It may be remarked as curious that the word _meraben_ at the end of the letter, meaning death, is used by English Gipsies to signify life as well.
"Dick at the gorgios, The gorgios round mandy; Trying to take my meripon, My meripon away." The third letter is also in the German-Gipsy dialect, and requires a little explanation.

Once a man named Charles Augustus was arrested as a beggar and suspected Gipsy, and brought before Mr Richard Liebich, who appears to have been nothing less in the total than the _Furstlich Reuss- Plauenschem Criminalrathe und Vorstande des Furstlichen Criminalgerichts zu Lobenstein_--in fact, a rather lofty local magistrate.

Before this terrible title Charles appeared, and swore stoutly that he was no more a Rommany chal than he was one of the Apostles--for be it remembered, reader, that in Germany at the present day, the mere fact of being a Gipsy is still treated as a crime.

Suddenly the judge attacked him with the words--"_Tu hal rom, me hom, rakker tschatschopenn_!"-- "Thou art a Gipsy, I am a Gipsy, speak the truth." And Charles, looking up in amazement and seeing the black hair and brown face of the judge, verily believed that he was of the blood of Dom.

So crossing his arms on his breast in true Oriental style, he salaamed deeply, and in a submissive voice said--"_Me hom rom_"-- "_I am a_ Gipsy." The judge did not abuse the confidence gained by his little trick, since he appears to have taken Charles under his wing, employed him in small jobs (in America we should say _chores_, but the word would be frightfully significant, if applied to a Gipsy), {75} and finally dismissed him.