Now the Gipsy has passed his entire life in the busiest scenes of civilisation, and is familiar with all its refined rascalities; yet notwithstanding this, I have found by experience that the most untutored Kaw or Chippewa, as ignorant of English as I was ignorant of his language, and with no means of intelligence between us save signs, was a genius as regards ability to teach language when compared to most Gipsies.
Everybody has heard of the Oriental _salaam_! In English Gipsy _shulam_ means a greeting.

"Shulam to your kokero!" is another form of _sarishan_! the common form of salutation.

The Hindu _sar i sham_ signifies "early in the evening," from which I infer that the Dom or Rom was a nocturnal character like the Night-Cavalier of Quevedo, and who sang when night fell, "Arouse ye, then, my merry men!" or who said "Good- evening!" just as we say (or used to say) "Good-day!" {127} A very curious point of affinity between the Gipsies and Hindus may be found in a custom which was described to me by a Rom in the following words:-- "When a mush mullers, an' the juvas adree his ker can't _kair habben_ because they feel so naflo 'bout the rom being gone, or the chavi or juvalo mush, or whoever it may be, then their friends for trin divvuses kairs their habben an' bitchers it a lende.

An' that's tacho Rommanis, an' they wouldn't be dessen Rommany chuls that wouldn't kair dovo for mushis in sig an' tukli." "When a man dies, and the women in his house cannot prepare food (literally, make food) as they feel so badly because the man is gone (or the girl, or young man, or whoever it may be), then their friends for three days prepare their food and send it to them.

And that is real Rommany (custom), and they would not be decent Rommany fellows who would not do that for people in sorrow and distress." Precisely the same custom prevails in India, where it is characterised by a phrase strikingly identical with the English Gipsy term for it.