It is high time that the obloquy and unfair treatment to which our gypsy brethren have been subjected—proceeding partly from ignorance of the people themselves, and partly from the encouragement and exercise of sentiments that are unworthy of a professedly Christian nation—gave place to some embodiment of the behest— “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Drawing now to a conclusion, I see again with my mind’s eye, an incident in one of my recent walks abroad:— On the day following Christmas Day, at a distance of two or three miles from any ordinary habitation, or even a gypsy camp, I saw trudging along the road and coming towards me, a Romany woman and three little children. All of them were poorly clad, the woman having no covering to her head. Although they appeared to have no food with them and the day was raw and foggy, all seemed cheerful—the woman singing in an undertone. The song was evidently, “It’s a long way to Tipperary,” for just as I came alongside the party I caught the words, “it’s a long ways to go.” What an unconscious sarcasm on the way of that poor woman and her little ones,—aye, and of many another gypsy, through life,—assuredly “a long ways to go” if it be regarded as prospecting for even a very small share of the meanest of such things as multitudes consider indispensable to comfort, or even existence. And yet how the cheery optimism of these travelling people rebukes the discontented well-to-do idler. Gypsies or gorgios, are we not all travellers, pilgrims of eternity, carrying nothing to the next stage in our existence but what we accumulate in our innermost selves, and the Romanichal may well be an optimist when he realizes, even in an indefinite way, that the poorest gypsy has an equal opportunity with the highest of the mighty ones of earth, of gathering to himself as he goes through life, of the best that can be carried from this world into the next. FOOTNOTES: [1] See Fig. 22, p. 6. [2] See Illustration facing p. 6. [3] Probably a nest of _Vespa sylvestris_. [4] Whortleberry. [5] See p. 259. GLOSSARY ROMANY OR SLANG. ENGLISH. _Acoi_ Here. _Adrey_ Into. _Ajaw_ So. _Auv acoi_ Come here. _Av_ Come. _Avali_ Yes.