Note 89 — D. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Edinburgh Review, 1878, p. 140; Grierson, Indian Antiquary, XV. 14, sq. XVI. 35, sqq. Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th edition, article Gypsies: Leland, Academy, 19th June 1875.
In the life of Edward Henry Palmer by Walter Besant (p. 184), Mr. Leland writes—“Several times I interviewed, in his company in London, a native of India who had been a Rom, that is to say, a gypsy. Palmer examined the man long and closely in his native language, that is to say as a shrewd lawyer would examine a man whose assertions he wished to discredit. The result of the interview was that there is, in Palmer’s opinion, one distinctive race of gypsies, who call themselves Rom, who speak a language which is not identical with any Indian tongue, though much like Panjâbi, but which is identical with Romany. The man assured me subsequently that he would never have known from his language that Palmer was not a born Hindu.” ↑