The Romany Rye

by George Borrow

  CHAPTER XI

  URSULA'S TALE--THE PATTERAN--THE DEEP WATER--SECOND HUSBAND

  'Brother,' said Ursula, plucking a dandelion which grew at her feet, 'Ihave always said that a more civil and pleasant-spoken person thanyourself can't be found. I have a great regard for you and yourlearning, and am willing to do you any pleasure in the way of words orconversation. Mine is not a very happy story, but as you wish to hearit, it is quite at your service. Launcelot Lovell made me an offer, asyou call it, and we were married in Roman fashion; that is, we gave eachother our right hands, and promised to be true to each other. We livedtogether two years, travelling sometimes by ourselves, sometimes with ourrelations; I bore him two children, both of which were still-born,partly, I believe, from the fatigue I underwent in running about thecountry telling dukkerin when I was not exactly in a state to do so, andpartly from the kicks and blows which my husband, Launcelot, was in thehabit of giving me every night, provided I came home with less than fiveshillings, which it is sometimes impossible to make in the country,provided no fair or merry-making is going on. At the end of two years myhusband, Launcelot, whistled a horse from a farmer's field, and sold itfor forty pounds; and for that horse he was taken, put in prison, tried,and condemned to be sent to the other country for life. Two days beforehe was to be sent away, I got leave to see him in the prison, and in thepresence of the turnkey I gave him a thin cake of gingerbread, in whichthere was a dainty saw which could cut through iron. I then took onwonderfully, turned my eyes inside out, fell down in a seeming fit, andwas carried out of the prison. That same night my husband sawed hisirons off, cut through the bars of his window, and dropping down a heightof fifty feet, lighted on his legs, and came and joined me on a heathwhere I was camped alone. We were just getting things ready to be off,when we heard people coming, and sure enough they were runners after myhusband, Launcelot Lovell; for his escape had been discovered within aquarter of an hour after he had got away. My husband, without bidding mefarewell, set off at full speed, and they after him, but they could nottake him, and so they came back and took me, and shook me, and threatenedme, and had me before the poknees, {77a} who shook his head at me, andthreatened me in order to make me discover where my husband was, but Isaid I did not know, which was true enough, not that I would have toldhim if I had. So at last the poknees and the runners, {77b} not beingable to make anything out of me, were obliged to let me go, and I went insearch of my husband. I wandered about with my cart for several days inthe direction in which I saw him run off, with my eyes bent on theground, but could see no marks of him; at last, coming to four crossroads, I saw my husband's patteran.'

  'You saw your husband's patteran?' {77c}

  'Yes, brother. Do you know what patteran means?'

  'Of course, Ursula; the gypsy trail, the handful of grass which thegypsies strew in the roads as they travel, to give information to any oftheir companions who may be behind, as to the route they have taken. Thegypsy 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 questionof a dozen Romany chals and chies, and they always told me that they didnot know.'

  'No more they did, brother; there's only one person in England thatknows, and that's myself--the name for a leaf is patteran. Now there aretwo that knows it--the other is yourself.'

  'Dear me, Ursula, how very strange! I am much obliged to you. I think Inever saw you look so pretty as you do now; but who told you?'

  'My mother, Mrs. Herne, told it me one day, brother, when she was in agood humour, which she very seldom was, as no one has a better right toknow than yourself, as she hated you mortally: it was one day when youhad been asking our company what was the word for a leaf, and nobodycould tell you, that she took me aside and told me, for she was in a goodhumour, and triumphed in seeing you balked. She told me the word forleaf was patteran, which our people use now for trail, having forgottenthe true meaning. She said that the trail was called patteran, becausethe gypsies of old were in the habit of making the marks with the leavesand branches of the trees, placed in a certain manner. She said thatnobody knew it but herself, who was one of the old sort, and begged menever to tell the word to any one but him I should marry, and to beparticularly cautious never to let you know it, whom she hated. Well,brother, perhaps I have done wrong to tell you; but, as I said before, Ilikes you, and am always ready to do your pleasure in words andconversation; my mother, moreover, is dead and gone, and, poor thing,will never know anything about the matter. So, when I married, I told myhusband about the patteran, and we were in the habit of making ourprivate trail with leaves and branches of trees, which none of the othergypsy people did; so, when I saw my husband's patteran, I knew it atonce, and I followed it upwards of two hundred miles towards the north;and then I came to a deep, awful-looking water, with an overhanging bank,and on the bank I found the patteran, which directed me to proceed alongthe bank towards the east, and I followed my husband's patteran towardsthe east; and before I had gone half a mile, I came to a place where Isaw the bank had given way, and fallen into the deep water. Withoutpaying much heed I passed on, and presently came to a public-house, notfar from the water, and I entered the public-house to get a little beer,and perhaps to tell a dukkerin, for I saw a great many people about thedoor; and when I entered I found there was what they calls an inquestbeing held upon a body in that house, and the jury had just risen to goand look at the body, and being a woman, and having a curiosity, Ithought I would go with them, and so I did; and no sooner did I see thebody than I knew it to be my husband's; it was much swelled and altered,but I knew it partly by the clothes and partly by a mark on the forehead,and I cried out, "It is my husband's body," and I fell down in a fit, andthe fit that time, brother, was not a seeming one.'

  'Dear me,' said I, 'how terrible! but tell me, Ursula, how did yourhusband come by his death?'

  'The bank, overhanging the deep water, gave way under him, brother, andhe was drowned; for, like most of our people, he could not swim, or onlya little. The body, after it had been in the water a long time, came upof itself, and was found floating. Well, brother, when the people of theneighbourhood found that I was the wife of the drowned man, they werevery kind to me, and made a subscription for me, with which, after havingseen my husband buried, I returned the way I had come, till I met Jasperand his people, and with them I have travelled ever since: I was verymelancholy for a long time, I assure you, brother; for the death of myhusband preyed very much upon my mind.'

  'His death was certainly a very shocking one, Ursula; but, really, if hehad died a natural one, you could scarcely have regretted it, for heappears to have treated you barbarously.'

  'Women must bear, brother; and, barring that he kicked and beat me, anddrove me out to tell dukkerin when I could scarcely stand, he was not abad husband. A man, by gypsy law, brother, is allowed to kick and beathis wife, and to bury her alive, if he thinks proper. I am a gypsy, andhave nothing to say against the law.'

  'But what has Mikailia Chikno to say about it?'

  'She is a cripple, brother, the only cripple amongst the Roman people: soshe is allowed to do and say as she pleases. Moreover, her husband doesnot think fit to kick or beat her, though it is my opinion she would likehim all the better if he were occasionally to do so, and threaten to buryher alive; at any rate, she would treat him better, and respect himmore.'

  'Your sister does not seem to stand much in awe of Jasper Petulengro,Ursula.'

  'Let the matters of my sister and Jasper Petulengro alone, brother; youmust travel in their company some time before you can understand them;they are a strange two, up to all kind of chaffing: but two mo
re regularRomans don't breathe, and I'll tell you, for your instruction, that thereisn't a better mare-breaker in England than Jasper Petulengro, if you canmanage Miss Isopel Berners as well as--'

  'Isopel Berners,' said I, 'how came you to think of her?'

  'How should I but think of her, brother, living as she does with you inMumper's dingle, and travelling about with you; you will have, brother,more difficulty to manage her, than Jasper has to manage my sisterPakomovna. I should have mentioned her before, only I wanted to knowwhat you had to say to me; and when we got into discourse, I forgot her.I say, brother, let me tell you your dukkerin, with respect to her, youwill never--'

  'I want to hear no dukkerin, Ursula.'

  'Do let me tell you your dukkerin, brother, you will never manage--'

  'I want to hear no dukkerin, Ursula, in connection with Isopel Berners.Moreover, it is Sunday, we will change the subject; it is surprising tome that, after all you have undergone, you should still look sobeautiful. I suppose you do not think of marrying again, Ursula?'

  'No, brother, one husband at a time is quite enough for any reasonablemort; especially such a good husband as I have got.'

  'Such a good husband! why, I thought you told me your husband wasdrowned?'

  'Yes, brother, my first husband was.'

  'And have you a second?'

  'To be sure, brother.'

  'And who is he? in the name of wonder.'

  'Who is he? Why Sylvester, to be sure.'

  'I do assure you, Ursula, that I feel disposed to be angry with you; sucha handsome young woman as yourself to take up with such a nastypepper-faced good-for-nothing--'

  'I won't hear my husband abused, brother; so you had better say no more.'

  'Why, is he not the Lazarus of the gypsies? Has he a penny of his own,Ursula?'

  'Then the more his want, brother, of a clever chi like me to take care ofhim and his childer. I tell you what, brother, I will chore, ifnecessary, and tell dukkerin for Sylvester, if even so heavy as scarcelyto be able to stand. You call him lazy; you would not think him lazy ifyou were in a ring with him; he is a proper man with his hands. Jasperis going to back him for twenty pounds against Slammocks of the Chonggav, the brother of Roarer and Bell-metal. He says he has no doubt thathe will win.'

  'Well, if you like him, I, of course, can have no objection. Have youbeen long married?'

  'About a fortnight, brother; that dinner, the other day, when I sang thesong, was given in celebration of the wedding.'

  'Were you married in a church, Ursula?'

  'We were not, brother; none but gorgios, cripples, and lubbenys, are evermarried in a church; {81} we took each other's words. Brother, I havebeen with you near three hours beneath this hedge. I will go to myhusband.'

  'Does he know that you are here?'

  'He does, brother.'

  'And is he satisfied?'

  'Satisfied! of course. Lor', you gorgies! Brother, I go to my husbandand my house.' And, thereupon, Ursula rose and departed.

  After waiting a little time I also arose; it was now dark, and I thoughtI could do no better than betake myself to the dingle; at the entrance ofit I found Mr. Petulengro. 'Well, brother,' said he, 'what kind ofconversation have you and Ursula had beneath the hedge?'

  'If you wished to hear what we were talking about, you should have comeand sat down beside us; you knew where we were.'

  'Well, brother, I did much the same, for I went and sat down behind you.'

  'Behind the hedge, Jasper?'

  'Behind the hedge, brother.'

  'And heard all our conversation?'

  'Every word, brother; and a rum conversation it was.'

  ''Tis an old saying, Jasper, that listeners never hear any good ofthemselves; perhaps you heard the epithet that Ursula bestowed upon you.'

  'If, by epitaph, you mean that she called me a liar, I did, brother, andshe was not much wrong, for I certainly do not always stick exactly totruth; you, however, have not much to complain of me.'

  'You deceived me about Ursula, giving me to understand she was notmarried.'

  'She was not married when I told you so, brother; that is, not toSylvester; nor was I aware that she was going to marry him. I oncethought you had a kind of regard for her, and I am sure she had as muchfor you as a Romany chi can have for a gorgio. I half expected to haveheard you make love to her behind the hedge, but I begin to think youcare for nothing in this world but old words and strange stories. Lor',to take a young woman under a hedge, and talk to her as you did toUrsula; and yet you got everything out of her that you wanted, with yourgammon about old Fulcher and Meridiana. You are a cunning one, brother.'

  'There you are mistaken, Jasper. I am not cunning. If people think Iam, it is because, being made up of art themselves, simplicity ofcharacter is a puzzle to them. Your women are certainly extraordinarycreatures, Jasper.'

  'Didn't I say they were rum animals? Brother, we Romans shall alwaysstick together as long as they stick fast to us.'

  'Do you think they always will, Jasper?'

  'Can't say, brother; nothing lasts for ever. Romany chies are Romanychies still, though not exactly what they were sixty years ago. My wife,though a rum one, is not Mrs. Herne, brother. I think she is rather fondof Frenchmen and French discourse. I tell you what, brother, if evergypsyism breaks up, it will be owing to our chies having been bitten bythat mad puppy they calls gentility.'