hat the latter, when he
repented of his crimes, was forgiven and received into as much favour as
the just son had always enjoyed. They listened with admiration, but
alas! not of the truths, the eternal truths I was telling them, but at
finding that their broken jargon could be written and read. The only
words of assent to the heavenly doctrine which I ever obtained, and which
were rather of the negative kind, were the following, from a woman:
'Brother, you tell us strange things, though perhaps you do not lie; a
month since I would sooner have believed these tales, than that I should
this day have seen one who could write Rommany.'

They possess a vast number of songs or couplets which they recite to the
music of the guitar. For the purpose of improving myself in the language
I collected and wrote down upwards of one hundred of these couplets, the
subjects of which are horse-stealing, murder, and the various incidents
of gypsy-life in Spain. Perhaps a collection of songs more
characteristic of the people from whom they originated was never made,
though amongst them are to be found some tender and beautiful thoughts,
though few and far between, as a flower or shrub is here and there seen
springing from the interstices of the rugged and frightful rocks of which
are composed the mountains and sierras of Spain.

The following is their traditionary account of the expulsion of their
fathers from Egypt. 'And it came to pass that Pharaoh the King collected
numerous armies for the purpose of war; and after he had conquered the
whole world, he challenged God to descend from heaven and fight him; but
the Lord replied, "There is no one who shall fight with Me"; and
thereupon the Lord opened a mountain, and He cast therein Pharaoh the
King and all his numerous armies; so that the Egyptians remained without
defence, and their enemies arose and scattered them wide abroad.'

To the Rev. A. Brandram

No. 16 CALLE DE SANTIAGO, MADRID,
_July_ 25th, 1836.

REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I enclose you a letter from a Spanish gentleman who
wishes to become a subscriber to the Society. He is a person of great
respectability, great learning, and is likewise one of the editors of the
_Espanol_, the principal newspaper in Spain. Should you accept his offer
of becoming a correspondent, he may be of infinite service, as the
newspaper which he