My husband, without bidding me farewell, set off at full speed, and they after him, but they could not take him, and so they came back and took me, and shook me, and threatened me, and had me before the poknees, who shook his head at me, and threatened me in order to make me discover where my husband was, but I said I did not know, which was true enough; not that I would have told him if I had.

So at last the poknees and the runners, not being able to make anything out of me, were obliged to let me go, and I went in search of my husband.

I wandered about with my cart for several days in the direction in which I saw him run off, with my eyes bent on the ground, but could see no marks of him; at last, coming to four cross roads, I saw my husband's patteran." "You saw your husband's patteran ?" "Yes, brother.

Do you know what patteran means ?" "Of course, Ursula; the gypsy trail, the handful of grass which the gypsies strew in the roads as they travel, to give information to any of their companions who may be behind, as to the route they have taken.

The gypsy patteran has always had a strange interest for me, Ursula." "Like enough, brother; but what does patteran mean ?" "Why, the gypsy trail, formed as I told you before." "And you know nothing more about patteran, brother ?" "Nothing at all, Ursula; do you ?" "What's the name for the leaf of a tree, brother ?" "I don't know," said I; "it's odd enough that I have asked that question of a dozen Romany chals and chies, and they always told me that they did not know." "No more they did, brother; there's only one person in England that knows, and that's myself--the name for a leaf is patteran.