e, Bura-panee, Ocean, wave.
Rattie, Rat, Dark night,
Dad, Dada, Father.
Mutchee, Muchee, Fish.

This language, called by themselves Slang, or Gibberish, invented, as
they think, by their forefathers for secret purposes, is not merely the
language of _one_, or a _few _of these wandering tribes, which are found
in the European Nations; but is adopted by the vast numbers who inhabit
the earth.

One of our reformed Gipsies, while in the army, was with his regiment at
Portsmouth, and being on garrison duty with an invalid soldier, he was
surprised to hear some words of the Gipsy language unintentionally
uttered by him, who was a German. On enquiring how he understood this
language, the German replied, that he was of Gipsy origin, and that it
was spoken by this race in every part of his native land, for purposes of
secrecy. {16}

A well known nobleman, who had resided many years in India, taking
shelter under a tree during a storm in this country, near a camp of
Gipsies, was astonished to hear them use several words he well knew were
Hindostanee; and going up to them, he found them able to converse with
him in that language.

Not long ago, a Missionary from India, who was well acquainted with the
language of Hindostan, was at the Author's house when a Gipsy was
present; and, after a conversation which he had with her, he declared,
that, her people must once have known the Hindostanee language _well_.
Indeed Gipsies have often expressed surprise when words have been read to
them out of the Hindostanee vocabulary.

Lord Teignmouth once said to a young Gipsy woman in Hindostanee, _Tue
burra tschur_, that is, _Thou a great thief_. She immediately replied;
No--_I am not a thief_--_I live by fortune telling_.

It can be no matter of surprise that this language, as spoken among this
people, is generally corrupted, when we consider, that, for many
centuries, they have known nothing of elementary science, and have been
strangers to books and letters. Perhaps the secrecy necessary to effect
many of their designs, has been the greatest means of preserving its
scanty remains among them. But an attempt to prove that they are _not_
of Hindoo origin, because they do not speak the Hindostanee with perfect
correctness, would be as absurd as to declare, that, our Gipsies are not
natives of England, because t