The Zincali: An Account of the Gypsies of Spain

The Zincali: An Account of the Gypsies of Spain

I cannot permit the second edition of this work to go to press without premising it with a few words. When some two years ago I first gave The Zincali to the world, it was, as I stated at the time, with considerable hesitation and diffidence: the composition of it and the collecting of Gypsy words had served as a kind of relaxation to me whilst engaged in the circulation of the Gospel in Spain. After the completion of the work, I had not the slightest idea that it possessed any peculiar merit, or was calculated to make the slightest impression upon the reading world. Nevertheless, as every one who writes feels a kind of affection, greater or less, for the productions of his pen, I was averse, since the book was written, to suffer it to perish of damp in a lumber closet, or by friction in my travelling wallet. I committed it therefore to the press, with a friendly Farewell, little book; I have done for you all I can, and much more than you deserve. My expectations at this time were widely different from those of my namesake George in the Vicar of Wakefield when he published his paradoxes. I p. xiiitook it as a matter of course that the world, whether learned or unlearned, would say to my book what they said to his paradoxes, as the event showed,nothing at all. To my utter astonishment, however, I had no sooner returned to my humble retreat, where I hoped to find the repose of which I was very much in need, than I was followed by the voice not only of England but of the greater part of Europe, informing me that I had achieved a feata work in the nineteenth century with some pretensions to originality. The book was speedily reprinted in America, portions of it were translated into French and Russian, and a fresh edition demanded. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 565
Author: Borrow, George
Release Date: Jun 1, 1996
Format: eBook
Language: English