The Zincali an Account of the Gypsies of Spain

Published 1843
PREFACE
IT is with some diffidence that the author ventures to offer the
present work to the public.

The greater part of it has been written under very peculiar
circumstances, such as are not in general deemed at all favourable
for literary composition: at considerable intervals, during a
period of nearly five years passed in Spain - in moments snatched
from more important pursuits - chiefly in ventas and posadas,
whilst wandering through the country in the arduous and unthankful
task of distributing the Gospel among its children.

Owing to the causes above stated, he is aware that his work must
not unfrequently appear somewhat disjointed and unconnected, and
the style rude and unpolished: he has, nevertheless, permitted the
tree to remain where he felled it, having, indeed, subsequently
enjoyed too little leisure to make much effectual alteration.

At the same time he flatters himself that the work is not destitute
of certain qualifications to entitle it to approbation. The
author's acquaintance with the Gypsy race in general dates from a
very early period of his life, which considerably facilitated his
intercourse with the Peninsular portion, to the elucidation of
whose history and character the present volumes are more
particularly devoted. Whatever he has asserted, is less the result
of reading than of close observation, he having long since come to
the conclusion that the Gypsies are not a people to be studied in
books, or at least in such books as he believes have hitherto been
written concerning them.

Throughout he has dealt more in facts than in theories, of which he
is in general no friend. True it is, that no race in the world
affords, in many points, a more extensive field for theory and
conjecture than the Gypsies, who are certainly a very mysterious
people come from some distant land, no mortal knows why, and who
made their first appearance in Europe at a dark period, when events
were not so accurately recorded as at the present time.

But if he has avoided as much as possible touching upon subjects
which must always, to a certain extent, remain shrouded in
obscurity; for example, the, original state and condition of the
Gypsies, and the causes which first brought them into Europe; he
has stated what they are at the present day, what he knows them to
be from a close scrutiny of their ways and habits, for which,
perhaps, no one ever enjoyed better opportunities; and he has,
moreover, given - not a few words culled expressly for the purpose
of supporting a theory, but one entire dialect of their language,
collected with much trouble and difficulty; and to this he humbly
calls the attention of the learned, who, by comparing it with
certain languages, may decide as to the countries in which the
Gypsies have lived or travelled.

With respect to the Gypsy rhymes in the second volume, he wishes to
make one observation which cannot be too frequently repeated, and
which he entreats the reader to bear in mind: they are GYPSY
COMPOSITIONS, and have little merit save so far as they throw light
on the manner of thinking and speaking of the Gypsy people, or
rather a portion of them, and as to what they are capable of
effecting in the way of poetry. It will, doubtless, be said that
the rhymes are TRASH; - even were it so, they are original, and on
that account, in a philosophic point of view, are more valuable
than the most brilliant compositions pretending to describe Gypsy
life, but written by persons who are not of the Gypsy sect. Such
compositions, however replete with fiery sentiments, and allusions
to freedom and independence, are certain to be tainted with
affectation. Now in the Gypsy rhymes there is no affectation, and
on that very account they are different in every respect from the
poetry of those interesting personages who figure, under the names
of Gypsies, Gitanos, Bohemians, etc., in novels and on the boards
of the theatre...........