when we reflect that the life which the Gypsies led was one above
all others calculated to afford them that knowledge. They were
continually at variance with justice; they were frequently obliged
to seek shelter in the inmost recesses of the hills; and when their
thievish pursuits led them to the cities, they naturally made
themselves acquainted with the names of the principal individuals,
in hopes of plundering them. Doubtless the chief possessed all
this species of knowledge in a superior degree, as it was his
courage, acuteness, and experience alone which placed him at the
head of his tribe, though Del Rio from this circumstance wishes to
infer that the Gitanos were spies sent by foreign foes, and with
some simplicity inquires, 'Quo ant cui rei haec curiosa exploratio?
nonne compescenda vagamundorum haec curiositas, etiam si solum
peregrini et inculpatae vitae.'

With the Counts rested the management and direction of these
remarkable societies; it was they who determined their marches,
counter-marches, advances, and retreats; what was to be attempted
or avoided; what individuals were to be admitted into the
fellowship and privileges of the Gitanos, or who were to be
excluded from their society; they settled disputes and sat in
judgment over offences. The greatest crimes, according to the
Gypsy code, were a quarrelsome disposition, and revealing the
secrets of the brotherhood. By this code the members were
forbidden to eat, drink, or sleep in the house of a Busno, which
signifies any person who is not of the sect of the Gypsies, or to
marry out of that sect; they were likewise not to teach the
language of Roma to any but those who, by birth or inauguration,
belonged to that sect; they were enjoined to relieve their brethren
in distress at any expense or peril; they were to use a peculiar