Then the lover, if he can, secretly hides this knot in the bed of the
wished-for bride. It is worth noting that these lines are so much like English
Gypsy as it was once spoken that there are still men who would, in England,
understand every word of it. Somewhat allied to this is another charm. The
lover takes a blade of grass in his mouth, and turning to the East and the
West, says:-
"Kay o kám, avriável,
Kiya mánge lele beshel!
Kay o kám tel' ável,
Kiya lelákri me beshav.""Where the sun goes up
Shall my love be by me
Where the sun goes down
There by her I'll be."Then the blade of grass is cut up into pieces and mingled with some food
which the girl must eat, and if she swallow the least bit of the grass, she will
be gewogen und treugesinnt--moved to love, and true-hearted.
If a gypsy girl be in love she finds the foot-print of her "object," digs out
the earth which is within its outline and buries this under a willow-tree,
saying:--
"Upro pçuv hin but Pçuvá;
Kás kámáv, mange th' ávlá!
Bárvol, bárvol, sálciye,
Brigá ná hin mánge!
Yov tover, me pori,
Yov kokosh, me cátrá,
Ádá, ádá me kamav!""Many earths on earth there be,
Whom I love my own shall be,
Grow, grow willow tree!
Sorrow none unto me!
He the axe, I the helve,
He the cock, I the hen,
This, this (be as) I will!"Another love-charm which belongs to ancient black witchcraft, and is
known far and wide, is the following: When dogs are coupling (Wenn Hund
und Hündin bei der Paarung zusammenhangen) the lover suddenly covers them