An' the snow is poris, that jals from the angels' winguses.

And what I penned, that Bishnoo is the Duvel's ratt, is puro Rommanis, and jinned by saw our foki." {110} Now in India, Vishnu and Indra are the gods of the rain.
The learned, who insist that as there ought to be, so there must be, but a single source of derivation for every word, ignoring the fact that a dozen causes may aid in its formation, will at once declare that, as Bishnoo or Vishnoo is derived from the old Gipsy Brishni or Brschindo, and this from the Hindu Barish, and the Sanscrit Varish or Prish, there can be "no rational ground" for connecting the English Gipsy word with the Hindu god.

But who can tell what secret undercurrents of dim tradition and vague association may have come down to the present day from the olden time.

That rain should be often called God's blood, and water bearing the name of Vishnu be termed God, and that this should be regarded as a specially curious bit of Gipsy lore, is at any rate remarkable enough.
As for the Gipsies in question ever having heard of Vishnu and other gods (as a friend suggests to me), save in this dim tradition, I can only say, that I doubt whether either of them ever heard even of the apostles; and I satisfied myself that the one who brought the secret had never heard of Joseph, was pitiably ignorant of Potiphar's wife, and only knew of "Mozhus" or Moses, that he "once heerd he was on the bulrushes." Mahadeva, or Mahadev, exists apparently in the mouth of every English Gipsy in the phrase "Maduveleste!" or, God bless you.

This word Maduvel is often changed to Mi--duvel, and is generally supposed to mean "My God;" but I was once assured, that the _old_ and correct form was Ma, meaning great, and that it only meant great in connection with Duvel.
A curious illustration of a lost word returning by chance to its original source was given one day, when I asked a Gipsy if he knew such a word as Buddha?
He promptly replied, "Yes; that a booderi or boodha mush was an _old_ man;" and pointing to a Chinese image of Buddha, said: "That is a Boohda." He meant nothing more than that it represented an aged person, but the coincidence was at least remarkable.