After some conversation they commenced singing, and favoured me
with many songs, both in Russian and Rommany: the former were
modern popular pieces, such as are accustomed to be sung on the
boards of the theatre; but the latter were evidently of great
antiquity, exhibiting the strongest marks of originality, the
metaphors bold and sublime, and the metre differing from anything
of the kind which it has been my fortune to observe in Oriental or
European prosody.
One of the most remarkable, and which commences thus:
'Za mateia rosherroro odolata
Bravintata,'
(or, Her head is aching with grief, as if she had tasted wine)
describes the anguish of a maiden separated from her lover, and who
calls for her steed:
'Tedjav manga gurraoro' -
that she may depart in quest of the lord of her bosom, and share
his joys and pleasures.
A collection of these songs, with a translation and vocabulary,
would be no slight accession to literature, and would probably
throw more light on the history of this race than anything which
has yet appeared; and, as there is no want of zeal and talent in
Russia amongst the cultivators of every branch of literature, and
especially philology, it is only surprising that such a collection
still remains a desideratum.
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