贝壳电子书 > 英文原著电子书 > carmen(卡门) >

第19章

carmen(卡门)-第19章

小说: carmen(卡门) 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!






                                                57 


… Page 58…

                                          CARMEN 



Among themselves they always use the designation /Romane tchave/。 

     Some months ago; I paid a visit to a gipsy tribe in the Vosges country。 

In the hut of an old woman; the oldest member of the tribe; I found a gipsy; 

in no way related to the family; who was sick of a mortal disease。 The man 

had   left   a   hospital;   where   he   was   well   cared   for;   so   that   he   might   die 

among   his   own   people。   For   thirteen   weeks   he   had   been   lying   in   bed   in 

their encampment; and receiving far better treatment than any of the sons 

and sons…in…law who shared his shelter。 He had a good bed made of straw 

and moss; and sheets that were tolerably white; whereas all the rest of the 

family; which numbered eleven persons; slept on planks three feet long。 So 

much   for   their   hospitality。   This   very   same   woman;   humane   as   was   her 

treatment of her guest said to me constantly before the sick man: 〃/Singo; 

singo; homte hi mulo/。〃 〃Soon; soon he must die!〃 After all; these people 

live   such   miserable   lives;   that   a   reference   to   the   approach   of   death   can 

have no terrors for them。 

     One   remarkable   feature   in   the   gipsy   character   is   their   indifference 

about   religion。   Not   that   they   are   strong…minded   or   sceptical。   They   have 

never made any profession of atheism。 Far from that; indeed; the religion 

of the country which they inhabit is always theirs; but they change their 

religion when they change the country of their residence。 They are equally 

free from the superstitions which replace religious feeling in the minds of 

the vulgar。 How; indeed; can superstition exist among a race which; as a 

rule;   makes   its   livelihood   out   of   the   credulity  of   others?   Nevertheless;   I 

have remarked a particular horror of touching a corpse among the Spanish 

gipsies。  Very   few   of   these   could   be   induced   to   carry   a   dead   man   to   his 

grave; even if they were paid for it。 

     I have said that most gipsy women undertake to tell fortunes。 They do 

this very successfully。 But they find a much greater source of profit in the 

sale of charms and love…philters。 Not only do they supply toads' claws to 

hold fickle hearts; and powdered loadstone to kindle love in cold ones; but 

if necessity arises; they can use mighty incantations; which force the devil 

to lend them his aid。 Last year the following story was related to me by a 

Spanish lady。 She was walking one day along the /Calle d'Alcala/; feeling 

very sad and anxious。 A gipsy woman who was squatting on the pavement 



                                                58 


… Page 59…

                                         CARMEN 



called out to her; 〃My pretty lady; your lover has played you false!〃 (It was 

quite true。) 〃Shall I get him back for you?〃 My readers will imagine with 

what joy the proposal was accepted; and how complete was the confidence 

inspired by a person who could thus guess the inmost secrets of the heart。 

As it would have been impossible to proceed to perform the operations of 

magic in the most crowded street in Madrid; a meeting was arranged for 

the next day。 〃Nothing will be easier than to bring back the faithless one to 

your feet!〃 said the gitana。 〃Do you happen to have a handkerchief; a scarf; 

or a mantilla; that he gave you?〃 A silken scarf was handed her。 〃Now sew 

a piastre into one corner of the scarf with crimson silksew half a piastre 

into another cornersew a peseta hereand a two…real piece there; then; in 

the   middle   you   must   sew   a   gold   coina   doubloon   would   be   best。〃   The 

doubloon   and   all   the   other   coins   were   duly  sewn   in。   〃Now   give   me   the 

scarf; and I'll take it to the Campo Santo when midnight strikes。 You come 

along with me; if you want to see a fine piece of witchcraft。 I promise you 

shall see the man you love to…morrow!〃 The gipsy departed alone for the 

Campo Santo; since my Spanish friend was too much afraid of witchcraft 

to go there with her。 I leave my readers to guess whether my poor forsaken 

lady ever saw her lover; or her scarf; again。 

     In   spite   of   their   poverty   and   the   sort   of   aversion   they   inspire;   the 

gipsies   are   treated   with   a   certain   amount   of   consideration   by   the   more 

ignorant folk; and they are very proud of it。 They feel themselves to be a 

superior race as regards intelligence; and they heartily despise the people 

whose hospitality they enjoy。 〃These Gentiles are so stupid;〃 said one of 

the Vosges   gipsies to   me;  〃that there   is   no credit in taking them  in。 The 

other day a peasant woman called out to me in the street。 I went into her 

house。 Her stove smoked and she asked me to give her a charm to cure it。 

First of all I made her give me a good bit of bacon; and then I began to 

mumble a few words in /Romany/。 'You're a fool;' I said; 'you were born a 

fool; and you'll die a fool!' When I had got near the door I said to her; in 

good German; 'The most certain way of keeping your stove from smoking 

is not to light any fire in it!' and then I took to my heels。〃 

     The   history   of   the   gipsies   is   still   a   problem。   We   know;   indeed;   that 

their   first   bands;   which   were   few   and   far   between;   appeared   in   Eastern 



                                                59 


… Page 60…

                                          CARMEN 



Europe towards the beginning of the fifteenth century。 But nobody can tell 

whence they started; or why they came to Europe; and; what is still more 

extraordinary; no one knows how they multiplied; within a short time; and 

in so prodigious a fashion; and in several countries; all very remote from 

each other。 The gipsies themselves have preserved no tradition whatsoever 

as   to   their   origin;   and   though   most   of   them   do   speak   of   Egypt   as   their 

original fatherland; that is only because they have adopted a very ancient 

fable respecting their race。 

     Most of the Orientalists who have studied the gipsy language believe 

that the cradle of the race was in India。 It appears; in fact; that many of the 

roots and grammatical forms of the /Romany/ tongue are to be found in 

idioms derived from the Sanskrit。 As may be imagined; the gipsies; during 

their    long   wanderings;      have    adopted     many     foreign    words。    In   every 

/Romany/ dialect a number of Greek words appear。 

     At the present day the gipsies have almost as many dialects as there 

are separate hordes of their race。 Everywhere; they speak the language of 

the   country   they   inhabit   more   easily   than   their   own   idiom;   which   they 

seldom use; except with the object of conversing freely before strangers。 A 

comparison   of   the   dialect   of   the   German   gipsies   with   that   used   by   the 

Spanish   gipsies;   who   have   held   no   communication   with   each   other   for 

several     centuries;    reveals   the   existence     of  a  great   number      of  words 

common to both。 But everywhere the original language is notably affected; 

though      in  different   degrees;     by  its  contact    with   the   more    cultivated 

languages into the use of which the nomads have been forced。 German in 

one    case    and   Spanish     in  the   other   have    so   modified     the   /Romany/ 

groundwork that it would not be possible for a gipsy from the Black Forest 

to converse with one of his Andalusian brothers; although a few sentences 

on   each   side   would   suffice   to   convince   them   that   each   was   speaking   a 

dialect   of   the   same   language。   Certain   words   in   very   frequent   use   are;   I 

believe; comm

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 2 2

你可能喜欢的