It is likely, too,
that the gorgio reader may have seen a cross drawn at the entrance of a
road, the long part or stem of it pointing down that particular road, and
he may have thought nothing of it, or have supposed that some sauntering
individual like himself had made the mark with his stick: not so,
courteous gorgio; ley tiro solloholomus opre lesti, _you may take your
oath upon it_ that it was drawn by a Gypsy finger, for that mark is
another of the Rommany trails; there is no mistake in this. Once in the
south of France, when I was weary, hungry, and penniless, I observed one
of these last patterans, and following the direction pointed out, arrived
at the resting-place of 'certain Bohemians,' by whom I was received with
kindness and hospitality, on the faith of no other word of recommendation
than patteran. There is also another kind of patteran, which is more
particularly adapted for the night; it is a cleft stick stuck at the side
of the road, close by the hedge, with a little arm in the cleft pointing
down the road which the band have taken, in the manner of a signpost; any
stragglers who may arrive at night where cross-roads occur search for
this patteran on the left-hand side, and speedily rejoin their
companions.
By following these patterans, or trails, the first Gypsies on their way
to Europe never lost each other, though wandering amidst horrid
wildernesses and dreary denies. Rommany matters have always had a
peculiar interest for me; nothing, however, connected with Gypsy life
ever more captivated my imagination than this patteran system: many
thanks to the Gypsies for it; it has more than once been of service to
me.
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