We had been drinking water.
'Where is the wine?' said he.

'I never use it,' I replied.
He looked blank. The hostess, however, who was present waiting,

said, 'If the gentleman wish for wine, I have a bota nearly full,
which I will instantly fetch.'

The skin bottle, when full, might contain about four quarts. She
filled him a very large glass, and was removing the skin, but he

prevented her, saying, 'Leave it, my good woman; my brother here
will settle with you for the little I shall use.'

He now lighted his cigar, and it was evident that he had made good
his quarters. On the former occasion I thought his behaviour

sufficiently strange, but I liked it still less on the present.
Every fifteen minutes he emptied his glass, which contained at

least a pint; his conversation became horrible. He related the
atrocities which he had committed when a robber and bragante in La

Mancha. 'It was our custom,' said he, 'to tie our prisoners to the
olive-trees, and then, putting our horses to full speed, to tilt at

them with our spears.' As he continued to drink he became waspish
and quarrelsome: he had hitherto talked Castilian, but he would

now only converse in Gypsy and in Latin, the last of which
languages he spoke with great fluency, though ungrammatically. He

told me that he had killed six men in duels; and, drawing his
sword, fenced about the room. I saw by the manner in which he

handled it, that he was master of his weapon. His cough did not
return, and he said it seldom afflicted him when he dined well. He

gave me to understand that he had received no pay for two years.
'Therefore you visit me,' thought I. At the end of three hours,

perceiving that he exhibited no signs of taking his departure, I
arose, and said I must again leave him. 'As you please, brother,'

said he; 'use no ceremony with me, I am fatigued, and will wait a
little while.' I did not return till eleven at night, when my

hostess informed me that he had just departed, promising to return
next day. He had emptied the bota to the last drop, and the cheese

produced being insufficient for him, he sent for an entire Dutch
cheese on my account; part of which he had eaten and the rest

carried away. I now saw that I had formed a most troublesome
acquaintance, of whom it was highly necessary to rid myself, if

possible; I therefore dined out for the next nine days.
For a week he came regularly at the usual hour, at the end of which

time he desisted; the hostess was afraid of him, as she said that
he was a brujo or wizard, and only spoke to him through the wicket.

On the tenth day I was cast into prison, where I continued several
weeks. Once, during my confinement, he called at the house, and

being informed of my mishap, drew his sword, and vowed with
horrible imprecations to murder the prime minister of Ofalia, for

having dared to imprison his brother. On my release, I did not
revisit my lodgings for some days, but lived at an hotel. I

returned late one afternoon, with my servant Francisco, a Basque of
Hernani, who had served me with the utmostfidelity during my

imprisonment, which he had voluntarily shared with me. The first
person I saw on entering was the Gypsy soldier, seated by the

table, whereon were several bottles of wine which he had ordered
from the tavern, of course on my account. He was smoking, and

looked savage and sullen; perhaps he was not much pleased with the
reception he had experienced. He had forced himself in, and the

woman of the house sat in a corner looking upon him with dread. I
addressed him, but he would scarcely return an answer. At last he

commenced discoursing with great volubility in Gypsy and Latin. I
did not understand much of what he said. His words were wild and

incoherent, but he repeatedly threatened some person. The last
bottle was now exhausted: he demanded more. I told him in a

gentle manner that he had drunk enough. He looked on the ground
for some time, then slowly, and somewhat hesitatingly, drew his

sword and laid it on the table. It was become dark. I was not
afraid of the fellow, but I wished to avoid anything unpleasant. I

called to Francisco to bring lights, and obeying a sign which I
made him, he sat down at the table. The Gypsy glared fiercely upon

him - Francisco laughed, and began with great glee to talk in
Basque, of which the Gypsy understood not a word. The Basques,

like all Tartars, (51) and such they are, are paragons of fidelity
and good nature; they are only dangerous when outraged, when they

are terrible indeed. Francisco, to the strength of a giant joined
the disposition of a lamb. He was beloved even in the patio of the

prison, where he used to pitch the bar and wrestle with the
murderers and felons, always coming off victor. He continued

speaking Basque. The Gypsy was incensed; and, forgetting the
languages in which, for the last hour, he had been speaking,

complained to Francisco of his rudeness in speaking any tongue but
Castilian. The Basque replied by a loud carcajada, and slightly

touched the Gypsy on the knee. The latter sprang up like a mine
discharged, seized his sword, and, retreating a few steps, made a

desperate lunge at Francisco.
The Basques, next to the Pasiegos, (52) are the best cudgel-players

in Spain, and in the world. Francisco held in his hand part of a
broomstick, which he had broken in the stable, whence he had just

ascended. With the swiftness of lightning he foiled the stroke of
Chaleco, and, in another moment, with a dexterous blow, struck the

sword out of his hand, sending it ringing against the wall.
The Gypsy resumed his seat and his cigar. He occasionally looked

at the Basque. His glances were at first atrocious, but presently
changed their expression, and appeared to me to become prying and

eagerly curious. He at last arose, picked up his sword, sheathed
it, and walked slowly to the door; when there he stopped, turned

round, advanced close to Francisco, and looked him steadfastly in
the face. 'My good fellow,' said he, 'I am a Gypsy, and can read

baji. Do you know where you will be at this time to-morrow?' (53)
Then, laughing like a hyena, he departed, and I never saw him

again.
At that time on the morrow, Francisco was on his death-bed. He had

caught the jail fever, which had long raged in the Carcel de la
Corte, where I was imprisoned. In a few days he was buried, a mass

of corruption, in the Campo Santo of Madrid.
CHAPTER V

THE Gitanos, in their habits and manner of life, are much less
cleanly than the Spaniards. The hovels in which they reside

exhibit none of the neatness which is observable in the habitations
of even the poorest of the other race. The floors are unswept, and

abound with filth and mud, and in their persons they are scarcely
less vile. Inattention to cleanliness is a characteristic of the

Gypsies, in all parts of the world.
The Bishop of Forli, as far back as 1422, gives evidence upon this

point, and insinuates that they carried the plague with them; as he
observes that it raged with peculiarviolence the year of their

appearance at Forli. (54)
At the present day they are almost equally disgusting, in this

respect, in Hungary, England, and Spain. Amongst the richer
Gitanos, habits of greater cleanliness of course exist than amongst

the poorer. An air of sluttishness, however, pervades their
dwellings, which, to an experienced eye, would sufficiently attest

that the inmates were Gitanos, in the event of their absence.
What can be said of the Gypsy dress, of which such frequent mention

is made in the Spanish laws, and which is prohibited together with
the Gypsy language and manner of life? Of whatever it might

consist in former days, it is so little to be distinguished" target="_blank" title="a.卓越的，著名的">distinguished from
the dress of some classes amongst the Spaniards, that it is almost

impossible to describe the difference. They generally wear a high-
peaked, narrow-brimmed hat, a zamarra of sheep-skin in winter, and,

during summer, a jacket of brown cloth; and beneath this they are
fond of exhibiting a red plush waistcoat, something after the

fashion of the English jockeys, with numerous buttons and clasps.
A faja, or girdle of crimson silk, surrounds the waist, where, not

unfrequently, are stuck the cachas which we have already described.
Pantaloons of coarse cloth or leather descend to the knee; the legs

are protected by woollen stockings, and sometimes by a species of