until his mind finally refused to act on _vessavo_ at all, and
spasmodically rejected it. With all the patience of Job, and the
meekness of Moses, I awaited my time, and finally obtained my
information.

The impatience of such minds in narrative is amusing. Let us suppose
that I am asking some _kushto Rommany chal_ for a version of AEsop's
fable of the youth and the cat. He is sitting comfortably by the fire,
and good ale has put him into a story-telling humour. I begin--

"Now then, tell me this _adree Rommanis_, in Gipsy--Once upon a time
there was a young man who had a cat."

Gipsy.--"_Yeckorus--'pre yeck cheirus_--_a raklo lelled a matchka_"--

While I am writing this down, and long before it is half done, the
professor of Rommany, becoming interested in the subject, continues
volubly--

--"_an' the matchka yeck sala dicked a chillico apre a rukk_--(and the
cat one morning saw a bird in a tree"--)

I.--"Stop, stop! _Hatch a wongish_! That is not it! Now go on. _The
young man loved this cat so much_"--

_Gipsy_ (fluently, in Rommany), "that he thought her skin would make a
nice pair of gloves"--

"Confound your gloves! Now do begin again"--