The Bible in Spain Volume I Part 7

He locked the door, and deposited the key in his _faja_. In less than a quarter of an hour we had left the town behind us. "This does not appear to be a very good horse," said I to Antonio, as we proceeded over the plain; "it is with difficulty that I can make him move."

"He is the swiftest horse in the _Chim del Manro_, brother," said Antonio; "at the gallop, and at the speedy trot, there is no one to match him. But he is eighteen years old, and his joints are stiff, especially of a morning; but let him once become heated, and the _genio del viejo_ {112} comes upon him, and there is no holding him in with bit or bridle.

I bought that horse for the affairs of Egypt, brother."

About noon we arrived at a small village in the neighbourhood of a high lumpy hill. "There is no _Calo_ house in this place," said Antonio; "we will therefore go to the posada of the _Busne_ and refresh ourselves, man and beast." We entered the kitchen, and sat down at the board, calling for wine and bread. There were two ill-looking fellows in the kitchen, smoking cigars. I said something to Antonio in the _Calo_ language.

"What is that I hear?" said one of the fellows, who was distinguished by an immense pair of moustaches. "What is that I hear? Is it in _Calo_ that you are speaking before me, and I a _chalan_ and national? Accursed gypsy, how dare you enter this posada and speak before me in that speech?

Is it not forbidden by the law of the land in which we are, even as it is forbidden for a gypsy to enter the _mercado_? I tell you what, friend, if I hear another word of _Calo_ come from your mouth, I will cudgel your bones and send you flying over the house-tops with a kick of my foot."

"You would do right," said his companion; "the insolence of these gypsies is no longer to be borne. When I am at Merida or Badajoz I go to the _mercado_, and there in a corner stand the accursed gypsies, jabbering to each other in a speech which I understand not. 'Gypsy gentleman,' say I to one of them, 'what will you have for that donkey?' 'I will have ten dollars for it, _Caballero nacional_,' says the gypsy; 'it is the best donkey in all Spain.' 'I should like to see its paces,' say I. 'That you shall, most valorous!' says the gypsy, and jumping upon its back, he puts it to its paces, first of all whispering something into its ear in _Calo_, and truly the paces of the donkey are most wonderful, such as I have never seen before. 'I think it will just suit me;' and, after looking at it awhile, I take out the money and pay for it. 'I shall go to my house,' says the gypsy; and off he runs. 'I shall go to my village,' say I, and I mount the donkey. '_Vamonos_,' say I, but the donkey won't move. I give him a switch, but I don't get on the better for that. 'How is this?' say I, and I fall to spurring him. What happens then, brother? The wizard no sooner feels the p.r.i.c.k than he bucks down, and flings me over his head into the mire. I get up and look about me; there stands the donkey staring at me, and there stand the whole gypsy _canaille_ squinting at me with their filmy eyes. 'Where is the scamp who has sold me this piece of furniture?' I shout. 'He is gone to Granada, valorous,' says one. 'He is gone to see his kindred among the Moors,' says another. 'I just saw him running over the field, in the direction of ---, with the devil close behind him,' says a third. In a word I am tricked. I wish to dispose of the donkey; no one, however, will buy him; he is a _Calo_ donkey, and every person avoids him. At last the gypsies offer thirty _reals_ for him; and after much chaffering I am glad to get rid of him at two dollars. It is all a trick, however; he returns to his master, and the brotherhood share the spoil amongst them, all which villany would be prevented, in my opinion, were the _Calo_ language not spoken; for what but the word of _Calo_ could have induced the donkey to behave in such an unaccountable manner?"

Both seemed perfectly satisfied with the justness of this conclusion, and continued smoking till their cigars were burnt to stumps, when they arose, twitched their whiskers, looked at us with fierce disdain, and dashing the tobacco-ends to the ground, strode out of the apartment.

"Those people seem no friends to the gypsies," said I to Antonio, when the two bullies had departed, "nor to the _Calo_ language either."

"May evil glanders seize their nostrils," said Antonio; "they have been _jonjabadoed_ {114a} by our people. However, brother, you did wrong to speak to me in _Calo_, in a _posada_ like this; it is a forbidden language; for, as I have often told you, the king has destroyed the law of the _Cales_. {114b} Let us away, brother, or those _juntunes_ may set the _justicia_ upon us."

Towards evening we drew near to a large town or village. "That is Merida," said Antonio, "formerly, as the _Busne_ say, a mighty city of the _Corahai_. We shall stay here to-night, and perhaps for a day or two, for I have some business of Egypt to transact in this place. Now, brother, step aside with the horse, and wait for me beneath yonder wall.

I must go before and see in what condition matters stand."

I dismounted from the horse, and sat down on a stone beneath the ruined wall to which Antonio had motioned me. The sun went down, and the air was exceedingly keen; I drew close around me an old tattered gypsy cloak with which my companion had provided me, and, being somewhat fatigued, fell into a doze which lasted for nearly an hour.

"Is your worship the London _Caloro_?" said a strange voice close beside me.

I started, and beheld the face of a woman peering under my hat.

Notwithstanding the dusk, I could see that the features were hideously ugly and almost black; they belonged, in fact, to a gypsy crone, at least seventy years of age, leaning upon a staff.

"Is your worship the London _Caloro_?" repeated she.

"I am he whom you seek," said I; "where is Antonio?"

"_Curelando_, _curelando_; _baribustres curelos terela_," {115} said the crone. "Come with me, _Caloro_ of my _garlochin_, come with me to my little _ker_; he will be there anon."

I followed the crone, who led the way into the town, which was ruinous and seemingly half deserted; we went up the street, from which she turned into a narrow and dark lane, and presently opened the gate of a large dilapidated house. "Come in," said she.

"And the _gras_?" I demanded.

"Bring the _gras_ in too, my _chabo_, bring the _gras_ in too; there is room for the _gras_ in my little stable." We entered a large court, across which we proceeded till we came to a wide doorway. "Go in, my child of Egypt," said the hag-"go in; that is my little stable."

"The place is as dark as pitch," said I, "and may be a well for what I know: bring a light, or I will not enter."

"Give me the _solabarri_," said the hag, "and I will lead your horse in, my _chabo_ of Egypt-yes, and tether him to my little manger." She led the horse through the doorway, and I heard her busy in the darkness; presently the horse shook himself: "_Grasti terelamos_," {116} said the hag, who now made her appearance with the bridle in her hand; "the horse has shaken himself, he is not harmed by his day's journey; now let us go in, my _Caloro_, into my little room."

We entered the house, and found ourselves in a vast room, which would have been quite dark but for a faint glow which appeared at the farther end: it proceeded from a _brasero_, beside which were squatted two dusky figures.

"These are _Callees_," said the hag; "one is my daughter, and the other is her _chabi_. Sit down, my London _Caloro_, and let us hear you speak."

I looked about for a chair, but could see none; at a short distance, however, I perceived the end of a broken pillar lying on the floor; this I rolled to the _brasero_, and sat down upon it.

"This is a fine house, mother of the gypsies," said I to the hag, willing to gratify the desire she had expressed of hearing me speak; "a fine house is this of yours, rather cold and damp, though; it appears large enough to be a barrack for _hundunares_."

"Plenty of houses in this _foros_, plenty of houses in Merida, my London _Caloro_, some of them just as they were left by the _Corahanos_. Ah! a fine people are the _Corahanos_; I often wish myself in their _chim_ once more."

"How is this, mother?" said I; "have you been in the land of the Moors?"

"Twice have I been in their country, my _Caloro_-twice have I been in the land of the _Corahai_. The first time is more than fifty years ago; I was then with the _Sese_, for my husband was a soldier of the _Crallis_ of Spain, and Oran at that time belonged to Spain."

"You were not then with the real Moors," said I, "but only with the Spaniards who occupied part of their country."

"I have been with the real Moors, my London _Caloro_. Who knows more of the real Moors than myself? About forty years ago I was with my _ro_ in Ceuta, for he was still a soldier of the king, and he said to me one day, 'I am tired of this place, where there is no bread and less water; I will escape and turn _Corahano_; this night I will kill my sergeant, and flee to the camp of the Moor.' 'Do so,' said I, 'my _chabo_, and as soon as may be I will follow you and become a _Corahani_.' That same night he killed his sergeant, who five years before had called him _Calo_ and cursed him; then running to the wall he dropped from it, and, amidst many shots, he escaped to the land of the _Corahai_. As for myself, I remained in the _presidio_ of Ceuta as a suttler, selling wine and _repani_ to the soldiers. Two years pa.s.sed by, and I neither saw nor heard from my _ro_. One day there came a strange man to my _cachimani_; he was dressed like a _Corahano_, and yet he did not look like one; he looked more like a _callardo_, and yet he was not a _callardo_ either, though he was almost black; and as I looked upon him, I thought he looked something like the _Errate_; and he said to me, '_Zincali_; _chachipe_!'

and then he whispered to me in queer language, which I could scarcely understand, 'Your _ro_ is waiting; come with me, my little sister, and I will take you unto him.' 'Where is he?' said I, and he pointed to the west, to the land of the _Corahai_, and said, 'He is yonder away; come with me, little sister, the _ro_ is waiting.' For a moment I was afraid, but I bethought me of my husband, and I wished to be amongst the _Corahai_; so I took the little _parne_ I had, and, locking up the _cachimani_, went with the strange man. The sentinel challenged us at the gate, but I gave him _repani_, and he let us pa.s.s; in a moment we were in the land of the _Corahai_. About a league from the town, beneath a hill, we found four people, men and women, all very black like the strange man, and we joined ourselves with them, and they all saluted me and called me little sister. That was all I understood of their discourse, which was very crabbed; and they took away my dress, and gave me other clothes, and I looked like a _Corahani_, and away we marched for many days amidst deserts and small villages, and more than once it seemed to me that I was amongst the _Errate_, for their ways were the same. The men would _hokkawar_ with mules and a.s.ses, and the women told _baji_, {118} and after many days we came before a large town, and the black man said, 'Go in there, little sister, and there you will find your _ro_;'

and I went to the gate, and an armed _Corahano_ stood within the gate, and I looked in his face, and lo! it was my _ro_.

"Oh, what a strange town it was that I found myself in, full of people who had once been _Candore_ but had renegaded and become _Corahai_!

There were _Sese_ and _Lalore_, and men of other nations, and amongst them were some of the _Errate_ from my own country; all were now soldiers of the _Crallis_ of the _Corahai_, and followed him to his wars; and in that town I remained with my _ro_ a long time, occasionally going out with him to the wars, and I often asked him about the black men who had brought me thither, and he told me that he had had dealings with them, and that he believed them to be of the _Errate_. Well, brother, to be short, my _ro_ was killed in the wars, before a town to which the king of the _Corahai_ laid siege, and I became a _piuli_, and I returned to the village of the renegades, as it was called, and supported myself as well as I could; and one day, as I was sitting weeping, the black man, whom I had never seen since the day he brought me to my _ro_, again stood before me, and he said, 'Come with me, little sister, come with me, the _ro_ is at hand,' and I went with him, and beyond the gate in the desert was the same party of black men and women which I had seen before. 'Where is my _ro_?' said I. 'Here he is, little sister,' said the black man, 'here he is; from this day I am the _ro_ and you the _romi_. Come, let us go, for there is business to be done.'

"And I went with him, and he was my _ro_, and we lived amongst the deserts, and _hokkawar'd_ and _choried_ and told _baji_; and I said to myself, 'This is good; sure I am amongst the _Errate_ in a better _chim_ than my own.' And I often said that they were of the _Errate_, and then they would laugh and say that it might be so, and that they were not _Corahai_, but they could give no account of themselves.

"Well, things went on in this way for years, and I had three _chai_ by the black man; two of them died, but the youngest, who is the _Calli_ who sits by the _brasero_, was spared. So we roamed about and _choried_ and told _baji_; and it came to pa.s.s that once in the winter time our company attempted to pa.s.s a wide and deep river, of which there are many in the _Chim del Corahai_, and the boat overset with the rapidity of the current, and all our people were drowned, all but myself and my _chabi_, whom I bore in my bosom. I had now no friends amongst the _Corahai_, and I wandered about the _despoblados_ howling and lamenting till I became half _lili_, and in this manner I found my way to the coast, where I made friends with the captain of a ship, and returned to this land of Spain.

And now I am here, I often wish myself back again amongst the _Corahai_."

Here she commenced laughing loud and long, and when she had ceased, her daughter and grandchild took up the laugh, which they continued so long that I concluded they were all lunatics.

Hour succeeded hour, and still we sat crouching over the _brasero_, from which, by this time, all warmth had departed; the glow had long since disappeared, and only a few dying sparks were to be distinguished. The room or hall was now involved in utter darkness; the women were motionless and still; I shivered and began to feel uneasy. "Will Antonio be here to-night?" at length I demanded.

"_No tenga usted cuidao_, {120} my London _Caloro_," said the gypsy mother, in an unearthly tone; "_Pepindorio_ has been here some time."

I was about to rise from my seat and attempt to escape from the house, when I felt a hand laid upon my shoulder, and in a moment I heard the voice of Antonio.

"Be not afraid; 'tis I, brother. We will have a light anon, and then supper."

The supper was rude enough, consisting of bread, cheese, and olives; Antonio, however, produced a leathern bottle of excellent wine. We despatched these viands by the light of an earthen lamp, which was placed upon the floor.

"Now," said Antonio to the youngest female, "bring me the _pajandi_, and I will sing a _gachapla_."

The girl brought the guitar, which, with some difficulty, the gypsy tuned, and then, strumming it vigorously, he sang-

"I stole a plump and bonny fowl, But ere I well had din'd, The master came with scowl and growl, And me would captive bind.

"My hat and mantle off I threw, And scour'd across the lea; Then cried the _beng_ with loud halloo, Where does the gypsy flee?"

He continued playing and singing for a considerable time, the two younger females dancing in the meanwhile with unwearied diligence, whilst the aged mother occasionally snapped her fingers or beat time on the ground with her stick. At last Antonio suddenly laid down the instrument, exclaiming-

"I see the London _Caloro_ is weary; enough, enough, to-morrow more thereof. We will now to the _charipe_."

"With all my heart," said I; "where are we to sleep?"

"In the stable," said he, "in the manger; however cold the stable may be, we shall be warm enough in the _bufa_."