knowledge in the composition of love-draughts and decoctions.

In the case of the loadstone, however, there is no pretence, the
Gitanas believing all they say respecting it, and still more; this

is proved by the eagerness with which they seek to obtain the stone
in its natural state, which is somewhat difficult to accomplish.

In the museum of natural curiosities at Madrid there is a large
piece of loadstone originally extracted from the American mines.

There is scarcely a Gitana in Madrid who is not acquainted with
this circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a

part of it; its being placed in a royal museum serving to augment,
in their opinion, its real value. Several attempts have been made

to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuccessful. The
Gypsies seem not to be the only people who envy royalty the

possession of this stone. Pepita, the old Gitana of whose talent
at telling fortunes such honourable mention has already been made,

informed me that a priest, who was muy enamorado (in love),
proposed to her to steal the loadstone, offering her all his

sacerdotal garments in the event of success: whether the singular
reward that was promised had but slight temptations for her, or

whether she feared that her dexterity was not equal to the
accomplishment of the task, we know not, but she appears to have

declined attempting it. According to the Gypsy account, the person
in love, if he wish to excite a correspondingpassion in another

quarter by means of the loadstone, must swallow, IN AGUARDIENTE, a
small portion of the stone pulverised, at the time of going to

rest, repeating to himself the following magic rhyme:-
'To the Mountain of Olives one morning I hied,

Three little black goats before me I spied,
Those three little goats on three cars I laid,

Black cheeses three from their milk I made;
The one I bestow on the loadstone of power,

That save me it may from all ills that lower;
The second to Mary Padilla I give,

And to all the witch hags about her that live;
The third I reserve for Asmodeus lame,

That fetch me he may whatever I name.'
LA RAIZ DEL BUEN BARON, OR THE ROOT OF THE GOOD BARON. - On this

subject we cannot be very explicit. It is customary with the
Gitanas to sell, under this title, various roots and herbs, to

unfortunate females who are desirous of producing a certain result;
these roots are boiled in white wine, and the abominable decoction

is taken fasting. I was once shown the root of the good baron,
which, in this instance, appeared to be parsley root. By the good

baron is meant his Satanic majesty, on whom the root is very
appropriately fathered.

CHAPTER VII
IT is impossible to dismiss the subject of the Spanish Gypsies

without offering some remarks on their marriage festivals. There
is nothing which they retain connected with their primitive rites

and principles, more characteristic perhaps of the sect of the
Rommany, of the sect of the HUSBANDS AND WIVES, than what relates

to the marriage ceremony, which gives the female a protector, and
the man a helpmate, a sharer of his joys and sorrows. The Gypsies

are almost entirely ignorant of the grand points of morality; they
have never had sufficient sense to perceive that to lie, to steal,

and to shed human blood violently, are crimes which are sure,
eventually, to yield bitter fruits to those who perpetrate them;

but on one point, and that one of no little importance as far as
temporal happiness is concerned, they are in general wiser than

those who have had far better opportunities than such unfortunate
outcasts, of regulating their steps, and distinguishing good from

evil. They know that chastity is a jewel of high price, and that
conjugal fidelity is capable of occasionally flinging a sunshine

even over the dreary hours of a life passed in the contempt of
almost all laws, whether human or divine.

There is a word in the Gypsy language to which those who speak it
attach ideas of peculiarreverence, far superior to that connected

with the name of the Supreme Being, the creator of themselves and
the universe. This word is LACHA, which with them is the corporeal

chastity of the females; we say corporeal chastity, for no other do
they hold in the slightest esteem; it is lawfulamongst them, nay

praiseworthy, to be obscene in look, gesture, and discourse, to be
accessories to vice, and to stand by and laugh at the worst

abominations of the Busne, provided their LACHA YE TRUPOS, or
corporeal chastity, remains unblemished. The Gypsy child, from her

earliest years, is told by her strange mother, that a good Calli
need only dread one thing in this world, and that is the loss of

Lacha, in comparison with which that of life is of little
consequence, as in such an event she will be provided for, but what

provision is there for a Gypsy who has lost her Lacha? 'Bear this
in mind, my child,' she will say, 'and now eat this bread, and go

forth and see what you can steal.'
A Gypsy girl is generally betrothed at the age of fourteen to the

youth whom her parents deem a suitable match, and who is generally
a few years older than herself. Marriage is invariably preceded by

betrothment; and the couple must then wait two years before their
union can take place, according to the law of the Cales. During

this period it is expected that they treat each other as common
acquaintance; they are permitted to converse, and even occasionally

to exchange slight presents. One thing, however, is strictly
forbidden, and if in this instance they prove contumacious, the

betrothment is instantly broken and the pair are never united, and
thenceforward bear an evil reputationamongst their sect. This one

thing is, going into the campo in each other's company, or having
any rendezvous beyond the gate of the city, town, or village, in

which they dwell. Upon this point we can perhaps do no better than
quote one of their own stanzas:-

'Thy sire and mother wrath and hate
Have vowed against us, love!

The first, first night that from the gate
We two together rove.'

With all the other Gypsies, however, and with the Busne or
Gentiles, the betrothed female is allowed the freest intercourse,

going whither she will, and returning at all times and seasons.
With respect to the Busne, indeed, the parents are invariably less

cautious than with their own race, as they conceive it next to an
impossibility that their child should lose her Lacha by any

intercourse with THE WHITE BLOOD; and true it is that experience
has proved that their confidence in this respect is not altogether

idle. The Gitanas have in general a decided aversion to the white
men; some few instances, however, to the contrary are said to have

occurred.
A short time previous to the expiration of the term of the

betrothment, preparations are made for the Gypsy bridal. The
wedding-day is certainly an eventful period in the life of every

individual, as he takes a partner for better or for worse, whom he
is bound to cherish through riches and poverty; but to the Gypsy

particularly the weddingfestival is an important affair. If he is
rich, he frequently becomes poor before it is terminated; and if he

is poor, he loses the little which he possesses, and must borrow of
his brethren; frequently involving himself throughout life, to

procure the means of giving a festival; for without a festival, he
could not become a Rom, that is, a husband, and would cease to

belong to this sect of Rommany.
There is a great deal of what is wild and barbarous attached to

these festivals. I shall never forget a particular one at which I
was present. After much feasting, drinking, and yelling, in the

Gypsy house, the bridal train sallied forth - a frantic spectacle.
First of all marched a villainous jockey-looking fellow, holding in

his hands, uplifted, a long pole, at the top of which fluttered in
the morning air a snow-white cambric handkerchief, emblem of the

bride's purity. Then came the betrothed pair, followed by their
nearest friends; then a rabble rout of Gypsies, screaming and

shouting, and discharging guns and pistols, till all around rang
with the din, and the village dogs barked. On arriving at the

church gate, the fellow who bore the pole stuck it into the ground