dress, which is frequently alluded to in the Spanish laws, but the
particulars of which are not stated; and they were to cultivate the
gift of speech to the utmost possible extent, and never to lose
anything which might be obtained by a loose and deceiving tongue,
to encourage which they had many excellent proverbs, for example -

'The poor fool who closes his mouth never winneth a dollar.'

'The river which runneth with sound bears along with it stones and
water.'



CHAPTER III



THE Gitanos not unfrequently made their appearance in considerable
numbers, so as to be able to bid defiance to any force which could
be assembled against them on a sudden; whole districts thus became
a prey to them, and were plundered and devastated.

It is said that, in the year 1618, more than eight hundred of these
wretches scoured the country between Castile and Aragon, committing
the most enormous crimes. The royal council despatched regular
troops against them, who experienced some difficulty in dispersing
them.

But we now proceed to touch upon an event which forms an era in the
history of the Gitanos of Spain, and which for wildness and