speech, and the great excellence of holding human discourse
all the time we may; and so let it not weary you to hear me relate what
befel me with the gipsies who hid me in the cave.

_Scip._ With great pleasure. I will listen to you, that you in your turn
may listen to me, when I relate, if heaven pleases, the events of my
life.

_Berg._ My occupation among the gipsies was to contemplate their
numberless tricks and frauds, and the thefts they all commit from the
time they are out of leading-strings and can walk alone. You know what a
multitude there is of them dispersed all over Spain. They all know each
other, keep up a constant intelligence among themselves, and
reciprocally pass off and carry away the articles they have purloined.
They render less obedience to their king than to one of their own people
whom they style count, and who bears the surname of Maldonado, as do all
his descendants. This is not because they come of that noble line, but
because a page belonging to a cavalier of that name fell in love with a
beautiful gipsy, who would not yield to his wishes unless he became a
gipsy and made her his wife. The page did so, and was so much liked by
the other gipsies, that they chose him for their lord, yielded him
obedience, and in token of vassalage rendered to him a portion of
everything they stole, whatever it might be.

To give a colour to their idleness the gipsies employ themselves in
working in iron, and you may always see them hawking pincers, tongs,
hammers, fire-shovels, and so forth, the sale of which facilitates their
thefts. The women are all midwives, and in this they have the advantage
over others, for they bring forth without cost or attendants. They wash
their new-born infants in cold water, and accustom them from birth to
death to endure every inclemency of weather. Hence they are all strong,
robust, nimble leapers, runners, and dancers. They always marry among
themselves, in order that their bad practices may not come to be known,
except by their own people. The women are well behaved to their
husbands, and few of them intrigue except with persons of their own
race. When they seek for alms, it is rather by tricks and juggling than
by appeals to charity; and as no one puts faith in them, they keep none,
but own themselves downright vagabonds; nor do I remember to have ever
seen a gipsy-woman taking the sacrament, though I have often been in the
churches. The only thoughts of their minds are ho