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THE GYPSIES 253
peasant is agile enough to steer clear of it; no sooner
does the coin touch his hand than it falls flat on the
ground. Here come two lanky scoundrels, two gyp-
sies; one of them takes the side of his kinsman, the
other that of the peasant. They alternately push the
two contending traders into each other’s arms or
berate both seller and buyer to the accompaniment of
the most dreadful yells; or the representative of the
purchaser takes both owner and customer by the neck
and draws them aside, while the representative of the
seller runs behind all three, clutching at their cloaks.
The disinterested observer finds it a splendid spec-
tacle; but the peasant reminds one of a dying man over
whose head birds of carrion are circling.
The peasant still offers some resistance and the
crowd moves on. Later it gathers again and there
stands the peasant still holding his animal by the head,
so discouraged and so deeply buried in his thoughts of
taxes and imposts that you could pluck at his eyes
without arousing his attention. His price has sunk and
before night falls the gypsies will have bought his ani-
mal for one-third of its value.
If he likes, he may come back again on Friday next
and behold his beasts, now tricked out to kill, shor
in lovely figures and with the very devil of energy in
them, being sold at high prices to the middlemen. He
will utter a carramba/ pick up a cigar-butt, already
chewed, will roll a cigarette out of its vitals—and for-
get trade. Next time he will fare no better.
Among donkeys and mules sits an old gypsy woman
with no nose, her lap full of little red suckling pigs.
They go like hot-cakes; every minute a pig is carried
off with such lively squeaks that the donkeys squeal,
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