what　it　is。　　We　have　shown　that　it　has　



been　erroneously　confounded　with　the　Rommany；　or　Gitano　language；　



with　which　it　has　nevertheless　some　points　of　similarity。　　The　two　



languages　are；　at　the　present　day；　used　for　the　same　purpose；　



namely；　to　enable　habitual　breakers　of　the　law　to　carry　on　their　



consultations　with　more　secrecy　and　privacy　than　by　the　ordinary　



means。　　Yet　it　must　not　be　forgotten　that　the　thieves'　jargon　was　



invented　for　that　purpose；　whilst　the　Rommany；　originally　the　



proper　and　only　speech　of　a　particular　nation；　has　been　preserved　



from　falling　into　entire　disuse　and　oblivion；　because　adapted　to　



answer　the　same　end。　　It　was　impossible　to　treat　of　the　Rommany　in　



a　manner　calculated　to　exhaust　the　subject；　and　to　leave　no　ground　



for　future　cavilling；　without　devoting　a　considerable　space　to　the　



consideration　of　the　robber　dialect；　on　which　account　we　hope　we　



shall　be　excused　many　of　the　dry　details　which　we　have　introduced　



into　the　present　essay。　　There　is　a　link　of　connection　between　the　



history　of　the　Roma；　or　wanderers　from　Hindustan；　who　first　made　



their　appearance　in　Europe　at　the　commencement　of　the　fifteenth　



century；　and　that　of　modern　roguery。　　Many　of　the　arts　which　the　



Gypsies　proudly　call　their　own；　and　which　were　perhaps　at　one　



period　peculiar　to　them；　have　become　divulged；　and　are　now　



practised　by　the　thievish　gentry　who　infest　the　various　European　



states；　a　result　which；　we　may　assert　with　confidence；　was　brought　



about　by　the　alliance　of　the　Gypsies　being　eagerly　sought　on　their　



first　arrival　by　the　thieves；　who；　at　one　period；　were　less　skilful　



than　the　former　in　the　ways　of　deceit　and　plunder；　which　kind　of　



association　continued　and　held　good　until　the　thieves　had　acquired　



all　they　wished　to　learn；　when　they　left　the　Gypsies　in　the　fields　



and　plains；　so　dear　to　them　from　their　vagabond　and　nomad　habits；　



and　returned　to　the　towns　and　cities。　　Yet　from　this　temporary　



association　were　produced　two　results；　European　fraud　became　



sharpened　by　coming　into　contact　with　Asiatic　craft；　whilst　



European　tongues；　by　imperceptible　degrees；　became　recruited　with　



various　words　（some　of　them　wonderfully　expressive）；　many　of　which　



have　long　been　stumbling…stocks　to　the　philologist；　who；　whilst　



stigmatising　them　as　words　of　mere　vulgar　invention；　or　of　unknown　



origin；　has　been　far　from　dreaming　that　by　a　little　more　research　



he　might　have　traced　them　to　the　Sclavonic；　Persian；　or　Romaic；　or　



perhaps　to　the　mysterious　object　of　his　veneration；　the　Sanscrit；　



the　sacred　tongue　of　the　palm…covered　regions　of　Ind；　words　



originally　introduced　into　Europe　by　objects　too　miserable　to　



occupy　for　a　moment　his　lettered　attention　…　the　despised　denizens　



of　the　tents　of　Roma。











ON　THE　TERM　'BUSNO'











Those　who　have　done　me　the　honour　to　peruse　this　strange　wandering　



book　of　mine；　must　frequently　have　noticed　the　word　'Busno；'　a　term　



bestowed　by　the　Spanish　Gypsy　on　his　good　friend　the　Spaniard。　　As　



the　present　will　probably　be　the　last　occasion　which　I　shall　have　



to　speak　of　the　Gitanos　or　anything　relating　to　them；　it　will　



perhaps　be　advisable　to　explain　the　meaning　of　this　word。　　In　the　



vocabulary　appended　to　former　editions　I　have　translated　Busno　by　



such　words　as　Gentile；　savage；　person　who　is　not　a　Gypsy；　and　have　



stated　that　it　is　probably　connected　with　a　certain　Sanscrit　noun　



signifying　an　impure　person。　　It　is；　however；　derived　immediately　



from　a　Hungarian　term；　exceedingly　common　amongst　the　lower　orders　



of　the　Magyars；　to　their　disgrace　be　it　spoken。　　The　Hungarian　



Gypsies　themselves　not　unfrequently　style　the　Hungarians　Busnoes；　



in　ridicule　of　their　unceasing　use　of　the　word　in　question。　　The　



first　Gypsies　who　entered　Spain　doubtless　brought　with　them　the　



term　from　Hungary；　the　language　of　which　country　they　probably　



understood　to　a　certain　extent。　　That　it　was　not　ill　applied　by　



them　in　Spain　no　one　will　be　disposed　to　deny　when　told　that　it　



exactly　corresponds　with　the　Shibboleth　of　the　Spaniards；　'Carajo；'　



an　oath　equally　common　in　Spain　as　its　equivalent　in　Hungary。　　



Busno；　therefore；　in　Spanish　means　EL　DEL　CARAJO；　or　he　who　has　



that　term　continually　in　his　mouth。　　The　Hungarian　words　in　Spanish　



Gypsy　may　amount　to　ten　or　twelve；　a　very　inconsiderable　number；　



but　the　Hungarian　Gypsy　tongue　itself；　as　spoken　at　the　present　



day；　exhibits　only　a　slight　sprinkling　of　Hungarian　words；　whilst　



it　contains　many　words　borrowed　from　the　Wallachian；　some　of　which　



have　found　their　way　into　Spain；　and　are　in　common　use　amongst　the　



Gitanos。



















SPECIMENS　OF　GYPSY　DIALECTS



















THE　ENGLISH　DIALECT　OF　THE　ROMMANY















'TACHIPEN　if　I　jaw　'doi；　I　can　lel　a　bit　of　tan　to　hatch：　　N'etist　



I　shan't　puch　kekomi　wafu　gorgies。'







The　above　sentence；　dear　reader；　I　heard　from　the　mouth　of　Mr。　



Petulengro；　the　last　time　that　he　did　me　the　honour　to　visit　me　at　



my　poor　house；　which　was　the　day　after　Mol…divvus　（79）；　1842：　　he　



stayed