It will perhaps not be out of place to observe here, that there is
no reason for supposing that the word Roma or Rommany is derived
from the Arabic word which signifies Greece or Grecians, as some
people not much acquainted with the language of the race in
question have imagined.
I have no intention at present to say anything about their origin.
Scholars have asserted that the language which they speak proves
them to be of Indian stock, and undoubtedly a great number of their
words are Sanscrit. My own opinion upon this subject will be found
in a subsequent article. I shall here content myself with
observing that from whatever country they come, whether from India
or Egypt, there can be no doubt that they are human beings and have
immortal souls; and it is in the humble hope of drawing the
attention of the Christian philanthropist towards them, especially
that degraded and unhappy portion of them, the Gitanos of Spain,
that the present little work has been undertaken. But before
proceeding to speak of the latter, it will perhaps not be amiss to
afford some account of the Rommany as I have seen them in other
countries; for there is scarcely a part of the habitable world
where they are not to be found: their tents are alike pitched on
the heaths of Brazil and the ridges of the Himalayan hills, and
their language is heard at Moscow and Madrid, in the streets of
London and Stamboul.
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