Del Rio mentions, as a remarkable
circumstance, the fact of the Gypsy Count speaking Castilian with
as much purity as a native of Toledo, whereas it is by no means
improbable that the individual in question was a native of that
town; but the truth is, at the time we are speaking of, they were
generally believed to be not only foreigners, but by means of
sorcery to have acquired the power of speaking all languages with
equal facility; and Del Rio, who was a believer in magic, and wrote
one of the most curious and erudite treatises on the subject ever
penned, had perhaps adopted that idea, which possibly originated
from their speaking most of the languages and dialects of the
Peninsula, which they picked up in their wanderings. That the
Gypsy chief was so well acquainted with every town of Spain, and
the broken and difficult ground, can cause but little surprise,
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.
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