transcribed from the edition by david price, email ccx @pglaf.org the gipsies' advocate; or, observations on the origin, character, manners, and habits of the english gipsies: to which are added, many interesting anecdotes, on the success that has attended the plans of several benevolent individuals, who anxiously desire their conversion to god. by james crabb, author of "the penitent magdalen." "the son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost." "let that mind be in you which was in christ jesus." london: seeley, fleet street; westley and davis, ave-maria-lane; hatchard, piccadilly; lindsay and co., south street, andrew street, edinburgh; collins, glasgow; wakeman, dublin, wilson and son, york. . baker and son, printers, southampton. to the judges, magistrates, and ministers of christ, as the organs of public justice, and revealed truth, the gipsies' advocate is most respectfully and sincerely dedicated by the author. preface. the author of the following pages has been urged by numerous friends, and more particularly by his own conscience, to present to the christian public a brief account of the people called gipsies, now wandering in britain. this, to many readers, may appear inexpedient; as grellman and hoyland have written largely on this neglected part of the human family. but it should be recollected, that there are thousands of respectable and intelligent christians, who never have read, and never may read either of the above authors. the writer of the present work is partly indebted for the sympathies he feels, and which he wishes to awaken in others toward these miserable wanderers, to various authors who have written on them, but more particularly to grellman and hoyland, who, in addition to the facts which came under their own immediate notice, have published the observations of travellers and others interested in the history of this people. a list of these authors may be seen in the appendix. but his knowledge of this people does not entirely depend on the testimony of others, having had the opportunity of closely examining for himself their habits and character in familiar visits to their tents, and by allowing his door to be free of access to all those encamped near southampton, when they have needed his help and advice. thus has he gained a general knowledge of their vicious habits, their comparative virtues, and their unhappy modes of life, which he hopes the following pages will fully prove, and be the means of placing their character in the light of truth, and of correcting various mistakes respecting them, which have given rise to many unjust and injurious prejudices against them. the author could have enlarged the present work very considerably, had he detailed all the facts with which he is well acquainted. his object, however, was to furnish a work which should be concise and cheap, that he might be the means of exciting among his countrymen an energetic benevolence toward this despised people; for it cannot be denied that many thousands of them have never given the condition of the gipsies a single thought. such a work is now presented to the public. whether the author has succeeded, will be best known to those persons who have the most correct and extensive information relative to the unhappy race in question. should he be the honoured instrument of exciting in any breasts the same feelings of pity, mercy, love and zeal for these poor english heathens, as is felt and carried into useful plans for the heathens abroad, by christians of all denominations; he will then be certain that, by the blessing of the redeemer, the confidence of the gipsies will be gained, and, that they will be led to that saviour, who has said, _whosoever cometh unto me_, _i will in no wise cast him out_. chap. i. on the origin of the gipsies. of the origin of these wanderers of the human race, the learned are not agreed; for we have no authentic records of their first emigrations. some suppose them to be the descendants of israel, and many others, that they are of egyptian origin. but the evidence adduced in confirmation of these opinions appears very inconclusive. we cannot discover more than fifty hebrew words in the language they speak, and they have not a ceremony peculiar to the hebrew nation. they have not a word of coptic, and but few of persian derivation. and they are deemed as strangers in egypt at the present time. they are now found in many countries of europe, asia, and africa, in all of which they speak a language _peculiar to themselves_. on the continent of america alone are there none of them found. grellman informs us that there were great numbers in lorraine, and that they dwelt in its forests, before the french revolution of . he supposes that there are no less than , in the world, and that the greatest numbers are found in europe. throughout the countries they inhabit, they have kept themselves a distinct race of people in every possible way. they never visit the norman isles; and it is said by the natives of ireland, that their numbers are small in that country. hoyland informs us, that many counties in scotland are free of them, while they wander about in other districts of that country, as in england. he has also informed us, sec. , of a colony which resides during the winter months at kirk yetholm in the county of roxburgh. { } sir thomas brown, in his work entitled "vulgar errors," says, that they were seen first in germany, in the year . in , they were found in switzerland; and in , in italy. they appeared in france, on the th august, . it is remarkable that, when they first came into europe, they were black, and that the women were still blacker than the men. from grellman we learn, that "in hungary, there are , ; in spain, , ; and that they are innumerable in constantinople." it appears from the statute of the nd of henry viii, made against this people, that they must at that time have been in england some years, and must have increased much in number, and in crime. in the th of that reign, a law was made against the importation of such persons, subjecting the importer to _l_ penalty. in that reign also they were considered so dangerous to the morals and comfort of the country, that many of them were sent back to calais. yet in the reign of elizabeth, they were estimated at , . { a} dr walsh says, that the gipsies in turkey, like the jews, are distinguishable by indelible personal marks, dark eyes, brown complexion, and black hair; and by unalterable moral qualities, an aversion to labour, and a propensity to petty thefts. { b} the celebrated traveller, dr daniel clarke, speaks of great numbers of gipsies in persia, who are much encouraged by the tartars. formerly, and particularly on the continent, they had their counts, lords, and dukes; but these were titles without either power or riches. the english gipsies were formerly accustomed to denominate an aged man and woman among them, as their king and queen; but this is a political distinction which has not been recognized by them for many years. if we suppose the gipsies to have been heathens before they came into this country, their separation from pagan degradation and cruelty, has been attended with many advantages to themselves. they have seen neither the superstitions of idolatry, nor the unnatural cruelties of heathenism. they are not destitute of those sympathies and attachments which would adorn the most polished circles. in demonstration of this, we have only to make ourselves acquainted with the fervour and tenderness of their conjugal, parental, and filial sensibilities,--and the great care they take of all who are aged, infirm, and blind, among them. were these highly interesting qualities sanctified by pure religion, they would exhibit much of the beauty and loveliness of the christian character. i am aware that an opinion is general, that they are cruel to their children; but it may be questioned if ebullitions of passion are more frequent among them, in reference to their children, than among other classes of society; and when these ebullitions, which are not lasting, are over--their conduct toward their children is most affectionate. the attachment of gipsy children to their parents is equally vivid and admirable; it grows with their years, and strengthens even as their connections increase. { } and indeed the affection that sisters and brothers have one for the other is very great. a short time since, the little sister of a gipsy youth seventeen years of age, was taken ill with a fever, when his mind became exceedingly distressed, and he gave way to excessive grief and weeping. those who suppose these wanderers of mankind to be of hindostanee or suder origin, have much the best proof on their side. a real gipsy has a countenance, eye, mouth, hands, ancle, and quickness of manners, strongly indicative of hindoo origin. this is more particularly the case with the females. nor is the above mere assertion. the testimony of the most intelligent travellers, many of whom have long resided in india, fully supports this opinion. and, indeed, persons who have not travelled on the asiatic continent, but who have seen natives of hindostan, have been surprised at the similarity of manners and features existing between them and the gipsies. the author of this work once met with a hindoo woman, and was astonished at the great resemblance she bore in countenance and manners to the female gipsy of his own country. the hindoo suder delights in horses, tinkering, music, and fortune telling; so does the gipsy. the suder tribes of the same part of the asiatic continent, are wanderers, dwelling chiefly in wretched mud-huts. when they remove from one place to another, they carry with them their scanty property. the english gipsies imitate these erratic tribes in this particular. they wander from place to place, and carry their small tents with them, which consist of a few bent sticks, and a blanket. { } the suders in the east eat the flesh of nearly every unclean creature; nor are they careful that the flesh of such creatures should not be putrid. how exactly do the gipsies imitate them in this abhorrent choice of food! they have been in the habit of eating many kinds of brutes, not even excepting dogs and cats; and when pressed by hunger, have sought after the most putrid carrion. it has been a common saying among them--_that which god kills_, _is better than that killed by man_. but of late years, with a few exceptions, they have much improved in this respect; for they now eat neither dogs nor cats, and but seldom seek after carrion. but in winter they will dress and eat snails, hedge-hogs, and other creatures not generally dressed for food. but the strongest evidence of their hindoo origin is the great resemblance their own language bears to the hindostanee. the following vocabulary is taken from grellman, hoyland, and captain richardson. the first of these respectable authors declares, that twelve out of thirty words of the gipsies' language, are either purely hindostanee, or nearly related to it. the following list of words are among those which bear the greatest resemblance to that language. _gipsy_. _hindostanee_. _english_. ick, ek, ek, one. duj, doj, du, two. trin, tri, tin, three. schtar, star, tschar, four. pantsch, pansch, pansch, five. tschowe, sshow, tscho, six. efta, hefta, sat, seven. ochto, aute, eight. desch, des, des, ten. bisch, bis, bis twenty. diwes, diw, day. ratti, ratch, night. cham, cam, tschanct the sun. panj, panj, water. sonnikey, suna, gold. rup, ruppa, silver. bal, bal, the hair. aok, awk, the eye. kan, kawn, the ear. mui, mu, the mouth. dant, dant, a tooth. sunjo, sunnj, the hearing. sunj, sunkh, the smell. sik, tschik, the taste. tschater, tschater, a tent. rajah, raja, the prince. baro, bura, great. kalo, kala, black. grea, gorra, horse. ker, gurr, house. pawnee, paniee, brook, drink, water. bebee, beebe, aunt. bouropanee, bura-panee, ocean, wave. rattie, rat, dark night, dad, dada, father. mutchee, muchee, fish. this language, called by themselves slang, or gibberish, invented, as they think, by their forefathers for secret purposes, is not merely the language of _one_, or a _few _of these wandering tribes, which are found in the european nations; but is adopted by the vast numbers who inhabit the earth. one of our reformed gipsies, while in the army, was with his regiment at portsmouth, and being on garrison duty with an invalid soldier, he was surprised to hear some words of the gipsy language unintentionally uttered by him, who was a german. on enquiring how he understood this language, the german replied, that he was of gipsy origin, and that it was spoken by this race in every part of his native land, for purposes of secrecy. { } a well known nobleman, who had resided many years in india, taking shelter under a tree during a storm in this country, near a camp of gipsies, was astonished to hear them use several words he well knew were hindostanee; and going up to them, he found them able to converse with him in that language. not long ago, a missionary from india, who was well acquainted with the language of hindostan, was at the author's house when a gipsy was present; and, after a conversation which he had with her, he declared, that, her people must once have known the hindostanee language _well_. indeed gipsies have often expressed surprise when words have been read to them out of the hindostanee vocabulary. lord teignmouth once said to a young gipsy woman in hindostanee, _tue burra tschur_, that is, _thou a great thief_. she immediately replied; no--_i am not a thief_--_i live by fortune telling_. it can be no matter of surprise that this language, as spoken among this people, is generally corrupted, when we consider, that, for many centuries, they have known nothing of elementary science, and have been strangers to books and letters. perhaps the secrecy necessary to effect many of their designs, has been the greatest means of preserving its scanty remains among them. but an attempt to prove that they are _not_ of hindoo origin, because they do not speak the hindostanee with perfect correctness, would be as absurd as to declare, that, our gipsies are not natives of england, because they speak very incorrect english. the few words that follow, and which occurred in some conversations the author had with the most intelligent of the gipsies he has met, prove how incorrectly they speak _our_ language; and yet it would be worse than folly to attempt to prove that they are not natives of england. expencival _for_ expensive. cide _for_ decide. device _for_ advice. dixen _for_ dictionary. { } ealfully _for_ equally. indistructed _for_ instructed. gemmem _for_ gentleman. dauntment _for_ daunted. spiteliness _for_ spitefulness. hawcus paccus _for_ habeas corpus. increach _for_ increase. commist _for_ submit. brand, in his observations on popular antiquities, is of opinion that the first gipsies fled from asia, when the cruel timur beg ravaged india, with a view to proselyte the heathen to the mohammedan religion; at which time about , human beings were butchered by him. some suppose, that, soon after this time, many who escaped the sword of this human fury, came into europe through egypt; and on this account were called, in english, gipsies. although there is not the least reason whatever to suppose the gipsies to have had an egyptian origin, and although, as we have asserted in a former page, they are strangers in that land of wonders to the present day; yet it appears possible to me, that egypt may have had something to do with their present appellation. and allowing that the supposition is well founded, which ascribes to them a passage through egypt into european nations, it is very likely they found their way to that place under the following circumstances. in the years and , timur beg ravaged india, to make, as has already been observed, proselytes to the mohammedan delusion, when he put hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants to the sword. it is very rational to suppose, that numbers of those who had the happiness not to be overtaken by an army so dreadful, on account of the cruelties it perpetrated, should save their lives by flying from their native land, to become wandering strangers in another. now if we assert that the gipsies were of the suder cast of asiatic indians, and that they found their way from hindostan into other and remote countries when timur beg spread around him terrors so dreadful, it is natural to ask, why did not some of the other casts of india accompany them? this objection has no weight at all when we consider the hatred and contempt poured upon the suder by all the other casts of india. the bramins, tschechteries, and beis, were as safe, though menaced with destruction by timur beg, as they would have been along with the suder tribes, seeking a retreat from their enemy in lands where he would not be likely to follow them. besides, the other casts, from time immemorial, have looked on their country as especially given them of god; and they would as soon have suffered death, as leave it. the suders had not these prepossessions for their native soil. they were a degraded people--a people looked on as the lowest of the human race; and, with an army seeking their destruction, they had every motive to leave, and none to stay in hindostan. it cannot be determined by what track the forefathers of the gipsies found their way from hindostan to the countries of europe. but it may be presumed that they passed over the southern persian deserts of sigiston, makran and kirman, along the persian gulph to the mouth of the euphrates, thence to bassora into the deserts of arabia, and thence into egypt by the isthmus of suez. it is a fact not unworthy a place in these remarks on the origin of this people, that they do not like to be called gipsies, unless by those persons whom they have reason to consider their real friends. this probably arises from two causes of great distress to them--_gipsies are suspected and hated as the perpetrators of all crime_--_and they are almost universally prosecuted as vagrants_. is it to be wondered at, that to strangers, they do not like to acknowledge themselves as gipsies? i think not. we will conclude our remarks on the origin of these erratic sons of adam, by adding the testimony of col. herriot, read before the royal asiatic society, sir george staunton in the chair. that gentleman, giving an account of the zingaree of india, says, that this class of people are frequently met with in that part of hindostan which is watered by the ganges, as well as the malwa, guzerat, and the decan: they are called nath, or benia; the first term signifying a _rogue_--and the second a _dancer_, or _tumbler_. and the same gentleman cites various authorities in demonstration of the resemblance between these gipsies and their neglected brethren in europe. nor does he think that the english gipsies are so degraded as is generally supposed; in support of which he mentions some instances of good feeling displayed by them under his own observation, while in hampshire. chap. ii. observations on the character, manners, and habits of the english gipsies. the origin of this people is by no means of so much importance as the knowledge of their present character, manners and habits, with the view to the devising of proper plans for the improvement of their condition, and their conversion to christianity: for to any one who desires to love his neigbour as himself, their origin will be but a secondary consideration. fifty years ago the gipsies had their regular journeys, and often remained one or two months in a place, when they worked at their trades. and as access to different towns was more difficult than at the present day, partly from the badness of the roads and partly from the paucity of carriers, they were considered by the peasantry, and by small farmers, of whom there were great numbers in those days, as very useful branches of the human family; i mean the industrious and better part of them. at that period they usually encamped in the farmers' fields, or slept in their barns; and not being subject to the _driving system_, as they now are, they seldom robbed hedges; for their fires were replenished with dead-wood procured, without any risk of fines or imprisonments, from decayed trees and wooded banks. and it is proper to suppose, that, at such a time, their outrages and depredations were very few. it has already been stated that the gipsies are very numerous, amounting to about , . it is supposed that there are about , in this kingdom. but be they less or more, we ought never to forget--that they are branches of the same family with ourselves--that they are capable of being fitted for all the duties and enjoyments of life--and, what is better than all, that they are redeemed by the same saviour, may partake of the same salvation, and be prepared for the same state of immortal bliss, from whence flows to the universal church of christ, that peace which the world cannot take from her. their condition, therefore, at once commands our sympathies, energies, prayers, and benevolence. gipsies in general are of a tawny or brown colour; but this is not wholly hereditary. the chief cause is probably the lowness of their habits; for they very seldom wash their persons, or the clothes they wear, their linen excepted. their alternate exposures to cold and heat, and the smoke surrounding their small camps, perpetually tend to increase those characteristics of complexion and feature by which they are at present distinguishable. it is not often that a gipsy is seen well-dressed, even when they possess costly apparel; but their women are fond of finery. they are much delighted with broad lace, large ear-drops, a variety of rings, and glaring colours; and, when they possess the means, shew how great a share they have of that foolish vanity, which is said to be inherent in females, and which leads many, destitute of the faith, and hope, and love, and humility of the gospel, into utter ruin. a remarkable instance of the love of costly attire in a female gipsy, is well known to the writer. the woman alluded to, obtained _a very large sum of money_ from three maiden ladies, pledging that it should be doubled by her art in conjuration. she then decamped to another district, where she bought a blood-horse, a black beaver hat, a new side-saddle and bridle, a silver-mounted whip, and figured away in her ill-obtained finery at the fairs. it is not easy to imagine the disappointment and resentment of the covetous and credulous ladies, whom she had so easily duped. nor indeed are the males of this people less addicted to the love of gay clothing, if it suited their interests to exhibit it. an orphan, only ten years of age, taken from actual starvation last winter, and who was fed and clothed, and had every care taken of him, would not remain with those who wished him well, and who had been his friends; but returned to the camp from which he had been taken, saying, that he _would be a gipsy_, _and would wear silver buttons on his coat_, _and have topped boots_; and when asked how he would get them, he replied--_by catching rats_. some gipsies try to excel others in the possession of silver buttons. they will sometimes give as much as fifteen pounds for a set. the females too spend many pounds on weighty gold rings for their fingers. the author has by him, belonging to a gipsy, three massy rings soldered together, and with a half sovereign on the top, which serves instead of a brilliant stone. we pity a vain gipsy whose eyes are taken, and whose heart delights in such vulgar pomp. are not those equally pitiable, who estimate themselves only by the gaiety, singularity, or costliness of their apparel? the saviour has given us a rule by which we may judge persons in reference to their dress, as well as in other ostensibilities of character--_by their fruits ye shall know them_. the gipsies are not strangers to pawn-brokers shops; but they do not visit these places for the same purposes as the vitiated poor of our trading towns. a pawnshop is their bank. when they acquire property illegally, as by stealing, swindling, or fortune-telling, they purchase valuable plate, and sometimes in the same hour pledge it for safety. such property they have in store against days of adversity and trouble, which on account of their dishonest habits, often overtake them. should one of their families stand before a judge of his country, charged with a crime which is likely to cost him his life, or to transport him, every article of value is sacrificed to save him from death, or apprehended banishment. in such cases they generally retain a counsellor to plead for the brother in adversity. at other times they carry their plate about with them, and when visited by friends, they bring out from dirty bags, a silver tea-pot, and a cream-jug and spoons of the same metal. their plate is by no means paltry. of course considerable property in plate is not very generally possessed by them. the gipsies of this country are very punctual in paying their debts. all the shop-keepers, with whom they deal in these parts, have declared, that they are some of their best and most honest customers. for the payment of a debt which is owing to one of their own people, the time and place are appointed by them, and should the debtor disappoint the creditor, he is liable by their law of honour to pay double the amount he owes; and he must pay it by personal servitude, if he cannot with money, if he wish to be considered by his friends honest and respectable. they call this law _pizharris_. there are few of these unhappy people that can either read or write. yet a regular and frequent correspondence is kept up between the members of families who have had the least advantage of the sort; and those who have had no advantages whatever, correspond through the kindness of friends who write for them. numerous are the letters which they receive from their relatives in new south wales, to which colony so many hundreds of this unsettled race have been transported. their letters are usually left at one particular post-office, in the districts where they travel; and should such letters not be called for during a long period, they are usually kept by the post-master, who is sure they will be claimed, sooner or later. a long journey will be no impediment, when a letter is expected; for a gipsy will travel any distance to obtain an expected favour of the kind. they are never heard to complain of the heavy expense of postage. we have already observed that there are many genuine features of humanity in the character of this degraded and despised people. their constantly retaining an affectionate remembrance of their deceased relatives, affords a striking proof of this statement. and their attachment to the horse, donkey, rings, snuffbox, silver-spoons, and all things, except the clothes, of the deceased relatives, is very strong. with such articles they will never part, except in the greatest distress; and then they only pledge some of them, which are redeemed as soon as they possess the means. most families visit the graves of their near relatives, once in the year; generally about the time of christmas. then the depository of the dead becomes a rallying spot for the living; for there they renew their attachments and sympathies, and give and receive assurances of continued good will. at such periods however they are too often addicted to feasting and intemperance. the graves of the deceased of this people, are usually kept in very good order in the various church yards where they lie interred. this is done by the sextons, for which they are annually remunerated. sometimes large sums of money are expended on the erection of head-stones; and in one instance a monument was erected in the county of wilts at considerable cost. it is not very long since, that the parents of a deceased gipsy child, whom they loved very much, paid a great sum to have it buried in the church. the gipsies have a singular custom of burning all the clothes belonging to any one among them deceased, with the straw, litter, &c, of his tent. whether this be from fear of infection, or from superstition, the author has not been able to learn. perhaps both unite in the continuation of a custom which must be attended with some loss to them. { } seldom do these mysterious sons and daughters of adam unite themselves in the holy obligations of marriage, after the form of the established church of our land. nor, indeed, for so sacred a union, have they _any ceremony at all_. the parents on each side are consulted on such occasions, and if their consent be obtained, the parties become, after their custom, _husband and wife_. should the parents object, like the thoughtless and imprudent persons in higher life, who flee to gretna green, the gipsy lovers also escape from their parents to another district. when the couple are again met by the friends of the female, they take her from her protector; but if it appear that he has treated her kindly, and is likely to continue to do so, they restore her to him, and all objections and animosities are forgotten. as it seldom happens that they now stay more than a few days in one place, the gipsy, his wife, and each of their children, may severally belong to different parishes. this is an objection to their ultimate settlement in any one place. it will be some time before this objection can be removed: not till the present generation of gipsies has passed away, and their posterity cease to make the wilderness their homes, choosing a parish for a permanent place of settlement. it may naturally be expected that these inhabitants of the field and forest, the lane and the moor, are not without a knowledge of the medicinal qualities of certain herbs. in all slight disorders they have recourse to these remedies, and frequently use the inner bark of the elm, star-in-the-earth, parsley, pellitory-in-the-wall, and wormwood. they are not subject to the numerous disorders and fevers common in large towns; but in some instances they are visited with that dreadful scourge of the british nation, the typhus fever, which spreads through their little camp, and becomes fatal to some of its families. the small-pox and measles are disorders they very much dread; but they are not more disposed to rheumatic affections than those who live in houses. it is a fact, however, that ought not to be passed over here, that when they leave their tents to settle in towns, they are generally ill for a time. the children of one family that wintered with us in , were nearly all attacked with fever that threatened their lives. this may be occasioned by their taking all at once to regular habits, and the renunciation of that exercise to which they have been so long accustomed, with some disposing qualities in their change of diet and the atmosphere of a thickly populated town. this people often live to a considerable age, many instances of which are well known. in his tent at launton, oxfordshire, died in the year , more than a hundred years of age, james smith, called by some, the king of the gipsies. by his tribe he was looked up to with the greatest respect and veneration. his remains were followed to the grave by his widow, who is herself more than a hundred years old, and by many of his children, grand-children, great grand-children, and other relatives; and by several individuals of other tribes. at the funeral his widow tore her hair, uttered the most frantic exclamations, and begged to be allowed to throw herself on the coffin, that she might be buried with her husband. the religion of the redeemer would have taught her to say, _the lord gave_, _and the lord hath taken away_; _blessed be the name of the lord_. a woman of the name of b--- lived to the reputed age of a hundred and twenty years, and up to that age was accustomed to sing her song very gaily. many events in the life of this woman were very remarkable. in her youth she was a noted swindler. at one time she got a large sum of money, and other valuable effects, from a lady; for which and other offences, she was condemned to die. a petition was presented to george the third, to use the gipsy's own expression, who told the author, _just after he had set __up business_, that is, begun to reign, and he attended to its prayer. the sentence was reversed, and her life was consequently spared. but, poor woman, she repented not of her sins; for she taught her daughter to commit the same crimes for which she had been condemned; so that her delivery from condemnation led to no salutary reformation. the mutual attachment which subsists between the nominal husband and wife, is so truly sincere, that instances of infidelity, on either side, occur but seldom. they are known strictly to avoid all conversation of an unchaste kind in their camps, except among the most degraded of them; and instances of young females having children, before they pledge themselves to those they love, are rare. this purity of morals, among a people living as they do, speaks much in their favour. the anxiety of a gipsy parent to preserve the purity of the morals of a daughter, is strongly portrayed in the following fact. the author wished to engage as a servant the daughter of a gipsy who was desirous of quitting her vagrant life; but her mother strongly objected for some time; and when pressed for the reason of such objection, she named the danger she would be in a town, far from a mother's eye. it would be well if all others felt for their children as did this unlettered gipsy. after having promised that the morals of the child should be watched over, she was confided to his care. and the author has known a gipsy parent correct with stripes a grown daughter, for mentioning what a profligate person had talked about. the following is an instance of conjugal attachment. a poor woman, whose eldest child is now under the care of the society for the improvement of the gipsies, being near her confinement, came into the neighbourhood of southampton, to be with her friends, who are reformed, during the time. this not taking place so soon as she expected, and having promised to meet her husband at a distance on a certain day, he not daring to shew himself in hampshire, she determined on going to him; and having mounted her donkey, set off with her little family. she had a distance of nearly fifty miles to travel, and happily reached the desired spot, where she met her husband before her confinement took place. the good people at warminster, near which place she was, afforded her kind and needful assistance; and one well-disposed lady became god-mother to the babe, who was a fine little girl; the grateful mother pledging that, at a proper age, she should be given up to christians to be educated. before this woman left southampton, referring to many kind attentions shewn her by the charitable of that place, she was heard to say, _well_--_i did not think any one would take such trouble for me_! professing to be church people whenever they speak of religion, the gipsies generally have their children baptized at the church near which they are born, partly because they think it right, and partly, perhaps chiefly, to secure the knowledge of the parish to which the child belongs; for every illegitimate child is parishioner in the parish in which it happens to be born. they will sometimes apply to the parish officers for something toward the support of a child, which they call _settling the baby_. the sponsors at baptism are generally branches of the same family, and they speak of their god-children with pleasure, who in return manifest a high feeling of respect for them, and superstitiously ask their blessing on old christmas-days, when in company with them. it is worthy of remark that all the better sort of gipsies teach their children the lord's prayer. the anxiety evidenced by some parish officers to prevent these families from settling in their districts, has occasionally led the gipsies to act unjustifiably by menacing them with the settlement of a number of their families; but this, from their perpetual wandering, need never be feared. happy would it be for the gipsies as a people, if these civil officers did encourage them to stay longer in their neighbourhood; for they then might be induced to commence and persevere in honest, industrious and regular habits. not long ago thirty-five gipsies came to a parish in hampshire, to which they belonged, and demanded of the overseers ten pounds, declaring that, if that sum were not given them, they would remain there. seven pounds were advanced, and they soon left the place. chap. iii. the character, manners and habits of the english gipsies, continued. from the mode of living among the gipsies, the parents are often necessitated to leave their tents in the morning, and seldom return to them before night. their children are then left in or about their solitary camps, having many times no adult with them; the elder children then have the care of the younger. those who are old enough gather wood for fuel; nor is stealing it thought a crime. by the culpable neglect of the parents in this respect, the children are often exposed to accidents by fire; and melancholy instances of children being burnt and scalded to death, are not unfrequent. the author knows one poor woman, two of whose children have thus lost their lives, during her absence from her tent, at different periods: and very lately a child was scalded to death in the parish where the author writes. the gipsies are not very regular in attending to the calls of appetite and hunger. their principal meal is supper, and their food is supplied in proportion to the success they have had through the day; or, to use their own words, _the luck they have met with_. like the poor of the land through which they wander, they are fond of tea, drinking it at every meal. when times are hard with them, they use english herbs, of which they generally carry a stock, such as agrimony, ground-ivy, wild mint, and the root of a herb called spice-herb. the trades they follow are generally chair-mending, knife-grinding, tinkering, and basket-making, the wood for which they mostly steal. some of them sell hardware, brushes, corks, &c.; but in general, neither old nor young among them, do much that can be called labour. and it is lamentable that the greatest part of the little they do earn, is laid by to spend at their festivals; for like many tribes of uncivilized indians, they mostly make their women support their families, who generally do it by swindling and fortune-telling. their baskets introduce them to the servants of families, of whom they beg victuals, to whom they sell trifling wares, and tell their fortunes, which indeed is their principal aim, as it is their greatest source of gain. they have been awkwardly fixed, both servants and the gipsy fortune-teller, when the lady of the house has unexpectedly gone into the kitchen and surprised them while thus employed; and sometimes, to avoid detection, the obnoxious party has been hurried into a closet, or butler's pantry, where there has been much plate. few are aware of the losses that have attended the conduct of unprincipled servants in this, as in other respects. it may be hoped that few families would knowingly look over conduct so improper, so dangerous. many of these idle soothsayers endeavour to persuade the people whom they delude, that the power to foretell future events, is granted to them from heaven, to enable them to get bread for their families. it would be well were the prognostications of these women encouraged only among servants; but this is not the case. they are often invited into gay and fashionable circles, whom they amuse, if, by the information possessed by the parties, they are not cunning enough to deceive. they are well paid, and are thus encouraged in their iniquity by those who ought to know, and _teach them_ better. but it is astonishing how many _respectable_ people are led away with the artful flattery of such visitors. they forget that the gipsy fortune-teller has often made herself acquainted with their connexions, business, and future prospects, and consider not that god commits not his secrets to the wicked and profane. they use not the reason heaven has given them, and are therefore more easily led astray by these crafty deceivers. they generally prophesy good. knowing the readiest way to deceive, to a young lady they describe a handsome gentleman, as one she may be assured will be her "husband." to a youth they promise a pretty lady, with a large fortune. and thus suiting their deluding speeches to the age, circumstances, anticipations and prospects of those who employ them, they seldom fail to please their vanity, and often gain a rich reward for their fraud. they suit their incantations, or their pretended means of gaining knowledge, to their employers. two female servants went into the camp of some gipsies near southampton, to have their fortunes told by one well known to the author, and a great professor of the art. on observing them to appear like persons in service, she said to a companion, _i shall not get my books or cards for them_; _they are but tenants_. and calling for a frying-pan, she ordered them to fill it with water, and hold their faces over it. this being done, she proceeded to flatter and to promise them great things, for which she was paid _s_ _d_ each. this is called the frying-pan fortune. but it ought to be remembered that all fortune-telling is quite as contemptible. these artful pretenders to a knowledge of future events, generally discover who are in possession of property; and if they be superstitious and covetous, they contrive to persuade them there is a lucky stone in their house, and that, if they will entrust to them, _all_, or a _part of their money_, they will double and treble it. sorry is the author to say that they often gain their point. tradesmen have been known to sell their goods at a considerable loss, hoping to have the money doubled to them by the supposed power of these wicked females, who daringly promise to multiply the blessings of providence. if the fortune-teller cannot succeed in obtaining a large sum at first, from such credulous dupes, she commences with a small one; and then pretending it to be too insignificant for the planets to work upon, she soon gets it doubled, and when she has succeeded in getting all she can, she decamps with her booty, leaving her mortified victims to the just punishment of disappointment and shame, who are afraid of making their losses known, lest they should be exposed to the ridicule they deserve. parties in gloucestershire, dorsetshire, and hampshire, have been robbed in this manner of considerable sums, even as much as three and four hundred pounds, the greatest part of which has been spent in hampshire. a young lady in gloucestershire allowed herself to be deluded by a gipsy woman of artful and insinuating address, to a very great extent. this lady admired a young gentleman, and the gipsy promised that he would return her love. the lady gave her all the plate in the house, and a gold chain and locket, with no other security than a vain promise that they should be restored at a given period. as might be expected, the wicked woman was soon off with her booty, and the lady was obliged to expose her folly. the property being too much to lose, the woman was pursued, and overtaken. she was found washing her clothes in a gipsy camp, with the gold chain about her neck. she was taken up; but on restoring the articles, was allowed to escape. the same woman afterwards persuaded a gentleman's groom, that she could put him in possession of a great sum of money, if he would first deposit with her, all he then had. he gave her five pounds and his watch, and borrowed for her ten more of two of his friends. she engaged to meet him at midnight in a certain place a mile from the town where he lived, and that he there should dig up out of the ground a silver pot full of gold, covered with a clean napkin. he went with his pick-axe and shovel at the appointed time to the supposed lucky spot, having his confidence strengthened by a dream he happened to have about money, which he considered a favourable omen of the wealth he was soon to receive. of course he met no gipsy; she had fled another way with the property she had so wickedly obtained. while waiting her arrival, a hare started suddenly from its resting place, and so alarmed him, that he as suddenly took to his heels and made no stop till he reached his master's house, where he awoke his fellow servants and told to them his disaster. this woman, who made so many dupes, rode a good horse, and dressed both gaily and expensively. one of her saddles cost pounds. it was literally studded with silver; for she carried on it the emblems of her profession wrought in that metal; namely, a half-moon, seven stars, and the rising sun. poor woman! _her_ sun is now nearly set. her sins have found her out. she has been in great distress on account of a son, who was transported for robbery; but has never thought of seeking, as a penitent, refuge in the god of mercy; for seeing one of her reformed companions reading the new testament, she exclaimed, _that book will make you crazy_, at the same time calling her a fool for burning her fortune-telling book. her condition is now truly wretched; for her ill-gotten gains are all fled, and she is dragging out a miserable existence, refusing still to seek the mercy of god, and despising those who have made him their refuge. another woman, whom the author would also call a _bad_ gipsy, who likewise practised similar deceptions, having persuaded a person to put his notes and money in a wrapper and lock it up in a box, she obtained the liberty of seeing it in his presence, that she might pronounce certain words over it; and although narrowly watched, she contrived to steal it, and to convey into the box a parcel similar in appearance, but which on examination, contained only a bundle of rubbish. this money amounted to several hundred pounds. she was immediately pursued and taken with the whole amount about her person. she was also allowed to escape justice, because the covetous old man neither wished to expose himself, nor waste his money in a prosecution. the daughter of this woman has followed the same evil and infamous practices; and the crime has descended to her through several generations. many circumstances like the above are hid to prevent the shame that would assuredly follow their exposure. but the day of christ will exhibit both these deceivers and their dupes, who are equally heinous in the sight of god. it were well if such characters had paid more attention to the words of the apostle paul--_and having food and raiment_, _let us therewith be content_. _they that will be rich_, _fall into temptation_, _and a snare_, _and into many foolish and hurtful lusts_, _which drown men in destruction_. _the love of money is the root of all __evil_; _which_, _while some have coveted after_, _they have erred from the faith_, _and pierced themselves through with many sorrows_. not to mention many other facts with which the author is acquainted, and which he would relate, were he not likely thereby too much to enlarge his work, he will conclude this chapter with observing, that, thankfulness to almighty god, for the blessings we enjoy, less anxiety about future events, and more confidence in what god has revealed in his word and providence, would leave no room for the encouragement of gipsy fortune-tellers, and their craft would soon be discontinued. chap. iv. the character, manners, and habits of the english gipsies, continued. among this poor and destitute people, instances of great guilt, depravity and misery are too common; nor can it be otherwise expected, while they are destitute of the knowledge of salvation in a crucified and ascended saviour. one poor gipsy, who had wandered in a state of wretchedness, bordering on despair, for nearly forty years, had not in all that time, _heard of the name which is above every name_; _for there is salvation in no other_; till in his last days some christian directed him to the bible, as a book that tells poor sinners the way to god. he gave a woman a guinea to read its pages to him; and he remunerated another woman, who read to him the book of common prayer. the last few years of his life were marked by strong conviction of sin. his children thought he must have been a murderer. they often saw him under the hedges at prayer. in his last moments he received comfort through a pious minister, who visited him in his tent, and made him acquainted with the promises of the gospel. a similar instance has been related by a clergyman known to the author; nor should the interview of george the third with a poor gipsy woman, be forgotten; for a brighter example of condescending kindness is not furnished in the history of kings. this gracious monarch became the minister of instruction and comfort to a dying gipsy, to whom he was drawn by the cries of her children, and saw her expire cheered by the view of that redemption he had set before her. but how few are there of the tens of thousands of gipsies, who have died in britain, that, whether living or dying, have been visited by the minister or his people! the father of three orphan children lately taken under the care of the southampton committee for the improvement of the gipsies, had lived an atheist, but such he could not die. he had often declared there was no god; but before his death, he called one of his sons to him and said--_i have always said there was no god_, _but now i know there is_; _i see him now_. he attempted to pray, but knew not how! and many other gipsies have been so afraid of god, that they dreaded to be alone. it is a fact not generally known, that the gipsies of this country have not much knowledge of one another's tribes, or clans, and are very particular to keep to their own. nor will those who style themselves respectable, allow their children to marry into the more depraved clans. the following are a few of the family names of the gipsies of this country:--williams, jones, plunkett, cooper, glover, carew (descendants of the famous bamfield moore carew), loversedge, mansfield, martin, light, lee, barnett, boswell, carter, buckland, lovell, corrie, bosvill, eyres, smalls, draper, fletcher, taylor, broadway, baker, smith, buckly, blewett, scamp, and stanley. of the last-named family there are more than two hundred, most of whom are known to the author, and are the most ancient clans in this part of england. it is a well-authenticated fact, that many persons pass for gipsies who are not. such persons having done something to exclude them from society, join themselves to this people, and marrying into their clans, become the means of leading them to crimes they would not have thought of, but for their connection with such wicked people. coining money and forging notes are, however, crimes which cannot be justly attributed to them. indeed it has been too much the custom to impute to them a great number of crimes of which they either never were guilty, or which could only be committed by an inconsiderable portion of their race; and they have often suffered the penalty of the law, when they have not in the least deserved it. they have been talked of by the public, and prosecuted by the authorities, as the perpetrators of every vice and wickedness alike shocking to civil and savage life. nor is this to be wondered at, living as they do, so remote from observation and the walks of common life. whoever has read grellman's dissertation on the continental gipsies, and supposes that those of england are equally immoral and vicious, will be found greatly mistaken. the former are a banditti of robbers, without natural affection, living with each other almost like brutes, and scarcely knowing, and assuredly never caring about the existence of god; some of them are even counted cannibals. the gipsies of this country are altogether different; for monstrous crimes are seldom heard of among them. the author is not aware of any of them being convicted of house-breaking, or high-way robbery. seldom are they guilty of sheep-stealing, or robbing henroosts. { } nor can they be justly charged with stealing children; this is the work of worthless beggars who often commit far greater crimes than the gipsies. they avoid poaching, knowing that the sporting gentlemen would be severe against them, and that they would not be permitted to remain in the lanes and commons near villages. they sometimes take osiers from the banks and coppices of the farmer, of which they make their baskets; and occasionally have been known to steal a sheep, but never when they have had any thing to eat, or money to buy it with; for according to a proverb they have among themselves, _they despise those who risk their necks for their bellies_. the author however recollects a transgression of the sort in the county of hants. eight gipsy men united in stealing four sheep: four were chosen by lot for the purpose. they sharpened their knives, rode to the field, perpetrated the act, and before day-break brought to their camp the sheep they had engaged to steal; and, before the evening of the same day, they were thirty miles distant. but when pressed by hunger, they have been known to take a worse method than this. for as the farmers seldom deny them a sheep that has died in the field, if they apply for it, _so many_ were found dead in this way, that a certain farmer suspected the gipsies of occasioning their deaths. he therefore caused one of these animals to be opened, and discovered a piece of wool in its throat, with which it had been suffocated. the gipsies, who had no objection to creatures that die in their blood, had killed all these sheep in the above manner. horse-stealing is one of their principal crimes, and at this they are very dextrous. when disposed to steal a horse, they select one a few miles from their tent, and make arrangements for disposing of it at a considerable distance, to which place they will convey it in a night. an old and infirm man has been known to ride a stolen horse nearly fifty miles in that time. they pass through bye-lanes, well known to them, and thus avoid turnpikes and escape detection. unless they are taught better principles than at present they possess, and unless those on whom they impose, use their understandings, it is to be feared that swindling also will long continue among them; for they are so ingenious in avoiding detection. when likely to be discovered, a change of dress enables them to remove with safety to any distance. instances of this kind have been innumerable. but as it is the aim of this book to solicit a better feeling towards them, rather than expose them to the continuation of censure, the writer will not enter into further detail in reference to their crimes, than barely to shew the great evils into which they have been led by many of those in high life, who have long encouraged them in the savage practice of prize-fighting. pugilism has been the disgrace of our land, and our nobility and gentry have not been ashamed to patronize it. not long ago a fight took place in this county which will be a lasting disgrace to the neighbourhood. one of the pugilists, a gipsy, in the pride of his heart, said during the fight, that he _never would be beaten so long as he had life_. the poor wretch fought till not a feature of his countenance could be seen, his head and face being swollen to a frightful size, and his eyes quite closed. he attempted to tear them open that he might see his antagonist; and was at last taken off the stage. not satisfied with this brutal scene, the spectators offered a purse of ten guineas for another battle. this golden bait caught the eye of another gipsy, who, but a few months before, had ruptured a blood-vessel in fighting. throwing up his hat on the stage, the sign of challenge, he was soon met with a fellow as degraded as himself, but with much more strength and activity. he was three times laid prostrate at the feet of his antagonist, and was taken away almost lifeless. his conqueror put a half-crown into his hand as he was carried off, saying, it was a little something for him to drink. about three months after this, the author saw this poor gipsy in his tent, in the last stage of a consumption; but he was without any marks of true penitence. surely the way of wickedness is full of misery! what a disgrace is this demoralizing mode of amusement to our country! degrading to the greatest degree, it is nevertheless pursued with avidity by all classes of people; and large bets are often depending on these brutal exercises. gentlemen, noblemen, and even ladies, are, on such occasions, mixed with the most degraded part of the community. in the instance referred to it is said, that fifty pounds were taken by admitting carriages into the field in which the fight took place. where were the peace-officers at this time? perhaps some of them spectators of the horrid scene! verily our men of rank and fortune are guilty in encouraging these shocking practices; and they are little better than murderers, who goad their fellow-men on to fight by the offer of money. such persons are frequently instruments of sending sinners, the most unprepared, into the presence of a righteous god. what an account will they have to give when they meet the victims of their amusement at the bar of christ! the gipsies often fight with each other at fairs, and other places where they meet in great numbers. this is their way of settling old grudges; but so soon as one yields, the quarrel is made up, and they repair to a public house to renew their friendship. this forgiving spirit is a pleasing trait in their character. chap. v. further account of the english gipsies. it has been the lot of gipsies in all countries to be despised, persecuted, hated, and have the vilest things said about them. in many cases they have too much merited the odium which they have experienced in continental europe; but certainly they are not deserving of universal and unqualified contempt and hatred in this nation. the dislike they have to rule and order has led many of them to maim themselves by cutting off a finger, that they might not serve in either the army or the navy: and i believe there is one instance known, of some gipsies murdering a witness who was to appear against some of their people for horse-stealing: the persons who were guilty of the deed have been summoned to the bar of christ, and in their last moments exclaimed with horror and despair, "murder, murder." but these circumstances do not stamp their race without exception as infamous monsters in wickedness. not many years since several of their men were hung in different places for stealing fourteen horses near bristol, who experienced the truth of that scripture, _be sure your sins will find you out_. indeed there is not a family among them that has not to mourn over the loss of some relative for the commission of this crime. but even in this respect their guilt has been much over-rated; for in many cases it is to be feared they have suffered innocently. there was formerly a reward of _l_ to those who gave information of offenders, on their being capitally convicted. those of the lower orders, therefore, who were destitute of principle, had a great temptation before them to swear falsely in reference to gipsies; and of which it is known they sometimes availed themselves, knowing that few would befriend them. for the sake of the above sum, vulgarly, but too justly called _blood-money_, they perjured themselves, and were much more wicked than the people they accused. but the gipsies were thought to be universally depraved, and no one thought it worth his while to investigate their innocence. let us be thankful that many at the present day look upon them with better feelings. very lately one of these vile informers swore to having seen a gipsy man on a horse that had been stolen; and although it came out on the trial, that it was night when he observed him, and that he had never seen him before, which ought to have rendered his evidence invalid, the prisoner was convicted and condemned to die. his life was afterwards spared by other facts having been discovered and made known to the judge, after he had left the city. the gipsies in this country have for centuries been accused of child-stealing; and therefore it is not to be wondered at, that, when children have been missing, the gipsies should be taxed with having stolen them. about thirty years since, some parents who had lost a child, applied to a man at portsmouth, well known in those days, by the name of payne, or pine, as an astrologer, wishing to know from him what was become of it. he told them _to search the gipsy tents for twenty miles round_. the distressed parents employed constables, who made diligent search in every direction to that distance, but to no purpose; the child was not to be found in their camps. it was however soon afterwards discovered, drowned in one of its father's pits, who was a tanner. thus was this pretended astrologer exposed to the ridicule of those who but a short time before foolishly looked on him as an oracle. on another occasion the same accusation was brought against the gipsies, and proved to be false. the child of a widow at portsmouth was lost, and after every search was made on board the ships in the harbour, and at spithead, and the ponds dragged in the neighbourhood, to no effect, it was concluded that the gipsies had stolen him. the boy was found a few years afterwards, at kingston-upon-thames, apprenticed to a chimney sweeper. he had been enticed away by a person who had given him sweet-meats; but not by a gipsy. i may be allowed here to say a word about this boy's mother. she was a good and pious woman, and had known great trials. her husband was drowned in her presence but a short time before she lost her son in the mysterious way mentioned; and before he was heard of, she was removed to the enjoyment of a better world. her death was a very happy one, for it took place while she was engaged in public worship. _many are the afflictions of the righteous_, _but the lord delivereth them out of them all_. instances have been known of house-breakers leaving some of their stolen goods near the tents of the gipsies; and these being picked up by the children, and found upon them, have been the cause of much unjust suffering among them. the grandfather of three little orphans now under the care of the southampton committee, was charged with stealing a horse, and was condemned and executed; although the farmer of whom he bought it, came forward and swore to the horse being the same which he had sold him. his evidence was rejected on account of some slight mistake in the description he gave of it. when under the gallows, the frantic gipsy exclaimed--_oh god_, _if thou dost not deliver me_, _i will not believe there is a god_! the following anecdote will prove the frequent oppression of this people. not many years since, a collector of taxes in a country town, said he had been robbed of fifty pounds by a gipsy; and being soon after at blandford in dorsetshire, he fixed on a female gipsy, as the person who robbed him in company with two others, and said she was in man's clothes at the time. they were taken up and kept in custody for some days; and had not a farmer voluntarily come forward, and proved that they were many miles distant when the robbery was said to be perpetrated, they would have been tried for their lives, and probably hanged. the woman was the wife of wm. stanley, (who was in custody with her,) who now reads the scriptures in the gipsy tents near southampton. their wicked accuser was afterwards convicted of a crime for which he was condemned to die, when he confessed that he had not been robbed at the time referred to, but had himself spent the whole of the sum in question. another gipsy of the name of stanley was lately indicted at winchester, for house-breaking, and had not his friends at great expense proved an _alibi_, it is likely he might have been executed. and in this way have they been suspected and persecuted ever since the days of henry the eighth. they have been hunted like wild beasts; their property has been taken from them; themselves have been frequently imprisoned, and in many cases their lives taken, or what to many of them would be much worse, they have been transported to another part of the world, for ever divided from their families and friends. in the days of judge hale, thirteen of these unhappy beings were hanged at bury st edmonds, for no other cause than that they were gipsies; and at that time it was death without benefit of clergy, for any one to live among them for a month. even in later days two of the most industrious of this people have had a small pony and two donkeys taken away merely on suspicion that they were stolen. they were apprehended and carried before a magistrate, to whom they proved that the animals were their own, and that they had legally obtained them. the cattle were then pounded for trespassing on the common, and if their oppressed owners had not had money to defray the expenses, one of the animals must have been sold for that purpose. not long ago, one of the gipsies was suspected of having stolen lead from a gentleman's house. his cart was searched, but no lead being found in his possession, he was imprisoned for three months, for living under the hedges as a vagrant; and his horse, which was worth thirteen pounds, was sold to meet the demands of the constables. and another gipsy, who had two horses in his possession, was suspected of having stolen them, but he proved that they were legally his property. he was committed for three months as a vagrant, and one of his horses was sold to defray the expenses of his apprehension, examination, &c. while writing this part of the gipsies' advocate, the author knows that a poor, aged, industrious woman, with whom he has been long acquainted, had her donkey taken from her, and that a man with four witnesses swore that it was his property. the poor woman told a simple, artless tale to the magistrates, and was not fully committed. she was allowed two days to bring forward the person of whom she bought it. conscious of her innocence, she was willing to risk a prison if she could recover her donkey, and establish her character. after a great deal of trouble and expense in dispatching messengers to bring forward her witnesses, she succeeded in obtaining them. they had no sooner made their appearance than the accuser and his witnesses fled, and left the donkey to the right owner, the poor, accused and injured woman. it cannot be expected that oppression will ever reform this people, or cure them of their wandering habits. far more likely is it to confirm them in their vagrant propensities. and as their numbers do not decrease, oppression will only render them the dread of one part of their fellow-creatures, while it will make them the objects of scorn and obloquy to others. it is the earnest wish of the author that milder measures may be pursued in reference to the gipsies. to endeavour to improve their morals, and instruct them in the principles of religion, will, under the divine blessing, turn to better account than the hateful and oppressive policy so long adopted. chap. vi. further account of the english gipsies. many persons are of opinion in reference to the gipsies, that, if all the parishes were alike severe in forcing them from their retreats, they would soon find their way into towns. but if this were the case, what advantage would they derive from it? in large towns, in their present ignorant and depraved state, would they not be still more wicked? they would change their condition only from bad to worse, unless they were treated better than they now are, and could be properly employed; but from the prejudice that exists among all classes of men against them, this is not likely to be the case: they would not be employed by any, while other persons could be got. at a hop plantation, so lately as , gipsies were not allowed to pick hops in some grounds, while persons as unsettled and undeserving, were engaged for that purpose. had this been a parochial arrangement to benefit the poor of their own neighbourhood, who were out of employ, it were not blameable. if they were driven to settle in towns, and could not, generally speaking, obtain employment, it might soon become necessary to remove all their children to their own parishes; a measure not only very unhappy in itself, but one to which the gipsies would never submit. sooner would they die than suffer their children to go to the parish workhouses. the severe and unchristian-like treatment they meet with from many, only obliges them to travel further, and often drives them to commit greater depredations. when driven by the constables from their station, they retire to a more solitary place in another parish, and there remain till they are again detected, and again mercilessly driven away. but this severity does not accomplish the end it has in view; their numbers remain the same, and they retain the same dislike to the crowded haunts of man. for they only visit towns in small parties, offering trifling wares for sale, or telling fortunes; and this is done to gain a present support. in this neighbourhood there was lately a sweeping of the commons and lanes of the gipsy families. their horses and donkeys were driven off, and the sum of pounds _s_ levied on them as a fine to pay the constables for thus afflicting them. in one tent during this distressing affair, there was found an unburied child, that had been scalded to death, its parents not having money to defray the expenses of its interment. the constables declared that it would make any heart ache to see the anguish the poor people were in, when thus inhumanly driven from their resting places; but, said they, _we were obliged to do our duty_. to the credit of these men, thirteen in number, it should be mentioned, that, with only one exception, they returned the fines to the people; and one of them, who is a carpenter, offered a coffin for the unburied child, should the parish be unwilling to bury it. in this instance of their affliction and grief, the propensity to accuse these poor creatures was strongly marked by a report charging them with having dug a grave on the common in which to bury it; a circumstance very far from their feelings and general habits. the fact was, some person had been digging holes in search of gravel, and these poor creatures pitched their tent just by one of them. it was supposed by many in this neighbourhood, that the poor wretches thus driven away, were gone out of the country; but this was not the case. they had only retired to more lonely places in smaller parties, and were all seen again a few days after at a neighbouring fair. this circumstance is sufficient to prove that they are not to be reclaimed by prosecutions and fines. it is therefore high time the people of england should adopt more merciful measures towards them in endeavouring to bring them into a more civilized state. the money spent in sustaining prosecutions against them, if properly applied, would accomplish this great and benevolent work. and without flattering any of its members, the author thinks the committee at southampton have discovered plans, wholly different to those usually adopted, which may prove much more effectual in accomplishing their reformation; for by these plans being put in prudent operation, many have already ceased to make the lanes and commons their home; and their minds are becoming enlightened and their characters religious. in concluding this chapter it may not be improper to remark, that, bad as may be the character of any of our fellow-creatures, it is very lamentable that they should suffer for crimes of which individually they are not guilty. let us hope that, in reference to this people, unjust executions have ceased; that people will be careful in giving evidence which involves the rights, liberties, and lives of their fellow-creatures, though belonging to the unhappy tribes of gipsies; and above all, let us hope, that such measures will be pursued by the good and benevolent of this highly favoured land, as will place them in situations where they will learn to fear god, and support themselves honestly in the sight of all men. chap. vii. of the formation of the southampton committee, and the success that has attended its endeavours. although the gipsies, on account of their unsettled habits, their disposition to evil practices, and that ignorance of true religion, which is inseparably connected with a life remote from all the forms of external worship, and from the influence of religious society, may be said to be in a most lamentably wretched state; yet is their condition not desperate. they are rational beings, and have many feelings honourable to human nature. they are not as the heathens of other countries, addicted to any system of idolatry; and what is of infinite encouragement, they inhabit a land of bibles and of christian ministers; and, although at present, they derive so little benefit from these advantages, there are many of them willing to receive instruction. the following details, to which i gladly turn, will shew that, when _patient_ and _persevering_ means are used, gipsies may be brought to know god; and no body of people were ever yet converted to christianity without means. the following circumstances gave rise to the idea of forming a society for the improvement of this people. in march, , during the lent assizes, the author was in winchester, and wishing to speak with the sheriff's chaplain, he went to the court for that purpose. he happened to enter just as the judge was passing sentence of death on two unhappy men. to one he held out the hope of mercy; but to the other, _a poor gipsy_, who was convicted of horse-stealing, he said, _no hope could be given_. the young man, for he was but a youth, immediately fell on his knees, and with uplifted hands and eyes, apparently unconscious of any persons being present but the judge and himself, addressed him as follows: "_oh_! _my lord_, _save my life_!" the judge replied, "_no_; _you can have no mercy in this world_: _i and my brother judges have come to the determination to execute horse-stealers_, _especially gipsies_, _because of the increase of the crime_." the suppliant, still on his knees, entreated--"_do_, _my lord judge_, _save my life_! _do_, _for god's sake_, _for my wife's sake_, _for my baby's sake_!" "_no_," replied the judge, "_i cannot_: _you should have thought of your wife and children before_." he then ordered him to be taken away, and the poor fellow was _rudely dragged_ from his earthly judge. it is hoped, as a penitent sinner, he obtained the more needful mercy of god, through the abounding grace of christ. after this scene, the author could not remain in court. as he returned, he found the mournful intelligence had been communicated to some gipsies who had been waiting without, anxious to learn the fate of their companion. they seemed distracted. on the outside of the court, seated on the ground, appeared an old woman, and a very young one, and with them two children, the eldest three years, and the other an infant but fourteen days old. the former sat by its mother's side, alike unconscious of her bitter agonies, and of her father's despair. the old woman held the infant tenderly in her arms, and endeavoured to comfort its weeping mother, soon to be a widow under circumstances the most melancholy. _my dear_, _don't cry_, said she, _remember you have this dear little baby_. impelled by the sympathies of pity and a sense of duty, the author spoke to them on the evil of sin, and expressed his hope that the melancholy event would prove a warning to them, and to all their people. the poor man was executed about a fortnight after his condemnation. this sad scene, together with hoyland's survey of the gipsies, which the author read about this time, combined to make a deep impression on his mind, and awaken an earnest desire which has never since decreased, to assist and improve this greatly neglected people. the more he contemplated their condition and necessities, the difficulties in the way of their reformation continued to lessen, and his hope of success, in case any thing could be done for them, became more and more confirmed. he could not forget the poor young widow whom he had seen in such deep distress at winchester, and was led to resolve, if he should meet her again, to offer to provide for her children. some weeks elapsed before he could hear any thing of her, till one day he saw the old woman sitting on the ground at the entrance of southampton, with the widow's infant on her knee. "where is your daughter?" he inquired. "sir," she replied, "she is my niece; she is gone into the town." "will you desire her to call at my house?" "i will, sir," said the poor old woman, to whom the author gave his address. in about an hour after this conversation, the widow and her aunt appeared. after inviting them to sit down, he addressed the young woman thus:--"my good woman, you are now a poor widow, and i wished to see you, to tell you that i would be your friend. i will take your children, if you will let me have them, and be a father to them, and educate them; and, when old enough to work, will have them taught some honest trade." "thank you, sir," said she; "but i don't like to part with my children. the chaplain at the prison offered to take my oldest, and to send her to london to be taken care of; but i could not often see her there." i replied, "i commend you for not parting with her, unless you could occasionally see her; for i suppose you love your children dearly." "oh! yes, sir," said the widow. the old aunt also added, "our people set great store by their children." "well," i replied, "i do not wish you to determine on this business hastily; it is a weighty one. you had better take a fortnight for consideration, and then give me a second call." how improbable did it then appear that this interview would ultimately lead to so much good to many of her people! when the fortnight expired, the widow and her aunt again appeared, when the following conversation took place. "i am glad you are come again," said their friend. "yes," replied the widow, "and i will now let you have my betsy;" and the aunt immediately added, pointing to one of her grand-children, "i will let you have my little _deary_, if you will take care of her. her father," continued she, "was condemned to die, but is transported for life, and her mother now lives with another man." the proposal was readily accepted; and three days after, these two children were brought washed very clean, and dressed in their best clothes. it was promised the women, that they should see their children whenever they chose, and all parties were pleased. the eldest of these children was six years of age; the widow's little daughter, only three. the first day they amused themselves with running up and down stairs, and through the rooms of the house. but when put to bed at night, they cried for two hours, saying that the house would fall upon them. they had never spent a day in a house before, and were at night like birds that had been decoyed, and then robbed of their liberty. a few kisses and some promises at length quieted them, and they went to sleep. after remaining with the author three days, they were removed to one of the infants' schools, where they were often visited by the widow and her aunt. soon after this the eldest girl was taken ill. a medical gentleman attended her at the tent, a little way from the town, whither her grandmother had begged to remove her for change of air. but the sickness of this child _was unto death_. she was a lovely and affectionate girl, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which she had necessarily laboured. when on her bed, in the tent, suffering much pain, she was asked by a gentleman, "although you love mr crabb so much, would you rather live with him, or die, and go to jesus?" she answered, "i would rather die and go to jesus." her death very much affected her grandmother. she would not leave the corpse, which she often affectionately embraced, till persuaded she would endanger her own life. this appeared a melancholy event to all who wished well to the gipsies in the neighbourhood of southampton. for the widow, fearing her child would become ill and die too, immediately removed her from the school. and many of the gipsy people treated the women with great contempt, for giving up their children; and the prospects of doing them lasting good, became very much beclouded. it was however represented to them, that god was doing all things for the best, and their spirits were soothed; and in consequence, the little fatherless girl was again brought to the school. after this event, the women remained a considerable time in the neighbourhood, waiting to see if the little one, again given up to the author, would be kindly treated. by this detention they were often brought into the company of good people, whose kindness gained their confidence. they began to listen to invitations to settle in the town, and finally determined on doing so. even the _old_ woman, who had lived under hedges for fifty years, and who had declared but a short time before, that she would not leave her tent for a palace, now gladly occupied a house; this greatly encouraged their friends, who well knew that it was not a small sacrifice, for a gipsy to give up what is thought by them to be their liberty. a short time before these women removed from under the hedges, the sister of the unhappy man who had been executed, came out of dorsetshire with her three children, on her way to surry, where she had been accustomed to go to hop-picking. encamping under the same hedge with the widow and her aunt, she was seen by the author in one of his visits to them. he found them one evening about six o'clock at dinner, and took his seat near them; and while they were regaling themselves with broiled meat, potatoes, and tea, the following interesting conversation took place. "sir," said the widow, "this is my sister and her children." no one could have introduced this woman and her little ones with more easy simplicity than she did, while, by the smile on her swarthy countenance, she exhibited real heartfelt pleasure. "i am glad to see you, my good woman;" said the author, "are these your children?" "yes, sir," replied she, very cheerfully. "and where are you going?" "i am going into surry, sir." "have you not many difficulties to trouble you in your way of life?" "yes, sir," answered she. the author continued, "i wish you would let me have your children to provide for and educate." "not i, indeed," she replied sharply; "others may part with their children, if they like, but i will never part with mine." "well, my good woman, the offer to educate them has done no harm: let me hope it will do good. i would have you recollect that you have now a proposal made you of bettering their present and future condition. you and i must soon meet at the judgment-seat of christ, to give an account of this meeting; and you know that i can do better for your little ones than you can." she was silent. the author then addressed these people and left the tents. the next day he visited the camp again, when the widow woman said, "sir, my sister was so _cut up_ (putting her hand to her heart), with what you said last night, that she could not eat any more, and declared she felt as she never had done before; and she has determined to come and live with us at michaelmas." what was still better, in consequence of what was said to this poor stranger, she did not go to the races, although she had stopped near southampton for that purpose. from this time endeavours were made to confirm the woman's intentions to stay at southampton, and to place her children with the other. she was asked, why she would not stay at southampton then? "why, to tell you the truth," said she, "for it's no use to tell a lie about that, i don't want to bring my children to you, like vagabonds; and as we shall earn a good _bit_ of money at hopping, i shall buy them some clothes; and then, if you will take me a room at michaelmas, i will surely return and live in southampton, and my children shall go to school; but i will never give them up entirely." she continued with her sister till the house which had been taken for the latter was ready; during which time a gentleman from ireland, then living near the encampment, had her children every day to his house, and taught them to read. the remembrance of him will be precious to them for ever. she came on the day appointed, and her children were put to the infants' school, where they have continued ever since, clean and respectable, and very diligent in their learning. they often explain the scriptures to their mother. one of them has long been a monitor in the school. may she continue a credit to the institution in which she has been so far educated. although the mother of these children is not yet decidedly pious, she is very much improved. she is now able to read her testament with tolerable ease, takes great pleasure in receiving instruction, and we hope is deeply impressed with the importance of personal religion. she attends public worship diligently, and loves christians, whom she once hated. she weeps with abhorrence over past crimes, and says she would rather have her hands cut off, than do as she has done. for more than twelve months after living at southampton, she continued occasionally to tell fortunes for the gain it brought her. but a remarkable dream led her to see the wickedness of this practice; for it so terrified her that she rose from her bed, lighted a fire, and burnt the book in which she had pretended to see the fortune of others. large sums of money had been offered her for this volume; but, though in extreme poverty, she determined to make any sacrifice, rather than enrich herself by its sale. she dreamed that she was at the adult school, where she regularly attended, and, that while she was reading her testament, it changed into a book of divination, and she began to tell the fortune of the lady who was teaching her; and while thus employed, she thought she heard awful thunderings, and the sound of trumpets; after which a tremendous tempest ensued, during which she fancied herself in an extensive plain, exposed to all the fury of the storm. she then thought the day of judgment was come, and that she was summoned to render up her account. she awoke in great terror, and as soon as she had a little recovered herself, arose and followed the example of those we read of in the acts of the apostles:--_and many of them which also used curious arts_, _brought their books together_, _and burned them before all men_; _and they counted the price of them_, _and found fifty thousand pieces silver_. acts xix. . when relating this dream to a lady, she was asked whether she had formerly been in the habit of seeking by any means, the aid of the devil, in order to know future events; it having been asserted that many of the gipsies had done so. she informed the lady that she never had done so, and that she thought none of her people had any thing to do with him, otherwise than by giving themselves up to do wickedly. the devil tempted them to do still worse; as those who neglect to seek to god for help, must of course be under the power of the wicked one. chap. viii. of the plans pursued by the southampton committee, and the success which has attended them, continued. sixteen reformed gipsies are now living at southampton, one of whom is the aged gipsy whose history has been published by a lady. { } there are also her brother and four of his children, her sister, who has been a wanderer for more than fifty years, and her daughter, three orphans, and a boy who has been given up to the committee by his mother, a woman and her three children, and the young woman before mentioned, who has, since her reformation, lost her two children by the measles. in addition to those who have retired from a wandering life, and are pursuing habits of honest industry, three other families, whose united number is sixteen, begged the privilege of wintering with us in the beginning of . these gipsies regularly attended divine service twice on a sunday, and on the work-day evenings the adults went to school to learn to read. the children were placed at one of the infants' schools. the prospects of doing one of the families lasting good, are rather dark, as they are grown old and hardened in crime; but the condition of the others is more encouraging. the children, who would gladly have stayed longer with us, were sickly; and it is apprehended, had not this been the case, the parents would have continued longer, that they might have gone to school. two women, mother and daughter, in one family, are much interested in the worship of god, and already begin to feel the value of their souls; and both regret that they are under the necessity of submitting to the arbitrary will of the father. one of them declared that she could never more act as a gipsy, and with weeping eyes she said, that, she feared she never should be pardoned, or saved. when directed to go to jesus, she replied, she knew not how to go to him. in three days they will leave us, and it will be a painful separation. it was very gratifying to the author to see so many gipsies attend the house of god, and he frequently recollected with pleasure, that promise of holy scripture, _for as the rain cometh down_, _and the snow from heaven_, _and returneth not thither_, _but watereth the earth_, _and maketh it bring forth and bud_, _that it may give seed to the sower_, _and bread to the eater_: _so shall my word be that goeth forth of my mouth_: _it shall not return unto me void_, _but it shall accomplish that which i please_, _and it shall prosper in the thing whereto i send it_. _for ye shall go out with joy_, _and be led forth with peace_; _the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing_, _and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands_. _instead of the thorn shall come up the __fur tree_, _and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree_: _and it stall be to the lord for a name_, _for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off_. six of the children are at an infants' school at southampton, and three others attend a charity school; and another is learning to be a coach wheelwright. this youth has behaved so well in his situation, that he has been advanced by his master to a higher branch in the business. his fellow-workmen, who at first disliked him for being a gipsy, have subscribed money to assist him in the purchase of additional tools, to which the foreman added five shillings, and the master _one pound_. this is a most encouraging circumstance. the aged man who has been so many years reformed, is a basket maker. he often visits his brethren in their tents, under the direction of the committee, to give advice and instruction. his sister, lately reclaimed, takes care of the six gipsy children, and is become very serious and industrious; and though in the decline of life, she receives but one shilling per week from the committee. two instances of the gratitude of this woman ought not to be omitted. the author's horse having strayed from the field, a sovereign was offered to any one who would bring it back to him. several persons sought for it in vain. this old gipsy woman was sent in quest of it, and in two days returned with the horse. of course she was offered the sovereign that had been named as a reward; but she refused to take it, saying, she owed the author more than that; yea, all that she had, for the comfort she was then enjoying. this was the language of an honest and grateful heart. on being compelled to take it, she bought herself some garments for the winter. on another occasion, when she was coming from some place which she had visited, and was detained on the road longer than she had expected, she became penniless; yet would she not beg, lest it might be looked on as one step towards turning back to habits she had entirely abandoned. she assured the author that she would rather have starved than return to her old trade of begging; and besides, added she, "the people know that i am one of your reformed gipsies, and i will never bring a reproach upon my best friends." the young widow was taught to make shoes; but becoming depressed in spirits after the death of her children, she has been placed in service. and another young gipsy woman has also obtained a situation as a servant. but while the committee has had to rejoice over the success that has attended its efforts, it has also experienced great and manifold disappointments. but its members are not discouraged, and it is hoped they never will be. one young woman stayed with the committee a month, and then ran away. she was lamentably ignorant, and could never be brought to work. { } another very promising in temper and habits, stayed in a family three months, and then left them to live again with her parents, who encouraged her to believe that she would be married to one of her clan. it may be hoped the knowledge she gained while in service may be useful to her at some future time. she is not, cannot be happy, and is sorry that she left her service and her friends. the father and mother have promised to stay in southampton through the next winter, which they will be encouraged to do, with the hope of gaining instruction in the truths of religion. a woman, her four sons, and their grandmother, { } joined the family of reformed gipsies for a short time, and we had considerable hopes of them all, the two eldest boys excepted, who refused to work, and who grew much more vicious than when under the hedges. their father had formerly been sentenced to death, but by the interest of a friend, the sentence was changed to fourteen years' hard labour on board the hulks at portsmouth, nearly nine of which had expired at the time his family came under the direction of the committee. his wife intimating that if they were to apply for his release, it might be granted, and that then he might govern the boys, and make them work, his liberty was obtained. but within three days afterwards, he declared he would not constrain any of his children to labour; they might do it or not, as they pleased. and, in the course of the week, he took them all away and went to brighton. a lady then staying at that place, and who had known this family at southampton, sent to the place where the gipsies usually encamp, hoping to recall some of them to a sense of their duty, but was informed that the whole of the party had set off a few days before. early on the following morning, a gipsy called at the house of this lady, and offered to tell the fortunes of the servants. she was asked if she knew the woman who was enquired for the preceding day? she replied, that _she was the very person_. on hearing by whose servant she was addressed, she became almost speechless with shame, and said, _i would rather have met the king_. on recovering, she expressed great delight and gratitude that she was not forgotten by the lady, and declared she had been very unhappy since she had left southampton, and that the sin of fortune-telling greatly distressed her mind; but that she knew not how to support her family without it. they had undergone many hardships. the little boys, she said, had frequently amused themselves with trying to spell the different things about their tent, and were often wishing for their southampton fire. the next morning she brought them to see their kind benefactress. the youngest of them, a fine promising boy, both as to talent and disposition, was overjoyed at the meeting; his little eyes were filled with tears, and he could scarcely speak. he and his brother were immediately provided with clothing, and sent to the school of industry; where, in addition to the religious instruction given them, they were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, digging, &c. their master has been much pleased with their progress. the mother was afterwards induced to stay at brighton, being allowed a small sum weekly. she has been taught to read by some kind friends, and many hopes are entertained of her conversion to god. a letter has lately been received, which gives a very interesting account of her increase in knowledge and improvement in morals. a very promising gipsy youth, who was placed with a coach-maker in southampton, after working some time, cut his hand, and then relinquished his employment, to wander with his father, who is a rat-catcher. but it is hoped that he, as well as others of his brethren who have returned to their former courses, will be brought back, or find some other desirable and permanent abode; that what has been done by this society may not ultimately be lost. indeed, while writing this, i am happy to be able to state, that the morals of this young man appear very correct, and that he has, by constant application, learned to read tolerably well since he left southampton. he supports himself by selling brushes, lines, and corks, but talks very seriously of giving up his wandering habits to return to us again. among the reclaimed gipsies are three women who were notorious fortune-tellers, and who doubtless have done much injury to the morals of society. they are now very promising; and there is a fair prospect of their children being saved from much sin and misery, as they are placed at infants' schools, where they are gradually acquiring useful scriptural knowledge, and correctness of habits; in which, if they persevere, by the grace of the redeemer, their present and everlasting welfare will be secured. such examples of success amply repay the committee for the trouble and expense already bestowed on the gipsies; and it is hoped its members will be stimulated to every exertion in their power by the good done to those in a state of reformation and improvement, that the whole wandering race may be led into the right way. chap. ix. of the plans pursued by the southampton committee, and the success which has attended them, continued. a gipsy woman, of whose reformation we have already taken some notice, having gone to solicit the assistance of the parish to which one of her children belonged, met with many difficulties and troubles. she was not at this time destitute of the knowledge of religion. she had learned to read, and had become acquainted with the scriptures, at an adult school, and by attending at a place of worship; and these instructions were not thrown away on her; for although she was frequently invited to eat and drink in the tents of the gipsies on her journey, she conscientiously refused, fearing that what they were partaking of might not be honestly obtained. she informed them that her testament had taught her better habits than those she had formerly known. her children helped to keep alive her religious impressions. they often talked to her about the school from which she had taken them, of their lessons, and the observations of the master and mistress, on different parts of the scriptures, and at other times they catechised each other on the objects that presented themselves on the road, in the same way they had been used to in the infants' schools; to which they often begged their mother to let them return. these circumstances, she has since said, made her so miserable that she felt she _could not live as she had done_. some time after this, she made a visit to a parish in which another of her children was born, near basingstoke. she entered the cottage of an old couple who sold fruit, &c. tea being proposed, the old woman expressed her surprise that she had not seen her visitor for so long a time, saying she was glad she was come, as she wanted her to tell her many things, meaning future events. she mentioned a great deal that another gipsy woman had told her, on which the reformed one exclaimed--_don't believe her_, _dame_. _it is all lies_. _she knows no more about it than you do_. _if you trust to what she says_, _you will be deceived_. the old woman was still more surprised, and asked _how she_, who had so often told their fortunes, and had promised them such good luck, could be so much altered? the woman taking her testament from her bosom, replied, "i have learned from this blessed book, and from my kind friends, _that all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with brimstone and fire_; and rather than tell fortunes again, i would starve." she then opened her book and began reading a chapter, endeavouring to explain as she read, at which her host and hostess began to weep. she told them that though she knew she had been a great sinner, and was one still, yet she never had felt so happy as then. the old woman observed, that _she_ could not say _she was happy_, and wished to know what she must do to feel happy. the gipsy replied, you must leave off selling on sundays, and go to a place of worship, and learn to read the testament, and to pray, and _then_ you will become happy. this poor gipsy woman, who was so anxious to instruct those she had many times deceived, was soon after taken sick, at which time her distress of soul was very great; and she then said, were she to die, her _soul could not go to heaven_. many were her temptations, while in great poverty, to renew the practice of fortune-telling. several genteel parties have visited her, and sometimes offered her gold, tempting her to begin again the sins she had for ever given up; but, much to her credit, she at all times resolutely refused all such unholy gain. at one time some very gay young women called on her, desiring to have their fortunes told. her testament lay on the table, which she had but a short time before been reading, and pointing to it, she said--_that book_, _and that only_, _will tell your fortunes_; _for it is god's book_; _it is his own word_. she reproved them for their sin, and said, the bible had told her, _all unrighteousness is sin_. they then requested she would not tell any one that they had called upon her. she replied--_oh_! _you fear man more than god_! a few days since, this reformed woman was sweeping the pavement in front of her house, when two female servants came up, enquiring for the house of the fortune-teller; mourning over them for their folly, she said--_my dears_, _she cannot tell your fortunes_. _i have been a professed fortune-teller_, _and have deceived hundreds_. she succeeded in persuading them to go home. at a meeting of gipsies held at a gentleman's house, jan. , the youngest child of this woman said to her mother, _mammy_, _who be all these folks_? the mother replied, _they are gipsies_. _was_ i _ever like 'em_? asked the child. _yes_, said the mother, _you was once a poor little gipsy without stockings and shoes_, _and glad to beg a halfpenny of any body_. it is a circumstance not to be lamented, that the condition even of a little child, has been so much bettered by the exertions of the committee. in addition to the encouragement afforded us by this woman, giving up with so much decision the practice of fortune-telling, the author must not forget to mention an instance of her forbearance of temper under provocation and outrage. she had, when a vagrant, a quarrel with some of her ignorant people of another tribe. meeting with them after her reformation, she was severely beaten by them, and had her ear-drops torn from her ears, while they contemptuously called her _methodist_. when asked, why she did not bring her persecutors to justice, she replied, _how can i be forgiven_, _if i do not forgive_? _that is what my testament tells me_. the young widow we have before mentioned, continued to tell fortunes for some time after we had taken her children; but it pleased the holy spirit to awaken her conscience, and to shew her the wickedness of such crimes, by which she was led to true repentance and reformation of character. after the death of both the children of this interesting individual, she went into the service of a kind and pious lady in london. for this situation she was prepared by one of equal benevolence in southampton, who had her for some time in her own house for that purpose. she continued in this situation till the lady's death, and has since been in other service, where she has conducted herself so well as to prove she is become a sincere servant of christ. chap. x. some remarks on the sin of fortune-telling. the author will be pardoned, he is willing to hope, by the kind reader, if he digress in one or two paragraphs in this part of his work, purposely to expose the great wickedness of prognostication and fortune-telling; as the whole is not only unsound, foolish, absurd and false, but is most peremptorily forbidden in the scriptures. in the law of moses it is commanded, that there should not be found among the people, any that used divination, or that was an observer of the times, or that was an enchanter: deut. xiii. . in the prophecies of malachi, the lord has declared--_thou shalt have no more soothsayers_: mal. v. . balaam and balak were cursed of the lord of hosts; the former for using enchantments, and the latter for employing balaam in this wicked work. _woe to them that devise iniquity_: micah, ii. . those who employ unhappy gipsy women, should think on the portion of the liar; rev. xxi. : for the person who tempts another to utter falsehood by offering rewards, is equally guilty before god. _a companion of fools shall be destroyed_: prov. xiii. . _though hand join in hand_, in sin, _the wicked shall not go unpunished_: prov. xvi. . _the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together_: isai. i. . it may be safely affirmed that the sin of those persons, who trifle with gipsy women in having their fortunes told by them, nearly resembles that of the first king of israel; who, by consulting, in his trouble, a wicked woman, who pretended to supernatural power, filled up the measure of those sins, by which he lost the protection of heaven, his crown, and his life, and by which he involved his family in the most ruinous calamity. reader, have you encouraged any of these people in such crimes? if you have so far forgotten yourselves, the commands of god, and the curse that awaits you and those who deceive themselves the same way; reflect, before it be too late, on the evil into which you have willingly, wilfully, and without the least reasonable excuse, fallen, and on the guilt that must of necessity attach to your consciences thereby. should you never meet those you encouraged to sin in this world, and therefore never have an opportunity of warning them of their danger, yet must you meet at the bar of christ; and if then loaded with the weight of the sin in question, how awful will be your condition! yourself and a fellow creature turned out for ever from god, and heaven, and hope! you may find mercy _now_, if you, by faith in the redeemer, _seek for it_; and who can tell but if you sincerely pray for those you led into sin, but that the mercy of which you part take, may find out them! may it even be so, to your everlasting comfort! some have supposed that this contemptible practice was first introduced into europe by the gipsies: but such persons are greatly mistaken. in the dark ages of superstition, in which this wandering people came to our part of the world, prognostication and fortune-telling were carried on to an infinite extent; and so enraged were the deceivers of those days against the gipsies, that they proclaimed they knew nothing of the _art_; that they were deceivers and impostors. it were well if the gipsies were _now_ the only persons addicted to such wickedness; but this is not the case; for it is well known that almost every town is cursed with an astrological, magical, or slight-of-hand fortune-teller. there are two now in southampton; and their wretched abodes are visited not only by vain and ignorant servants, but often by those who belong to the higher circles, and not unfrequently by those who drive their carriages. to conclude this chapter, it may be safely said, that the sort of wickedness in question, is not only forbidden in the scriptures, and will add much to the guilt of an impenitent death; but that it is calculated to give us the most airy anticipations, or oppress us with the most unreasonable despair. _sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof_; why should we then afflict ourselves about ill-fortune in future years? if we _seek_, as the first great object of life, _the kingdom of heaven_, _all _[necessary] _things shall be added_. and why should we deceive ourselves with gay and splendid expectations? _riches make themselves wings and soon fly away_. chap. xi. plans suggested to the pious and benevolent for promoting a reformation among the gipsies. as no event happens without a cause, so no good is accomplished without means. it is in the power of man as an instrument, frequently to make his fellow-creatures either happy or miserable. and it may safely be asserted, that much of the ignorance, depravity, and consequent misery found in the world, are occasioned by the want of a united and persevering application of the energies of christians, to the reformation of the most debased classes of society. this backwardness to perform that which is good, with respect to our fellow men, must be accounted for, by the want of faith in god's word, and the little influence we allow the religion of the saviour to have on our own hearts. it may also be occasioned by the strong evidences we have of the corruption of human nature, and the little good we see attend the labours of others: and we are often likewise discouraged because our own efforts fail. on these accounts, how often do we sigh for opportunities of doing good, whilst we neglect the openings of providence in little things, which would frequently lead to the accomplishment of most important usefulness. dr johnson used to say, "he who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do any." good is done by degrees. however small in proportion the benefit which follows _individual attempts_ to do good, a great deal may thus be accomplished by perseverance, even in the midst of discouragements and disappointments. the first missionaries who visited england, had to contend with all the frightful cruelties of savage life, and the more horrid rites of druidical worship. but now, though much wickedness abounds in england, it is, in a religious point of view, the paradise of the earth. may all those who wish to diffuse the genuine influences of christianity among the poor gipsies, imitate the example of the adorable saviour, who _made himself of no reputation_, that he might enlighten the most ignorant, and impart happiness to the most miserable. it will not be denied that the gipsies are capable of feeling the influence, and appreciating the worth of the gospel: and no one will doubt that the earlier the plans are adopted for their improvement, the sooner will this desirable work be accomplished. the reader is requested to pay particular attention to the following suggestions. the establishment of an institution to supply instruction to the gipsies by regular ministers, or missionaries, would be of but little use. indeed such a measure could scarcely be carried into effect. for the gipsies, beside associating in very small companies, are perpetually driven from place to place. to supply them, therefore, with regular instruction, a preacher would be necessary to every family; who would condescend to their mode of life, travel when they travelled, rest when they rested, and be content with the ground and straw for his bed, and a blanket tent for his covering! all this would subject them to great personal inconvenience, and at the same time be very expensive and highly improper. neither would it be possible for ministers to be appointed occasionally and alternately to visit the gipsies in different counties. for it might often happen that, before intelligence could be forwarded to those appointed to give them instruction, they might be removed by a peace officer, or have set out on a journey of several miles distance. benevolent, zealous, and prudent persons may do much by visiting the camps near towns; and the most suitable parts of the day for promoting this object, are morning and evening. but the most simple and easy plans of instruction should invariably be adopted. to those persons who are afraid of visiting the gipsies, lest they should be insulted, abused, and robbed, the author may be allowed to say that they have not the least grounds for such fears. in scotland this fear is quite as general among the religious people as it is in england; and in that country the inhabitants are even afraid to prosecute them for their depredations and crimes. in england ladies are frequently known to visit their camps singly, when more than a mile from towns, and to sit and read and converse with them for a considerable time, with the greatest confidence and safety. there is not the least prospect of doing them good, by forcing instruction upon them. about the year , the empress theresa attempted the improvement of the gipsies in germany, by taking away, by force, all their children of a certain age, in order to educate and protect them; but such an unnatural and arbitrary mode of benevolence, defeated its own object; and this is not to be wondered at: the souls of the free resist every effort of compulsion, whether the object be good or bad. compulsatory instruction, therefore, would do no good among the gipsies. but they are easily won by kindness, and whoever wishes really to benefit them, must convince them that this is his intention, by patiently bearing with the unpleasing parts of their characters, and by a willingness to lessen their distresses so far as it is in his power. such kindness will never be lost upon them. nor would the author recommend their being encouraged to live in towns, except they are truly desirous of leading a new life, as it is almost certain that their morals would be greatly corrupted thereby: and they would be capable of more extensive injury to society, should they take to their wandering habits again. a correspondent of a friend of the author, has just communicated the following particulars, which prove the truth of the above remarks. there is in the neighbourhood of harz, at nordausen, a colony of gipsies, to whom a missionary has been sent from berlin. his last letter speaks very favourably of their disposition to receive the word of life. the manner of his introduction to them was by no means likely to ensure him a favourable reception. "here," said the person who brought him among them, "you have a missionary, who is come to convert you; now mind and be converted, or you shall go to prison." the effect this foolish speech produced on the gipsies may be easily imagined, and likewise how useless it rendered the situation of the missionary who desired to labour among them. they took to flight whenever they saw him approach, and thus, humanly speaking, there appeared not the least prospect of success, as the seed of the word could not so much as be sown. but he, who alone is able to turn the heart, mercifully looked upon the work, and directed him to the right means effectually to bring it about. the gipsies were obliged to cultivate the land on which they were permitted to reside; but being quite ignorant of agriculture, they were at a loss how to proceed. the missionary undertook himself to give them advice and assistance in the work. seeing the success that attended his labours, they began to be much more diligent in the cultivation of their grounds, while their confidence daily increased in their missionary, and they became more accessible and willing to be taught. at last they asked him for what reason the people at berlin had sent him among them? and when he told them, they were overpowered with gratitude, and melted into tears. their attachment to him and the friends who had sent him, became stronger and stronger. in some cases, it may be true, the conquest of their prejudices against the missionary, might proceed from the advantages they reaped by attending to his advice; and this is much to their credit, and is a most desirable improvement. it is hoped they will soon be led to attend sincerely to his religious instructions. a gentleman resident in one of the towns of hampshire, was agreeably surprised one sabbath morning, by seeing a number of gipsies at public worship; and on being induced to converse with them, was pleased to find that they regularly attended divine service at southampton, and other places. he directed them to move their tents into a more commodious situation in one of his own fields. this unusual act of kindness, which however required no great sacrifice on his part, made so deep an impression on the hearts of this people, as is not likely to be forgotten: they will speak of his kindness as long as they live. this, as well as the instances we have mentioned already in this work, and many more which we may not notice, shew that we are not without opportunities of observing their gratitude for those favours that have been bestowed upon them. they receive with willingness one of their own people, who is now a reformed and pious character, living at southampton, and whom we have named in a former page. they now rejoice, too, in the assurance that a great number of good christians pity and love them, and are seeking to promote their present and everlasting happiness. it is therefore much to be wished, that committees of ladies or gentlemen were formed in every town in the kingdom, and their attention directed to this neglected class of british subjects. an active person might be found in every place, to act under the sanction of such committees, who should visit their tents, instruct them in the scriptures, and pray with and for them (the latter he should never neglect) by which means he would gain their confidence, and would always be looked on as a friend. such a person should not be ashamed to speak kindly to them when he meets them in the street, or on the road. indeed at all times he should converse with them plainly and affectionately about the great love of the redeemer, in coming into this our world, to suffer and die for guilty sinners, of whom they make a number. but all the labour should not be confined to one person. every member of these committees should be alive to this good work; as also all christians, and especially ministers. but should there not be sufficient energy and benevolence in all towns to form a committee, two or three who are well disposed to the object, may unite together and accomplish a great deal. and should there not be found more than one person thus benevolently disposed, let not that one be discouraged. the single talent must not be neglected, should it be only the power to give a cup of cold water, or to speak one word about the water of life to a necessitous and perishing gipsy; for it may not, cannot be in vain. reader, are you doing what you can in this humble way? it may be, you would rather ascend the pulpit and preach to well-informed christians, or visit the ignorant in your own town! this is well; but the other should not be left undone. the wanderers in the wilderness are not to be forgotten; the outcasts of society are to be sought after. let us imitate our adorable redeemer, _who went about doing good_, and who sought those who were not the least desirous of finding him. as an encouragement to british christians, who are alive to the happiness of the gipsies, they should know that there are many among them desirous of a new mode of life, as will appear by an application lately made to the author. "_bristol_, _oct._ _th_, . "my dear sir, "i am unwilling to let a parcel go to southampton, without sending you a line to give you a little information respecting h---, of whom i made enquiry if she had called on the friends to whom i directed her? this was done by her; but she could obtain no employment. both h--- and her husband conduct themselves in a very satisfactory manner. a young lady, i hope, will employ her soon; and, perhaps, in time she may get into regular work; but at present, she gets very little, and it is very necessary that the man should have employment. the cork trade is now over; (he used to sell corks.) they can have the loan of a donkey for two months for nothing, and that being the case, i told h--- to look out for a small cart, which i desired her to hire for a week, and sell coals and potatoes in small quantities. { } i have felt fearful lest you should think me too busy; but necessity has compelled me to do something, or they must have almost _starved_; and i cannot bear the thought of their wanting bread; knowing it must be a great temptation for them to return to their old habits. the man appears much altered for the better. he said one day, when they wanted food, that he would rather beg than oblige his wife to return to fortune-telling. h--- tells me that her husband and she live happily, and that they have had words but once since they left their vagrant life. i am also happy to discover in her pleasing evidences of honesty, as she pays her weekly rent often before it is due, when she has money, fearing that she may spend it in food. job, their son, has no work, but i hope that he will be able to help his father. do, my dear mr crabb, pray for this little branch of your family. i have received two pounds for your infants' schools, from mr ---, and would send it now, but i have been obliged to expend a considerable part of it on these poor gipsies. do write to me when you can, and give me advice respecting this poor family." the author must remark that, since the above letter was received, others also have been sent from two ladies in that neighbourhood, which give the southampton committee great pleasure. the following are extracts. "i have seen mr ---, and have had a pleasing interview with miss ---, relating to the poor wanderers you wrote to me about. i have had the man and woman at my house. after having heard h--- read, i told her 'that the leprosy she had been reading of, represented the evil of our sinful heart; that we were born with it; that it prevailed in every part of the soul; and that we had lived always under its influence.' she exclaimed, _dear me_! _ i never heard the like of that before_! _now it seems good for me to know this_. she wept much. when i told her of the love of christ, she appeared struck with her own extreme ingratitude. her expressions were so simple and full of pathos, that my heart was quite overcome. she ran out of the room for her husband, and on her return, said, "ah! _do talk_ to my poor husband, just what you said to me." i found him not so interesting, but desirous of leaving his wandering life for ever, and get employment if possible. they have made some flower baskets for me; and hoping they may obtain orders for more, i have recommended them to my friends. i have heard of another family, consisting of fourteen souls, who encamp on bedminster down, and there by god's help, i intend to send a minister of jesus, to try what can be done for them. there is also another family expected, who have a house of _their own_ at bedminster, and who winter there. should the lord bless our humble endeavours, we must have a regular committee, and set about our work in a workman-like manner; nothing short of a colony will satisfy me. i intend to introduce this interesting subject at a party this evening, and hope the lord will open the hearts of his people, to do good to those poor benighted wanderers." the author has also just received from a clergyman in scotland, a most interesting account of a colony of gipsies in that country, where, i am happy to observe, they do not seem so much hunted as in england. and as the severity of their winters drive them into houses for three months, during that season, there is offered a fair opportunity to both ministers and kindly disposed christians to do them good. the letter alluded to is most gladly inserted with the view to encourage the christian denominations of england to imitate the benevolence, zeal, and industry of their much respected brethren the scotch. "_yetholm hall_, _dec._ _th_, . "my dear sir, "through the report of the society for ameliorating the condition of that unfortunate race, the gipsies, i am acquainted with your name, and with your benevolent exertions in their behalf. as the minister of a parish in which perhaps the largest colony of this people in scotland reside, and naturally, therefore, very much interested in any plan that promises to improve their condition, i take the liberty of writing you; not so much for the purpose of answering the numerous queries subjoined to the report, as of requesting your advice and opinion, with regard to what plan might be adopted for the improvement of the colony, placed, in some degree, under my care and superintendence. i have but lately been called to the ministerial office, and appointed to the pastoral care of this parish; and previous to the period of my appointment, i had no opportunity of being acquainted with the character and habits of the gipsies. your longer acquaintance with this people, and experience, may suggest to me some useful hints on the subject, should you take the trouble to notice this letter. the number of gipsies in the parish of yetholm is about . you are no doubt already in some degree acquainted with the gipsies of kirk yetholm, from the interesting notices furnished by mr smith, of kelso, and published in hoyland's survey, and in one of the earliest numbers of blackwood's magazine. and his account of them is substantially correct to this day. it would appear that the gipsy population of this place is fluctuating. in , there were only . in , when mr smith wrote, there were . in , there are . and in a few years more, this number may be considerably diminished or increased. the greater part of them are "muggers," or "potters," who carry earthen-ware about the country for sale. there are two horn spoon makers; all the others are abroad from their head quarters, of kirk yetholm, from eight to nine months in the year. the history of some of the individuals and families of the clan, would furnish something very interesting. one of the family of the taa's is still denominated the "king." the number of children belonging to each family is generally large. there may be thirty children under twelve years of age. the parents express themselves very anxious that their children should be educated, and are willing, for this purpose, to leave them at home all the summer; and farther, that they should be trained to some occupation different from their own. many of the parents declare, that they would willingly remain at home, could they be supplied with constant employment. of late, the greater number of them have occasionally attended church, and some of them continue to attend most regularly when at home. a considerable number of the younger children also, when at home, attend our sabbath school. i have likewise assisted the parents to send most of their children to the day school: still, however, these children are at home scarcely three months in the depth of winter. several families have not returned yet. their education, therefore, even were they sent regularly to school, during this time, would be very limited. and besides, by attending the parents to the country, they contract an attachment to their loose, wandering life, which must tend to perpetuate the peculiarities of the tribe. a few weeks ago i was requested by dr baird, the principal of the university, and one of the ministers of edinburgh, to write out a pretty full account of these my parishioners. this i have done. the account, however, was written so hastily, that i had not time even to correspond with you on the subject, before doing so, as my object in writing to you was chiefly to propose some plan which might be adopted for their improvement, on which you might give me some useful information. in this account, i have proposed that a fund or subscription should be raised for the purpose of keeping the children at home during those months their parents are traversing the country, for paying their school wages, and, if possible, for giving a salary to a teacher to superintend their education, and that a small additional sum be occasionally in readiness for paying an apprentice-fee with the boys. this account may probably be published. i am in hopes, also, that the principal will interest himself in the cause. should the account be published, the proof-sheet may be sent down to me, ere long, in which case i should wish to hear from you before that time, as i may have then an opportunity of supplying any hint, or otherwise altering the plan proposed, from your kind communication. the sum which i conceived would be required for the purpose was about a hundred pounds per annum. mr b---, of killau, with whom, i believe, we both have the pleasure of being acquainted, has more than once wished me to open a correspondence with you on this subject. he also is interested in the cause, and promises to use his influence with others. i think he told me that some more detailed account of your plan was published, or preparing for the press, in which various alterations and improvements had been made. this was an additional reason for my wishing to hear from you, before submitting to the people of scotland any plan on the subject. i should wish to know how the cause prospers with you, and what number you have at present under your care. i am extremely interested for this unfortunate people, and any information therefore with regard to what is doing elsewhere, would be acceptable. may he prosper the cause, whose blessing alone can render our labours effectual! i remain, my dear sir, with much respect and esteem, yours truly, john baird. "p. s.--i have just received a letter from principal baird, informing me that my account of the gipsies of kirk yetholm, will be published, and a proof for correction be sent to me shortly. it will be published in a new statistical account of scotland, which will ensure for it a very extensive circulation, especially among the ministers of the established church of scotland." another letter relating to the gipsies of yetholm, has been received from the same clergyman, extracts of which may be seen in the appendix. chap. xii. plans suggested to the pious and benevolent, for promoting a reformation among the gipsies, continued. it is usual, in southampton, for a few pence to be given to a child who informs any of the members of the committee when a family of gipsies begin to erect their tents on the common, that they may immediately be visited by our reader. this may be done elsewhere. it may be well, too, to buy a basket, or any other article they may honestly have to dispose of, when opportunity offers; but it is not well to bestow money on them, unless in sickness or want. when their wives are confined, a favourable opportunity offers to bring into action the sympathies of compassion in other females; and what gratitude would such an instance of tenderness beget! these poor women have frequently been heard to exclaim, while tears filled their eyes, _how kind_, _how good to us_! for favours very much less! the author has seldom met with instances of ingratitude, though he is obliged to record one. he was interested in the reformation of a gipsy family that encamped, a short time since, about five miles from southampton, whom he visited early on a monday morning. reaching the camp, accompanied by the old gipsy he has often mentioned in the course of this work, he said to them, "since you would not come to see me, i am come to see you." the camp, consisting of eight persons, gave him a cordial reception, the husband excepted, who said, he did not want his company. "you certainly do not mean what you say," said his friend; to which he ungratefully replied, "i never speak words without meaning." in a good-natured way he was questioned as to the truth of his being a gipsy, accompanied with the remark, that gipsies were seldom ungrateful for the favours which were shown them. in half an hour after, he left the camp very angrily. this man had been released from many years' imprisonment, through the author's intercession; but having associated with thieves so long, the worst principles of his heart were drawn forth. before he left the camp, he said he had no care about his children, but to feed and clothe them. "then you only treat your children as a man does his dogs and pigs." he replied, that "such treatment was good enough." this is a common sentiment; for the generality of parents have no further care about their children than to feed and clothe them. such persons are not perhaps aware how nearly they come to that dreadful state of mind and heart, of which this ungrateful gipsy so wickedly boasted. after he had left the party, those who remained attended to conversation and prayer, when one of the women wept bitterly on account of her sin of fortune-telling. the author has since been informed that this poor man expresses his sorrow for his uncalled-for behaviour. the plans adopted in southampton, for the conversion of the gipsies in hampshire, are now generally known among their people. not long ago, an old woman brought four orphans of a deceased relative from a great distance, in order to place them under the care of the committee. on this occasion the old woman thus addressed the author. "are you mr crabb?" being told, yes, she continued--"mr chas. stanley, a gipsey, desired me to bring you these poor orphans." the author being assured that they were orphans, promised, after some conversation, to visit their tent the following day. he did so, and never can he forget the distressing scene he then witnessed. it was winter, and the weather was unusually cold, there being much snow on the ground. the tent, which was only covered with a _ragged_ blanket, was pitched on the lee side of a _small_ hawthorn bush. the children had stolen a few _green_ sticks from the hedges, but they would not burn. _there was no straw_ in the tent, and only one blanket to lay betwixt six children and the frozen ground, with nothing to cover them. the youngest of these children was three, and the eldest, seventeen years old. in addition to this wretchedness, the smaller children were nearly naked. the youngest was squatted on the ground, her little feet and legs bare, and gnawing a frozen turnip, which had been stolen from an adjoining field. none of them had tasted bread for more than a day. the moment they saw their visitor, the little ones repeatedly shouted, "here is the _gemman come for us_!" some money was given to the oldest sister to buy bread with, at which their joy was greatly increased. straw was also provided for them to sleep on, four were measured for clothes, and, after a few days, they were placed under the care of one of our reformed gipsies. the youngest child died, however, a short time after, in consequence of having been so neglected in infancy. the children were cleanly washed and newly clothed, before they were removed from the common. perhaps they had never been thoroughly washed before. the oldest sister would not give up her wandering habits; and the oldest boy chose to go back to the camp again; so that the committee had soon only three of them in charge. and these were so filthy in their habits for a long time, that it was very disagreeable to be near them. it is hoped that, though they have lost their earthly parents, they may be led, through this event, to god their heavenly father. these children were soon baptized, and two of them are improving at one of the infants' schools. a short account of their parents may not be out of place here. the mother was a great fortune-teller and swindler. she once robbed a poor shepherd in dorsetshire of twenty pounds, by promising to fill his box with money. their father was a most depraved character. their life and practices are well described in the language of the apostle, _let us eat and drink_, _for to morrow we die_. cor. xv. . the man was the buffoon of their company, and became more depraved every year. they often had a great deal of money, which was, no doubt, obtained through dishonest means. on one occasion, he and many other gipsies, entered the parlour of a small public house on the borders of hants, when emptying the contents of a dirty purse into an half-pint cup, he nearly filled it with sovereigns; and declared, they would not leave the house, till they had spent it all. his wife, at this time, who was intoxicated, was robbed of all the money she had got from the poor credulous shepherd, excepting one pound. the same man once put sovereigns into his kettle, to treat himself with what he called, _gold water_, for his tea; a piece of folly and wickedness only equalled by a fact with which the author is well acquainted, when an old man had his gold put under his pillow, and often shown to him, when he was dying. we need not wonder, therefore, that the children of this gipsy couple should be so ignorant, depraved, and destitute. for money that is ill-gotten, and squandered in extravagance, entails a double curse on the parties concerned. but to return to the subject of this chapter. to visit the gipsies in their tents is of great importance. clergymen of the establishment, dissenting ministers, and home missionaries, have at various times done this, and conversed freely with them on the christian religion; and it has _not been in vain_. indeed, nothing that is done, through jesus christ, purposely to please god, and benefit the wretched, can fail to produce a good effect. the rev. messrs hyatt and cobbin, who were deputed by the home missionary society, to visit many parts of england, to enquire into the condition of this people, had no doubt, but that much good may be done among them, if proper means are pursued. it has many times been proved, that to attempt to raise them in society, without the influence of religious instruction, would be improper. they have not sufficient principles of honesty, nor purity of conduct, till they are taught those principles, and changed, by religion. one, among several instances, may be named. a young female gipsy, remarkable for the beauty of her person, was much noticed by a lady of rank. she was made to sit many times for her portrait, was introduced into the drawing-room, and became of consequence as one of the family. she might have done well, had she not given up all her prospects by running away with a gipsy youth, for whom she had an attachment, and with whom she has ever since lived in great misery. if less attention had been paid to her beauty, and more to the cultivation of right principles, she might now have been reformed, religious, and happy. to those who wish to forward the instruction of the children of these wanderers, which is of vast importance, the use of tins with letters and monosyllables stamped upon them, is recommended. a little ink or paint will be necessary to make the letters visible. this plan would save much expense, and render elementary books unnecessary. they could not be torn, as books generally are. the pieces thrown away by the tinman, if the corners were taken off, would answer every purpose. to induce those children, who cannot be got from the tent, to learn from these tins, the visitor might promise them an old garment, or some other trifle. should the gipsies conduct themselves properly, when thus visited, a little willow-wood may be given them to encourage them in industry, and forward the manufactory of baskets. and it might be well were a small piece of ground devoted to the growth of willows, in neighbourhoods frequented by them, on purpose to encourage them thereby. it might be adviseable, too, to give them testimonials on a card, of good conduct, when about to remove to another district, which might serve as an introduction to benevolent persons, and those interested in their welfare in other places; and this means would effectually prevent all imposition, keep up the attention of the good among them, and would constantly bring them before the notice of christian society. such kindness would be felt by the gipsies, and, in time, might produce a good effect. this method has been attended to by the southampton committee. the great object that christians should have in view, should be to instruct them in the blessed truths of the christian religion, imbue them with a happy sense of honesty and morality, and then reclaim them wholly from their unsettled and wandering habits; for until they have some knowledge of religion, and some anxiety to reform, they would only be worse by being brought constantly before the bad examples that would be set them in towns. of course, such a change _cannot be fully accomplished in the present generation_; it cannot be expected. but their conversion to god will wholly be accomplished in time, if all christians do their duty, depending on the influence of the holy spirit. from what has been said in this chapter, it will appear, that, visiting their tents to pray for, and instruct them, teaching such children to read as cannot get to public schools, and prevailing on all who are able to do so, to attend public worship; are the principal things to be attempted, in this great and good undertaking. those christians who wish for opportunities of doing good to the gipsies in and about london, will find many of them in the suburbs in the months of april, may, and june, when they generally find work in the market gardens. in the months of july and august they move into sussex and kent, and are engaged in the harvest. and in the month of september, _great numbers_ of them are to be found in the hop-districts of kent, sussex and surry, where they find employment. during the winter, many of them settle in london, westminster, bristol, and other large towns, when a good opportunity is presented for teaching, both to the children and adults of this class, the elements of reading, and the principles of true religion. for the information of those who may wish to visit the gipsies in london and bristol, during the winter, the author thinks it his duty to name the streets where they generally reside. tottenham-court road; battle bridge; paddington; bolton street; church lane; church street; kent street, borough; new street; white street; banbridge street; shore-ditch; tothill-fields; and tunbridge street. in bristol they are principally found in saint phillip's, newfoundland street, bedminster, and at the march and september fairs. at the ascot and epsom races, they may be met in large numbers; and if a benevolent, kind, and zealous minister of christ were to visit them at their encampments at these seasons, and explain to them the facts, doctrines, and blessings of the gospel, much good might be done. the morning would be the happiest time to visit these gipsies, as they are too often at races, inebriated before night. it is presumed little could be said to profit them in a state of intoxication, and many of the women are then employed either in swindling or fortune-telling. should the sympathies of the british public be efficiently directed to the gipsies of this country, it may call forth the zeal of other nations to improve their still more degraded condition on the continent, where more than half a million of them wander, ignorant as the heathens of all that is necessary to salvation. those of this country loudly call upon us for instruction, which may easily be given them. let all who have either time, money, or ability, give a helping hand; and, above all, assist by their unfeigned and earnest prayers. it may be very advisable to pray publicly for them in places of worship, and at the family altar, after visiting them in the highways and hedges. it might impress those of them who attend, with a grateful sense of the gracious care of god, and lead christian congregations to think more of them, and to do more for them. may the merciful god of heaven and of earth, hasten the happy period, when the gipsies of this, and of all other countries, shall embrace, and love, and be obedient to the gospel of the gracious redeemer! chap. xiii. further account of encouraging interviews with gipsies, and interesting correspondence. the author laments that he has passed so many years of his life wholly careless of the gipsies of this country. having travelled many times through england, he has had frequent opportunities of seeing them. but, till now, he looked on their conversion as a hopeless case, and nearly wholly neglected them. he has already stated the manner his attention was first roused to consider their condition and necessities more particularly, and he reflects with pleasure on the kindness of providence in leading him to witness those events which called for sympathy towards them; and on the mercy of god so apparent in blessing the labours of himself and others in their behalf. the late rev. legh richmond felt a deep interest in the conversion of this people. to awaken the sympathies and energies of his countrymen to that subject, he composed the following hymn on their behalf. the gipsies' petition. oh! ye who have tasted of mercy and love, and shared in the blessings of pardoning grace; let us the kind fruits of your tenderness prove, and pity, oh! pity the poor gipsy race for long have we wandered, neglected and wild, esteemed by all people as wretched and base; nor once on our darkness has light ever smiled; then pity, oh! pity the poor gipsy race. like you, we have lost that pure gem, which, when lost, not the mines of golconda { } can ever replace; to redeem it the blood of a saviour it cost: then pity, oh! pity the poor gipsy race. like us, you were wild in the sight of your god; but he looked, and he loved, and he pitied your case; the redeemer has cleansed you in streams of his blood; then pity, oh! pity the poor gipsy race. ye, who have found mercy, that mercy display; ye sons of adoption, your origin trace; and then sure you cannot your face turn away, but will pity and pray for the poor gipsy race; that we may form part of that numerous throng, redeemed from destruction by infinite grace; and mingle with you in the heavenly song; then pity, oh! pity the poor gipsy race. it has been the custom of the author to have a yearly meeting of the gipsies at his own house, which is then open to all their families. here, early in the year , those who were in the lanes and on the common near southampton, met many of their kind and religious friends, who are interested in their happiness. the morning was agreeably spent in a religious service, conducted for their spiritual benefit; after which some attention was paid to their temporal wants. forty-eight of them, all nearly related to each other, who were at that time assembled in the neighbourhood to renew their family friendships, attended on this occasion, and were much pleased with the services in which they engaged. different portions of the scriptures were read and expounded to them, after which they had a plain and familiar address. it was a pleasure to meet these people at a throne of grace. after partaking of bread and cheese and ale, during which they conducted themselves very properly, a blanket was presented to the proprietor of each tent, a pair of stockings to every individual, and a quantity of calico for changes for the children. there were thirteen reformed gipsies among them, who spent the rest of the day in reading the scriptures to their brethren at their own houses. these people expressed themselves very gratefully. one of the families, of whom the mother could read, begged a bible. some weeks after this bible had been given, the family was visited in its tent, when this copy of the holy scriptures was shewn to him, who observed many of the pages doubled down to mark the passages with which the reader had been impressed. the father of the family said--"i will never rest till i can read that book through." this poor man now attends divine service whenever he has an opportunity, although he strongly opposed, at one time, the reading of the scriptures in his tent. a lady, who was present at this meeting, asked one of the reformed gipsies, how she had felt herself on that morning? she replied--"i never was so happy;" and, after a short silence, continued--"the dinner we had last year, was much better than that we had to-day, as it was roast beef and plum-pudding; but what i heard then, of the minister's address, was only the word of man to me; but to-day, it has been the word of god; i am sure it has." although it may be feared, that to many gipsies then present, the reading of the scriptures, and the familiar address, were only as _the words of man_, yet is there reason to hope they understood it, and that they will benefit thereby. this woman had an only surviving brother who was killed in fighting, and whose death was instantaneous. she was exceedingly distressed, and observed, in reference to this awful circumstance, "i should not have thought of his soul after death, at one time; but now i can read my testament, i am sure that none can go to heaven but those who are born again." and she made an observation, too, of the utmost importance, shewing the great necessity there is for the gipsies to be taught to read. _my being able to read myself_, said she, _has a great deal more effect upon me_, _than it would if another read it to me_, _and i could not read_; _for now_ i am sure it is in the book. she carries her testament in her pocket when she goes a journey, and reads it to her former companions, when she meets them on the road; and if they express any wonder at the change that has taken place, she refers them to the scriptures as the cause, and her kind friends at southampton, as the instruments. the following circumstance lately occurred, and will shew the improvement that has taken place in her daughters. one of them had been sent by her mother to receive the weekly sum allowed her. on receiving the money, she said, "this is twopence too much, sir." being accustomed now and then to give her a few pence towards buying a testament, she was told to keep it for that purpose. "i thank you," said she, "i have got a testament, now, and mother has given her's to my next sister, since she has had a bible; and my youngest sister had a testament given her at the sunday school: but one of us is saving money to buy a hymn-book with; i will give _her_ the twopence." this incident, trifling as it may seem to some, will not fail to gratify others, whose hearts are anxiously desirous of improving the gipsies. in the autumn of , the author felt a strong desire to visit farnham, where were, at that time, thousands of poor people assembled to pick hops, among whom were many gipsies. stanley was sent a few days before to make known his intentions of preaching to them on the evening of a fixed day. while at farnham, stanley ate, drank, and slept in some of their camps, by which he gained their confidence and affection. during the author's stay he accompanied stanley to various hop-plantations, where great numbers of the most wretched part of the community are employed in the hopping season. great numbers of tracts were distributed among them, while the author entered into many free and familiar conversations with them. many were found very much depraved; but none were more depraved among the gipsies, than many of the other class; for they were blasphemers of god and his religion. one man, like many of old, stirred up the people to reject and despise the truth. he said, "no one would get any thing by praying to god;" and, "if people wanted bread on a sunday, it would be better for them to steal a mess of potatoes, and wood to cook them with, than go to church." some of the poor shuddered at his boldness, and contempt of god's law. with much impudence he declared, "that he knew a man who put his dough into the oven on a sunday without heating it, and then went to church to pray that god would bake it for him; but that the fool was disappointed." the minister said to him--"you know that you have told a wilful lie. you never knew such a man. there is not one of these little children will believe you." he appeared confounded at this unexpected rebuke. may this sinner repent and be saved! among the hop-pickers of farnham were many gipsies the visitors had long known; and their smiling faces spoke the gladness of their hearts and the warmth of their gratitude, when they were noticed by their friends affectionately and kindly; nor had they forgotten the favours that had been shewn them at southampton. those of the gipsies who were not acquainted with the object the author had in view, in paying them a visit, were much alarmed when enquiries were made for the gipsies in the hop-grounds; supposing they were pursued by the magistrates. one youth told stanley, that he knew not whether to run, or stay where he was; but recollecting to have been _in no spray lately_, he resolved on staying. when stanley spoke to him in his own language, and introduced the minister, all his fears vanished. the gipsies were astonished that any one should travel forty miles to see them. their public meeting was after the labours of the day, near one of the hop-grounds, about half an hour after sun-set. a few small candles gave light to a small tenement, used as a lodging place for the hop-gatherers, where the congregation was accommodated. a few of the inhabitants of farnham, and some of the female gipsies, who were much delighted to mingle with them in the worship of god, were put inside, and the men, with such women and children as could not get in, stood outside, the place being very much too small for so great a number of people. the preacher stood on the threshold of the door and addressed the people, of whom those without could only be seen now and then, as an adjacent wood fire cast at intervals upon them an intermitting light. the rev. mr johnson kindly attended, and assisted in the devotional part of the service; and some of his congregation obligingly assisted in the singing. on this occasion the gospel of christ was addressed to many who had never before heard an exposition of the blessed word of god. the sermon was from psalm lxxxvi. . after service the gipsies were exhorted to seek for opportunities of attending the house of god; to beg of some minister a bible for every tent; and to ask every one who may come near them to read certain of its pages to them. during the address, many of _their crimes_ were enlarged upon, and their dread of, and liability to punishment for them in this world; and they were urged to call on the god of all compassion and mercy, for help and for forgiveness, by that all-powerful motive, that he will never be inattentive to the prayers of the most helpless, wretched, and guilty sinner, when presented to god by faith in our only mediator, jesus christ. stanley, who, after the service, accompanied the gipsies to their tents, found that the sermon afforded conversation for the whole evening. one of them said, "the minister has told us every thing, as though he had lived with us." another observed, "if it be all true what the gentleman has said, not a gipsy can be saved." a third exhorted his children "never to say bad words again." the little creature replied--"then i hope my _grandfer_ (grandfather) will never swear any more." many of them talked of the evils of fortune-telling, and some resolved on going to southampton, to see the reformed gipsies. during the stay of the minister in that neighbourhood, eighty of them were visited, among whom was a dying woman, who very gladly received instruction, and heard prayer. a minister, in the neighbourhood, had been asked to visit her, but had neglected to do so. the author must not forget to acknowledge the kindness of the farmers who assisted him in the distribution of tracts, &c. &c., and who solicited that some might be left them for that purpose. this visit afforded an opportunity to contradict many false reports of the treatment with which the gipsy children had met in the infants' schools at southampton. it was said that they were all confined, and would at a future period be transported. this shews how easily people who deceive others, are imposed on themselves. the following letter was addressed to the author by a gipsy woman when she was in great trouble of mind. it is presented to the reader just as it was received, and may be found interesting to the friends of their cause. "sir, "i hope you will excuse me for riun these few lines too you, i did not now where to cend to my sister, i have been very il and my familee. my children ave had the measils, they are got well from that. i am sorry to hinform you i have had a shockin accedent to my little girl, she was burnd to death. i give my luv to my son job. plese to give my luv to my sister paishince, and hur childern. plese to give my luv to my ant pheny, and plese to lett me now how my cuzin james doos go on, plese to lett me now how my unkil charls and his famly is. wm duff gives his best rispecs to all. plese to tel my sister too anser this letter by returne of post. i am so unappy in my mind till i do hear from er. dear sister, i have mett with so much trubel sinc i saw you last, that i am sorre to inform you. plese to tel my child from me to bee a good boy, and think imself wel off wher he is. my distris and my trubel makes me think more of my sister. ples to direct the letter to be left at the post offis, for haryett duff, till caulld for, in bristil. plese to give my luv to my son job. so no more at prezint from your umble sarvint. plese god i am coming to see you some time this munth. "my littel girl met the accedent wednesday, april , ." the following letter, too, refers to the writer of the above. _bristol_, _august_, . "my dear sir, "as i know that you are deeply interested in every circumstance relating to the gipsies, i trouble you with the following anecdote. in the month of january last, when walking in the city of bristol, i met a gipsy woman, who accosted me with the usual salutation of her race, "shall i tell you your fortune?" i enquired her name, and then said, "you well know that you are not able to tell me my fortune; and i am sorry to see you carrying on such deception." i then endeavoured to speak to her about the importance of considering her eternal welfare, and of seeking the salvation which is in christ jesus; at the same time pointing out the certain condemnation she was bringing upon herself, by willingly following the _multitude to do evil_, even carrying _a lie in her right hand_. she urged that her trade (which she acknowledged to be built on deceit and falsehood) was her only support; and that she must starve if she followed my advice. i reminded her that she would be like dives, if she gained the whole world and lost her own soul; but that were she indeed to honour god, by giving up her wicked trade, because she knew that it was displeasing to him, he would never suffer her to want any good thing. after much more conversation, she assured me that she would never tell fortunes again, and would discontinue her evil habits of life. i told her that i could not allow her to make to me any promise of the kind; for she did not know her wickedness, nor the power which could alone prevent her from committing sin. i again besought her to avail herself of the means of instruction within her power. before leaving the city, i commended her to the care of some pious friends, who were interested in my account of her, and who kindly promised not to lose sight of her. since that time i have received very pleasing accounts from them respecting her. they have purchased materials in order that she may be able to support herself by basket-making, which she has begun; and i trust she has relinquished her former trade. she is making progress in reading, and constantly attends the preaching of the gospel. i hope also that she is really in earnest for the welfare of her soul. i earnestly wish that every one would take an interest in the same; and i should be much rejoiced if the circumstance which i have just mentioned, should be the means of encouraging any one to notice those gipsies with whom they may occasionally meet, and to exert themselves in saving them from their present degraded condition. "i am, my dear sir, "yours respectfully, * * * * * _wm. stanley's letter to the author_. "hon. sir, "as you wish me to give you some account of the gipsies, i gladly comply with your request. i am a poor individual of that wandering race, called gipsies; yet, by the mercies of god, i was _rescued_ from that wandering life. in my _youthful days_ i entered into the wiltshire militia, when it pleased god to bring me under the preaching of the gospel at exeter; and it was the means of awakening my conscience. _from that time i have often been led to bepity the sad state of the people whereof i made a part_. i have given them the best instruction that lay in my power, and by reading the scriptures to them; but with very little visible effect for many years. neither did i think, till lately, that there were any of them in the world, that cared for their souls, till the year ; when i was quite _overcome with love to god_, _to find that the lord had put it into the hearts of his dear people at southampton_, _to pity them in their forlorn condition_; and now wonder not if i am at a loss for words to speak the feeling of my heart; for, since that time i have seen _seventeen or eighteen_; _nay_, _from twenty to thirty_; _nay_, _from forty to fifty attend divine worship_; and _add_ to this the many happy hours i have spent with them in their tents near southampton, in reading and praying with them; and some of them that six months ago would not stay in their camp on my approach to them, but would go away swearing, will now receive me gladly, and produce a bible or a testament, which _had_ been given to them, and desire me to read it to them, saying, this book was given to me by our dear friends in southampton. but, _dreadful to relate_, i find some children, _from three years old to fifteen_, who never _said a prayer to their god_; who never heard any one pray, and who _was_ never in a church or chapel, nor have heard of the name of christ, but in blaspheming; and these are the inhabitants of england! oh, england! england! they are living and dying without god: no wonder if they draw down the divine vengeance of heaven on the land! "many of these poor _ignorant mortals_ do not know that they are doing wrong by fortune-telling; and being informed that it is displeasing to god, and ruinous to their own souls, they will say, it is _of no service for me to give attendance to religion_, for i am forced to ruin my soul for every morsel of bread i eat; but if god spares my life i will leave it off as soon as i can; while others who are both ignorant and hardened in their crimes, have told me it was the gift of god to them, by which they were to gain their living. surely they call _darkness light_! many of my people who join in talk with me, declare, that if the bible which i read to them be true, there cannot be many saved. but they say that a reformation is needful, and this is promised by them; and i am in great hopes that the time is at hand. oh, lord! work for thine own glory, and stir up the minds of thy people in all parts of the land, that they may help forward this good work amongst these poor wanderers! "their ignorance and their crimes seem to have increased of late years. when i was a boy, i well recollect their parting expressions, which _was_ so common amongst them--_artmee devillesty_, which is--_god bless you_. but now it is _truly awful_; it is _darkness itself_, _for they now ask god to send them good luck_ in their crimes. i _myself_ thought for many years, _till __i heard the gospel_, _that god was like some great gentleman_, _living at a great distance from us_; but i had not a thought that he was every where present to notice the conduct of his creatures, or to hear prayer. the ignorance of _my people_ is a loud call to christians to assist; and, blessed be god, they find that assistance in southampton. the bible has often been taken away from southampton in the gipsies' pack, and i have seen it when they have returned, preserved with a great deal of care, and produced for me to read, with great delight on their part. "surely this blessed book will not be idle, but will do _wonders_ amongst them, _through god's grace_. i see the effects already; do you say, how? i answer, _was it ever known_, _till now_, that gipsies assembled on the sabbath day on the common and in the lanes for divine worship? did you ever see them come to town on a sabbath day in such great numbers as they now do, when encamping near southampton? some of the most ignorant of them are now learning to read the scriptures. this is the beginning of good days. oh! the good this will do to _my people at large_! nothing of importance took place in their camp all last summer, _and i almost fainted under the discouragement_; but of late _it shows another face_; and i make no doubt but it will spread, and i shall soon see greater things than these. i am, hon. sir, your most obliged and humble servant, william stanley." "p. s.--on examining the different _branches of my family_, i find upwards of of us in different parts of england." this poor man, when a soldier, and in the habit of attending divine service, as a part of his duty, often heard his comrades speak of the text, on their return to the barracks. he one day made up his mind to bring home the text also, the next time he went to church. he heard with attention, and when he returned to the barracks, he said, "i've got the text now." "what is it, stanley?" he was asked by a comrade, when he answered, "the th day of the month, and the th psalm." when relating this to the author, he added, "i had the mortification to be laughed at by all my comrades who witnessed my ignorance." do not many professing christians come away from the house of god as ignorant as this poor gipsy? or if they have been taught to know and remember the text, it is all they attend to. this man's mind did not long remain in this dark state. after the above event he learned to read, and one day, taking up a testament from the barracks' table, he read a portion of it, (for so he expressed himself) _the sublimity of the language struck his mind with astonishment_, and he said, _i will buy that book if i can_. his comrade asked him three halfpence for it; and he was glad of his purchase; although the testament was very much torn. the holy scriptures were scarce in those days, a copy of which could seldom be bought by the poor; nor, indeed, would the word of life have been useful to them, as not one in a hundred could read. soon after this, he was invited to attend a wesleyan chapel in exeter, where a funeral sermon was to be preached by the rev. wm. aver. the text was, _let me die the death of the righteous_, _and let my last end be like his_. while the minister was describing the happiness of the righteous, divine light shone upon his soul, he felt that _he_ was not that character, and that there was no prospect of his dying happily, unless he possessed it. this sermon was the means of his conversion. chap. xiv. interesting particulars of the gipsies, related by a clergyman. the following account is selected from a tract published in york, in , detailing several interesting visits that a yorkshire clergyman made to some of the camps of that wandering and neglected people. were the author of the little book known, application would have been made to him, for permission to reprint these extracts. but it is hoped he will excuse the liberty taken, as the design is to _induce other clergymen and ministers to go and do likewise_. this clergyman, having fallen in with a gang of gipsies on the road, who were travelling to their place of encampment, addressed a young female among them, and found her not ignorant of religion. "how," said the clergyman, "did you obtain the knowledge of religion?" "sir," answered she, "in the depth of winter, the men folks only travel; the women and children belonging to my family and party, always live in the town. in those seasons i have gone with some of our relatives, who live there, and are religious people, to the worship of god: in that way i have learned these things." "this was a practical comment on the text which says, _the entrance of the word giveth light_; _it giveth __understanding to the simple_. after giving her some suitable advice, and with it his benediction, he left her; but not without hopeful expectations that the seeds of grace were sown in her heart. "he next overtook the grandmother and several of her grandchildren. she was pleased at his noticing her, and answered his enquiries with modesty and propriety. she corroborated what her daughter had said, and in her answers discovered not only an acquaintance with the general truths of the gospel, but a feeling sense of their importance. she said, 'i love to go to church, and do go _now_, sir, when i can; but do not always meet with the right doctrines: my prayers i offer up night and morning, under the hedge. i hope god almighty hears my prayers.' the clergyman observed, that sincere prayer was acceptable to god any where, equally under the hedge, as in the parlour, or in the church. when arrived at their camp, he promised them a bible, as they had none, and directed some of the party to call at the friend's house in the neighbourhood where he was staying. soon after his return thither, a knock was heard at the door, when it was announced, 'two gipsies, sir, are come for a bible.' on going out, he found in the hall the young man who could read, and a younger brother, a fine boy of about fourteen years of age." the gentleman who wrote the account, adds as follows:-- "their countenances were very animated and expressive; there seemed to be a ray of heavenly brightness resting upon them; and while i gave them a charge how to read the sacred gift, they were much affected: the boy, in particular, listened with eager attention, fixing his eyes first on me, then on the bible. after i had inscribed their names in the title-page, they departed with my blessing; and what is better--with the blessing of god." at another part of the year, this clergyman returned to the same spot where he had before been so delightfully engaged in attempting to benefit the poor gipsies. he found out another camp, and thus writes of them. "on my approach to the camp (where was a group of nearly naked children,) the gipsy girls rose up, and, in a modest and respectful manner, answered my questions; while the little swarthy group of children gathered around me. to one of these girls i said, 'how is it that you bear such a wandering and exposed life?' in reply, she said, 'sir, it is _use_; _use_ is second nature.' 'but have you any religion? do you think about god, about judgment, and eternity? do you know how to pray?' she answered, 'i say my prayers, sir, night and morning.' i then said, 'can any of your people read?' 'yes, sir,' she replied, 'one of our men that is not here, can read very well.' 'have you a bible among you?' 'no, sir; we should be thankful for one, sir.'" on leaving the camp, the clergyman promised to call on them again, when the other part of the family should be returned from the town, where they were gone to vend their wares. "on my return to the encampment," says he, "i was met by two men who came out to greet me. i asked them kindly of their names. they informed me it was bosvill. the women and children were now collected around me. i inquired who among them could read. captain bosvill, for so i called him, answered me, 'my wife, sir, can read any thing in english.' i was glad to hear this, and asked them if they had any books. bosvill went to a package and brought forth his stock, fragments of an old testament, and an old spelling-book. 'and what use do you make of your spelling book?' asked i. 'my wife,' replied bosvill, 'when she has time, teaches the children their letters.' i now shewed them the bible i had in my pocket, saying, that as it was so holy and blessed a book, it ought not to be given in an indifferent and common manner; and asked, if i were to ride over in the evening to give it them, and to explain to them its use, whether they would be all together to hear me. 'yes, yes;' was the reply, from many voices. i appointed seven o'clock for the purpose. i then distributed amongst them some tracts, containing passages for every day in the week, and also the tract of short sermons; for which they were very thankful. i told them that i intended to give them a bible in the evening, a book which few of them had ever seen, and which fewer understood. i was pleased with the modesty of their deportment, and with their eagerness for instruction. surely they are a people whose hearts the lord has prepared for the reception of his word. "at the hour appointed, i put the bible in my pocket, and rode again to the camp. the evening was particularly fine: the sun, hidden behind some thick fleecy clouds, had thrown around a mild and pleasing tint; the birds were every where singing their evening song; the ploughman was 'whistling o'er the lea;' and nature, after the labours of the day, was preparing for her wonted rest. it was a fit time for meditation, prayer, and praise. such an evening, perhaps, as that which led the patriarch of old to meditation, when he lifted up his eyes and saw the returning servants of his father bringing home his future wife. as i drew near to the camp, i began to revolve in my mind the best way of making them acquainted with the importance of the most essential doctrines contained in the holy book i was about to give them. on my arrival, i found that i had been long expected. the men, however, were not there; they were gone to water a horse, which they had lent all the day to a farmer; but a tawny girl ran with great speed, barefooted, and brought them to the camp. i now dismounted, and gave my horse, with my stick, to the care of one of the men. the family circle was formed into an irregular circle round some pale embers, some of them sitting cross-legged on the grass, and others standing. i placed myself so as to have the women and children chiefly before me. the woman who could read, was seated opposite me: the men, the tents, and the package to the right; while the horses and asses belonging to the tribe, were quietly grazing at a short distance in the lane. all was solemn stillness; all was attentive expectation. as i took from my pocket the bible, the eyes of the whole company were instantly fixed upon it. this book, said i, which i bring you, is the book of god; it is sent from heaven to make poor miserable and dying man happy. i then spoke a short time on god; on creation; how god created man upright; how he was once happy in paradise; the way in which he sinned, and broke the law of his maker, and became guilty, polluted, and exposed to death and hell; that to save men from this dreadful state, god devised a plan of mercy; that he sent his son, and the scriptures of truth, which shew unto us the way of salvation. this was something of the outline of my lecture; but i added the responsibility of men to read the book, and to seek to understand it. i solemnly charged them, by the sacred book itself, and by the account which they, at the day of judgment, must give to god for it, to make the most sacred and constant use of it, by reading it together daily in their camp. in the course of my discourse, i stopped, and said,--'now do you understand what i say?' captain bosvill's wife replied, 'we understand you, sir; but we have not the same words which you have.' in conclusion, i spoke of the coming judgment, when they and all men must stand and be judged at the righteous bar of god. the bible was then delivered to the care of the captain of the gang, and of his wife, the woman who could read. "now, i said, let us all kneel down on the grass, and pray for god's blessing with this holy book. instantly a female brought from her tent a small piece of carpet, and spread it before me on the grass, for me to kneel upon; and then all kneeling down, i prayed that the minds of these miserable outcasts of society might be enlightened, to discover the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the blessedness and efficiency of the saviour; that the sacred book given them through the influence of the holy ghost, might lead them into the way of righteousness, and finally guide them to everlasting life. when we rose from our knees, gratitude was seen in every countenance, and expressed by every tongue. '_god bless you_, _sir_; _thank you_, _sir_;' echoed throughout the camp." the next evening this clergyman went again to the camp, when one of the gipsies came to meet him, and informed him of the arrival of some of their relatives. "i shook hands with them," says the clergyman, "and asked of their welfare. never was a king received with a more hearty welcome, or with greater attention and respect. "as i was expected, the utmost order, cleanliness, and quiet, prevailed throughout the camp; and all were dressed in their best clothes to receive me. the arrangement of my congregation was much the same as the preceding evening. i spoke to them of the blessed jesus; his birth, his ministry, his death, passion, and grace; and his glory at his second coming _in the clouds of heaven_, _to judge the world in righteousness_. i spoke also of death, and of the immortality of the soul. "i had not proceeded far in my lecture, before several farmers and passengers, some on horse back, and others on foot, joined my congregation. "before concluding my address, i said, 'it may seem singular to some of you that a stranger should interest himself on your behalf in the way i have done; and it might be expected that i should give some reasons for doing as i have. my chief reason is a sense of duty. gipsies have long been neglected, and left to perish in their sins; but gipsies have souls equally precious as others, and of equal price in the sight of god. who, i asked, cares for the souls of gipsies? who uses means for their instruction in righteousness? yet must it be equally our duty to care for them, and to endeavour their conversion and happiness, as to plan societies, obtain subscriptions, and send out missionaries to the heathen.' "i said, moreover, that, 'supposing, when i first saw your camp, i had rode by you on the other side, and taken no notice of you, nor felt an interest in your welfare; and after that, had met you at the bar of judgment; what would have been the language with which you might have addressed me at that awful period? might you not have charged the misery of your eternal condemnation upon me, and said, the curse we are doomed to bear, thoughtless man, might, perchance, have been prevented by you? you saw us when riding by our camp lying in ignorance, and unbelief: you might have rode up to us, and imparted instruction to our perishing souls; because to you were committed the oracles of god, and you knew the way to heaven. but, no, _cruel man_, our state excited in you no compassion, or desire for our salvation. in your conduct there was no imitation of your lord and master. go, cruel man, and if heaven you enter, let your felicity be embittered by the recollection of neglect to the gipsy wanderers, whom providence had placed in your way, that you might direct them to god, but which you neglected.' in conclusion, i again referred to the holy bible, which i had given them; and again repeated the way to use it. after which i said, now we will conclude with prayer, as we did last evening. immediately the same female who before brought the carpet, again spread it, with great civility, for me to kneel upon; and again i offered up a solemn prayer for the salvation of these lost and perishing mortals. the greatest seriousness and awe rested upon the assembly. surely the prayer was registered in heaven, and shall, in time not far distant, be answered.--come, and take these heathens for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.--when i proposed to take leave of my swarthy flock, it was not without feelings of attachment on both sides. i had observed several of them much affected under my discourse, and now they manifested it more openly. as i shook hands with them, i said, 'you see, i did not come among you to give you money. i considered religious instruction of the most value; therefore i have endeavoured to impart it.' 'sir,' replied several, 'we did not want your money; your instruction is better to us than money; and we thank you for coming.' the camp now resounded with voices, saying, 'thank you, sir; god bless you, sir;' and every countenance seemed to glow with gratitude. the young branches of the family seemed to think a great honour and blessing had been conferred upon them. "as i mounted my pony to come away, i observed one of the females, a fine young woman about twenty-five years of age, the same that brought the carpet from the package, and spread on the grass for me to kneel upon, to retire from the rest. she walked slowly near to the hedge, and appeared evidently much distressed. her expressive eyes were lifted up to heaven, while the big tears rolling down her cheeks, were wiped away with her long black tresses. i thought--here, surely, are some of the first fruits!--thus did the woman, who was a sinner, weep, and with her hair wipe away the tears from the feet of her saviour. may those tears be as acceptable to god: may the same redeemer bid her go in peace! her conduct attracted the notice of her family, and she was asked the reason of her sorrow. at first she could scarcely speak; but at length exclaimed, 'oh! i am a sinner!' then lifting up her eyes to heaven, she wept aloud, and again wiped away the falling tears with her hair. 'but did you not know that before? we are all sinners. what have you done to cause you so much distress?' she made no reply, but shook her head and wept." the author of the gipsies' advocate, who, for the encouragement of his readers, has embodied the above interesting paragraphs in his work, sincerely hopes and prays that all ministers of christ will, ere long, be led to imitate this clergyman in his benevolent and christian attempts to benefit by the influence of religion and the word of god, the lost, and ignorant, and miserable, and perishing among mankind. chap. xv. interesting visits to gipsy camps, including an anecdote of his late beloved majesty, george the third. the following account is extracted from the home missionary magazine for june, . _march_, . "sir, "if the following facts should afford any encouragement to the benevolent intentions of the home missionary society, which has, for one of its objects, the improvement of the state of the _poor gipsies_, my end in relating them will be amply answered. "on saturday evening, in the month of october, the narrator followed several gipsy families. being arrived at the place of their encampment, his first object was to gain their confidence. this was accomplished; after which, to amuse their unexpected visitant, they shewed forth their night diversions in music and dancing; likewise the means by which they obtained their livelihood, such as tinkering, fortune-telling, and conjuring. that the narrator might be satisfied whether he had obtained their confidence or not, he represented his dangerous situation, in the midst of which, they all with one voice cried, 'sir, we would kiss your feet, rather than hurt you!' after manifesting a confidence in return, the master of this formidable gang, about forty in number, was challenged by the narrator for a conjuring match. the challenge was instantly accepted. the gipsies placed themselves in the circular form, and both being in the middle, commenced with their conjuring powers to the best advantage. at last the narrator proposed the making of something out of nothing. this proposal was accepted. a stone which never existed, was to be created, and appear in a certain form in the middle of a circle made on the turf. the master of the gang commenced, and after much stamping with his foot, and the narrator warmly exhorting him to cry aloud; like the roaring of a lion, he endeavoured to call forth nonentity into existence. asking him if he could do it? he answered, 'i am not strong enough.' they were all asked the same question, which received the same answer. the narrator commenced. every eye was fixed upon him, eager to behold this unheard-of exploit; but (and not to be wondered at,) he failed!--telling them, he possessed no more power to _create_ than themselves. perceiving the thought of insufficiency pervading their minds, he thus spoke:--"now, if you have not power to create a poor little stone, and if i have not power either; what must that power be, which made the whole world out of nothing?--men, women, and children! that power i call god almighty." the night's diversion having received a change, the golden moment was eagerly seized to impress on their minds the infinite power, holiness, and justice of their creator. this being done, the origin of sin, and the immortality of the soul, were, in the second place, impressed on their minds. then followed the awful effects of sin, and the soul's eternal punishment in hell, because of offending this great god, whose holiness could not look on sin, and whose justice would punish it. representing the soul's eternal punishment by the wrath of an incensed god, never did the preacher before witness such an effect; the poor gipsies, with tremulous voice, crying, '_did you ever hear the like_! _ what ever shall we do_?' these expressions gave new energies to the preacher, and still brighter hopes of a good effect. going on with the awful representation, and in the act of turning, as if to leave them, he bade them the long farewell. 'never, never more to meet till we meet in hell! oh! what a dreadful thing it is, my fellow-sinners, that we have to part in this world with the thought of meeting in an eternal world of pains, never to see god! never to see heaven! never to see any thing to comfort our poor souls! oh! we are lost, lost, poor souls, we are lost for ever!--farewell!' in the act of leaving them, these poor creatures cried, 'not yet, sir, not yet.' now was the glorious moment come, which the preacher eagerly anticipated of proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation through a crucified saviour. asking how long they would stand to hear the way of escape from the wrath to come, they instantly lifted up their voices, answering, 'all night, sir, all night.' then the preacher, without much persuasion, exhibited a saviour, in all his sufferings, merits, death, and glory. they were sorry that such a good being should suffer so much; but the preacher took care to show the absolute necessity of his sufferings. their manner bespoke an imperfect idea of a substitute. this was soon made clear to their understandings by comparisons, when the master of the gang cried, 'i see it, i see it!' he was asked what he saw? 'i see jesus christ getting between us and god, and satisfying our great god's justice by dying instead of us.' this truly made the preacher's heart glad, seeing the great plan of salvation was so clearly understood by those who declared (although in a land of light,) they never heard of jesus christ before. "the preacher sang the hymn:-- "how condescending, and how kind was god's eternal son, &c," and then ended with prayer. they solicited him to return on the sabbath morning; he did so, and, as he hopes, under the influence of the holy spirit. the master gratefully accepted of a bible; for though the gipsies could not read, a little boy was among them, who was not a gipsy, that could read remarkably well, having been taught at a sunday school at hastings, in sussex. they all joyfully anticipated the pleasure of going to the rev. j. carter's chapel, of braintree, in the afternoon, but met with a disappointment, arising from an unexpected decampment. about one month after, in the latter end of november, two gipsy women called on the narrator, earnestly entreating him to go and preach to them, which they called conversation. asking the reason, why they entreated this favour? their answer was, 'we have heard much about your conversation, sir, and we should like to hear it. come, do come, and we will be all ready to receive you.' asking who they were that told them of the conversation just mentioned, they said, 'some of our people, sir, that you were with about a month since. they told us a great deal about your conversation, and we should so much like to hear it. oh! sir, do come to us poor creatures, for we have an invitation for you, if you would condescend to take it, to meet with the gipsies on christmas day.' that night, the narrator walked a few miles to their camp, and in their smoky tent preached jesus christ the only way of salvation, to these poor, despised, neglected creatures. after being with them two hours and a half, he bade them farewell, and going behind a hedge, anxious to know what effect the new unheard of doctrines would produce on their minds, he listened for a short time. in the midst of conversation with each other, one of them said, 'well, i know this, if i could get a house near where that gentleman lives, and could live by my business, i would send all my children to that school there, and hear him as long as ever i could live.' while they were conversing about adam and eve, and the evil effects of sinning against god; one of the women said, 'however, you see, all the punishment that us women get, is sorrow and pains in child-bearing.' 'stop, stop,' says one of the men, 'that won't do, ann, that won't do. if sorrow and pains in child-bearing be all the punishment that women are to have, what punishment must those women have that do not bear children? you are quite wrong, ann; you women are as bad as _us_.' this led on to a further discovery, and the conversation among themselves was truly interesting. "one of the children telling a lie, the mother touched it on the head, saying, 'what are you telling lies about? have you forgotten what the gentleman said to night? you will go to hell, if you tell any more lies. let me never hear you tell another, you bad lad, for god will not take you to heaven.' "these, and several remarks about jesus christ, afforded no small pleasure to the preacher, and he hopes that these facts will afford no small encouragement to the home missionary society. "your very humble servant, "j. h. c." before the author relates one of the most extraordinary anecdotes with which he is acquainted, one, of which a king and a dying gipsy are the characters, he will relate another interesting account of a visit to a gipsy camp, which will, it is hoped, prove that such visits are not in vain, when made in dependence on the divine blessing. a gipsy, in great distress of mind, and with weeping eyes, came to inform him of one of their people, who was in great anguish of mind, and entreated him to visit them at the camp, which was several miles distant. the request was gladly complied with. on arriving at the tent, he found a woman sitting in a melancholy attitude on the ground; and distress and anguish were strongly marked in her countenance. she appeared quite indifferent to any thing that was said; and kept herself apparently engaged with the sticks and brands around the fire near the mouth of the tent. the man also appeared very melancholy. we learned that the cause of their distress was jealousy on the part of the man, who was called her husband. the circumstance which gave rise to those unhappy feelings had taken place several years before; yet the poor man has been so unhappy, that he has often intended to destroy both himself and his wife; and not many days before this visit to the camp, he had threatened to execute his purpose. the author talked and prayed with him, and exhorted him to look to god for strength and grace. their repeated conversations were made useful to him, and those miserable feelings were subdued, and he now lives happily with the woman he had before hated, even to an intention of murder. this is another evidence, although a distressing one, that a want of chastity is evil in their sight. "a king of england, of happy memory, who loved his people and his god, better than kings in general are wont to do, occasionally took the exercise of hunting. being out one day for this purpose, the chase lay through the shrubs of the forest. the stag had been hard run; and, to escape the dogs, had crossed the river in a deep part. as the dogs could not be brought to follow, it became necessary, in order to come up with it, to make a circuitous route along the banks of the river, through some thick and troublesome underwood. the roughness of the ground, the long grass and frequent thickets, gave opportunity for the sportsmen to separate from each other; each one endeavouring to make the best and speediest route he could. before they had reached the end of the forest, the king's horse manifested signs of fatigue and uneasiness; so much so, that his majesty resolved upon yielding the pleasures of the chase to those of compassion for his horse. with this view, he turned down the first avenue in the forest, and determined on riding gently to the oaks, there to wait for some of his attendants. his majesty had only proceeded a few yards, when, instead of the cry of the hounds, he fancied he heard the cry of human distress. as he rode forward, he heard it more distinctly. 'oh, my mother! my mother! god pity and bless my poor mother!' the curiosity and kindness of the king led him instantly to the spot. it was a little green plot on one side of the forest, where was spread on the grass, under a branching oak, a little pallet, half covered with a kind of tent; and a basket or two, with some packs, lay on the ground at a few paces distant from the tent. near to the root of the tree he observed a little swarthy girl, about eight years of age, on her knees, praying, while her little black eyes ran down with tears. distress of any kind was always relieved by his majesty, for he had a heart which melted at 'human woe;' nor was it unaffected on this occasion. and now he inquired, 'what, my child, is the cause of your weeping? for what do you pray?' the little creature at first started, then rose from her knees, and pointing to the tent, said, 'oh, sir! my dying mother!' 'what?' said his majesty, dismounting, and fastening his horse up to the branches of the oak, 'what, my child? tell me all about it.' the little creature now led the king to the tent:--there lay, partly covered, a middle-aged female gipsy, in the last stages of a decline, and in the last moments of life. she turned her dying eyes expressively to the royal visitor, then looked up to heaven; but not a word did she utter; the organs of speech had ceased their office; _the silver cord was loosed_, _and the wheel broken at the cistern_. the little girl then wept aloud, and, stooping down, wiped the dying sweat from her mother's face. the king, much affected, asked the child her name, and of her family; and how long her mother had been ill. just at that moment another gipsy girl, much older, came, out of breath, to the spot. she had been at the town of w---, and had brought some medicine for her dying mother. observing a stranger, she modestly courtsied, and, hastening to her mother, knelt down by her side, kissed her pallid lips, and burst into tears. 'what, my dear child,' said his majesty, 'can be done for you?' 'oh, sir!' she replied, 'my dying mother wanted a religious person to teach her, and to pray with her, before she died. i ran all the way before it was light this morning to w---, and asked for a minister, _but no one could i get to come with me to pray with my dear mother_!' the dying woman seemed sensible of what her daughter was saying, and her countenance was much agitated. the air was again rent with the cries of the distressed daughters. the king, full of kindness, instantly endeavoured to comfort them: he said, 'i am a minister, and god has sent me to instruct and comfort your mother.' he then sat down on a pack, by the side of the pallet, and taking the hand of the dying gipsy, discoursed on the demerit of sin, and the nature of redemption. he then pointed her to christ, the all sufficient saviour. while the king was doing this, the poor creature seemed to gather consolation and hope: her eyes sparkled with brightness, and her countenance became animated. she looked up; she smiled; but it was the last smile; it was the glimmering of expiring nature. as the expression of peace, however, remained strong in her countenance, it was not till some little time had elapsed, that they perceived the struggling spirit had left mortality. "it was at this moment that some of his majesty's attendants, who had missed him at the chase, and who had been riding through the forest in search of him, rode up, and found the king comforting the afflicted gipsies. it was an affecting sight, and worthy of everlasting record in the annals of kings. "his majesty now rose up, put some gold into the hands of the afflicted girls, promised them his protection, and bade them look to heaven. he then wiped the tears from his eyes, and mounted his horse. his attendants, greatly affected, stood in silent admiration. lord l--- was now going to speak, when his majesty, turning to the gipsies, and pointing to the breathless corpse, and to the weeping girls, said, with strong emotion, 'who, my lord, who, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto these?'" chap. xvi. further interesting correspondence. "dear sir, "in answer to your inquiries, i have to say, that within my knowledge, little or nothing has as yet been accomplished for the gipsies. the home missionaries have frequently paid flying visits to their camps, and prayed, read, preached and distributed tracts. in all cases they have been treated with much respect, and their labour has been repaid with the most sincere marks of gratitude. but i never met with very warm support in carrying on this object, but was often exposed to some sarcastical insinuations or sardonic smiles from those who thought the attempt to ameliorate the condition of the gipsies, only quixotic. "i think their wandering life is one very great impediment in the way of improving the gipsy tribes, and yet they are so attached to it, that, when taken into families, as servants, they will not stay. nor can any good be done to their children; for, like all wild people, the parents are attached to them to a fault; so that they cannot allow them to be absent from them even to enjoy the instruction of a school, suspecting that such a separation might end in their final disunion. "were a distinct society formed to effect a reformation among the gipsies, many of the nobility, and other classes of the higher orders, would no doubt subscribe. there is a feeling among them on the subject, and many times the formation of a society has been on the tapis. the gipsies are singularly attached to the establishment, and many of them are married at the parish churches; and it is a pity the episcopalian body have not taken them up. there is a prejudice against them which i think is unfounded; but i cannot enter into details in a mere letter. people look on them as vagabonds, and _they_ seem shy in return; and hence they continue a kind of outcast body in a civilized country. "if any further steps are taken, and if i can in any way assist in promoting your good object, you may command my services. "i am, dear sir, respectfully yours, "i. cobbin." _extracts from the letter of a clergyman's lady_. "sir, "my best thanks are due to you for your compliance with my request; and, in return, i beg to assure you, that i consider your answer to my friend's objection, as quite satisfactory and efficient. i rejoice to hear that god has been pleased to bless the endeavours and earnest exertion of the scripture-readers (to the gipsies) with success. to behold sixteen, and afterwards twenty-one gipsies voluntarily attending divine worship, must have conveyed feelings of heartfelt gratitude to the heart of every christian, and at the same time encourage him to persevere in earnest prayer to the father of mercies, to pour his holy spirit into their souls, that they might become the true and faithful followers of the redeemer. you say you would be glad to receive any intelligence respecting this interesting people; by which i am led to suppose that an account of an interview which i had with some of them, may not be unacceptable; an interview that was highly pleasing and satisfactory, as i found them less ignorant of spiritual concerns, and to possess better qualities, than i had imagined. "having sent for two women, (the heads of the camps) i received them in a cottage in the town of ---, and after allowing them some refreshment, proceeded to put the different questions to them that are inserted in the observer. they told me that their family, altogether, consisted of eighteen persons, who travelled about the country in three camps; that the men found it difficult to obtain regular employment; that sometimes, during the winter, they made cabbage-nets, and mended culinary utensils; that in the summer, men and women were occasionally employed in making hay, &c. these women appeared very destitute of necessary clothing, which they said they found great difficulty in obtaining. they appeared careful to speak the truth, alleging that it hurt their consciences to speak otherwise. on the question being put to them, whether they appropriated to themselves the property of those near whom they encamped? they candidly confessed that they sometimes took a little straw, hay, and sticks; but no fowls or any other live-stock. they shewed a very affectionate disposition and warm feelings towards their children. the eldest of them assured me, that if any in their camp became orphans, she considered herself more bound to provide for them than her own, as the former needed it the more, being destitute. she did not object to their gaining instruction, if it came in the way, and she wished to be read to herself, and appeared to take much pleasure in listening to my explanations of the important doctrines of religion. they said that none of their party could read, but that they were sometimes visited by a relative who was a good scholar. she said, too, that she always kept in her possession a _godly book_, for the purpose of asking, as opportunity offered, a traveller to read to them. she assured me, too, (which i rather doubted,) that they constantly attended divine worship, when encamped near enough to churches; that they send for the nearest clergyman _to preach_ to the dying, and that they never omit having their babes _full christened_, excepting in cases of sickness, when the child is only baptized: and should such child die, they obtain the services of a parochial clergyman to inter it. they said, thinking, no doubt, to please me, that they did not like the ranters, but that they thought well of the _church folks_. i fear that, though they had a general knowledge of the supreme being, they were sadly ignorant of the most important point of christianity, namely, the all-sufficient sacrifice that was made for the whole world. while i expatiated to them on the day of judgment and the final doom of man, displaying the extreme and exquisite happiness of the righteous part of the human family, and the dreadful misery of the wicked, the younger of them, who appeared indisposed, was considerably agitated. they then said, that they were not in the habit of swearing, but occasionally did so, though they were aware it was very wicked. when travelling, they told me that they avoid breaking the sabbath; and that they visit all places included in the district through which they wander, three times per year, from which plan they seldom deviate. i inquired if they would like to settle in cottages, and gain their livelihood by industry. they replied, that _if house-rent_, _clothes_, _food_, _and all other necessaries were found them_, they would; but that they would not settle on any other condition. "i am desirous of obtaining your opinion respecting the plan i have lately formed to benefit this people; for, should you approve of it, it will be carried into immediate execution. i thought it would be very advantageous to offer an adequate remuneration to a pious person who would devote every half-day to reading and explaining the scriptures to the old, and teaching the young to read. i was aware that it would be difficult to obtain one, who, while he would teach the young to read, and explain the scriptures to the aged, would be wise enough to give wholesome advice to every case of mental distress, and be gifted to guide the first steps of those who are disposed to be good, in the way of christian godliness. after much anxiety and many attempts, i at length succeeded in meeting with a person most disinterestedly pious; one who was willing to accede to any proposal to benefit his fellow-creatures. he appears to attach little importance to himself, but to have much confidence in god, in reference to his exertions. he is really desirous to promote the immortal interests of the poor people to whom his attention has been directed, and is pious, zealous and intelligent. he, however, cannot devote himself to this work more than three days per week. he will visit all gipsy camps for seven or eight miles round. "some clear, forcible, simple, religious tracts, such as are likely to instruct and awaken, with the scriptures, would, perhaps, be of service. i shall hold out rewards of clothes and books to those of whom i hear the best accounts, and shall endeavour to meet them, a few at a time, in a cottage, at least once per year. will you let me know whether you think i am doing right?" _extracts of a letter from a man of plain_, _but pious character_, _addressed to the southampton committee_. "gentlemen, "it is natural for me to suppose that you expect, by this period, to hear something of the success that has attended my labours on the common among the people called gipsies. i visit them three or four times a-week, besides going among them on sabbath days. i go from tent to tent, and talk to them on religious subjects, read and explain the word of god to them, so far as i am able, and pray with them. at such times they thankfully receive what i humbly communicate to them, and often, with tears and gratitude, wonder that i should think of them in their poor degraded state. i hope some of them may be brought to the knowledge of god." after some other pleasing details, this humble person concludes his letter thus: "with regard to the children, i meet with here and there _one_ among them that can read, but it is very little. these children, however, are desirous, i may say very desirous to have some little books. to such i have given books, till i have none left. i could have given away, where desired, and with the prospect of knowing they might be useful, many more, had i possessed them. upon the whole i think there is cause for much encouragement. "i am, gentlemen, your humble servant, "* * * * *" a clergyman, a most valuable correspondent, observes, while addressing the committee, through the author: "in speaking to the gipsies on the road side, and offering a tract, i have never but once met with impertinence. it is probable that the individual had been impertinently treated, first, by people called christians. "dr more has well said, with respect to the jews, 'if christians had believed and acted like christians, it would have been a miracle if the jews had not been converted.' "this observation is equally applicable to the gipsies of england; for, if christian denominations did their duty, they would cease to be gipsies." chap. xvii. concluding remarks. had the author availed himself of all the facts relating to the addresses which have been given in different places by clergymen, home missionaries, and other ministers, and published all the letters of an interesting nature addressed to himself and the southampton committee, in reference to the gipsies, together with the gratitude they have shown for such christian attentions, it might have gratified many readers; but these pages would thereby have been increased to too great a number. but, before concluding this little work, he desires to impress upon the reader, the necessity there is of engaging in the great work of the conversion of the poor gipsies. why do not all ministers, and all good people unite in it? may we not conclude that they do not feel the value of their souls as they ought, if they do not perform all that is in their power for this end? both ministers and their congregations are too lukewarm. we are discouraged by difficulties under the influence of unbelief, and we often say, how can these things be accomplished? every christian is called by his saviour to attempt the instruction of his fellow-creatures; and no common excuse, such as business, poverty, a want of time, acknowledged ignorance, and a want of talent, can justify us in neglecting the attempt to speak a word of advice, or reproof, or promise, to our fellow-creatures. this is the duty of every christian, and if done in faith, almighty god will bless the effort. to the magistrates the author would make a most ardent appeal on behalf of the despised members of the gipsy family. most respectfully and most earnestly does he entreat them to pity their destitute condition, when brought before them as vagrants, and from which they have been so often made to suffer; for, sooner would the wild creatures of the forest be tamed, than those branches of the human family be brought, through coercion, to dwell in houses and follow trades, who were born under the hedges, and have, through life, made unfrequented solitudes their homes. much better would it be for the magistrates to encourage the education of their children, with the view to improve and reform the rising generation. the author hopes and prays that they may. _blessed are the merciful_, _for they shall obtain mercy_. if we all felt the importance and necessity of discharging our christian duties as the sailor and the soldier do in their different stations, no difficulties would deter us; but god expects every _christian_ to do his duty. a celebrated commander once called his officers together, and said, "we must carry such a garrison." the officers said, "it is impossible; the attempt would be vain." the general replied, "it can, and must be done, for i have the order in my pocket." oh! ye ministers of christ! you have the order lying on your table, and in your desks, at this moment; read it in the bible:--_go ye into the highways and hedges_, _and compel them to come in_, _that my house may be filled_. luke xiv. . the duty is ours: have we done it? have we done it as opportunities have presented themselves? have we done it as we ought? yea, more; have we sought for opportunities to instruct souls? our adorable master did so. he came from heaven to earth, to seek and to save them who were lost. private christians! you also have your order from the high throne of heaven, in your houses, perhaps unnoticed; or, it may be, you have not rightly interpreted these orders to their full extent. others may have acted the coward's part, and thrown these orders aside. would a soldier or a sailor thus serve his king and country? if you saw your countrymen perishing on your shores by shipwreck, or likely to be destroyed by fire, would you not be anxious to assist both the virtuous and the wicked? gipsies are perishing around you; hear their cries, ere they are plunged into eternity; and attend to these orders from the king of kings:-- _thou shalt not avenge_, _nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people_; _but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself_. leviticus, xix. . _the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be as one born amongst you_, _and thou shalt love him as thyself_; xxxiv. . _beware of hardness of heart toward thy poor brother_. deut. vii. , . _be ye therefore __merciful_, _as your father who is in heaven is merciful_. luke vi. . _for he raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill_. psalm cxiii. . _therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you_, _do ye even so to them_; _for this is the law and the prophets_. matt. vii. . _thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself_. matt. xix. . and who is thy neighbour? read the parable of the good samaritan, and _go and do likewise_. luke x. . the author will finally conclude by observing, that england will have a great deal to answer for in reference to the gipsies of past generations. for, from a very moderate calculation that he has made, , of these outcasts have passed into the eternal world, uninformed, unacquainted with god, since they came to this country. may the present, and succeeding generations, be wiser than the past! appendix. since the gipsies' advocate was put to press, the author, as might naturally be expected on a subject so interesting as the conversion of the gipsies, has had many other pleasing communications. from his bristol correspondents he has been favoured with several of delightful interest, in reference to a small colony in that neighbourhood; and these state that several of the gipsies not only begin to evidence an aversion to their former life, but increase in seriousness, and in habits of industry. and happy is he to say, that several influential christians of that city are growing in the interest they manifest to these outcasts of society; for they are endeavouring to improve every opportunity of affording them instruction. it is with peculiar pleasure too, the author learns, that the students of the baptist academy of the above-named city, are not dead to the affecting necessities of this poor people. some of the students of that academy spent the whole of one day in endeavouring to find one of their large encampments, of which they had had some previous information, and spent the evening in giving such instruction as appeared to them to be the best calculated to enlighten and reform the people to whom they were so anxious to do good; some of them occupying themselves with the children, and others with the adults. may their example have its due influence on surrounding christians! the author must not forget to mention here, that he has been apprised by the clergyman in scotland, whose letter forms so interesting a part of the ninth chapter, that the account he mentioned to him, as gaining insertion in a statistical publication, has not been published, he believes, in consequence of the death of the gentleman who had interested himself for its insertion in the work referred to; but that he hopes it may meet the public eye in a short time. and now, having redeemed the pledge which he gave his friends about twelve months since; having furnished them with a history of the gipsies, such a one as he hopes will be beneficial to the race, whose conduct, condition, and necessities it narrates; he will conclude by thanking those kind friends who have unintentionally contributed to the interest of these pages, and by asking the continuation of their favours, with a view to give increasing interest to an intended second edition. he would not forget publicly to solicit, likewise, the correspondence of ladies and gentlemen who may be in possession of facts or plans likely to interest the public towards the gipsies. the author now commits these pages to the all-influential blessing of god, earnestly praying that these poor, hard-faring wanderers, whose character he has endeavoured to delineate, may be speedily rescued from their present forlorn condition, and, that they may eventually be conducted to the mansions of eternal bliss, where neither storm nor tempest shall any longer afflict them, but where they shall join with the ransomed of the lord, in ascribing _blessing_, _and honour_, _and glory_, _and power_, _unto him that sitteth upon the throne_, _and unto the lamb for ever and ever_. the end. list of authors who have written on the gipsies. h. m. g. grellman's dissertation on the gipsies. translated by m. rapier. hoyland's survey of the gipsies. twiss's travels in spain. swinburne's travels in italy. dr c. d. clark's travels in russia. capt. david richardson. referred to in the seventh volume of _asiatic researches_. sir thomas brown's vulgar errors. while these are the leading authors, whose works are either composed in, or translated into english, it may impress us with the importance by which the gipsies have been viewed, to know, that nearly have written about them in other languages. errata. page line , , _for_ 'would be in a town,' _read_, 'would be in, in a town.' , , _for_ 'dispatching,' _read_, 'despatching.' baker and son, printers, southampton. footnotes: { } see a late account of this colony in a subsequent page. { a} see hoyland, pages , , and . { b} we should not forget that the grace of god can change their hearts and morals. the facts contained in this book are very encouraging examples of the power of divine grace upon the heart and character of the gipsy people. the reader would do well to turn to the following scriptures--isaiah, xi. , , , . cor. vi. , , . { } children, after grown up to men and women, have an affection for their parents somewhat childish. a young gipsey man known to the author, when his mother stays longer from the camp than usual, expresses his anxiety for her return, by saying--_where is my mum_? _i wish my mum would come home_. { } some of those gipsies who have families, and a little property, provide themselves with a cart, or waggon, as most convenient for a warehouse for their goods, and more comfortable than a tent to dwell in during winter. { } "should any be inclined to doubt, which i scarcely suppose possible, the identity of the gipsy or cingari, and hindostanee languages, still it will be acknowledged as no uninteresting subject, that tribes wandering through the mountains of nubia, or the plains of romania, have conversed for centuries in a dialect precisely similar to that spoken at this day, by the obscure, despised, and wretched people in england, whose language has been considered as a fabricated gibberish, and confounded with a cant in use among thieves and beggars; and whose persons have been, till within the period of the last year, an object of the persecution, instead of the protection of our laws."--extract from a letter of william marsden, esq. addressed to sir joseph banks, f. r. s., and read to the society of antiquaries in london, . { } "the gentleman spoke dixen to me," said a gipsy to the author; that is, long hard words. { } may not this be a proof of their hindostanee origin? there is this difference, however--the clothes, &c. of the deceased gipsy, are burnt instead of his body! { } one gipsy, i believe, has been convicted of having some stolen poultry in his tent; but he had received it from the thief. no other fact of the sort has come to my knowledge. { } sold by seeley, and by westley and co, london; clark, bristol; binns, bath; and lindsay and co, edinburgh. { } i ought to say perhaps, that though this young and ignorant woman ran away, she did not go with any thing that was not her own; for she left behind her a bonnet that had been lent her, while she had nothing more on her head than a piece of cloth. { } the latter was the daughter of the dying gipsy, an account of whom may be seen in the tract numbered , and published by the tract society. { } the friends of this good cause at bristol, now think that manual labour is far more conducive to their conversion than hawking any article whatever: the above plan is therefore totally abandoned for labour. { } a district in east india celebrated for diamonds. transcribed from the houghton, mifflin and company edition by david price, ccx @pglaf.org the gypsies by charles g. leland author of "the english gypsies and their language," "anglo-romany ballads," "hans breitmann's ballads," etc. boston and new york houghton, mifflin and company the riverside press, cambridge copyright, , by charles g. leland. _all rights reserved_. preface. the reader will find in this book sketches of experiences among gypsies of different nations by one who speaks their language and is conversant with their ways. these embrace descriptions of the justly famed musical gypsies of st. petersburg and moscow, by whom the writer was received literally as a brother; of the austrian gypsies, especially those composing the first romany orchestra of that country, selected by liszt, and who played for their friend as they declared they had never played before for any man; and also of the english, welsh, oriental, and american brethren of the dark blood and the tents. i believe that the account of interviews with american gypsies will possess at least the charm of novelty, but little having as yet been written on this extensive and very interesting branch of our nomadic population. to these i have added a characteristic letter in the gypsy language, with translation by a lady, legendary stories, poems, and finally the substance of two papers, one of which i read before the british philological society, and the other before the oriental congress at florence, in . those who study ethnology will be interested to learn from these papers, subsequently combined in an article in the "saturday review," that i have definitely determined the existence in india of a peculiar tribe of gypsies, who are _par eminence_ the romanys of the east, and whose language is there what it is in england, the same in vocabulary, and the chief slang of the roads. this i claim as a discovery, having learned it from a hindoo who had been himself a gypsy in his native land. many writers have suggested the jats, banjars, and others as probable ancestors or type-givers of the race; but the existence of the _rom himself_ in india, bearing the distinctive name of rom, has never before been set forth in any book or by any other writer. i have also given what may in reason be regarded as settling the immensely disputed origin of the word "zingan," by the gypsies' own account of its etymology, which was beyond all question brought by them from india. in addition to this i have given in a chapter certain conversations with men of note, such as thomas carlyle, lord lytton, mr. roebuck, and others, on gypsies; an account of the first and family names and personal characteristics of english and american romanys, prepared for me by a very famous old gypsy; and finally a chapter on the "shelta thari," or tinkers' language, a very curious jargon or language, never mentioned before by any writer except shakespeare. what this tongue may be, beyond the fact that it is purely celtic, and that it does not seem to be identical with any other celtic dialect, is unknown to me. i class it with the gypsy, because all who speak it are also acquainted with romany. for an attempt to set forth the tone or feeling in which the sketches are conceived, i refer the reader to the introduction. when i published my "english gypsies and their language," a reviewer declared that i "had added nothing to our" (that is, his) "knowledge on the subject." as it is always pleasant to meet with a man of superior information, i said nothing. and as i had carefully read everything ever printed on the romany, and had given a very respectable collection of what was new to me as well as to all my romany rye colleagues in europe, i could only grieve to think that such treasures of learning should thus remain hidden in the brain of one who had never at any time or in any other way manifested the possession of any remarkable knowledge. nobody can tell in this world what others may know, but i modestly suggest that what i have set forth in this work, on the origin of the gypsies, though it may be known to the reviewer in question, has at least never been set before the public by anybody but myself, and that it deserves further investigation. no account of the tribes of the east mentions the rom or trablus, and yet i have personally met with and thoroughly examined one of them. in like manner, the "shelta thari" has remained till the present day entirely unknown to all writers on either the languages or the nomadic people of great britain. if we are so ignorant of the wanderers among us, and at our very doors, it is not remarkable that we should be ignorant of those of india. introduction. i have frequently been asked, "why do you take an interest in gypsies?" and it is not so easy to answer. why, indeed? in spain one who has been fascinated by them is called one of the _aficion_, or affection, or "fancy;" he is an _aficionado_, or affected unto them, and people there know perfectly what it means, for every spaniard is at heart a bohemian. he feels what a charm there is in a wandering life, in camping in lonely places, under old chestnut-trees, near towering cliffs, _al pasar del arroyo_, by the rivulets among the rocks. he thinks of the wine skin and wheaten cake when one was hungry on the road, of the mules and tinkling bells, the fire by night, and the _cigarito_, smoked till he fell asleep. then he remembers the gypsies who came to the camp, and the black-eyed girl who told him his fortune, and all that followed in the rosy dawn and ever onward into starry night. "y se alegre el alma llena de la luz de esos luceros." and his heart is filled with rapture at the light of those lights above. this man understands it. so, too, does many an englishman. but i cannot tell you why. why do i love to wander on the roads to hear the birds; to see old church towers afar, rising over fringes of forest, a river and a bridge in the foreground, and an ancient castle beyond, with a modern village springing up about it, just as at the foot of the burg there lies the falling trunk of an old tree, around which weeds and flowers are springing up, nourished by its decay? why love these better than pictures, and with a more than fine-art feeling? because on the roads, among such scenes, between the hedge-rows and by the river, i find the wanderers who properly inhabit not the houses but the scene, not a part but the whole. these are the gypsies, who live like the birds and hares, not of the house-born or the town-bred, but free and at home only with nature. i am at some pleasant watering-place, no matter where. let it be torquay, or ilfracombe, or aberystwith, or bath, or bournemouth, or hastings. i find out what old churches, castles, towns, towers, manors, lakes, forests, fairy-wells, or other charms of england lie within twenty miles. then i take my staff and sketch-book, and set out on my day's pilgrimage. in the distance lie the lines of the shining sea, with ships sailing to unknown lands. those who live in them are the bohemians of the sea, homing while roaming, sleeping as they go, even as gypsies dwell on wheels. and if you look wistfully at these ships far off and out at sea with the sun upon their sails, and wonder what quaint mysteries of life they hide, verily you are not far from being affected or elected unto the romany. and if, when you see the wild birds on the wing, wending their way to the south, and wish that you could fly with them,--anywhere, anywhere over the world and into adventure,--then you are not far in spirit from the kingdom of bohemia and its seven castles, in the deep windows of which aeolian wind-harps sing forever. now, as you wander along, it may be that in the wood and by some grassy nook you will hear voices, and see the gleam of a red garment, and then find a man of the roads, with dusky wife and child. you speak one word, "sarishan!" and you are introduced. these people are like birds and bees, they belong to out-of-doors and nature. if you can chirp or buzz a little in their language and know their ways, you will find out, as you sit in the forest, why he who loves green bushes and mossy rocks is glad to fly from cities, and likes to be free of the joyous citizenship of the roads, and everywhere at home in such boon company. when i have been a stranger in a strange town, i have never gone out for a long walk without knowing that the chances were that i should meet within an hour some wanderer with whom i should have in common certain acquaintances. these be indeed humble folk, but with nature and summer walks they make me at home. in merrie england i could nowhere be a stranger if i would, and that with people who cannot read; and the english-born romany rye, or gentleman speaking gypsy, would in like manner be everywhere at home in america. there was a gypsy family always roaming between windsor and london, and the first words taught to their youngest child were "romany rye!" and these it was trained to address to me. the little tot came up to me,--i had never heard her speak before,--a little brown-faced, black-eyed thing, and said, "how-do, omany 'eye?" and great was the triumph and rejoicing and laughter of the mother and father and all the little tribe. to be familiar with these wanderers, who live by dale and down, is like having the bees come to you, as they did to the dacian damsel, whose death they mourned; it is like the attraction of the wild deer to the fair genevieve; or if you know them to be dangerous outlaws, as some are, it is like the affection of serpents and other wild things for those whom nature has made their friends, and who handle them without fear. they are human, but in their lives they are between man as he lives in houses and the bee and bird and fox, and i cannot help believing that those who have no sympathy with them have none for the forest and road, and cannot be rightly familiar with the witchery of wood and wold. there are many ladies and gentlemen who can well-nigh die of a sunset, and be enraptured with "bits" of color, and captured with scenes, and to whom all out-of-doors is as perfect as though it were painted by millais, yet to whom the bee and bird and gypsy and red indian ever remain in their true inner life strangers. and just as strange to them, in one sense, are the scenes in which these creatures dwell; for those who see in them only pictures, though they be by claude and turner, can never behold in them the fairy-land of childhood. only in ruysdael and salvator rosa and the great unconscious artists lurks the spell of the romany, and this spell is unfelt by mr. cimabue brown. the child and the gypsy have no words in which to express their sense of nature and its charm, but they have this sense, and there are very, very few who, acquiring culture, retain it. and it is gradually disappearing from the world, just as the old delicately sensuous, naive, picturesque type of woman's beauty--the perfection of natural beauty--is rapidly vanishing in every country, and being replaced by the mingled real and unreal attractiveness of "cleverness," intellect, and fashion. no doubt the newer tend to higher forms of culture, but it is not without pain that he who has been "in the spirit" in the old sabbath of the soul, and in its quiet, solemn sunset, sees it all vanishing. it will all be gone in a few years. i doubt very much whether it will be possible for the most unaffectedly natural writer to preserve any of its hieroglyphics for future champollions of sentiment to interpret. in the coming days, when man shall have developed new senses, and when the blessed sun himself shall perhaps have been supplanted by some tremendous electrical light, and the moon be expunged altogether as interfering with the new arrangements for gravity, there will doubtless be a new poetry, and art become to the very last degree self-conscious of its cleverness, artificial and impressional; yet even then weary scholars will sigh from time to time, as they read in our books of the ancient purple seas, and how the sun went down of old into cloud-land, gorgeous land, and then how all dreamed away into night! gypsies are the human types of this vanishing, direct love of nature, of this mute sense of rural romance, and of _al fresco_ life, and he who does not recognize it in them, despite their rags and dishonesty, need not pretend to appreciate anything more in callot's etchings than the skillful management of the needle and the acids. truly they are but rags themselves; the last rags of the old romance which connected man with nature. once romance was a splendid mediaeval drama, colored and gemmed with chivalry, minnesong, bandit-flashes, and waving plumes; now there remain but a few tatters. yes, we were young and foolish then, but there are perishing with the wretched fragments of the red indian tribes mythologies as beautiful as those of the greek or norseman; and there is also vanishing with the gypsy an unexpressed mythology, which those who are to come after us would gladly recover. would we not have been pleased if one of the thousand latin men of letters whose works have been preserved had told us how the old etruscans, then still living in mountain villages, spoke and habited and customed? but oh that there had ever lived of old one man who, noting how feelings and sentiments changed, tried to so set forth the souls of his time that after-comers might understand what it was which inspired their art! in the sanskrit humorous romance of "baital pachisi," or king vikram and the vampire, twenty-five different and disconnected trifling stories serve collectively to illustrate in the most pointed manner the highest lesson of wisdom. in this book the gypsies, and the scenes which surround them, are intended to teach the lesson of freedom and nature. never were such lessons more needed than at present. i do not say that culture is opposed to the perception of nature; i would show with all my power that the higher our culture the more we are really qualified to appreciate beauty and freedom. but gates must be opened for this, and unfortunately the gates as yet are very few, while philistinism in every form makes it a business of closing every opening to the true fairy-land of delight. the gypsy is one of many links which connect the simple feeling of nature with romance. during the middle ages thousands of such links and symbols united nature with religion. thus conrad von wurtzburg tells in his "goldene schmiede" that the parrot which shines in fairest grass-green hue, and yet like common grass is never wet, sets forth the virgin, who bestowed on man an endless spring, and yet remained unchanged. so the parrot and grass and green and shimmering light all blended in the ideal of the immortal maid-mother, and so the bird appears in pictures by van eyck and durer. to me the gypsy-parrot and green grass in lonely lanes and the rain and sunshine all mingle to set forth the inexpressible purity and sweetness of the virgin parent, nature. for the gypsy is parrot-like, a quaint pilferer, a rogue in grain as in green; for green was his favorite garb in olden time in england, as it is to-day in germany, where he who breaks the romany law may never dare on heath to wear that fatal fairy color. these words are the key to the following book, in which i shall set forth a few sketches taken during my rambles among the romany. the day is coming when there will be no more wild parrots nor wild wanderers, no wild nature, and certainly no gypsies. within a very few years in the city of philadelphia, the english sparrow, the very cit and cad of birds, has driven from the gardens all the wild, beautiful feathered creatures whom, as a boy, i knew. the fire-flashing scarlet tanager and the humming-bird, the yellow-bird, blue-bird, and golden oriole, are now almost forgotten, or unknown to city children. so the people of self-conscious culture and the mart and factory are banishing the wilder sort, and it is all right, and so it must be, and therewith _basta_. but as a london reviewer said when i asserted in a book that the child was perhaps born who would see the last gypsy, "somehow we feel sorry for that child." the russian gypsies. it is, i believe, seldom observed that the world is so far from having quitted the romantic or sentimental for the purely scientific that, even in science itself, whatever is best set forth owes half its charm to something delicately and distantly reflected from the forbidden land of fancy. the greatest reasoners and writers on the driest topics are still "genial," because no man ever yet had true genius who did not feel the inspiration of poetry, or mystery, or at least of the unusual. we are not rid of the marvelous or curious, and, if we have not yet a science of curiosities, it is apparently because it lies for the present distributed about among the other sciences, just as in small museums illuminated manuscripts are to be found in happy family union with stuffed birds or minerals, and with watches and snuff-boxes, once the property of their late majesties the georges. until such a science is formed, the new one of ethnology may appropriately serve for it, since it of all presents most attraction to him who is politely called the general reader, but who should in truth be called the man who reads the most for mere amusement. for ethnology deals with such delightful material as primeval kumbo-cephalic skulls, and appears to her votaries arrayed, not in silk attire, but in strange fragments of leather from ancient irish graves, or in cloth from lacustrine villages. she glitters with the quaint jewelry of the first italian race, whose ghosts, if they wail over the "find," "speak in a language man knows no more." she charms us with etchings or scratchings of mammoths on mammoth-bone, and invites us to explore mysterious caves, to picnic among megalithic monuments, and speculate on pictured scottish stones. in short, she engages man to investigate his ancestry, a pursuit which presents charms even to the illiterate, and asks us to find out facts concerning works of art which have interested everybody in every age. _ad interim_, before the science of curiosities is segregated from that of ethnology, i may observe that one of the marvels in the latter is that, among all the subdivisions of the human race, there are only two which have been, apparently from their beginning, set apart, marked and cosmopolite, ever living among others, and yet reserved unto themselves. these are the jew and the gypsy. from time whereof history hath naught to the contrary, the jew was, as he himself holds in simple faith, the first man. red earth, adam, was a jew, and the old claim to be a peculiar people has been curiously confirmed by the extraordinary genius and influence of the race, and by their boundless wanderings. go where we may, we find the jew--has any other wandered so far? yes, one. for wherever jew has gone, there, too, we find the gypsy. the jew may be more ancient, but even the authentic origin of the romany is lost in ancient aryan record, and, strictly speaking, his is a prehistoric caste. among the hundred and fifty wandering tribes of india and persia, some of them turanian, some aryan, and others mixed, it is of course difficult to identify the exact origin of the european gypsy. one thing we know: that from the tenth to the twelfth century, and probably much later on, india threw out from her northern half a vast multitude of very troublesome indwellers. what with buddhist, brahman, and mohammedan wars,--invaders outlawing invaded,--the number of out-_castes_ became alarmingly great. to these the jats, who, according to captain burton, constituted the main stock of our gypsies, contributed perhaps half their entire nation. excommunication among the indian professors of transcendental benevolence meant social death and inconceivable cruelty. now there are many historical indications that these outcasts, before leaving india, became gypsies, which was the most natural thing in a country where such classes had already existed in very great numbers from early times. and from one of the lowest castes, which still exists in india, and is known as the dom, { } the emigrants to the west probably derived their name and several characteristics. the dom burns the dead, handles corpses, skins beasts, and performs other functions, all of which were appropriated by, and became peculiar to, gypsies in several countries in europe, notably in denmark and holland, for several centuries after their arrival there. the dom of the present day also sells baskets, and wanders with a tent; he is altogether gypsy. it is remarkable that he, living in a hot climate, drinks ardent spirits to excess, being by no means a "temperate hindoo," and that even in extreme old age his hair seldom turns white, which is a noted peculiarity among our own gypsies of pure blood. i know and have often seen a gypsy woman, nearly a hundred years old, whose curling hair is black, or hardly perceptibly changed. it is extremely probable that the dom, mentioned as a caste even in the shastras, gave the name to the rom. the dom calls his wife a domni, and being a dom is "domnipana." in english gypsy, the same words are expressed by _rom_, _romni_, and _romnipen_. d, be it observed, very often changes to _r_ in its transfer from hindoo to romany. thus _doi_, "a wooden spoon," becomes in gypsy _roi_, a term known to every tinker in london. but, while this was probably the origin of the word rom, there were subsequent reasons for its continuance. among the cophts, who were more abundant in egypt when the first gypsies went there, the word for man is _romi_, and after leaving greece and the levant, or _rum_, it would be natural for the wanderers to be called _rumi_. but the dom was in all probability the parent stock of the gypsy race, though the latter received vast accessions from many other sources. i call attention to this, since it has always been held, and sensibly enough, that the mere fact of the gypsies speaking hindi-persian, or the oldest type of urdu, including many sanskrit terms, does not prove an indian or aryan origin, any more than the english spoken by american negroes proves a saxon descent. but if the rom can be identified with the dom--and the circumstantial evidence, it must be admitted, is very strong--but little remains to seek, since, according to the shastras, the doms are hindoo. among the tribes whose union formed the european gypsy was, in all probability, that of the _nats_, consisting of singing and dancing girls and male musicians and acrobats. of these, we are told that not less than ten thousand lute-players and minstrels, under the name of _luri_, were once sent to persia as a present to a king, whose land was then without music or song. this word _luri_ is still preserved. the saddle-makers and leather-workers of persia are called tsingani; they are, in their way, low caste, and a kind of gypsy, and it is supposed that from them are possibly derived the names zingan, zigeuner, zingaro, etc., by which gypsies are known in so many lands. from mr. arnold's late work on "persia," the reader may learn that the _eeli_, who constitute the majority of the inhabitants of the southern portion of that country, are aryan nomads, and apparently gypsies. there are also in india the banjari, or wandering merchants, and many other tribes, all spoken of as gypsies by those who know them. as regards the great admixture of persian with hindi in good romany, it is quite unmistakable, though i can recall no writer who has attached sufficient importance to a fact which identifies gypsies with what is almost preeminently the land of gypsies. i once had the pleasure of taking a nile journey in company with prince s---, a persian, and in most cases, when i asked my friend what this or that gypsy word meant, he gave me its correct meaning, after a little thought, and then added, in his imperfect english, "what for you want to know such word?--that _old_ word--that no more used. only common people--old peasant-woman--use that word--_gentleman_ no want to know him." but i did want to know "him" very much. i can remember that one night, when our _bon prince_ had thus held forth, we had dancing girls, or almeh, on board, and one was very young and pretty. i was told that she was gypsy, but she spoke no romany. yet her panther eyes and serpent smile and _beaute du diable_ were not egyptian, but of the indian, _kalo-ratt_,--the dark blood, which, once known, is known forever. i forgot her, however, for a long time, until i went to moscow, when she was recalled by dancing and smiles, of which i will speak anon. i was sitting one day by the thames, in a gypsy tent, when its master, joshua cooper, now dead, pointing to a swan, asked me for its name in gypsy. i replied, "_boro pappin_." "no, _rya_. _boro pappin_ is 'a big goose.' _sakku_ is the real gypsy word. it is very old, and very few romany know it." a few days after, when my persian friend was dining with me at the langham hotel, i asked him if he knew what sakku meant. by way of reply, he, not being able to recall the english word, waved his arms in wonderful pantomime, indicating some enormous winged creature; and then, looking into the distance, and pointing as if to some far-vanishing object, as boys do when they declaim bryant's address "to a water-fowl," said,-- "sakku--one ver' big bird, like one _swen_--but he _not_ swen. he like the man who carry too much water up-stairs { } his head in constantinople. that bird all same that man. he _sakkia_ all same wheel that you see get water up-stairs in egypt." this was explanatory, but far from satisfactory. the prince, however, was mindful of me, and the next day i received from the persian embassy the word elegantly written in persian, with the translation, "_a pelican_." then it was all clear enough, for the pelican bears water in the bag under its bill. when the gypsies came to europe they named animals after those which resembled them in asia. a dog they called _juckal_, from a jackal, and a swan _sakku_, or pelican, because it so greatly resembles it. the hindoo _bandarus_, or monkey, they have changed to _bombaros_, but why tom cooper should declare that it is _pugasah_, or _pukkus-asa_, i do not know. { } as little can i conjecture the meaning of the prefix _mod_, or _mode_, which i learned on the road near weymouth from a very ancient tinker, a man so battered, tattered, seamed, riven, and wrinkled that he looked like a petrifaction. he had so bad a barrow, or wheel, that i wondered what he could do with it, and regarded him as the very poorest man i had ever seen in england, until his mate came up, an _alter ego_, so excellent in antiquity, wrinkles, knobbiness, and rags that he surpassed the vagabond pictures not only of callot, dore, and goya, but even the unknown spanish maker of a picture which i met with not long since for sale, and which for infinite poverty defied anything i ever saw on canvas. these poor men, who seemed at first amazed that i should speak to them at all, when i spoke romany at once called me "brother." when i asked the younger his name, he sank his voice to a whisper, and, with a furtive air, said,-- "_kamlo_,--lovel, you know." "what do you call yourself in the way of business?" i asked. "_katsamengro_, i suppose." now _katsamengro_ means scissors-master. "that is a very good word. but _chivo_ is deeper." "_chivo_ means a knife-man?" "yes. but the deepest of all, master, is _modangarengro_. for you see that the right word for coals isn't _wongur_, as romanys generally say, but _angara_." now _angara_, as pott and benfey indicate, is pure sanskrit for coals, and _angarengro_ is a worker in coals, but what _mod_ means i know not, and should be glad to be told. i think it will be found difficult to identify the european gypsy with any one stock of the wandering races of india. among those who left that country were men of different castes and different color, varying from the pure northern invader to the negro-like southern indian. in the danubian principalities there are at the present day three kinds of gypsies: one very dark and barbarous, another light brown and more intelligent, and the third, or _elite_, of yellow-pine complexion, as american boys characterize the hue of quadroons. even in england there are straight-haired and curly-haired romanys, the two indicating not a difference resulting from white admixture, but entirely different original stocks. it will, i trust, be admitted, even from these remarks, that romanology, or that subdivision of ethnology which treats of gypsies, is both practical and curious. it deals with the only race except the jew, which has penetrated into every village which european civilization has ever touched. he who speaks romany need be a stranger in few lands, for on every road in europe and america, in western asia, and even in northern africa, he will meet those with whom a very few words may at once establish a peculiar understanding. for, of all things believed in by this widely spread brotherhood, the chief is this,--that he who knows the _jib_, or language, knows the ways, and that no one ever attained these without treading strange paths, and threading mysteries unknown to the gorgios, or philistines. and if he who speaks wears a good coat, and appears a gentleman, let him rest assured that he will receive the greeting which all poor relations in all lands extend to those of their kin who have risen in life. some of them, it is true, manifest the winsome affection which is based on great expectations, a sentiment largely developed among british gypsies; but others are honestly proud that a gentleman is not ashamed of them. of this latter class were the musical gypsies, whom i met in russia during the winter of and , and some of them again in paris during the exposition of . st. petersburg. there are gypsies and gypsies in the world, for there are the wanderers on the roads and the secret dwellers in towns; but even among the _aficionados_, or romany ryes, by whom i mean those scholars who are fond of studying life and language from the people themselves, very few have dreamed that there exist communities of gentlemanly and lady-like gypsies of art, like the bohemians of murger and george sand, but differing from them in being real "bohemians" by race. i confess that it had never occurred to me that there was anywhere in europe, at the present day, least of all in the heart of great and wealthy cities, a class or caste devoted entirely to art, well-to-do or even rich, refined in manners, living in comfortable homes, the women dressing elegantly; and yet with all this obliged to live by law, as did the jews once, in ghettos or in a certain street, and regarded as outcasts and _cagots_. i had heard there were gypsies in russian cities, and expected to find them like the _kerengri_ of england or germany,--house-dwellers somewhat reformed from vagabondage, but still reckless semi-outlaws, full of tricks and lies; in a word, _gypsies_, as the world understands the term. and i certainly anticipated in russia something _queer_,--the gentleman who speaks romany seldom fails to achieve at least that, whenever he gets into an unbroken haunt, an unhunted forest, where the romany rye is unknown,--but nothing like what i really found. a recent writer on russia { } speaks with great contempt of these musical romanys, their girls attired in dresses by worth, as compared with the free wild outlaws of the steppes, who, with dark, ineffable glances, meaning nothing more than a wild-cat's, steal poultry, and who, wrapped in dirty sheep-skins, proudly call themselves _mi dvorane polaivii_, lords of the waste. the gypsies of moscow, who appeared to me the most interesting i have ever met, because most remote from the surrey ideal, seemed to mr. johnstone to be a kind of second-rate romanys or gypsies, gypsified for exhibition, like mr. barnum's negro minstrel, who, though black as a coal by nature, was requested to put on burnt cork and a wig, that the audience might realize that they were getting a thoroughly good imitation. mr. johnstone's own words are that a gypsy maiden in a long _queue_, "which perhaps came from worth," is "horrible," "_corruptio optimi pessima est_;" and he further compares such a damsel to a negro with a cocked hat and spurs. as the only negro thus arrayed who presents himself to my memory was one who lay dead on the battle-field in tennessee, after one of the bravest resistances in history, and in which he and his men, not having moved, were extended in "stark, serried lines" ("ten cart-loads of dead niggers," said a man to me who helped to bury them), i may be excused for not seeing the wit of the comparison. as for the gypsies of moscow, i can only say that, after meeting them in public, and penetrating to their homes, where i was received as one of themselves, even as a romany, i found that this opinion of them was erroneous, and that they were altogether original in spite of being clean, deeply interesting although honest, and a quite attractive class in most respects, notwithstanding their ability to read and write. against mr. johnstone's impressions, i may set the straightforward and simple result of the experiences of mr. w. r. ralston. "the gypsies of moscow," he says, "are justly celebrated for their picturesqueness and for their wonderful capacity for music. all who have heard their women sing are enthusiastic about the weird witchery of the performance." when i arrived in st. petersburg, one of my first inquiries was for gypsies. to my astonishment, they were hard to find. they are not allowed to live in the city; and i was told that the correct and proper way to see them would be to go at night to certain _cafes_, half an hour's sleigh-ride from the town, and listen to their concerts. what i wanted, however, was not a concert, but a conversation; not gypsies on exhibition, but gypsies at home,--and everybody seemed to be of the opinion that those of "samarcand" and "dorot" were entirely got up for effect. in fact, i heard the opinion hazarded that, even if they spoke romany, i might depend upon it they had acquired it simply to deceive. one gentleman, who had, however, been much with them in other days, assured me that they were of pure blood, and had an inherited language of their own. "but," he added, "i am sure you will not understand it. you may be able to talk with those in england, but not with ours, because there is not a single word in their language which resembles anything in english, german, french, latin, greek, or italian. i can only recall," he added, "one phrase. i don't know what it means, and i think it will puzzle you. it is _me kamava tut_." if i experienced internal laughter at hearing this it was for a good reason, which i can illustrate by an anecdote: "i have often observed, when i lived in china," said mr. hoffman atkinson, author of "a vocabulary of the yokohama dialect," "that most young men, particularly the gay and handsome ones, generally asked me, about the third day after their arrival in the country, the meaning of the pidgin-english phrase, 'you makee too muchee lov-lov-pidgin.' investigation always established the fact that the inquirer had heard it from 'a pretty china girl.' now _lov-pidgin_ means love, and _me kamava tut_ is perfectly good gypsy anywhere for 'i love you;' and a very soft expression it is, recalling _kama-deva_, the indian cupid, whose bow is strung with bees, and whose name has two strings to it, since it means, both in gypsy and sanskrit, love-god, or the god of love. 'it's _kama-duvel_, you know, _rya_, if you put it as it ought to be,' said old windsor froggie to me once; 'but i think that kama-_devil_ would by rights come nearer to it, if cupid is what you mean.'" i referred the gypsy difficulty to a russian gentleman of high position, to whose kindness i had been greatly indebted while in st. petersburg. he laughed. "come with me to-morrow night to the _cafes_, and see the gypsies; i know them well, and can promise that you shall talk with them as much as you like. once, in moscow, i got together all in the town--perhaps a hundred and fifty--to entertain the american minister, curtin. that was a very hard thing to do,--there was so much professional jealousy among them, and so many quarrels. would you have believed it?" i thought of the feuds between sundry sturdy romanys in england, and felt that i could suppose such a thing, without dangerously stretching my faith, and i began to believe in russian gypsies. "well, then, i shall call for you to-morrow night with a _troika_; i will come early,--at ten. they never begin to sing before company arrive at eleven, so that you will have half an hour to talk to them." it is on record that the day on which the general gave me this kind invitation was the coldest known in st. petersburg for thirty years, the thermometer having stood, or rather having lain down and groveled that morning at degrees below zero, fahr. at the appointed hour the _troika_, or three-horse sleigh, was before the hotel d'europe. it was, indeed, an arctic night, but, well wrapped in fur-lined _shubas_, with immense capes which fall to the elbow or rise far above the head, as required, and wearing fur caps and fur-lined gloves, we felt no cold. the beard of our _istvostshik_, or driver, was a great mass of ice, giving him the appearance of an exceedingly hoary youth, and his small horses, being very shaggy and thoroughly frosted, looked in the darkness like immense polar bears. if the general and myself could only have been considered as gifts of the slightest value to anybody, i should have regarded our turn-out, with the driver in his sheep-skin coat, as coming within a miracle of resemblance to that of santa claus, the american father christmas. on, at a tremendous pace, over the snow, which gave out under our runners that crunching, iron sound only heard when the thermometer touches zero. there is a peculiar fascination about the _troika_, and the sweetest, saddest melody and most plaintive song of russia belong to it. the troika. _vot y'dit troika udalaiya_. hear ye the troika-bell a-ringing, and see the peasant driver there? hear ye the mournful song he's singing, like distant tolling through the air? "o eyes, blue eyes, to me so lonely, o eyes--alas!--ye give me pain; o eyes, that once looked at me only, i ne'er shall see your like again. "farewell, my darling, now in heaven, and still the heaven of my soul; farewell, thou father town, o moscow, where i have left my life, my all!" and ever at the rein still straining, one backward glance the driver gave; sees but once more a green low hillock, sees but once more his loved one's grave. "_stoi_!"--halt! we stopped at a stylish-looking building, entered a hall, left our _skubas_, and i heard the general ask, "are the gypsies here?" an affirmative being given, we entered a large room, and there, sure enough, stood six or eight girls and two men, all very well dressed, and all unmistakably romany, though smaller and of much slighter or more delicate frame than the powerful gypsy "travelers" of england. in an instant every pair of great, wild eyes was fixed on me. the general was in every way a more striking figure, but i was manifestly a fresh stranger, who knew nothing of the country, and certainly nothing of gypsies or gypsydom. such a verdant visitor is always most interesting. it was not by any means my first reception of the kind, and, as i reviewed at a glance the whole party, i said within myself:-- "wait an instant, you black snakes, and i will give you something to make you stare." this promise i kept, when a young man, who looked like a handsome light hindoo, stepped up and addressed me in russian. i looked long and steadily at him before i spoke, and then said:-- "_latcho divvus prala_!" (good day, brother.) "what is _that_?" he exclaimed, startled. "_tu jines latcho adosta_." (you know very well.) and then, with the expression in his face of a man who has been familiarly addressed by a brazen statue, or asked by a new-born babe, "what o'clock is it?" but with great joy, he cried:-- "_romanichal_!" in an instant they were all around me, marveling greatly, and earnestly expressing their marvel, at what new species of gypsy i might be; being in this quite unlike those of england, who, even when they are astonished "out of their senses" at being addressed in romany by a gentleman, make the most red-indian efforts to conceal their amazement. but i speedily found that these russian gypsies were as unaffected and child-like as they were gentle in manner, and that they compared with our own prize-fighting, sturdy-begging, always-suspecting romany roughs and _rufianas_ as a delicate greyhound might compare with a very shrewd old bull-dog, trained by an unusually "fly" tramp. that the girls were first to the fore in questioning me will be doubted by no one. but we had great trouble in effecting a mutual understanding. their romany was full of russian; their pronunciation puzzled me; they "bit off their words," and used many in a strange or false sense. yet, notwithstanding this, i contrived to converse pretty readily with the men,--very readily with the captain, a man as dark as ben lee, to those who know benjamin, or as mahogany, to those who know him not. but with the women it was very difficult to converse. there is a theory current that women have a specialty of tact and readiness in understanding a foreigner, or in making themselves understood; it may be so with cultivated ladies, but it is my experience that, among the uneducated, men have a monopoly of such quick intelligence. in order fully to convince them that we really had a tongue in common, i repeated perhaps a hundred nouns, giving, for instance, the names of various parts of the body, of articles of apparel and objects in the room, and i believe that we did not find a single word which, when pronounced distinctly by itself, was not intelligible to us all. i had left in london a russo-romany vocabulary, once published in "the asiatic magazine," and i had met with bohtlinghk's article on the dialect, as well as specimens of it in the works of pott and miklosich, but had unfortunately learned nothing of it from them. i soon found, however, that i knew a great many more gypsy words than did my new friends, and that our english romany far excels the russian in _copia verborum_. "but i must sit down." i observed on this and other occasions that russian gypsies are very naif. and as it is in human nature to prefer sitting by a pretty girl, these slavonian romanys so arrange it according to the principles of natural selection--or natural politeness--that, when a stranger is in their gates, the two prettiest girls in their possession sit at his right and left, the two less attractive next again, _et seriatim_. so at once a damsel of comely mien, arrayed in black silk attire, of faultless elegance, cried to me, pointing to a chair by her side, "_bersh tu alay_, _rya_!" (sit down, sir),--a phrase which would be perfectly intelligible to any romany in england. i admit that there was another damsel, who is generally regarded by most people as the true gypsy belle of the party, who did not sit by me. but, as the one who had "voted herself into the chair," by my side, was more to my liking, being the most intelligent and most gypsy, i had good cause to rejoice. i was astonished at the sensible curiosity as to gypsy life in other lands which was displayed, and at the questions asked. i really doubt if i ever met with an english gypsy who cared a farthing to know anything about his race as it exists in foreign countries, or whence it came. once, and once only, i thought i had interested white george, at east moulsey, in an account of egypt, and the small number of romanys there; but his only question was to the effect that, if there were so few gypsies in egypt, wouldn't it be a good place for him to go to sell baskets? these of russia, however, asked all kinds of questions about the manners and customs of their congeners, and were pleased when they recognized familiar traits. and every gypsyism, whether of word or way, was greeted with delighted laughter. in one thing i noted a radical difference between these gypsies and those of the rest of europe and of america. there was none of that continually assumed mystery and romany freemasonry, of superior occult knowledge and "deep" information, which is often carried to the depths of absurdity and to the height of humbug. i say this advisedly, since, however much it may give charm to a novel or play, it is a serious impediment to a philologist. let me give an illustration. once, during the evening, these russian gypsies were anxious to know if there were any books in their language. now i have no doubt that dr. bath smart, or prof. e. h. palmer, or any other of the initiated, will perfectly understand when i say that by mere force of habit i shivered and evaded the question. when a gentleman who manifests a knowledge of romany among gypsies in england is suspected of "dixonary" studies, it amounts to _lasciate ogni speranza_,--give up all hope of learning any more. "i'm glad to see you here, _rya_, in my tent," said the before-mentioned ben lee to me one night, in camp near weybridge, "because i've heard, and i know, you didn't pick up _your_ romany out of books." the silly dread, the hatred, the childish antipathy, real or affected, but always ridiculous, which is felt in england, not only among gypsies, but even by many gentlemen scholars, to having the romany language published is indescribable. vambery was not more averse to show a lead pencil among tartars than i am to take notes of words among strange english gypsies. i might have spared myself any annoyance from such a source among the russian romanys. they had not heard of mr. george borrow; nor were there ugly stories current among them to the effect that dr. smart and prof. e. h. palmer had published works, the direct result of which would be to facilitate their little paths to the jail, the gallows, and the grave. "would we hear some singing?" we were ready, and for the first time in my life i listened to the long-anticipated, far-famed magical melody of russian gypsies. and what was it like? may i preface my reply to the reader with the remark that there are, roughly speaking, two kinds of music in the world,--the wild and the tame,--and the rarest of human beings is he who can appreciate both. only one such man ever wrote a book, and his _nomen et omen_ is engel, like that of the little english slaves who were _non angli_, _sed angeli_. i have in my time been deeply moved by the choruses of nubian boatmen; i have listened with great pleasure to chinese and japanese music,--ole bull once told me he had done the same; i have delighted by the hour in arab songs; and i have felt the charm of our red-indian music. if this seems absurd to those who characterize all such sound and song as "caterwauling," let me remind the reader that in all europe there is not one man fonder of music than an average arab, a chinese, or a red indian; for any of these people, as i have seen and know, will sit twelve or fifteen hours, without the least weariness, listening to what cultivated europeans all consider as a mere charivari. when london gladly endures fifteen-hour concerts, composed of _morceaux_ by wagner, chopin, and liszt, i will believe that art can charm as much as nature. the medium point of intelligence in this puzzle may be found in the extraordinary fascination which many find in the monotonous tum-tum of the banjo, and which reappears, somewhat refined, or at least somewhat frenchified, in the _bamboula_ and other creole airs. thence, in an ascending series, but connected with it, we have old spanish melodies, then the arabic, and here we finally cross the threshold into mystery, midnight, and "caterwauling." i do not know that i can explain the fact why the more "barbarous" music is, the more it is beloved of man; but i think that the principle of the _refrain_, or repetition in music, which as yet governs all decorative art and which mr. whistler and others are endeavoring desperately to destroy, acts in music as a sort of animal magnetism or abstraction, ending in an _extase_. as for the fascination which such wild melodies exert, it is beyond description. the most enraptured audience i ever saw in my life was at a coptic wedding in cairo, where one hundred and fifty guests listened, from seven p.m. till three a.m., and heaven knows how much later, to what a european would call absolute jangling, yelping, and howling. the real medium, however, between what i have, for want of better words, called wild and tame music exists only in that of the russian gypsies. these artists, with wonderful tact and untaught skill, have succeeded, in all their songs, in combining the mysterious and maddening charm of the true, wild eastern music with that of regular and simple melody, intelligible to every western ear. i have never listened to the singing or playing of any distinguished artist--and certainly never of any far-famed amateur--without realizing that neither words nor melody was of the least importance, but that the man's manner of performance or display was everything. now, in enjoying gypsy singing, one feels at once as if the vocalists had entirely forgotten self, and were carried away by the bewildering beauty of the air and the charm of the words. there is no self-consciousness, no vanity,--all is real. the listener feels as if he were a performer; the performer is an enraptured listener. there is no soulless "art for the sake of art," but art for direct pleasure. "we intend to sing only romany for _you_, _rya_," said the young lady to my left, "and you will hear our real gypsy airs. the _gaji_ [russians] often ask for songs in our language, and don't get them. but you are a romanichal, and when you go home, far over the _baro kalo pani_ [the broad black water, that is, the ocean], you shall tell the romany how we can sing. listen!" and i listened to the strangest, wildest, and sweetest singing i ever had heard,--the singing of lurleis, of sirens, of witches. first, one damsel, with an exquisitely clear, firm voice, began to sing a verse of a love-ballad, and as it approached the end the chorus stole in, softly and unperceived, but with exquisite skill, until, in a few seconds, the summer breeze, murmuring melody over a rippling lake, seemed changed to a midnight tempest, roaring over a stormy sea, in which the _basso_ of the _kalo shureskro_ (the black captain) pealed like thunder. just as it died away a second girl took up the melody, very sweetly, but with a little more excitement,--it was like a gleam of moonlight on the still agitated waters, a strange contralto witch-gleam; and then again the chorus and the storm; and then another solo yet sweeter, sadder, and stranger,--the movement continually increasing, until all was fast, and wild, and mad,--a locomotive quickstep, and then a sudden silence--sunlight--the storm had blown away. nothing on earth is so like magic and elfin-work as when women burst forth into improvised melody. the bird only "sings as his bill grew," or what he learned from the elders; yet when you hear birds singing in woodland green, throwing out to god or the fairies irrepressible floods of what seems like audible sunshine, so well does it match with summer's light, you think it is wonderful. it is mostly when you forget the long training of the prima donna, in her ease and apparent naturalness, that her song is sweetest. but there is a charm, which was well known of old, though we know it not to-day, which was practiced by the bards and believed in by their historians. it was the feeling that the song was born of the moment; that it came with the air, gushing and fresh from the soul. in reading the strange stories of the professional bards and scalds and minstrels of the early middle age, one is constantly bewildered at the feats of off-hand composition which were exacted of the poets among celts or norsemen. and it is evident enough that in some mysterious way these singers knew how to put strange pressure on the muse, and squeeze strains out of her in a manner which would have been impossible at present. yet it lingers here and there on earth among wild, strange people,--this art of making melody at will. i first heard it among nubian boatmen on the nile. it was as manifest that it was composed during the making as that the singers were unconscious of their power. one sung at first what may have been a well-known verse. while singing, another voice stole in, and yet another, softly as shadows steal into twilight; and ere i knew it all were in a great chorus, which fell away as mysteriously, to become duos, trios,--changing in melody in strange, sweet, fitful wise, as the faces seen in the golden cloud in the visioned aureole of god blend, separate, burn, and fade away ever into fresher glory and tints incarnadined. miss c. f. gordon cumming, after informing us that "it is utterly impossible to give you the faintest shadow of an idea of the fascination of tahitian _himenes_," proceeds, as men in general and women in particular invariably do, to give what the writer really believes is a very good description indeed. 't is ever thus, and thus 't will ever be, and the description of these songs is so good that any person gifted with imagination or poetry cannot fail to smile at the preceding disavowal of her ability to give an idea. these _himenes_ are not--and here such of my too expectant young lady-readers as are careless in spelling will be sadly disappointed--in any way connected with weddings. they are simply the natural music of tahiti, or strange and beautiful part-songs. "nothing you have ever heard in any other country," says our writer, "bears the slightest resemblance to these wild, exquisite glees, faultless in time and harmony, though apparently each singer introduces any variations which may occur to him or to her. very often there is no leader, and apparently all sing according to their own sweet will. one voice commences; it may be that of an old native, with genuine native words (the meaning of which we had better not inquire), or it may be with a scriptural story, versified and sung to an air originally from europe, but so completely tahitianized that no mortal could recognize it, which is all in its favor, for the wild melodies of this isle are beyond measure fascinating. "after one clause of solo, another strikes in--here, there, everywhere--in harmonious chorus. it seems as if one section devoted themselves to pouring forth a rippling torrent of 'ra, ra, ra--ra--ra!' while others burst into a flood of 'la, la--la--la--la!' some confine their care to sound a deep, booming bass in a long-continued drone, somewhat suggestive (to my appreciative highland ear) of our own bagpipes. here and there high falsetto notes strike in, varied from verse to verse, and then the choruses of la and ra come bubbling in liquid melody, while the voices of the principal singers now join in unison, now diverge as widely as it is possible for them to do, but all combine to produce the quaintest, most melodious, rippling glee that ever was heard." this is the _himene_; such the singing which i heard in egypt in a more regular form; but it was exactly as the writer so admirably sets it forth (and your description, my lady traveler, is, despite your disavowal, quite perfect and a _himene_ of itself) that i heard the gypsy girls of st. petersburg and of moscow sing. for, after a time, becoming jolly as flies, first one voice began with "la, la, la--la--la!" to an unnamed, unnamable, charming melody, into which went and came other voices, some bringing one verse or no verse, in unison or alone, the least expected doing what was most awaited, which was to surprise us and call forth gay peals of happy laughter, while the "la, la, la--la--la!" was kept up continuously, like an accompaniment. and still the voices, basso, soprano, tenor, baritone, contralto, rose and fell, the moment's inspiration telling how, till at last all blended in a locomotive-paced la, and in a final roar of laughter it ended. i could not realize at the time how much this exquisite part-singing was extemporized. the sound of it rung in my head--i assure you, reader, it rings there yet when i think of it--like a magic bell. another day, however, when i begged for a repetition of it, the girls could recall nothing of it. they could start it again on any air to the unending strain of "la--la--la;" but _the_ "la--la--la" of the previous evening was _avec les neiges d'antan_, with the smoke of yesterday's fire, with the perfume and bird-songs. "la, la, la--la--la!" in arab singing, such effects are applied simply to set forth erotomania; in negro minstrelsy, they are degraded to the lowest humor; in higher european music, when employed, they simply illustrate the skill of composer and musician. the spirit of gypsy singing recalled by its method and sweetness that of the nubian boatmen, but in its _general_ effect i could think only of those strange fits of excitement which thrill the red indian and make him burst into song. the abbe domenech { } has observed that the american savage pays attention to every sound that strikes upon his ear when the leaves, softly shaken by the evening breeze, seem to sigh through the air, or when the tempest, bursting forth with fury, shakes the gigantic trees that crack like reeds. "the chirping of the birds, the cry of the wild beasts, in a word, all those sweet, grave, or imposing voices that animate the wilderness, are so many musical lessons, which he easily remembers." in illustration of this, the missionary describes the singing of a chippewa chief, and its wild inspiration, in a manner which vividly illustrates all music of the class of which i write. "it was," he says, "during one of those long winter nights, so monotonous and so wearisome in the woods. we were in a wigwam, which afforded us but miserable shelter from the inclemency of the season. the storm raged without; the tempest roared in the open country; the wind blew with violence, and whistled through the fissures of the cabin; the rain fell in torrents, and prevented us from continuing our route. our host was an indian, with sparkling and intelligent eyes, clad with a certain elegance, and wrapped majestically in a large fur cloak. seated close to the fire, which cast a reddish gleam through the interior of his wigwam, he felt himself all at once seized with an irresistible desire to imitate the convulsions of nature, and to sing his impressions. so, taking hold of a drum which hung near his bed, he beat a slight rolling, resembling the distant sounds of an approaching storm; then, raising his voice to a shrill treble, which he knew how to soften when he pleased, he imitated the whistling of the air, the creaking of the branches dashing against one another, and the particular noise produced by dead leaves when accumulated in compact masses on the ground. by degrees the rollings of the drum became more frequent and louder, the chants more sonorous and shrill, and at last our indian shrieked, howled, and roared in a most frightful manner; he struggled and struck his instrument with extraordinary rapidity. it was a real tempest, to which nothing was wanting, not even the distant howling of the dogs, nor the bellowing of the affrighted buffaloes." i have observed the same musical inspiration of a storm upon arabs, who, during their singing, also accompanied themselves on a drum. i once spent two weeks in a mediterranean steamboat, on board of which were more than two hundred pilgrims, for the greater part wild bedouins, going to mecca. they had a minstrel who sang and played on the _darabuka_, or earthenware drum, and he was aided by another with a simple _nai_, or reed-whistle; the same orchestra, in fact, which is in universal use among all red indians. to these performers the pilgrims listened with indescribable pleasure; and i soon found that they regarded me favorably because i did the same, being, of course, the only frank on board who paid any attention to the singing--or any money for it. but it was at night and during storms that the spirit of music always seemed to be strongest on the arabs, and then, amid roaring of wild waters and thundering, and in dense darkness, the rolling of the drum and the strange, bewildering ballads never ceased. it was the very counterpart, in all respects, of the chippewa storm song. after the first gypsy lyric there came another, to which the captain especially directed my attention as being what sam petulengro calls "reg'lar romany." it was _i rakli adro o lolo gad_ (the girl in the red chemise), as well as i can recall his words,--a very sweet song, with a simple but spirited chorus; and as the sympathetic electricity of excitement seized the performers we were all in a minute "going down the rapids in a spring freshet." "_bagan tu rya_, _bagan_!" (sing, sir,--sing) cried my handsome neighbor, with her black gypsy eyes sparkling fire. "_jines hi bagan eto_--_eto latcho romanes_." (you can sing that,--it's real romany.) it was evident that she and all were singing with thorough enjoyment, and with a full and realizing consciousness of gypsyism, being greatly stimulated by my presence and sympathy. i felt that the gypsies were taking unusual pains to please the romany rye from the _dur' tem_, or far country, and they had attained the acme of success by being thoroughly delighted with themselves, which is all that can be hoped for in art, where the aim is pleasure and not criticism. there was a pause in the performance, but none in the chattering of the young ladies, and during this a curious little incident occurred. wishing to know if my pretty friend could understand an english gypsy lyric, i sang in an undertone a ballad, taken from george borrow's "lavengro," and which begins with these words:-- "pende eomani chai ke laki dye; 'miri diri dye, mi shom kameli.'" i never knew whether this was really an old gypsy poem or one written by mr. borrow. once, when i repeated it to old henry james, as he sat making baskets, i was silenced by being told, "that ain't no real gypsy _gilli_. that's one of the kind made up by gentlemen and ladies." however, as soon as i repeated it, the russian gypsy girl cried eagerly, "i know that song!" and actually sang me a ballad which was essentially the same, in which a damsel describes her fall, owing to a gajo (gorgio, a gentile,--not gypsy) lover, and her final expulsion from the tent. it was adapted to a very pretty melody, and as soon as she had sung it, _sotto voce_, my pretty friend exclaimed to another girl, "only think, the _rye_ from america knows _that_ song!" now, as many centuries must have passed since the english and russian gypsies parted from the parent stock, the preservation of this song is very remarkable, and its antiquity must be very great. i did not take it down, but any resident in st. petersburg can, if so inclined, do so among the gypsies at dorat, and verify my statement. then there was a pretty dance, of a modified oriental character, by one of the damsels. for this, as for the singing, the only musical instrument used was a guitar, which had seven strings, tuned in spanish fashion, and was rather weak in tone. i wished it had been a powerful panormo, which would have exactly suited the _timbre_ of these voices. the gypsies were honestly interested in all i could tell them about their kind in other lands; while the girls were professionally desirous to hear more anglo-romany songs, and were particularly pleased with one beginning with the words:-- "'me shom akonyo,' gildas yoi, men buti ruzhior, te sar i chiriclia adoi pen mengy gilior.'" though we "got on" after a manner in our romany talk, i was often obliged to have recourse to my friend the general to translate long sentences into russian, especially when some sand-bar of a verb or some log of a noun impeded the current of our conversation. finally, a formal request was made by the captain that i would, as one deep beyond all their experience in romany matters, kindly tell them what kind of people they really were, and whence they came. with this demand i cheerfully complied, every word being listened to with breathless interest. so i told them what i knew or had conjectured relative to their indian origin: how their fathers had wandered forth through persia; how their travels could be traced by the persian, greek, or roumanian words in the language; how in a band of them appeared in europe, led by a few men of great diplomatic skill, who, by crafty dealing, obtained from the pope, the emperor of germany, and all the kings of europe, except that of england, permission to wander for fifty years as pilgrims, declaring that they had been christians, but, having become renegades, the king of hungary had imposed a penance on them of half a century's exile. then i informed them that precisely the same story had been told by them to the rulers in syria and egypt, only that in the mohammedan countries they pretended to be good followers of islam. i said there was reason to believe that some of their people had been in poland and the other slavonic countries ever since the eleventh century, but that those of england must have gone directly from eastern europe to great britain; for, although they had many slavic words, such as _krallis_ (king) and _shuba_, there were no french terms, and very few traces of german or italian, in the english dialect. i observed that the men all understood the geographical allusions which i made, knowing apparently where india, persia, and egypt were situated--a remarkable contrast to our own english "travelers," one of whom once informed me that he would like to go "on the road" in america, "because you know, sir, as america lays along into france, we could get our french baskets cheaper there." i found, on inquiry, that the russian gypsies profess christianity; but, as the religion of the greek church, as i saw it, appears to be practically something very little better than fetich-worship, i cannot exalt them as models of evangelical piety. they are, however, according to a popular proverb, not far from godliness in being very clean in their persons; and not only did they appear so to me, but i was assured by several russians that, as regarded these singing gypsies, it was invariably the case. as for morality in gypsy girls, their principles are very peculiar. not a whisper of scandal attaches to these russian romany women as regards transient amours. but if a wealthy russian gentleman falls in love with one, and will have and hold her permanently, or for a durable connection, he may take her to his home if she likes him, but must pay monthly a sum into the gypsy treasury; for these people apparently form an _artel_, or society-union, like all other classes of russians. it may be suggested, as an explanation of this apparent incongruity, that gypsies all the world over regard steady cohabitation, or agreement, as marriage, binding themselves, as it were, by _gand-harbavivaha_, as the saint married vasantasena, which is an old sanskrit way of wedding. and let me remark that if one tenth of what i heard in russia about "morals" in the highest or lowest or any other class be true, the gypsies of that country are shining lights and brilliant exemplars of morality to all by whom they are surrounded. let me also add that never on any occasion did i hear or see among them anything in the slightest degree improper or unrefined. i knew very well that i could, if i chose, talk to such _naive_ people about subjects which would shock an english lady, and, as the reader may remember, i did quote mr. borrow's song, which he has not translated. but a european girl who would have endured allusions to tabooed subjects would have at all times shown vulgarity or coarseness, while these russian romany girls were invariably lady-like. it is true that the st. petersburg party had a dissipated air; three or four of them looked like second-class french or italian theatrical artistes, and i should not be astonished to learn that very late hours and champagne were familiar to them as cigarettes, or that their flirtations among their own people were neither faint, nor few, nor far between. but their conduct in my presence was irreproachable. those of moscow, in fact, had not even the apparent defects of their st. petersburg sisters and brothers, and when among them it always seemed to me as if i were simply with nice gentle creoles or cubans, the gypsy manner being tamed down to the spanish level, their great black eyes and their guitars increasing the resemblance. the indescribably wild and thrilling character of gypsy music is thoroughly appreciated by the russians, who pay very high prices for romany performances. from five to eight or ten pounds sterling is usually given to a dozen gypsies for singing an hour or two to a special party, and this is sometimes repeated twice or thrice of an evening. "a russian gentleman, when he is in funds," said the clerk of the slavansky bazaar in moscow to me, "will make nothing of giving the zigani a hundred-ruble note," the ruble rating at half a crown. the result is that good singers among these lucky romanys are well to do, and lead soft lives, for russia. moscow. i had no friends in moscow to direct me where to find gypsies _en famille_, and the inquiries which i made of chance acquaintances simply convinced me that the world at large was as ignorant of their ways as it was prejudiced against them. at last the good-natured old porter of our hotel told me, in his rough baltic german, how to meet these mysterious minstrels to advantage. "you must take a sleigh," he said, "and go out to petrovka. that is a place in the country, where there are grand _cafes_ at considerable distances one from the other. pay the driver three rubles for four hours. enter a _cafe_, call for something to drink, listen to the gypsies singing, and when they pass round a plate put some money in it. that's all." this was explicit, and at ten o'clock in the evening i hired a sleigh and went. if the cold which i had experienced in the general's troika in st. petersburg might be compared to a moderate rheumatism, that which i encountered in the sleigh outside the walls of moscow, on christmas eve, , was like a fierce gout. the ride was in all conscience russian enough to have its ending among gypsies, tartars, or cossacks. to go at a headlong pace over the creaking snow behind an _istvostshik_, named vassili, the round, cold moon overhead, church-spires tipped with great inverted golden turnips in the distance, and this on a night when the frost seemed almost to scream in its intensity, is as much of a sensation in the suburbs of moscow as it could be out on the steppes. a few wolves, more or less, make no difference,--and even they come sometimes within three hours' walk of the kremlin. _et ego inter lupos_,--i too have been among wolves in my time by night, in kansas, and thought nothing of such rides compared to the one i had when i went gypsying from moscow. in half an hour vassili brought me to a house, which i entered. a "proud porter," a vast creature, in uniform suggestive of embassies and kings' palaces, relieved me of my _shuba_, and i found my way into a very large and high hall, brilliantly lighted as if for a thousand guests, while the only occupants were four couples, "spooning" _sans gene_, one in each corner and a small party of men and girls drinking in the middle. i called a waiter; he spoke nothing but russian, and russian is of all languages the most useless to him who only talks it "a little." a little arabic, or even a little chippewa, i have found of great service, but a fair vocabulary and weeks of study of the grammar are of no avail in a country where even men of gentlemanly appearance turn away with childish _ennui_ the instant they detect the foreigner, resolving apparently that they cannot and _will not_ understand him. in matters like this the ordinary russian is more impatient and less intelligent than any oriental or even red indian. the result of my interview with the waiter was that we were soon involved in the completest misunderstanding on the subject of gypsies. the question was settled by reference to a fat and fair damsel, one of the "spoons" already referred to, who spoke german. she explained to me that as it was christmas eve no gypsies would be there, or at any other _cafe_. this was disappointing. i called vassili, and he drove on to another "garden," deeply buried in snow. when i entered the rooms at this place, i perceived at a glance that matters had mended. there was the hum of many voices, and a perfume like that of tea and many _papiross_, or cigarettes, with a prompt sense of society and of enjoyment. i was dazzled at first by the glare of the lights, and could distinguish nothing, unless it was that the numerous company regarded me with utter amazement; for it was an "off night," when no business was expected,--few were there save "professionals" and their friends,--and i was manifestly an unexpected intruder on bohemia. as luck would have it, that which i believed was the one worst night in the year to find the gypsy minstrels proved to be the exceptional occasion when they were all assembled, and i had hit upon it. of course this struck me pleasantly enough as i looked around, for i knew that at a touch the spell would be broken, and with one word i should have the warmest welcome from all. i had literally not a single speaking acquaintance within a thousand miles, and yet here was a room crowded with gay and festive strangers, whom the slightest utterance would convert into friends. i was not disappointed. seeking for an opportunity, i saw a young man of gentlemanly appearance, well dressed, and with a mild and amiable air. speaking to him in german, i asked the very needless question if there were any gypsies present. "you wish to hear them sing?" he inquired. "i do not. i only want to talk with one,--with _any_ one." he appeared to be astonished, but, pointing to a handsome, slender young lady, a very dark brunette, elegantly attired in black silk, said,-- "there is one." i stepped across to the girl, who rose to meet me. i said nothing for a few seconds, but looked at her intently, and then asked,-- "_rakessa tu romanes_, _miri pen_?" (do you talk romany, my sister?) she gave one deep, long glance of utter astonishment, drew one long breath, and, with a cry of delight and wonder, said,-- "_romanichal_!" that word awoke the entire company, and with it they found out who the intruder was. "then might you hear them cry aloud, 'the moringer is here!'" for i began to feel like the long-lost lord returned, so warm was my welcome. they flocked around me; they cried aloud in romany, and one good-natured, smiling man, who looked like a german gypsy, mounting a chair, waved a guitar by its neck high in the air as a signal of discovery of a great prize to those at a distance, repeating rapidly,-- "_av'akai_, _ava'kai_, _romanichal_!" (come here; here's a gypsy!) and they came, dark and light, great and small, and got round me, and shook hands, and held to my arms, and asked where i came from, and how i did, and if it wasn't jolly, and what would i take to drink, and said how glad they were to see me; and when conversation flagged for an instant, somebody said to his next neighbor, with an air of wisdom, "american romany," and everybody repeated it with delight. then it occurred to the guitarist and the young lady that we had better sit down. so my first acquaintance and discoverer, whose name was liubasha, was placed, in right of preemption, at my right hand, the _belle des belles_, miss sarsha, at my left, a number of damsels all around these, and then three or four circles of gypsies, of different ages and tints, standing up, surrounded us all. in the outer ring were several fast-looking and pretty russian or german blonde girls, whose mission it is, i believe, to dance--and flirt--with visitors, and a few gentlemanly-looking russians, _vieuz garcons_, evidently of the kind who are at home behind the scenes, and who knew where to come to enjoy themselves. altogether there must have been about fifty present, and i soon observed that every word i uttered was promptly repeated, while every eye was fixed on me. i could converse in romany with the guitarist, and without much difficulty; but with the charming, heedless young ladies i had as much trouble to talk as with their sisters in st. petersburg. the young gentleman already referred to, to whom in my fancy i promptly gave the offenbachian name of prince paul, translated whenever there was a misunderstanding, and in a few minutes we were all intimate. miss sarsha, who had a slight cast in one of her wild black eyes, which added something to the gypsiness and roguery of her smiles, and who wore in a ring a large diamond, which seemed as if it might be the right eye in the wrong place, was what is called an earnest young lady, with plenty to say and great energy wherewith to say it. what with her eyes, her diamond, her smiles, and her tongue, she constituted altogether a fine specimen of irrepressible fireworks, and prince paul had enough to do in facilitating conversation. there was no end to his politeness, but it was an impossible task for him now and then promptly to carry over a long sentence from german to russian, and he would give it up like an invincible conundrum, with the patient smile and head-wag and hand-wave of an amiable dundreary. yet i began to surmise a mystery even in him. more than once he inadvertently betrayed a knowledge of romany, though he invariably spoke of his friends around in a patronizing manner as "these gypsies." this was very odd, for in appearance he was a gorgio of the gorgios, and did not seem, despite any talent for languages which he might possess, likely to trouble himself to acquire romany while russian would answer every purpose of conversation. all of this was, however, explained to me afterward. prince paul again asked me if i had come out to hear a concert. i said, "no; that i had simply come out to see my brothers and sisters and talk with them, just as i hoped they would come to see me if i were in my own country." this speech produced a most favorable impression, and there was, in a quiet way, a little private conversation among the leaders, after which prince paul said to me, in a very pleasant manner, that "these gypsies," being delighted at the visit from the gentleman from a distant country, would like to offer me a song in token of welcome. to this i answered, with many thanks, that such kindness was more than i had expected, for i was well aware of the great value of such a compliment from singers whose fame had reached me even in america. it was evident that my grain of a reply did not fall upon stony ground, for i never was among people who seemed to be so quickly impressed by any act of politeness, however trifling. a bow, a grasp of the hand, a smile, or a glance would gratify them, and this gratification their lively black eyes expressed in the most unmistakable manner. so we had the song, wild and wonderful like all of its kind, given with that delightful _abandon_ which attains perfection only among gypsies. i had enjoyed the singing in st. petersburg, but there was a _laisser aller_, a completely gay spirit, in this christmas-eve gypsy party in moscow which was much more "whirling away." for at dorot the gypsies had been on exhibition; here at petrovka they were frolicking _en __famille_ with a favored guest,--a romany rye from a far land to astonish and delight,--and he took good care to let them feel that they were achieving a splendid success, for i declared many times that it was _butsi shukar_, or very beautiful. then i called for tea and lemon, and after that the gypsies sang for their own amusement, miss sarsha, as the incarnation of fun and jollity, taking the lead, and making me join in. then the crowd made way, and in the space appeared a very pretty little girl, in the graceful old gypsy oriental dress. this child danced charmingly indeed, in a style strikingly like that of the almeh of egypt, but without any of the erotic expressions which abound in eastern pantomime. this little romany girl was to me enchanting, being altogether unaffected and graceful. it was evident that her dancing, like the singing of her elder sisters, was not an art which had been drilled in by instruction. they had come into it in infancy, and perfected themselves by such continual practice that what they did was as natural as walking or talking. when the dancing was over, i begged that the little girl would come to me, and, kissing her tiny gypsy hand, i said, "_spassibo tute kamli_, _eto hi butsi shukar_" (thank you, dear; that is very pretty), with which the rest were evidently pleased. i had observed among the singers, at a little distance, a very remarkable and rather handsome old woman,--a good study for an artist,--and she, as i also noticed, had sung with a powerful and clear voice. "she is our grandmother," said one of the girls. now, as every student of gypsies knows, the first thing to do in england or germany, on entering a tent-gypsy encampment, is to be polite to "the old woman." unless you can win her good opinion you had better be gone. the russian city roms have apparently no such fancies. on the road, however, life is patriarchal, and the grandmother is a power to be feared. as a fortune-teller she is a witch, ever at warfare with the police world; she has a bitter tongue, and is quick to wrath. this was not the style or fashion of the old gypsy singer; but, as soon as i saw the _puri babali dye_, i requested that she would shake hand with me, and by the impression which this created i saw that the romany of the city had not lost all the feelings of the road. i spoke of waramoff's beautiful song of the "krasneya sarafan," which sarsha began at once to warble. the characteristic of russian gypsy-girl voices is a peculiarly delicate metallic tone,--like that of the two silver bells of the tower of ivan velikoi when heard from afar,--yet always marked with fineness and strength. this is sometimes startling in the wilder effects, but it is always agreeable. these moscow gypsy girls have a great name in their art, and it was round the shoulders of one of them--for aught i know it may have been sarsha's great-grandmother--that catalani threw the cashmere shawl which had been given to her by the pope as "to the best singer in the world." "it is not mine by right," said the generous italian; "it belongs to the gypsy." the gypsies were desirous of learning something about the songs of their kindred in distant lands, and, though no singer, i did my best to please them, the guitarist easily improvising accompaniments, while the girls joined in. as all were in a gay mood faults were easily excused, and the airs were much liked,--one lyric, set by virginia gabriel, being even more admired in moscow than in st. petersburg, apropos of which i may mention that, when i afterward visited the gypsy family in their own home, the first request from sarsha was, "_eto gilyo_, _rya_!" (_that_ song, sir), referring to "romany," which has been heard at several concerts in london. and so, after much discussion of the affairs of egypt, i took my leave amid a chorus of kind farewells. then vassili, loudly called for, reappeared from some nook with his elegantly frosted horse, and in a few minutes we were dashing homeward. cold! it was as severe as in western new york or minnesota, where the thermometer for many days every winter sinks lower than in st. petersburg, but where there are no such incredible precautions taken as in the land of double windows cemented down, and fur-lined _shubas_. it is remarkable that the gypsies, although of oriental origin, are said to surpass the russians in enduring cold; and there is a marvelous story told about a romany who, for a wager, undertook to sleep naked against a clothed muscovite on the ice of a river during an unusually cold night. in the morning the russian was found frozen stiff, while the gypsy was snoring away unharmed. as we returned, i saw in the town something which recalled this story in more than one _moujik_, who, well wrapped up, lay sleeping in the open air, under the lee of a house. passing through silent moscow on the early christmas morn, under the stars, as i gazed at the marvelous city, which yields neither to edinburgh, cairo, nor prague in picturesqueness, and thought over the strange evening i had spent among the gypsies, i felt as if i were in a melodrama with striking scenery. the pleasing _finale_ was the utter amazement and almost speechless gratitude of vassili at getting an extra half-ruble as an early christmas gift. as i had received a pressing invitation from the gypsies to come again, i resolved to pay them a visit on christmas afternoon in their own house, if i could find it. having ascertained that the gypsy street was in a distant quarter, called the _grouszini_, i engaged a sleigh, standing before the door of the slavanski-bazaar hotel, and the usual close bargain with the driver was effected with the aid of a russian gentleman, a stranger passing by, who reduced the ruble (one hundred kopecks) at first demanded to seventy kopecks. after a very long drive we found ourselves in the gypsy street, and the _istvostshik_ asked me, "to what house?" "i don't know," i replied. "gypsies live here, don't they?" "gypsies, and no others." "well, i want to find a gypsy." the driver laughed, and just at that instant i saw, as if awaiting me on the sidewalk, sarsha, liubasha, and another young lady, with a good-looking youth, their brother. "this will do," i said to the driver, who appeared utterly amazed at seeing me greeted like an old friend by the zigani, but who grinned with delight, as all russians of the lower class invariably do at anything like sociability and fraternity. the damsels were faultlessly attired in russian style, with full fur-lined, glossy black-satin cloaks and fine orenberg scarfs, which are, i believe, the finest woolen fabrics in the world. the party were particularly anxious to know if i had come specially to visit _them_, for i have passed over the fact that i had also made the acquaintance of another very large family of gypsies, who sang at a rival _cafe_, and who had also treated me very kindly. i was at once conducted to a house, which we entered in a rather gypsy way, not in front, but through a court, a back door, and up a staircase, very much in the style of certain dwellings in the potteries in london. but, having entered, i was led through one or two neat rooms, where i saw lying sound asleep on beds, but dressed, one or two very dark romanys, whose faces i remembered. then we passed into a sitting-room, which was very well furnished. i observed hanging up over the chimney-piece a good collection of photographs, nearly all of gypsies, and indicating that close resemblance to hindoos which comes out so strongly in such pictures, being, in fact, more apparent in the pictures than in the faces; just as the photographs of the old ulfilas manuscript revealed alterations not visible in the original. in the centre of the group was a cabinet-size portrait of sarsha, and by it another of an englishman of _very_ high rank. i thought this odd, but asked no questions. my hosts were very kind, offering me promptly a rich kind of russian cake, begging to know what else i would like to eat or drink, and apparently deeply concerned that i could really partake of nothing, as i had just come from luncheon. they were all light-hearted and gay, so that the music began at once, as wild and as bewitching as ever. and here i observed, even more than before, how thoroughly sincere these gypsies were in their art, and to what a degree they enjoyed and were excited by their own singing. here in their own home, warbling like birds and frolicking like children, their performance was even more delightful than it had been in the concert-room. there was evidently a great source of excitement in the fact that i must enjoy it far more than an ordinary stranger, because i understood romany, and sympathized with gypsy ways, and regarded them not as the _gaji_ or gentiles do, but as brothers and sisters. i confess that i was indeed moved by the simple kindness with which i was treated, and i knew that, with the wonderfully keen perception of character in which gypsies excel, they perfectly understood my liking for them. it is this ready intuition of feelings which, when it is raised from an instinct to an art by practice, enables shrewd old women to tell fortunes with so much skill. i was here introduced to the mother of the girls. she was a neat, pleasant-looking woman, of perhaps forty years, in appearance and manners irresistibly reminding me of some respectable cuban lady. like the others, she displayed an intelligent curiosity as to my knowledge of romany, and i was pleased at finding that she knew much more of the language than her children did. then there entered a young russian gentleman, but not "prince paul." he was, however, a very agreeable person, as all russians can be when so minded; and they are always so minded when they gather, from information or conjecture, the fact that the stranger whom they meet is one of education or position. this young gentleman spoke french, and undertook the part of occasional translator. i asked liubasha if any of them understood fortune-telling. "no; we have quite lost the art of _dorriki_. { } none of us know anything about it. but we hear that you romanichals over the black water understand it. oh, _rya_," she cried, eagerly, "you know so much,--you're such a deep romany,--can't _you_ tell fortunes?" "i should indeed know very little about romany ways," i replied, gravely, "if i could not _pen dorriki_. but i tell you beforehand, _terni pen_, '_dorrikipen hi hokanipen_,' little sister, fortune-telling is deceiving. yet what the lines say i can read." in an instant six as pretty little gypsy hands as i ever beheld were thrust before me, and i heard as many cries of delight. "tell _my_ fortune, _rya_! tell mine! and _mine_!" exclaimed the damsels, and i complied. it was all very well to tell them there was nothing in it; they knew a trick worth two of that. i perceived at once that the faith which endures beyond its own knowledge was placed in all i said. in england the gypsy woman, who at home ridicules her own fortune-telling and her dupes, still puts faith in a _gusveri mush_, or some "wise man," who with crystal or magical apparatus professes occult knowledge; for she thinks that her own false art is an imitation of a true one. it is really amusing to see the reverence with which an old gypsy will look at the awful hieroglyphics in cornelius agrippa's "occult philosophy," or, better still, "trithemius," and, as a gift, any ordinary fortune-telling book is esteemed by them beyond rubies. it is true that they cannot read it, but the precious volume is treasured like a fetich, and the owner is happy in the thought of at least possessing darksome and forbidden lore, though it be of no earthly use to her. after all the kindness they had shown me, i could not find it in my heart to refuse to tell these gentle zingari their little fortunes. it is not, i admit, exactly in the order of things that the chicken should dress the cook, or the gorgio tell fortunes to gypsies; but he who wanders in strange lands meets with strange adventures. so, with a full knowledge of the legal penalties attached in england to palmistry and other conjuration, and with the then pending slade case knocking heavily on my conscience, i proceeded to examine and predict. when i afterward narrated this incident to the late g. h. lewes, he expressed himself to the effect that to tell fortunes to gypsies struck him as the very _ne plus ultra_ of cheek,--which shows how extremes meet; for verily it was with great modesty and proper diffidence that i ventured to foretell the lives of these little ladies, having an antipathy to the practice of chiromancing as to other romancing. i have observed that as among men of great and varied culture, and of extensive experience, there are more complex and delicate shades and half-shades of light in the face, so in the palm the lines are correspondingly varied and broken. take a man of intellect and a peasant, of equal excellence of figure according to the literal rules of art or of anatomy, and this subtile multiplicity of variety shows itself in the whole body in favor of the "gentleman," so that it would almost seem as if every book we read is republished in the person. the first thing that struck me in these gypsy hands was the fewness of the lines, their clearly defined sweep, and their simplicity. in every one the line of life was unbroken, and, in fine, one might think from a drawing of the hand, and without knowing who its owner might be, that he or she was of a type of character unknown in most great european cities,--a being gifted with special culture, and in a certain simple sense refined, but not endowed with experience in a thousand confused phases of life. the hands of a true genius, who has passed through life earnestly devoted to a single art, however, are on the whole like these of the gypsies. such, for example, are the hands of fanny janauschek, the lines of which agree to perfection with the laws of chiromancy. the art reminds one of cervantes's ape, who told the past and present, but not the future. and here "tell me what thou hast been, and i will tell what thou wilt be" gives a fine opportunity to the soothsayer. to avoid mistakes i told the fortunes in french, which was translated into russian. i need not say that every word was listened to with earnest attention, or that the group of dark but young and comely faces, as they gathered around and bent over, would have made a good subject for a picture. after the girls, the mother must needs hear her _dorriki_ also, and last of all the young russian gentleman, who seemed to take as earnest an interest in his future as even the gypsies. as he alone understood french, and as he appeared to be _un peu gaillard_, and, finally, as the lines of his hand said nothing to the contrary, i predicted for him in detail a fortune in which _bonnes fortunes_ were not at all wanting. i think he was pleased, but when i asked him if he would translate what i had said of his future into russian, he replied with a slight wink and a scarcely perceptible negative. i suppose he had his reasons for declining. then we had singing again, and christopher, the brother, a wild and gay young gypsy, became so excited that while playing the guitar he also danced and caroled, and the sweet voices of the girls rose in chorus, and i was again importuned for the _romany_ song, and we had altogether a very bohemian frolic. i was sorry when the early twilight faded into night, and i was obliged, notwithstanding many entreaties to the contrary, to take my leave. these gypsies had been very friendly and kind to me in a strange city, where i had not an acquaintance, and where i had expected none. they had given me of their very best; for they gave me songs which i can never forget, and which were better to me than all the opera could bestow. the young russian, polite to the last, went bareheaded with me into the street, and, hailing a sleigh-driver, began to bargain for me. in moscow, as in other places, it makes a great difference in the fare whether one takes a public conveyance from before the first hotel or from a house in the gypsy quarter. i had paid seventy kopecks to come, and i at once found that my new friend and the driver were engaged in wild and fierce dispute whether i should pay twenty or thirty to return. "oh, give him thirty!" i exclaimed. "it's little enough." "_non_," replied the russian, with the air of a man of principles. "_il ne faut pas gater ces gens-la_." but i gave the driver thirty, all the same, when we got home, and thereby earned the usual shower of blessings. a few days afterward, while going from moscow to st. petersburg, i made the acquaintance of a young russian noble and diplomat, who was well informed on all current gossip, and learned from him some curious facts. the first young gentleman whom i had seen among the romanys of moscow was the son of a russian prince by a gypsy mother, and the very noble englishman whose photograph i had seen in sarsha's collection had not long ago (as rumor averred) paid desperate attentions to the belle of the romanys without obtaining the least success. my informant did not know her name. putting this and that together, i think it highly probable that sarsha was the young lady, and that the _latcho bar_, or diamond, which sparkled on her finger had been paid for with british gold, while the donor had gained the same "unluck" which befell one of his type in the spanish gypsy song as given by george borrow:-- "loud sang the spanish cavalier, and thus his ditty ran: 'god send the gypsy maiden here, but not the gypsy man.' "on high arose the moon so bright, the gypsy 'gan to sing, 'i gee a spaniard coming here, i must be on the wing.'" austrian gypsies. i. in june, , i went to paris, during the great exhibition. i had been invited by monsieur edmond about to attend as a delegate the congres internationale litteraire, which was about to be held in the great city. how we assembled, how m. about distinguished himself as one of the most practical and common-sensible of men of genius, and how we were all finally harangued by m. victor hugo with the most extraordinary display of oratorical sky-rockets, catherine-wheels, blue-lights, fire-crackers, and pin-wheels by which it was ever my luck to be amused, is matter of history. but this chapter is only autobiographical, and we will pass over the history. as an anglo-american delegate, i was introduced to several great men gratis; to the greatest of all i introduced myself at the expense of half a franc. this was to the chinese giant, chang, who was on exhibition at a small cafe garden near the trocadero. there were no other visitors in his pavilion when i entered. he received me with politeness, and we began to converse in fourth-story english, but gradually went down-stairs into pidgin, until we found ourselves fairly in the kitchen of that humble but entertaining dialect. it is a remarkable sensation to sit alone with a mild monster, and feel like a little boy. i do not distinctly remember whether chang is eight, or ten or twelve feet high; i only know that, though i am, as he said, "one velly big piecee man," i sat and lifted my eyes from time to time at the usual level, forgetfully expecting to meet his eyes, and beheld instead the buttons on his breast. then i looked up--like daruma to buddha--and up, and saw far above me his "lights of the soul" gleaming down on me as it were from the top of a lofty beacon. i soon found that chang, regarding all things from a giant's point of view, esteemed mankind by their size and looks. therefore, as he had complimented me according to his lights, i replied that he was a "numpa one too muchee glanti handsome man, first chop big." then he added, "you belongy inklis man?" "no. my one piecee _fa-ke-kwok_; { } my melican, galaw. you dlinkee ale some-tim?" the giant replied that _pay-wine_, which is pidgin for beer, was not ungrateful to his palate or foreign to his habits. so we had a quart of alsopp between us, and drank to better acquaintance. i found that the giant had exhibited himself in many lands, and taken great pains to learn the language of each, so that he spoke german, italian, and spanish well enough. he had been at a mission-school when he used to "stop china-side," or was in his native land. i assured him that i had perceived it from the first, because he evidently "talked ink," as his countrymen say of words which are uttered by a scholar, and i greatly gratified him by citing some of my own "beautiful verses," which are reversed from a chinese original:-- "one man who never leadee { a} like one dly { b} inkstan be: you turn he up-side downy, no ink lun { c} outside he." so we parted with mutual esteem. this was the second man by the name of chang whom i had known, and singularly enough they were both exhibited as curiosities. the other made a living as a siamese twin, and his brother was named eng. they wrote their autographs for me, and put them wisely at the very top of the page, lest i should write a promise to pay an immense sum of money, or forge a free pass to come into the exhibition gratis over their signatures. having seen chang, i returned to the hotel de louvre, dined, and then went forth with friends to the orangerie. this immense garden, devoted to concerts, beer, and cigars, is said to be capable of containing three thousand people; before i left it it held about five thousand. i knew not why this unwonted crowd had assembled; when i found the cause i was astonished, with reason. at the gate was a bill, on which i read "les bohemiennes de moscow." "some small musical comedy, i suppose," i said to myself. "but let us see it." we pressed on. "look there!" said my companion. "those are certainly gypsies." sure enough, a procession of men and women, strangely dressed in gayly colored oriental garments, was entering the gates. but i replied, "impossible. not here in paris. probably they are performers." "but see. they notice you. that girl certainly knows you. she's turning her head. there,--i heard her say o romany rye!" i was bewildered. the crowd was dense, but as the procession passed me at a second turn i saw they were indeed gypsies, and i was grasped by the hand by more than one. they were my old friends from moscow. this explained the immense multitude. there was during the exhibition a great _furor_ as regarded _les zigains_. the gypsy orchestra which performed in the hungarian cafe was so beset by visitors that a comic paper represented them as covering the roofs of the adjacent houses so as to hear something. this evening the russian gypsies were to make their debut in the orangerie, and they were frightened at their own success. they sang, but their voices were inaudible to two thirds of the audience, and those who could not hear roared, "louder!" then they adjourned to the open air, where the voices were lost altogether on a crowd calling, "_garcon_--_vite_--_une tasse cafe_!" or applauding. in the intervals scores of young russian gentlemen, golden swells, who had known the girls of old, gathered round the fair ones like moths around tapers. the singing was not the same as it had been; the voices were the same, but the sweet wild charm of the romany caroling, bird-like, for pleasure was gone. but i found by themselves and unnoticed two of the troupe, whom i shall not soon forget. they were two very handsome youths,--one of sixteen years, the other twenty. and with the first words in romany they fairly jumped for joy; and the artist who could have caught their picture then would have made a brave one. they were clad in blouses of colored silk, which, with their fine dark complexions and great black eyes, gave them a very picturesque air. these had not seen me in russia, nor had they heard of me; they were probably from novogorod. like the girls they were children, but in a greater degree, for they had not been flattered, and kind words delighted them so that they clapped their hands. they began to hum gypsy songs, and had i not prevented it they would have run at once and brought a guitar, and improvised a small concert for me _al fresco_. i objected to this, not wishing to take part any longer in such a very public exhibition. for the _gobe-mouches_ and starers, noticing a stranger talking with _ces zigains_, had begun to gather in a dense crowd around us, and the two ladies and the gentleman who were with us were seriously inconvenienced. we endeavored to step aside, but the multitude stepped aside also, and would not let us alone. they were french, but they might have been polite. as it was, they broke our merry conference up effectively, and put us to flight. "do let us come and see you, _rya_," said the younger boy. "we will sing, for i can really sing beautifully, and we like you so much. where do you live?" i could not invite them, for i was about to leave paris, as i then supposed. i have never seen them since, and there was no adventure and no strange scenery beyond the thousands of lights and guests and trees and voices speaking french. yet to this day the gay boyishness, the merry laughter, and the child-like _naivete_ of the promptly-formed liking of those gypsy youths remains impressed on my mind with all the color and warmth of an adventure or a living poem. can you recall no child by any wayside of life to whom you have given a chance smile or a kind word, and been repaid with artless sudden attraction? for to all of us,--yes, to the coldest and worst,--there are such memories of young people, of children, and i pity him who, remembering them, does not feel the touch of a vanished hand and hear a chord which is still. there are adventures which we can tell to others as stories, but the best have no story; they may be only the memory of a strange dog which followed us, and i have one such of a cat who, without any introduction, leaped wildly towards me, "and would not thence away." it is a good life which has many such memories. i was walking a day or two after with an english friend, who was also a delegate to the international literary congress, in the exhibition, when we approached the side gate, or rear entrance of the hungarian cafe. six or seven dark and strange-looking men stood about, dressed in the uniform of a military band. i caught their glances, and saw that they were romany. "now you shall see something queer," i said to my friend. so advancing to the first dark man i greeted him in gypsy. "i do not understand you," he promptly replied--or lied. i turned to a second. "you have more sense, and you do understand. _adro miro tem penena mande o baro rai_." (in my country the gypsies call me the great gentleman.) this phrase may be translated to mean either the "tall gentleman" or the "great lord." it was apparently taken in the latter sense, for at once all the party bowed very low, raising their hands to their foreheads, in oriental fashion. "hallo!" exclaimed my english friend, who had not understood what i had said. "what game is this you are playing on these fellows?" up to the front came a superior, the leader of the band. "great god!" he exclaimed, "what is this i hear? this is wonderful. to think that there should be anybody here to talk with! i can only talk magyar and romanes." "and what do you talk?" i inquired of the first violin. "_ich spreche nur deutsch_!" he exclaimed, with a strong vienna accent and a roar of laughter. "i only talk german." this worthy man, i found, was as much delighted with my german as the leader with my gypsy; and in all my experience i never met two beings so charmed at being able to converse. that i should have met with them was of itself wonderful. only there was this difference: that the viennese burst into a laugh every time he spoke, while the gypsy grew more sternly solemn and awfully impressive. there are people to whom mere talking is a pleasure,--never mind the ideas,--and here i had struck two at once. i once knew a gentleman named stewart. he was the mayor, first physician, and postmaster of st. paul, minnesota. while camping out, _en route_, and in a tent with him, it chanced that among the other gentlemen who had tented with us there were two terrible snorers. now mr. stewart had heard that you may stop a man's snoring by whistling. and here was a wonderful opportunity. "so i waited," he said, "until one man was coming down with his snore, _diminuendo_, while the other was rising, _crescendo_, and at the exact point of intersection, _moderato_, i blew my car-whistle, and so got both birds at one shot. i stopped them both." even as mayor stewart had winged his two birds with one ball had i hit my two peregrines. "we are now going to perform," said the gypsy captain. "will you not take seats on the platform, and hear us play?" i did not know it at the time, but i heard afterwards that this was a great compliment, and one rarely bestowed. the platform was small, and we were very near our new friends. scarcely had the performance begun ere i perceived that, just as the gypsies in russia had sung their best in my honor, these artists were exerting themselves to the utmost, and, all unheeding the audience, playing directly at me and into me. when any _tour_ was deftly made the dark master nodded to me with gleaming eyes, as if saying, "what do you think of _that_, now?" the viennese laughed for joy every time his glance met mine, and as i looked at the various lajoshes and joshkas of the band, they blew, beat, or scraped with redoubled fury, or sank into thrilling tenderness. hurrah! here was somebody to play to who knew gypsy and all the games thereof; for a very little, even a word, reveals a great deal, and i must be a virtuoso, at least by romany, if not by art. it was with all the joy of success that the first piece ended amid thunders of applause. "that was not the _racoczy_," i said. "yet it sounded like it." "no," said the captain. "but _now_ you shall hear the _racoczy_ and the _czardas_ as you never heard them before. for we can play that better than any orchestra in vienna. truly, you will never forget us after hearing it." and then they played the _racoczy_, the national hungarian favorite, of gypsy composition, with heart and soul. as these men played for me, inspired with their own music, feeling and enjoying it far more than the audience, and all because they had got a gypsy gentleman to play to, i appreciated what a _life_ that was to them, and what it should be; not cold-blooded skill, aiming only at excellence or preexcellence and at setting up the artist, but a fire and a joy, a self-forgetfulness which whirls the soul away as the soul of the moenad went with the stream adown the mountains,--_evoe bacchus_! this feeling is deep in the heart of the hungarian gypsy; he plays it, he feels it in every air, he knows the rush of the stream as it bounds onwards,--knows that it expresses his deepest desire; and so he has given it words in a song which, to him who has the key, is one of the most touching ever written:-- "dyal o pani repedishis, m'ro pirano hegedishis; "dyal o pani tale vatra, m'ro pirano klanetaha. "dyal o pani pe kishai m'ro pirano tsino rai." "the stream runs on with rushing din as i hear my true love's violin; "and the river rolls o'er rock and stone as he plays the flute so sweet alone. "runs o'er the sand as it began, then my true love lives a gentleman." yes, music whirling the soul away as on a rushing river, the violin notes falling like ripples, the flute tones all aflow among the rocks; and when it sweeps _adagio_ on the sandy bed, then the gypsy player is at heart equal to a lord, then he feels a gentleman. the only true republic is art. there all earthly distinctions pass away; there he is best who lives and feels best, and makes others feel, not that he is cleverer than they, but that he can awaken sympathy and joy. the intense reality of musical art as a comforter to these gypsies of eastern europe is wonderful. among certain inedited songs of the transylvanian gypsies, in the kolosvarer dialect, i find the following:-- "na janav ko dad m'ro as, niko mallen mange as, miro gule dai merdyas pirani me pregelyas. uva tu o hegedive tu sal mindik pash mange." "i've known no father since my birth, i have no friend alive on earth; my mother's dead this many day, the girl i loved has gone her way; thou violin with music free alone art ever true to me." it is very wonderful that the charm of the russian gypsy girls' singing was destroyed by the atmosphere or applause of a paris concert-room, while the hungarian romanys conquered it as it were by sheer force, and by conquering gave their music the charm of intensity. i do not deny that in this music, be it of voice or instruments, there is much which is perhaps imagined, which depends on association, which is plain to john but not to jack; but you have only to advance or retreat a few steps to find the same in the highest art. this, at least, we know: that no performer at any concert in london can awake the feeling of intense enjoyment which these wild minstrels excite in themselves and in others by sympathy. now it is a question in many forms as to whether art for enjoyment is to die, and art for the sake of art alone survive. is joyous and healthy nature to vanish step by step from the heart of man, and morbid, egoistic pessimism to take its place? are over-culture, excessive sentiment, constant self-criticism, and all the brood of nervous curses to monopolize and inspire art? a fine alliance this they are making, the ascetic monk and the atheistic pessimist, to kill nature! they will never effect it. it may die in many forms. it may lose its charm, as the singing of sarsha and of liubasha was lost among the rustling and noise of thousands of parisian _badauds_ in the orangerie. but there will be stronger forms of art, which will make themselves heard, as the hungarian romanys heeded no din, and bore all away with their music. "_latcho divvus miri pralia_!--_miduvel atch pa tumende_!" (good-day, my brothers. god rest on you) i said, and they rose and bowed, and i went forth into the exhibition. it was a brave show, that of all the fine things from all parts of the world which man can make, but to me the most interesting of all were the men themselves. will not the managers of the next world show give us a living ethnological department? of these hungarian gypsies who played in paris during the exhibition much was said in the newspapers, and from the following, which appeared in an american journal, written by some one to me unknown, the reader may learn that there were many others to whom their music was deeply thrilling or wildly exciting:-- "the hungarian tziganes (zigeuner) are the rage just now at paris. the story is that liszt picked out the individuals composing the band one by one from among the gypsy performers in hungary and bohemia. half-civilized in appearance, dressed in an unbecoming half-military costume, they are nothing while playing strauss' waltzes or their own; but when they play the radetsky defile, the racoksky march, or their marvelous czardas, one sees and hears the battle, and it is easy to understand the influence of their music in fomenting hungarian revolutions; why for so long it was made treasonable to play or listen to these czardas; and why, as they heard them, men rose to their feet, gathered together, and with tears rolling down their faces, and throats swelling with emotion, departed to do or die." and when i remember that they played for me as they said they had played for no other man in paris, "into the ear,"--and when i think of the gleam in their eyes, i verily believe they _told_ the truth,--i feel glad that i chanced that morning on those dark men and spoke to them in romany. * * * * * since the above was written i have met in an entertaining work called "unknown hungary," by victor tissot, with certain remarks on the hungarian gypsy musicians which are so appropriate that i cite them in full:-- "the gypsy artists in hungary play by inspiration, with inimitable _verve_ and spirit, without even knowing their notes, and nothing whatever of the rhymes and rules of the masters. liszt, who has closely studied them, says, the art of music being for them a sublime language, a song, mystic in itself, though dear to the initiated, they use it according to the wants of the moment which they wish to express. they have invented their music for their own use, to sing about themselves to themselves, to express themselves in the most heartfelt and touching monologues. "their music is as free as their lives; no intermediate modulation, no chords, no transition, it goes from one key to another. from ethereal heights they precipitate you into the howling depths of hell; from the plaint, barely heard, they pass brusquely to the warrior's song, which bursts loudly forth, passionate and tender, at once burning and calm. their melodies plunge you into a melancholy reverie, or carry you away into a stormy whirlwind; they are a faithful expression of the hungarian character, sometimes quick, brilliant, and lively, sometimes sad and apathetic. "the gypsies, when they arrived in hungary, had no music of their own; they appropriated the magyar music, and made from it an original art which now belongs to them." i here break in upon messieurs tissot and liszt to remark that, while it is very probable that the roms reformed hungarian music, it is rather boldly assumed that they had no music of their own. it was, among other callings, as dancers and musicians that they left india and entered europe, and among them were doubtless many descendants of the ten thousand indo-persian luris or nuris. but to resume quotation:-- "they made from it an art full of life, passion, laughter, and tears. the instrument which the gypsies prefer is the violin, which they call _bas' alja_, 'the king of instruments.' they also play the viola, the cymbal, and the clarionet. "there was a pause. the gypsies, who had perceived at a table a comfortable-looking man, evidently wealthy, and on a pleasure excursion in the town, came down from their platform, and ranged themselves round him to give him a serenade all to himself, as is their custom. they call this 'playing into the ear.' "they first asked the gentleman his favorite air, and then played it with such spirit and enthusiasm and overflowing richness of variation and ornament, and with so much emotion, that it drew forth the applause of the whole company. after this they executed a czardas, one of the wildest, most feverish, harshest, and, one may say, tormenting, as if to pour intoxication into the soul of their listener. they watched his countenance to note the impression produced by the passionate rhythm of their instruments; then, breaking off suddenly, they played a hushed, soft, caressing measure; and again, almost breaking the trembling cords of their bows, they produced such an intensity of effect that the listener was almost beside himself with delight and astonishment. he sat as if bewitched; he shut his eyes, hung his head in melancholy, or raised it with a start, as the music varied; then jumped up and struck the back of his head with his hands. he positively laughed and cried at once; then, drawing a roll of bank-notes from his pocket-book, he threw it to the gypsies, and fell back in his chair, as if exhausted with so much enjoyment. and in _this_ lies the triumph of the gypsy music; it is like that of orpheus, which moved the rocks and trees. the soul of the hungarian plunges, with a refinement of sensation that we can understand, but cannot follow, into this music, which, like the unrestrained indulgence of the imagination in fantasy and caprice, gives to the initiated all the intoxicating sensations experienced by opium smokers." the austrian gypsies have many songs which perfectly reflect their character. most of them are only single verses of a few lines, such as are sung everywhere in spain; others, which are longer, seem to have grown from the connection of these verses. the following translation from the roumanian romany (vassile alexandri) gives an idea of their style and spirit:-- gypsy song. the wind whistles over the heath, the moonlight flits over the flood; and the gypsy lights up his fire, in the darkness of the wood. hurrah! in the darkness of the wood. free is the bird in the air, and the fish where the river flows; free is the deer in the forest, and the gypsy wherever he goes. hurrah! and the gypsy wherever he goes. a gorgio gentleman speaks. girl, wilt thou live in my home? i will give thee a sable gown, and golden coins for a necklace, if thou wilt be my own. gypsy girl. no wild horse will leave the prairie for a harness with silver stars; nor an eagle the crags of the mountain, for a cage with golden bars; nor the gypsy girl the forest, or the meadow, though gray and cold, for garments made of sable, or necklaces of gold. the gorgio. girl, wilt thou live in my dwelling, for pearls and diamonds true? { } i will give thee a bed of scarlet, and a royal palace, too. gypsy girl. my white teeth are my pearlins, my diamonds my own black eyes; my bed is the soft green meadow, my palace the world as it lies. free is the bird in the air, and the fish where the river flows; free is the deer in the forest, and the gypsy wherever he goes. hurrah! and the gypsy wherever he goes. there is a deep, strange element in the gypsy character, which finds no sympathy or knowledge in the german, and very little in other europeans, but which is so much in accord with the slavonian and hungarian that he who truly feels it with love is often disposed to mingle them together. it is a dreamy mysticism; an indefinite semi-supernaturalism, often passing into gloom; a feeling as of buddhism which has glided into northern snows, and taken a new and darker life in winter-lands. it is strong in the czech or bohemian, whose nature is the worst understood in the civilized world. that he should hate the german with all his heart and soul is in the order of things. we talk about the mystical germans, but german self-conscious mysticism is like a problem of euclid beside the natural, unexpressed dreaminess of the czech. the german mystic goes to work at once to expound his "system" in categories, dressing it up in a technology which in the end proves to be the only mystery in it. the bohemian and gypsy, each in their degrees of culture, form no system and make no technology, but they feel all the more. now the difference between true and imitative mysticism is that the former takes no form; it is even narrowed by religious creeds, and wing-clipt by pious "illumination." nature, and nature alone, is its real life. it was from the southern slavonian lands that all real mysticism, and all that higher illumination which means freedom, came into germany and europe; and after all, germany's first and best mystic, jacob bohme, was bohemian by name, as he was by nature. when the world shall have discovered who the as yet unknown slavonian german was who wrote all the best part of "consuelo," and who helped himself in so doing from "der letzte taborit," by herlossohn, we shall find one of the few men who understood the bohemian. once in a while, as in fanny janauschek, the czech bursts out into art, and achieves a great triumph. i have seen rachel and ristori many a time, but their best acting was shallow compared to janauschek's, as i have seen it in by-gone years, when she played iphigenia and medea in german. no one save a bohemian could ever so _intuit_ the gloomy profundity and unearthly fire of the colchian sorceress. these are the things required to perfect every artist,--above all, the tragic artist,--that the tree of his or her genius shall not only soar to heaven among the angels, but also have roots in the depths of darkness and fire; and that he or she shall play not only to the audience, and in sympathy with them, but also unto one's self and down to one's deepest dreams. no one will accuse me of wide discussion or padding who understands my drift in this chapter. i am speaking of the gypsy, and i cannot explain him more clearly than by showing his affinities with the slavonian and magyar, and how, through music and probably in many other ways, he has influenced them. as the spaniard perfectly understands the objective vagabond side of the gitano, so the southeastern european understands the musical and wild-forest yearnings of the tsigane. both to gypsy and slavonian there is that which makes them dream so that even debauchery has for them at times an unearthly inspiration; and as smoking was inexpressibly sacred to the red indians of old, so that when the guatemalan christ harried hell, the demons offered him cigars; in like manner tipsiness is often to the gypsy and servian, or czech, or croat, something so serious and impressive that it is a thing not to be lightly thought of, but to be undertaken with intense deliberation and under due appreciation of its benefits. many years ago, when i had begun to feel this strange element i gave it expression in a poem which i called "the bohemian," as expressive of both gypsy and slavonian nature:-- the bohemian. chces li tajnou vec aneb pravdu vyzvedeti blazen, dite opily clovek o tom umeji povodeti. wouldst thou know a truth or mystery, a drunkard, fool, or child may tell it thee bohemian proverb. and now i'll wrap my blanket o'er me, and on the tavern floor i'll lie, a double spirit-flask before me, and watch my pipe clouds, melting, die. they melt and die, but ever darken as night comes on and hides the day, till all is black; then, brothers, hearken, and if ye can write down my lay. in yon long loaf my knife is gleaming, like one black sail above the boat; as once at pesth i saw it beaming, half through a dark croatian throat. now faster, faster, whirls the ceiling, and wilder, wilder, turns my brain; and still i'll drink, till, past all feeling, my soul leaps forth to light again. whence come these white girls wreathing round me? barushka!--long i thought thee dead; katchenka!--when these arms last bound thee thou laid'st by rajrad, cold as lead. and faster, faster, whirls the ceiling, and wilder, wilder, turns my brain; and from afar a star comes stealing straight at me o'er the death-black plain. alas! i sink. my spirits miss me. i swim, i shoot from shore to shore! klara! thou golden sister--kiss me! i rise--i'm safe--i'm strong once more. and faster, faster, whirls the ceiling, and wilder, wilder, whirls my brain; the star!--it strikes my soul, revealing all life and light to me again. * * * * * against the waves fresh waves are dashing, above the breeze fresh breezes blow; through seas of light new light is flashing, and with them all i float and flow. yet round me rings of fire are gleaning,-- pale rings of fire, wild eyes of death! why haunt me thus, awake or dreaming? methought i left ye with my breath! ay, glare and stare, with life increasing, and leech-like eyebrows, arching in; be, if ye must, my fate unceasing, but never hope a fear to win. he who knows all may haunt the haunter, he who fears naught hath conquered fate; who bears in silence quells the daunter, and makes his spoiler desolate. o wondrous eyes, of star-like lustre, how have ye changed to guardian love! alas! where stars in myriads cluster, ye vanish in the heaven above. * * * * * i hear two bells so softly ringing; how sweet their silver voices roll! the one on distant hills is ringing, the other peals within my soul. i hear two maidens gently talking, bohemian maids, and fair to see: the one on distant hills is walking, the other maiden,--where is she? where is she? when the moonlight glistens o'er silent lake or murmuring stream, i hear her call my soul, which listens, "oh, wake no more! come, love, and dream!" she came to earth, earth's loveliest creature; she died, and then was born once more; changed was her race, and changed each feature, but yet i loved her as before. we live, but still, when night has bound me in golden dreams too sweet to last, a wondrous light-blue world around me, she comes,--the loved one of the past. i know not which i love the dearest, for both the loves are still the same: the living to my life is nearest, the dead one feeds the living flame. and when the sun, its rose-wine quaffing, which flows across the eastern deep, awakes us, klara chides me, laughing, and says we love too well in sleep. and though no more a voivode's daughter, as when she lived on earth before, the love is still the same which sought her, and i am true, and ask no more. * * * * * bright moonbeams on the sea are playing, and starlight shines upon the hill, and i should wake, but still delaying in our old life i linger still. for as the wind clouds flit above me, and as the stars above them shine, my higher life's in those who love me, and higher still, our life's divine. and thus i raise my soul by drinking, as on the tavern floor i lie; it heeds not whence begins our thinking if to the end its flight is high. e'en outcasts may have heart and feeling, the blackest wild tsigan be true, and love, like light in dungeons stealing, though bars be there, will still burst through. it is the reecho of more than one song of those strange lands, of more than one voice, and of many a melody; and those who have heard them, though not more distinctly than francois villon when he spoke of flinging the question back by silent lake and streamlet lone, will understand me, and say it is true to nature. in a late work on magyarland, by a lady fellow of the carpathian society, i find more on hungarian gypsy music, which is so well written that i quote fully from it, being of the opinion that one ought, when setting forth any subject, to give quite as good an opportunity to others who are in our business as to ourselves. and truly this lady has felt the charm of the tsigan music and describes it so well that one wishes she were a romany in language and by adoption, like unto a dozen dames and damsels whom i know. "the magyars have a perfect passion for this gypsy music, and there is nothing that appeals so powerfully to their emotions, whether of joy or sorrow. these singular musicians are, as a rule, well taught, and can play almost any music, greatly preferring, however, their own compositions. their music, consequently, is highly characteristic. it is the language of their lives and strange surroundings, a wild, weird banshee music: now all joy and sparkle, like sunshine on the plains; now sullen, sad, and pathetic by turns, like the wail of a crushed and oppressed people,--an echo, it is said, of the minstrelsy of the _hegedosok_ or hungarian bards, but sounding to our ears like the more distant echo of that exceeding bitter cry, uttered long centuries ago by their forefathers under egyptian bondage, and borne over the time-waves of thousands of years, breaking forth in their music of to-day." here i interrupt the lady--with all due courtesy--to remark that i cannot agree with her, nor with her probable authority, walter simson, in believing that the gypsies are the descendants of the mixed races who followed moses out of egypt. the rom in egypt is a hindoo stranger now, as he ever was. but that the echo of centuries of outlawry and wretchedness and wildness rises and falls, like the ineffable discord in a wind-harp, in romany airs is true enough, whatever its origin may have been. but i beg pardon, madam,--i interrupted you. "the soul-stirring, madly exciting, and martial strains of the racoczys--one of the revolutionary airs--has just died upon the ear. a brief interval of rest has passed. now listen with bated breath to that recitative in the minor key,--that passionate wail, that touching story, the gypsies' own music, which rises and falls on the air. knives and forks are set down, hands and arms hang listless, all the seeming necessities of the moment being either suspended or forgotten,--merged in the memories which those vibrations, so akin to human language, reawaken in each heart. eyes involuntarily fill with tears, as those pathetic strains echo back and make present some sorrow of long ago, or rouse from slumber that of recent time. . . . "and now, the recitative being ended, and the last chord struck, the melody begins, of which the former was the prelude. watch the movements of the supple figure of the first violin, standing in the centre of the other musicians, who accompany him softly. how every nerve is _en rapport_ with his instrument, and how his very soul is speaking through it! see how gently he draws the bow across the trembling strings, and how lovingly he lays his cheek upon it, as if listening to some responsive echo of his heart's inmost feeling, for it is his mystic language! how the instrument lives and answers to his every touch, sending forth in turn utterances tender, sad, wild, and joyous! the audience once more hold their breath to catch the dying tones, as the melody, so rich, so beautiful, so full of pathos, is drawing to a close. the tension is absolutely painful as the gypsy dwells on the last lingering note, and it is a relief when, with a loud and general burst of sound, every performer starts into life and motion. _then_ what crude and wild dissonances are made to resolve themselves into delicious harmony! what rapturous and fervid phrases, and what energy and impetuosity, are there in every motion of the gypsies' figures, as their dark eyes glisten and emit flashes in unison with the tones!" the writer is gifted in giving words to gypsy music. one cannot say, as the inexhaustible cad writes of niagara ten times on a page in the visitors' book, that it is indescribable. i think that if language means anything this music has been very well described by the writers whom i have cited. when i am told that the gypsies' impetuous and passionate natures make them enter into musical action with heart and soul, i feel not only the strains played long ago, but also hear therein the horns of elfland blowing,--which he who has not heard, of summer days, in the drone of the bee, by reedy rustling stream, will never know on earth in any wise. but once heard it comes ever, as i, though in the city, heard it last night in the winter wind, with romany words mingled in wild refrain:-- "_kamava tute_, _miri chelladi_!" ii. austrian gypsies in philadelphia. it was a sunny sunday afternoon, and i was walking down chestnut street, philadelphia, when i met with three very dark men. dark men are not rarities in my native city. there is, for instance, eugene, who has the invaluable faculty of being able to turn his hand to an infinite helpfulness in the small arts. these men were darker than eugene, but they differed from him in this, that while he is a man of color, they were not. for in america the man of aryan blood, however dark he may be, is always "off" color, while the lightest-hued quadroon is always on it. which is not the only paradox connected with the descendants of africans of which i have heard. i saw at a glance that these dark men were much nearer to the old aryan stock than are even my purely white readers. for they were more recently from india, and they could speak a language abounding in hindi, in pure old sanskrit, and in persian. yet they would make no display of it; on the contrary, i knew that they would be very likely at first to deny all knowledge thereof, as well as their race and blood. for they were gypsies; it was very apparent in their eyes, which had the gitano gleam as one seldom sees it in england. i confess that i experienced a thrill as i exchanged glances with them. it was a long time since i had seen a romany, and, as usual, i knew that i was going to astonish them. they were singularly attired, having very good clothes of a quite theatrical foreign fashion, bearing silver buttons as large as and of the shape of hen's eggs. their hair hung in black ringlets down their shoulders, and i saw that they had come from the austrian slavonian land. i addressed the eldest in italian. he answered fluently and politely. i changed to ilirski or illyrian and to serb, of which i have a few phrases in stock. they spoke all these languages fluently, for one was a born illyrian and one a serb. they also spoke nemetz, or german; in fact, everything except english. "have you got through all your languages?" i at last inquired. "tutte, signore,--all of them." "isn't there _one_ left behind, which you have forgotten? think a minute." "no, signore. none." "what, not _one_! you know so many that perhaps a language more or less makes no difference to you." "by the lord, signore, you have seen every egg in the basket." i looked him fixedly in the eyes, and said, in a low tone,-- "_ne rakesa tu romanes miro prala_?" there was a startled glance from one to the other, and a silence. i had asked him if he could not talk romany. and i added,-- "_won't_ you talk a word with a gypsy brother?" _that_ moved them. they all shook my hands with great feeling, expressing intense joy and amazement at meeting with one who knew them. "_mishto hom me dikava tute_." (i am glad to see you.) so they told me how they were getting on, and where they were camped, and how they sold horses, and so on, and we might have got on much farther had it not been for a very annoying interruption. as i was talking to the gypsies, a great number of men, attracted by the sound of a foreign language, stopped, and fairly pushed themselves up to us, endeavoring to make it all out. when there were at least fifty, they crowded in between me and the foreigners, so that i could hardly talk to them. the crowd did not consist of ordinary people, or snobs. they were well dressed,--young clerks, at least,--who would have fiercely resented being told that they were impertinent. "eye-talians, ain't they?" inquired one man, who was evidently zealous in pursuit of knowledge. "why don't you tell us what they are sayin'?" "what kind of fellers air they, any way?" i was desirous of going with the hungarian roms. but to walk along chestnut street with an augmenting procession of fifty curious sunday promenaders was not on my card. in fact, i had some difficulty in tearing myself from the inquisitive, questioning, well-dressed people. the gypsies bore the pressure with the serene equanimity of cosmopolite superiority, smiling at provincial rawness. even so in china and africa the traveler is mobbed by the many, who, there as here, think that "i want to know" is full excuse for all intrusiveness. _q'est tout comme chez nous_. i confess that i was vexed, and, considering that it was in my native city, mortified. a few days after i went out to the _tan_ where these roms had camped. but the birds had flown, and a little pile of ashes and the usual debris of a gypsy camp were all that remained. the police told me that they had some very fine horses, and had gone to the northwest; and that is all i ever saw of them. i have heard of a philanthropist who was turned into a misanthrope by attempting to sketch in public and in galleries. respectable strangers, even clergymen, would stop and coolly look over his shoulder, and ask questions, and give him advice, until he could work no longer. why is it that people who would not speak to you for life without an introduction should think that their small curiosity to see your sketches authorizes them to act as aquaintances? or why is the pursuit of knowledge assumed among the half-bred to be an excuse for so much intrusion? "i want to know." well, and what if you do? the man who thinks that his desire for knowledge is an excuse for impertinence--and there are too many who act on this in all sincerity--is of the kind who knocks the fingers off statues, because "he wants them" for his collection; who chips away tombstones, and hews down historic trees, and not infrequently steals outright, and thinks that his pretense of culture is full excuse for all his mean deeds. of this tribe is the man who cuts his name on all walls and smears it on the pyramids, to proclaim himself a fool to the world; the difference being that, instead of wanting to know anything, he wants everybody to know that his littleness was once in a great place. i knew a distinguished artist, who, while in the east, only secured his best sketch of a landscape by employing fifty men to keep off the multitude. i have seen a strange fellow take a lady's sketch out of her hand, excusing himself with the remark that he was so fond of pictures. of course my readers do not act thus. when they are passing through the louvre or british museum they never pause and overlook artists, despite the notices requesting them not to do so. of course not. yet i once knew a charming young american lady, who scouted the idea as nonsense that she should not watch artists at work. "why, we used to make up parties for the purpose of looking at them!" she said. "it was half the fun of going there. i'm sure the artists were delighted to get a chance to talk to us." doubtless. and yet there are really very few artists who do not work more at their ease when not watched, and i have known some to whom such watching was misery. they are not, o intruder, painting for _your_ amusement! this is not such a far cry from my romanys as it may seem. when i think of what i have lost in this life by impertinence coming between me and gypsies, i feel that it could not be avoided. the proportion of men, even of gentlemen, or of those who dress decently, who cannot see another well-dressed man talking with a very poor one in public, without at once surmising a mystery, and endeavoring to solve it, is amazing. and they do not stop at a trifle, either. it is a marked characteristic of all gypsies that they are quite free from any such mean intrusiveness. whether it is because they themselves are continually treated as curiosities, or because great knowledge of life in a small way has made them philosophers, i will not say, but it is a fact that in this respect they are invariably the politest people in the world. perhaps their calm contempt of the _galerly_, or green gorgios, is founded on a consciousness of their superiority in this matter. the hungarian gypsy differs from all his brethren of europe in being more intensely gypsy. he has deeper, wilder, and more original feeling in music, and he is more inspired with a love of travel. numbers of hungarian romany chals--in which i include all austrian gypsies--travel annually all over europe, but return as regularly to their own country. i have met with them exhibiting bears in baden-baden. these ricinari, or bear-leaders, form, however, a set within a set, and are in fact more nearly allied to the gypsy bear-leaders of turkey and syria than to any other of their own people. they are wild and rude to a proverb, and generally speak a peculiar dialect of romany, which is called the bear-leaders' by philologists. i have also seen syrian-gypsy ricinari in cairo. many of the better caste make a great deal of money, and some are rich. like all really pure-blooded gypsies, they have deep feelings, which are easily awakened by kindness, but especially by sympathy and interest. english gypsies. i. oatlands park. oatlands park (between weybridge and walton-upon-thames) was once the property of the duke of york, but now the lordly manor-house is a hotel. the grounds about it are well preserved and very picturesque. they should look well, for they cover a vast and wasted fortune. there is, for instance, a grotto which cost forty thousand pounds. it is one of those wretched and tasteless masses of silly rock-rococo work which were so much admired at the beginning of the present century, when sham ruins and sham caverns were preferred to real. there is, also, close by the grotto, a dogs' burial-ground, in which more than a hundred animals, the favorites of the late duchess, lie buried. over each is a tombstone, inscribed with a rhyming epitaph, written by the titled lady herself, and which is in sober sadness in every instance doggerel, as befits the subject. in order to degrade the associations of religion and church rites as effectually as possible, there is attached to these graves the semblance of a ruined chapel, the stained-glass window of which was taken from a church. { } i confess that i could never see either grotto or grave-yard without sincerely wishing, out of regard to the memory of both duke and duchess, that these ridiculous relics of vulgar taste and affected sentimentalism could be completely obliterated. but, apart from them, the scenes around are very beautiful; for there are grassy slopes and pleasant lawns, ancient trees and broad gravel walks, over which, as the dry leaves fall on the crisp sunny morning, the feet are tempted to walk on and on, all through the merry golden autumn day. the neighborhood abounds in memories of olden time. near oatlands is a modernized house, in which henry the eighth lived in his youth. it belonged then to cardinal wolsey; now it is owned by mr. lindsay,--a sufficient cause for wits calling it lindsay-wolsey, that being also a "fabric." within an hour's walk is the palace built by cardinal wolsey, while over the river, and visible from the portico, is the little old gothic church of shepperton, and in the same view, to the right, is the old walton bridge, by cowie stakes, supposed to cover the exact spot where caesar crossed. this has been denied by many, but i know that the field adjacent to it abounds in ancient british jars filled with burned bones, the relics of an ancient battle,--probably that which legend states was fought on the neighboring battle island. stout-hearted queen bessy has also left her mark on this neighborhood, for within a mile is the old saxon-towered church of walton, in which the royal dame was asked for her opinion of the sacrament when it was given to her, to which she replied:-- "christ was the word who spake it, he took the bread and brake it; and what that word did make it, that i believe, and take it." in memory of this the lines were inscribed on the massy norman pillar by which she stood. from the style and cutting it is evident that the inscription dates from the reign of elizabeth. and very near oatlands, in fact on the grounds, there are two ancient yew-trees, several hundred yards apart. the story runs that queen elizabeth once drew a long bow and shot an arrow so far that, to commemorate the deed, one of these trees was planted where she stood, and the other where the shaft fell. all england is a museum of touching or quaint relics; to me one of its most interesting cabinets is this of the neighborhood of weybridge and walton-upon-thames. i once lived for eight months at oatlands park, and learned to know the neighborhood well. i had many friends among the families in the vicinity, and, guided by their advice, wandered to every old church and manor-house, ruin and haunted rock, fairy-oak, tower, palace, or shrine within a day's ramble. but there was one afternoon walk of four miles, round by the river, which i seldom missed. it led by a spot on the bank, and an old willow-tree near the bridge, which spot was greatly haunted by the romany, so that, excepting during the hopping-season of autumn, when they were away in kent, i seldom failed to see from afar a light rising smoke, and near it a tent and a van, as the evening shadows blended with the mist from the river in phantom union. it is a common part of gypsy life that the father shall be away all day, lounging about the next village, possibly in the _kitchema_ or ale-house, or trying to trade a horse, while the wife trudges over the country, from one farm-house or cottage to another, loaded with baskets, household utensils, toys, or cheap ornaments, which she endeavors, like a true autolyca, with wily arts and wheedling tones, to sell to the rustics. when it can be managed, this hawking is often an introduction to fortune-telling, and if these fail the gypsy has recourse to begging. but it is a weary life, and the poor _dye_ is always glad enough to get home. during the day the children have been left to look out for themselves or to the care of the eldest, and have tumbled about the van, rolled around with the dog, and fought or frolicked as they chose. but though their parents often have a stock of cheap toys, especially of penny dolls and the like, which they put up as prizes for games at races and fairs, i have never seen these children with playthings. the little girls have no dolls; the boys, indeed, affect whips, as becomes incipient jockeys, but on the whole they never seemed to me to have the same ideas as to play as ordinary house-children. the author of "my indian garden" has made the same observation of hindoo little ones, whose ways are not as our ways were when we were young. roman and egyptian children had their dolls; and there is something sadly sweet to me in the sight of these barbarous and naive facsimiles of miniature humanity, which come up like little spectres out of the dust of ancient days. they are so rude and queer, these roman puppets; and yet they were loved once, and had pet names, and their owl-like faces were as tenderly kissed as their little mistresses had been by their mothers. so the romany girl, unlike the roman, is generally doll-less and toy-less. but the affection between mother and child is as warm among these wanderers as with any other people; and it is a touching sight to see the gypsy who has been absent all the weary day returning home. and when she is seen from afar off there is a race among all the little dark-brown things to run to mother and get kissed, and cluster and scramble around her, and perhaps receive some little gift which mother's thoughtful love has provided. knowing these customs, i was wont to fill my pockets with chestnuts or oranges, and, distributing them among the little ones, talk with them, and await the sunset return of their parents. the confidence or love of all children is delightful; but that of gypsy children resembles the friendship of young foxes, and the study of their artless-artful ways is indeed attractive. i can remember that one afternoon six small romany boys implored me to give them each a penny. i replied,-- "if i had sixpence, how would you divide it?" "that would be a penny apiece," said the eldest boy. "and if threepence?" "a ha'penny apiece." "and three ha'pence?" "a farden all round. and then it couldn't go no furder, unless we bought tobacco an' diwided it." "well, i have some tobacco. but can any of you smoke?" they were from four to ten years of age, and at the word every one pulled out the stump of a blackened pipe,--such depraved-looking fragments i never saw,--and holding them all up, and crowding closely around, like hungry poultry with uplifted bills, they began to clamor for _tuvalo_, or tobacco. they were connoisseurs, too, and the elder boy, as he secured his share, smelled it with intense satisfaction, and said, "that's _rye's tuvalo_;" that is, "gentleman's tobacco," or best quality. one evening, as the shadows were darkening the day, i met a little gypsy boy, dragging along, with incredible labor, a sack full of wood, which one needed not go far afield to surmise was neither purchased nor begged. the alarmed and guilty or despairing look which he cast at me was very touching. perhaps he thought i was the gentleman upon whose property he had "found" the wood; or else a magistrate. how he stared when i spoke to him in romany, and offered to help him carry it! as we bore it along i suggested that we had better be careful and avoid the police, which remark established perfect confidence between us. but as we came to the tent, what was the amazement of the boy's mother to see him returning with a gentleman helping him to carry his load! and to hear me say in romany, and in a cheerful tone, "mother, here is some wood we've been stealing for you." gypsies have strong nerves and much cheek, but this was beyond her endowment; she was appalled at the unearthly strangeness of the whole proceeding, and when she spoke there was a skeleton rattle in her words and a quaver of startled ghastliness in her laugh. she had been alarmed for her boy, and when i appeared she thought i was a swell bringing him in under arrest; but when i announced myself in romany as an accomplice, emotion stifled thought. and i lingered not, and spoke no more, but walked away into the woods and the darkness. however, the legend went forth on the roads, even unto kingston, and was told among the rollicking romanys of 'appy ampton; for there are always a merry, loafing lot of them about that festive spot, looking out for excursionists through the months when the gorse blooms, and kissing is in season--which is always. and he who seeks them on sunday may find them camped in green lane. when i wished for a long ramble on the hedge-lined roads--the sweet roads of old england--and by the green fields, i was wont to take a day's walk to netley abbey. then i could pause, as i went, before many a quiet, sheltered spot, adorned with arbors and green alleys, and protected by trees and hawthorn hedges, and again surrender my soul, while walking, to tender and vague reveries, in which all definite thoughts swim overpowered, yet happy, in a sea of voluptuous emotions inspired by clouds lost in the blue sea of heaven and valleys visioned away into the purple sky. what opium is to one, what hasheesh may be to another, what _kheyf_ or mere repose concentrated into actuality is to the arab, that is nature to him who has followed her for long years through poets and mystics and in works of art, until at last he pierces through dreams and pictures to reality. the ruins of netley abbey, nine or ten miles from oatlands park, are picturesque and lonely, and well fitted for the dream-artist in shadows among sunshine. the priory was called newstead or de novo loco in norman times, when it was founded by ruald de calva, in the day of richard coeur de lion. the ruins rise gray, white, and undressed with ivy, that they may contrast the more vividly with the deep emerald of the meadows around. "the surrounding scenery is composed of rivers and rivulets,"--for seven streams run by it, according to aubrey,--"of foot-bridge and fords, plashy pools and fringed, tangled hollows, trees in groups or alone, and cattle dotted over the pastures:" an english cuyp from many points of view, beautiful and english-home-like from all. very near it is the quaint, out-of-the-way, darling little old church of pirford, up a hill, nestling among trees, a half-norman, decorated beauty, out of the age, but altogether in the heart. as i came near, of a summer afternoon, the waving of leaves and the buzzing of bees without, and the hum of the voices of children at school within the adjoining building, the cool shade and the beautiful view of the ruined abbey beyond, made an impression which i can never forget. among such scenes one learns why the english love so heartily their rural life, and why every object peculiar to it has brought forth a picture or a poem. i can imagine how many a man, who has never known what poetry was at home, has wept with yearning inexpressible, when sitting among burning sands and under the palms of the east, for such scenes as these. but netley abbey is close by the river wey, and the sight of that river and the thought of the story of the monks of the olden time who dwelt in the abbey drive away sentiment as suddenly as a north wind scatters sea-fogs. for the legend is a merry one, and the reader may have heard it; but if he has not i will give it in one of the merriest ballads ever written. by whom i know not,--doubtless many know. i sing, while walking, songs of olden time. the monks of the wey. a true and important relation of the wonderful tunnell of newarke abbey and of the untimely ende of severall of ye ghostly breth'ren. the monks of the wey seldom sung any psalms, and little they thought of religion or qualms; such rollicking, frolicking, ranting, and gay, and jolly old boys were the monks of the wey. to the sweet nuns of ockham devoting their cares, they had little time for their beads and their prayers; for the love of these maidens they sighed night and day, and neglected devotion, these monks of the wey. and happy i' faith might these brothers have been if the river had never been rolling between the abbey so grand and the convent so gray, that stood on the opposite side of the wey. for daily they sighed, and then nightly they pined but little to anchorite precepts inclined, so smitten with beauty's enchantments were they, these rollicking, frolicking monks of the wey. but scandal was rife in the country near, they dared not row over the river for fear; and no more could they swim it, so fat were they, these oily and amorous monks of the wey. loudly they groaned for their fate so hard, from the love of these beautiful maidens debarred, till a brother just hit on a plan which would stay the woe of these heart-broken monks of the wey. "nothing," quoth he, "should true love sunder; since we cannot go over, then let us go under! boats and bridges shall yield to clay, we'll dig a long tunnel clean under the wey." so to it they went with right good will, with spade and shovel and pike and bill; and from evening's close till the dawn of day they worked like miners all under the wey. and at vesper hour, as their work begun, each sung of the charms of his favorite nun; "how surprised they will be, and how happy!" said they, "when we pop in upon them from under the wey!" and for months they kept grubbing and making no sound like other black moles, darkly under the ground; and no one suspected such going astray, so sly were these mischievous monks of the wey. at last their fine work was brought near to a close and early one morn from their pallets they rose, and met in their tunnel with lights to survey if they'd scooped a free passage right under the wey. but alas for their fate! as they smirked and they smiled. to think how completely the world was beguiled, the river broke in, and it grieves me to say it drowned all the frolicksome monks of the wey. * * * * * o churchmen beware of the lures of the flesh, the net of the devil has many a mesh! and remember whenever you're tempted to stray, the fate that befell the poor monks of the wey. it was all long ago, and now there are neither monks nor nuns; the convent has been converted, little by little, age by age, into cottages, even as the friars and nuns themselves may have been organically changed possibly into violets, but more probably into the festive sparrows which flit and hop and flirt about the ruins with abrupt startles, like pheasants sudden bursting on the wing. there is a pretty little latin epigram, written by a gay monk, of a pretty little lady, who, being very amorous, and observing that sparrows were like her as to love, hoped that she might be turned into one after death; and it is not difficult for a dreamer in an old abbey, of a golden day to fancy that these merry, saucy birdies, who dart and dip in and out of the sunshine or shadow, chirping their shameless ditties _pro et con_, were once the human dwellers in the spot, who sang their gaudrioles to pleasant strains. i became familiar with many such scenes for many miles about oatlands, not merely during solitary walks, but by availing myself of the kind invitations of many friends, and by hunting afoot with the beagles. in this fashion one has hare and hound, but no horse. it is not needed, for while going over crisp stubble and velvet turf, climbing fences and jumping ditches, a man has a keen sense of being his own horse, and when he accomplishes a good leap of being intrinsically well worth pounds. and indeed, so long as anybody can walk day in and out a greater distance than would tire a horse, he may well believe he is really worth one. it may be a good thing for us to reflect on the fact that if slavery prevailed at the present day as it did among the polished greeks the average price of young gentlemen, and even of young ladies, would not be more than what is paid for a good hunter. divested of diamonds and of worth's dresses, what would a girl of average charms be worth to a stranger? let us reflect! it was an october morning, and, pausing after a run, i let the pack and the "course-men" sweep away, while i sat in a pleasant spot to enjoy the air and scenery. the solemn grandeur of groves and the quiet dignity of woodland glades, barred with rays of solid-seeming sunshine, such as the saint of old hung his cloak on, the brook into which the overhanging chestnuts drop, as if in sport, their creamy golden little boats of leaves, never seem so beautiful or impressive as immediately after a rush and cry of many men, succeeded by solitude and silence. little by little the bay of the hounds, the shouts of the hunters, and the occasional sound of the horn grew fainter; the birds once more appeared, and sent forth short calls to their timid friends. i began again to notice who my neighbors were, as to daisies and heather which resided around the stone on which i sat, and the exclusive circle of a fairy-ring at a little distance, which, like many exclusive circles, consisted entirely of mushrooms. as the beagle-sound died away, and while the hounds were "working around" to the road, i heard footsteps approaching, and looking up saw before me a gypsy woman and a boy. she was a very gypsy woman, an ideal witch, nut-brown, tangle-haired, aquiline of nose, and fierce-eyed; and fiercely did she beg! as amid broken gothic ruins, overhung with unkempt ivy, one can trace a vanished and strange beauty, so in this worn face of the romany, mantled by neglected tresses, i could see the remains of what must have been once a wonderful though wild loveliness. as i looked into those serpent eyes; trained for a long life to fascinate in fortune-telling simple dove-girls, i could readily understand the implicit faith with which many writers in the olden time spoke of the "fascination" peculiar to female glances. "the multiplication of women," said the rabbis, "is the increase of witches," for the belles in israel were killing girls, with arrows, the bows whereof are formed by pairs of jet-black eyebrows joined in one. and thus it was that these black-eyed beauties, by _mashing_ { } men for many generations, with shafts shot sideways and most wantonly, at last sealed their souls into the corner of their eyes, as you have heard before. cotton mather tells us that these witches with peaked eye-corners could never weep but three tears out of their long-tailed eyes. and i have observed that such tears, as they sweep down the cheeks of the brunette witches, are also long-tailed, and recall by their shape and glitter the eyes from which they fell, even as the daughter recalls the mother. for all love's witchcraft lurks in flashing eyes,--_lontan del occhio lontan dal' cuor_. it is a great pity that the pigeon-eye-peaks, so pretty in young witches, become in the old ones crow's-feet and crafty. when i greeted the woman, she answered in romany, and said she was a stanley from the north. she lied bravely, and i told her so. it made no difference in any way, nor was she hurt. the brown boy, who seemed like a goblin, umber-colored fungus, growing by a snaky black wild vine, sat by her and stared at me. i was pleased, when he said _tober_, that she corrected him, exclaiming earnestly, "never say _tober_ for road; that is _canting_. always say _drom_; that is good romanes." there is always a way of bringing up a child in the way he should go,--though it be a gypsy one,--and _drom_ comes from the greek _dromos_, which is elegant and classical. then she began to beg again, to pass the time, and i lectured her severely on the sin and meanness of her conduct, and said, with bitterness, "do dogs eat dogs, or are all the gorgios dead in the land, that you cry for money to me? oh, you are a fine stanley! a nice beshaley you, to sing mumpin and mongerin, when a half-blood matthews has too much decency to trouble the rye! and how much will you take? whatever the gentleman pleases, and thank you, my kind sir, and the blessings of the poor gypsy woman on you. yes, i know that, _givelli_, you mother of all the liars. you expect a sixpence, and here it is, and may you get drunk on the money, and be well thrashed by your man for it. and now see what i had in my hand all the time to give you. a lucky half crown, my deary; but that's not for you now. i only give a sixpence to a beggar, but i stand a _pash-korauna_ to any romany who's a pal and amal." this pleasing discourse made us very good friends, and, as i kept my eyes sharply fixed on her viper orbs with an air of intense suspicion, everything like ill-feeling or distrust naturally vanished from her mind; for it is of the nature of the romanys and all their kind to like those whom they respect, and respect those whom they cannot deceive, and to measure mankind exactly by their capacity of being taken in, especially by themselves. as is also the case, in good society, with many ladies and some gentlemen,--and much good may it do them! there was a brief silence, during which the boy still looked wistfully into my face, as if wondering what kind of gentleman i might be, until his mother said,-- "how do you do with them _ryas_ [swells]? what do you tell 'em--about--what do they think--you know?" this was not explicit, but i understood it perfectly. there is a great deal of such loose, disjointed conversation among gypsies and other half-thinkers. an educated man requires, or pretends to himself to require, a most accurately-detailed and form-polished statement of anything to understand it. the gypsy is less exacting. i have observed among rural americans much of this lottery style of conversation, in which one man invests in a dubious question, not knowing exactly what sort of a prize or blank answer he may draw. what the gypsy meant effectively was, "how do you account to the gorgios for knowing so much about us, and talking with us? our life is as different from yours as possible, and you never acquired such a knowledge of all our tricky ways as you have just shown without much experience of us and a double life. you are related to us in some way, and you deceive the gorgios about it. what is your little game of life, on general principles?" for the gypsy is so little accustomed to having any congenial interest taken in him that he can clearly explain it only by consanguinity. and as i was questioned, so i answered,-- "well, i tell them i like to learn languages, and am trying to learn yours; and then i'm a foreigner in the country, anyhow, and they don't know my _droms_ [ways], and they don't care much what i do,--don't you see?" this was perfectly satisfactory, and as the hounds came sweeping round the corner of the wood she rose and went her way, and i saw her growing less and less along the winding road and up the hill, till she disappeared, with her boy, in a small ale-house. "bang went the sixpence." when the last red light was in the west i went down to the river, and as i paused, and looked alternately at the stars reflected and flickering in the water and at the lights in the little gypsy camp, i thought that as the dancing, restless, and broken sparkles were to their serene types above, such were the wandering and wild romany to the men of culture in their settled homes. it is from the house-dweller that the men of the roads and commons draw the elements of their life, but in that life they are as shaken and confused as the starlight in the rippling river. but if we look through our own life we find that it is not the gypsy alone who is merely a reflection and an imitation of the stars above him, and a creature of second-hand fashion. i found in the camp an old acquaintance, named brown, and also perceived at the first greeting that the woman stanley had told mrs. brown that i would not be _mongerdo_, or begged from, and that the latter, proud of her power in extortion, and as yet invincible in mendicancy, had boasted that she would succeed, let others weakly fail. and to lose no time she went at me with an abruptness and dramatic earnestness which promptly betrayed the secret. and on the spot i made a vow that nothing should get a farthing from me, though i should be drawn by wild horses. and a horse was, indeed, brought into requisition to draw me, or my money, but without success; for mr. brown, as i very well knew,--it being just then the current topic in the best society on the road,--had very recently been involved in a tangled trouble with a stolen horse. this horse had been figuratively laid at his door, even as a "love-babe" is sometimes placed on the front steps of a virtuous and grave citizen,--at least, this is what white george averred,--and his very innocence and purity had, like a shining mark, attracted the shafts of the wicked. he had come out unscathed, with a package of papers from a lawyer, which established his character above par; but all this had cost money, beautiful golden money, and brought him to the very brink of ruin! mrs. brown's attack was a desperate and determined effort, and there was more at stake on its success than the reader may surmise. among gypsy women skill in begging implies the possession of every talent which they most esteem, such as artfulness, cool effrontery, and the power of moving pity or provoking generosity by pique or humor. a quaint and racy book might be written, should it only set forth the manner in which the experienced matrons give straight-tips or suggestions to the maidens as to the manner and lore of begging; and it is something worth hearing when several sit together and devise dodges, and tell anecdotes illustrating the noble art of mendicity, and how it should be properly practiced. mrs. brown knew that to extort alms from me would place her on the pinnacle as an artist. among all the cooper clan, to which she was allied, there was not one who ever begged from me, they having all found that the ripest nuts are those which fall from the tree of their own accord, or are blown earthward by the soft breezes of benevolence, and not those which are violently beaten down. she began by pitiful appeals; she was moving, but i did not budge. she grew pathetic; she touched on the stolen horse; she paused, and gushed almost to tears, as much as to say, if it must be, you _shall_ know all. ruin stared them in the face; poverty was crushing them. it was well acted,--rather in the bernhardt style, which, if m. ondit speaks the truth, is also employed rather extensively for acquiring "de monish." i looked at the van, of which the browns are proud, and inquired if it were true that it had been insured for a hundred pounds, as george had recently boasted. persuasion having failed, mrs. brown tried bold defiance, saying that they needed no company who were no good to them, and plainly said to me i might be gone. it was her last card, thinking that a threat to dissolve our acquaintance would drive me to capitulate, and it failed. i laughed, went into the van, sat down, took out my brandy flask, and then accepted some bread and ale, and, to please them, read aloud all the papers acquitting george from all guilt as concerned the stolen horse,--papers which, he declared, had cost him full five pounds. this was a sad come-down from the story first told. then i seriously rated his wife for begging from me. "you know well enough," i said, "that i give all i can spare to your family and your people when they are sick or poor. and here you are, the richest romanys on the road between windsor and the boro gav, begging a friend, who knows all about you, for money! now, here is a shilling. take it. have half a crown? two of 'em! no! oh, you don't want it here in your own house. well, you have some decency left, and to save your credit i won't make you take it. and you scandalize me, a gentleman and a friend, just to show this tramp of a stanley _juva_, who hasn't even got a drag [wagon], that you can beat her _a mongerin mandy_ [begging me]." mrs. brown assented volubly to everything, and all the time i saw in her smiling eyes, ever agreeing to all, and heard from her voluble lips nothing but the _lie_,--that lie which is the mental action and inmost grain of the romany, and especially of the _diddikai_, or half-breed. anything and everything--trickery, wheedling or bullying, fawning or threatening, smiles, or rage, or tears--for a sixpence. all day long flattering and tricking to tell fortunes or sell trifles, and all life one greasy lie, with ready frowns or smiles: as it was in india in the beginning, as it is in europe, and as it will be in america, so long as there shall be a rambler on the roads, amen! sweet peace again established, mrs. brown became herself once more, and acted the hospitable hostess, exactly in the spirit and manner of any woman who has "a home of her own," and a spark of decent feeling in her heart. like many actors, she was a bad lot on the boards, but a very nice person off them. here in her rolling home she was neither a beggar nor poor, and she issued her orders grandly. "boil some tea for the _rye_--cook some coffee for the _rye_--wait a few minutes, my darling gentleman, and i'll brile you a steak--or here's a fish, if you'd like it?" but i declined everything except the corner of a loaf and some ale; and all the time a little brown boy, with great black eyes, a perfect murillo model, sat condensed in wondrous narrow space by the fire, baking small apples between the bars of the grate, and rolling up his orbs at me as if wondering what could have brought me into such a circle,--even as he had done that morning in the greenwood. now if the reader would know what the interior of a gypsy van, or "drag," or _wardo_, is like, he may see it in the following diagram. [picture: interior of gypsy van] _a_ is the door; _b_ is the bed, or rather two beds, each six feet long, like berths, with a vacant space below; _c_ is a grate cooking-stove; _d_ is a table, which hangs by hinges from the wall; _e_ is a chest of drawers; _f_ and _f_ are two chairs. the general appearance of a well-kept van is that of a state-room. brown's is a very good van, and quite clean. they are admirably well adapted for slow traveling, and it was in such vans, purchased from gypsies, that sir samuel baker and his wife explored the whole of cyprus. mrs. brown was proud of her van and of her little treasures. from the great recess under the bed she raked out as a rare curiosity an old dolly varden or damasked skirt, not at all worn, quite pretty, and evidently of considerable value to a collector. this had belonged to mrs. brown's grandmother, an old gypsy queen. and it may be observed, by the way, that the claims of every irishman of every degree to be descended from one of the ancient kings of ireland fade into nothing before those of the gypsy women, all of whom, with rare exception, are the own daughters of royal personages, granddaughterhood being hardly a claim to true nobility. then the bed itself was exhibited with pride, and the princess sang its praises, till she affirmed that the _rye_ himself did not sleep on a better one, for which george reprimanded her. but she vigorously defended its excellence, and, to please her, i felt it and declared it was indeed much softer than the one i slept on, which was really true,--thank heaven--and was received as a great compliment, and afterwards proclaimed on the roads even unto the ends of surrey. "yes," said brown, as i observed some osiers in the cupboard, "when i feels like it i sometimes makes a pound a day a-making baskets." "i should think," i said, "that it would be cheaper to buy french baskets of bulrose [bulureaux] in houndsditch, ready made." "so one would think; but the _ranyor_ [osiers] costs nothin', and so it's all profit, any way." then i urged the greater profit of living in america, but both assured me that so long as they could make a good living and be very comfortable, as they considered themselves, in england, it would be nonsense to go to america. for all things are relative, and many a gypsy whom the begged-from pity sincerely, is as proud and happy in a van as any lord in the land. a very nice, neat young gypsy woman, camped long before just where the browns were, once said to me, "it isn't having everything fine and stylish that makes you happy. now we've got a van, and have everything so elegant and comfortable, and sleep warm as anybody; and yet i often say to my husband that we used to be happier when we used to sleep under a hedge with, may be, only a thin blanket, and wake up covered with snow." now this woman had only a wretched wagon, and was always tramping in the rain, or cowering in a smoky, ragged tent and sitting on the ground, but she had food, fire, and fun, with warm clothes, and believed herself happy. truly, she had better reason to think so than any old maid with a heart run to waste on church gossip, or the latest engagements and marriages; for it is better to be a street-boy in a corner with a crust than one who, without it, discusses, in starvation, with his friend the sausages and turtle-soup in a cook-shop window, between which and themselves there is a great pane of glass fixed, never to be penetrated. ii. walking and visiting. i never shall forget the sparkling splendor of that frosty morning in december when i went with a younger friend from oatlands park for a day's walk. i may have seen at other times, but i do not remember, such winter lace-work as then adorned the hedges. the gossamer spider has within her an inward monitor which tells if the weather will be fine; but it says nothing about sudden changes to keen cold, and the artistic result was that the hedges were hung with thousands of honiton lamp-mats, instead of the thread fly-catchers which their little artists had intended. and on twigs and dead leaves, grass and rock and wall, were such expenditures of brussels and spanish point, such a luxury of real old venetian run mad, and such deliria of russian lace as made it evident that mrs. jack frost is a very extravagant fairy, but one gifted with exquisite taste. when i reflect how i have in my time spoken of the taste for lace and diamonds in women as entirely without foundation in nature, i feel that i sinned deeply. for nature, in this lace-work, displays at times a sympathy with humanity,--especially womanity,--and coquets and flirts with it, as becomes the subject, in a manner which is merrily awful. there was once in philadelphia a shop the windows of which were always filled with different kinds of the richest and rarest lace, and one cold morning i found that the fairies had covered the panes with literal frost fac-similes of the exquisite wares which hung behind. this was no fancy; the copies were as accurate as photographs. can it be that in the invisible world there are female fairy schools of design, whose scholars combine in this graceful style etching on glass and art needlework? we were going to the village of hersham to make a call. it was not at any stylish villa or lordly manor-house,--though i knew of more than one in the vicinity where we would have been welcome,--but at a rather disreputable-looking edifice, which bore on its front the sign of "lodgings for travellers." now "traveller" means, below a certain circle of english life, not the occasional, but the habitual wanderer, or one who dwells upon the roads, and gains his living thereon. i have in my possession several cards of such a house. i found them wrapped in a piece of paper, by a deserted gypsy camp, where they had been lost:-- a new house. _good lodging for travellers_. _with a large private kitchen_. the cross keys, west street . . . maidenhead. by j. harris. the "private kitchen" indicates that the guests will have facilities for doing their own cooking, as all of them bring their own victuals in perpetual picnic. in the inclosure of the house in hersham, the tops of two or three gypsy vans could always be seen above the high fence, and there was that general air of mystery about the entire establishment which is characteristic of all places haunted by people whose ways are not as our ways, and whose little games are not as our little games. i had become acquainted with it and its proprietor, mr. hamilton, in that irregular and only way which is usual with such acquaintances. i was walking by the house one summer day, and stopped to ask my way. a handsome dark-brown girl was busy at the wash-tub, two or three older women were clustered at the gate, and in all their faces was the manner of the _diddikai_ or _chureni_, or half-blood gypsy. as i spoke i dropped my voice, and said, inquiringly,-- "romanes?" "yes," was the confidential answer. they were all astonished, and kept quiet till i had gone a few rods on my way, when the whole party, recovering from their amazement, raised a gentle cheer, expressive of approbation and sympathy. a few days after, walking with a lady in weybridge, she said to me,-- "who is that man who looked at you so closely?" "i do not know." "that's very strange. i am quite sure i heard him utter two words in a strange language, as you passed, as if he only meant them for you. they sounded like _sarshaun baw_." which means, "how are you, sir?" or friend. as we came up the street, i saw the man talking with a well-dressed, sporting-looking man, not quite a gentleman, who sat cheekily in his own jaunty little wagon. as i passed, the one of the wagon said to the other, speaking of me, and in pure romany, evidently thinking i did not understand,-- "_dikk'adovo giorgio_, _adoi_!" (look at that gorgio, there!) being a romany rye, and not accustomed to be spoken of as a gorgio, i looked up at him, angrily, when he, seeing that i understood him, smiled, and bowed politely in apology. i laughed and passed on. but i thought it a little strange, for neither of the men had the slightest indication of gypsiness. i met the one who had said _sarishan ba_ again, soon after. i found that he and the one of the wagon were not of gypsy blood, but of a class not uncommon in england, who, be they rich or poor, are affected towards gypsies. the wealthy one lived with a gypsy mistress; the poorer one had a gypsy wife, and was very fond of the language. there is a very large class of these mysterious men everywhere about the country. they haunt fairs; they pop up unexpectedly as jack-in-boxes in unsuspected guise; they look out from under fatherly umbrellas; their name is legion; their mother is mystery, and their uncle is old tom,--not of virginia, but of gin. once, in the old town of canterbury, i stood in the street, under the old woman with the clock, one of the quaintest pieces of drollery ever imagined during the middle ages. and by me was a tinker, and as his wheel went _siz-'z-'z-'z_, _uz-uz-uz-z-z_! i talked with him, and there joined us a fat, little, elderly, spectacled, shabby-genteel, but well-to-do-looking sort of a punchy, small tradesman. and, as we spoke, there went by a great, stout, roaring romany woman,--a scarlet-runner of babylon run to seed,--with a boy and a hand-cart to carry the seed in. and to her i cried, "_hav akai te mandy'll del tute a shaori_!" (come here, and i'll stand a sixpence!) but she did not believe in my offer, but went her way, like a burning shame, through the crowd, and was lost evermore. i looked at the little old gentleman to see what effect my outcry in a strange language had upon him. but he only remarked, soberly, "well, now, i _should_ 'a' thought a sixpence would 'a' brought her to!" and the wheel said, "suz-zuz-zuz-z-z i should 'a' suz-suz 'a' thought a suz-z-zixpence would 'a' suz-zuz 'a' brought her, too-z-z-z!" and i looked at the old woman with the clock, and she ticked, "a--six--pence--would--have--brought--_me_--two--three--four"--and i began to dream that all canterbury was romany. we came to the house, the landlord was up-stairs, ill in bed, but would be glad to see us; and he welcomed us warmly, and went deeply into romany family matters with my friend, the oxford scholar. meanwhile, his daughter, a nice brunette, received and read a letter; and he tried to explain to me the mystery of the many men who are not gypsies, yet speak romany, but could not do it, though he was one of them. it appeared from his account that they were "a kind of mixed, you see, and dusted in, you know, and on it, out of the family, it peppers up; but not exactly, you understand, and that's the way it is. and i remember a case in point, and that was one day, and i had sold a horse, and was with my boy in a _moramengro's buddika_ [barber's shop], and my boy says to me, in romanes, 'father, i'd like to have my hair cut.' 'it's too dear here, my son,' said i, romaneskes; 'for the bill says threepence.' and then the barber, he ups and says, in romany, 'since you're romanys, i'll cut it for _two_pence, though it's clear out of all my rules.' and he did it; but why that man _rakkered romanes_ i don't know, nor how it comes about; for he hadn't no more call to it than a pig has to be a preacher. but i've known men in sussex to take to diggin' truffles on the same principles, and one gorgio in hastings that adopted sellin' fried fish for his livin', about the town, because he thought it was kind of romantic. that's it." over the chimney-piece hung a large engraving of milton and his daughters. it was out of place, and our host knew it, and was proud. he said he had bought it at an auction, and that it was a picture of middleton,--a poet, he believed; "anyhow, he was a writing man." but, on second thought, he remembered that the name was not middleton, but millerton. and on further reflection, he was still more convinced that millerton _was_ a poet. i once asked old matthew cooper the romany word for a poet. and he promptly replied that he had generally heard such a man called a _givellengero_ or _gilliengro_, which means a song-master, but that he himself regarded _shereskero-mush_, or head-man, as more elegant and deeper; for poets make songs out of their heads, and are also ahead of all other men in head-work. there is a touching and unconscious tribute to the art of arts in this definition which is worth recording. it has been said that, as people grow polite, they cease to be poetical; it is certain that in the first circles they do not speak of their poets with such respect as this. out again into the fresh air and the frost on the crisp, crackling road and in the sunshine. at such a time, when cold inspires life, one can understand why the old poets and mystics believed that there was fire in ice. therefore, saint sebaldus, coming into the hut of a poor and pious man who was dying of cold, went out, and, bringing in an armful of icicles, laid them on the andirons and made a good fire. now this fire was the inner glowing glory of god, and worked both ways,--of course you see the connection,--as was shown in adelheid von sigolsheim, the holy nun of unterlinden, who was so full of it that she passed the night in a freezing stream, and then stood all the morning, ice-clad, in the choir, and never caught cold. and the pious peroneta, to avoid a sinful suitor, lived all winter, up to her neck, in ice-water, on the highest alp in savoy. { } these were saints. but there was a gypsy, named dighton, encamped near brighton, who told me nearly the same story of another gypsy, who was no saint, and which i repeat merely to show how extremes meet. it was that this gypsy, who was inspired with anything but the inner glowing glory of god, but who was, on the contrary, cram full of pure cussedness, being warmed by the same,--and the devil,--when chased by the constable, took refuge in a river full of freezing slush and broken ice, where he stood up to his neck and defied capture; for he verily cared no more for it than did saint peter of alcantara, who was both ice and fire proof. "come out of that, my good man," said the gentleman, whose hen he had stolen, "and i'll let you go." "no, i won't come out," said the gypsy. "my blood be on your head!" so the gentleman offered him five pounds, and then a suit of clothes, to come ashore. the gypsy reflected, and at last said, "well, if you'll add a drink of spirits, i'll come; but it's only to oblige you that i budge." then we walked in the sober evening, with its gray gathering shadows, as the last western rose light rippled in the river, yet fading in the sky,--like a good man who, in dying, speaks cheerfully of earthly things, while his soul is vanishing serenely into heaven. the swans, looking like snowballs, unconscious of cold were taking their last swim towards the reedy, brake-tangled islets where they nested, gossiping as they went. the deepening darkness, at such a time, becomes more impressive from the twinkling stars, just as the subduing silence is noted only by the far-borne sounds from the hamlet or farm-house, or the occasional whispers of the night-breeze. so we went on in the twilight, along the thames, till we saw the night-fire of the romanys and its gleam on the _tan_. a _tan_ is, strictly speaking, a tent, but a tent is a dwelling, or stopping-place; and so from earliest aryan time, the word _tan_ is like alabama, or "here we rest," and may be found in _tun_, the ancestor of town, and in _stan_, as in hindostan,--and if i blunder, so much the better for the philological gentlemen, who, of all others, most delight in setting erring brothers right, and never miss a chance to show, through others' shame, how much they know. there was a bark of a dog, and a voice said, "the romany rye!" they had not seen us, but the dog knew, and they knew his language. "_sarishan ryor_!" "_o boro duvel atch' pa leste_!" (the great lord be on you!) this is not a common romany greeting. it is of ancient days and archaic. sixty or seventy years ago it was current. old gentilla cooper, the famous fortune-teller of the devil's dike, near brighton, knew it, and when she heard it from me she was moved,--just as a very old negro in london was, when i said to him, "_sady_, uncle." i said it because i had recognized by the dog's bark that it was sam smith's tan. sam likes to be considered as _deep_ romany. he tries to learn old gypsy words, and he affects old gypsy ways. he is pleased to be called petulengro, which means smith. therefore, my greeting was a compliment. in a few minutes we were in camp and at home. we talked of many things, and among others of witches. it is remarkable that while the current english idea of a witch is that of an old woman who has sold herself to satan, and is a distinctly marked character, just like satan himself, that of the witch among gypsies is general and oriental. there is no satan in india. mrs. smith--since dead--held that witches were to be found everywhere. "you may know a natural witch," she said, "by certain signs. one of these is straight hair which curls at the ends. such women have it in them." it was only recently, as i write, that i was at a very elegant art reception, which was fully reported in the newspapers. and i was very much astonished when a lady called my attention to another young and very pretty lady, and expressed intense disgust at the way the latter wore her hair. it was simply parted in the middle, and fell down on either side, smooth as a water-fall, and then broke into curls at the ends, just as water, after falling, breaks into waves and rapids. but as she spoke, i felt it all, and saw that mrs. petulengro was in the right. the girl with the end-curled hair was uncanny. her hair curled at the ends,--so did her eyes; she _was_ a witch. "but there's a many witches as knows clever things," said mrs. petulengro. "and i learned from one of them how to cure the rheumatiz. suppose you've got the rheumatiz. well, just you carry a potato in your pocket. as the potato dries up, your rheumatiz will go away." sam smith was always known on the roads as fighting sam. years have passed, and when i have asked after him i have always heard that he was either in prison or had just been let out. once it happened that, during a fight with a gorgio, the gorgio's watch disappeared, and sam was arrested under suspicion of having got up the fight in order that the watch might disappear. all of his friends declared his innocence. the next trouble was for _chorin a gry_, or stealing a horse, and so was the next, and so on. as horse-stealing is not a crime, but only "rough gambling," on the roads, nobody defended him on these counts. he was, so far as this went, only a sporting character. when his wife died he married athalia, the widow of joshua cooper, a gypsy, of whom i shall speak anon. i always liked sam. among the travelers, he was always spoken of as genteel, owing to the fact, that whatever the state of his wardrobe might be, he always wore about his neck an immaculate white woolen scarf, and on _jours de fete_, such as horse-races, sported a _boro stardi_, or chimney-pot hat. o my friend, colonel dash, of the club! change but the name, this fable is of thee! "there's to be a _walgoro_, _kaliko i sala_--a fair to-morrow morning, at cobham," said sam, as he departed. "all right. we'll be there." as i went forth by the river into the night, and the stars looked down like loving eyes, there shot a meteor across the sky, one long trail of light, out of darkness into darkness, one instant bright, then dead forever. and i remembered how i once was told that stars, like mortals, often fall in love. o love, forever in thy glory go! and that they send their starry angels forth, and that the meteors are their messengers. o love, forever in thy glory go! for love and light in heaven, as on earth, were ever one, and planets speak with light. light is their language; as they love they speak. o love, forever in thy glory go! iii. cobham fair. the walk from oatlands park hotel to cobham is beautiful with memorials of older england. even on the grounds there is a quaint brick gateway, which is the only relic of a palace which preceded the present pile. the grandfather was indeed a stately edifice, built by henry viii., improved and magnified, according to his lights, by inigo jones, and then destroyed during the civil war. the river is here very beautiful, and the view was once painted by turner. it abounds in "short windings and reaches." here it is, indeed, the olerifera thamesis, as it was called by guillaume le breton in his "phillipeis," in the days of richard the lion heart. here the eyots and banks still recall norman days, for they are "wild and were;" and there is even yet a wary otter or two, known to the gypsies and fishermen, which may be seen of moonlight nights plunging or swimming silently in the haunted water. now we pass walton church, and look in, that my friend may see the massy norman pillars and arches, the fine painted glass, and the brasses. one of these represents john selwyn, who was keeper of the royal park of oatlands in . tradition, still current in the village, says that selwyn was a man of wondrous strength and of rare skill in horsemanship. once, when queen elizabeth was present at a stag hunt, he leaped from his horse upon the back of the stag, while both were running at full speed, kept his seat gracefully, guided the animal towards the queen, and stabbed him so deftly that he fell dead at her majesty's feet. it was daintily done, and doubtless queen bess, who loved a proper man, was well pleased. the brass plate represents selwyn as riding on the stag, and there is in the village a shop where the neat old dame who presides, or her daughter, will sell you for a penny a picture of the plate, and tell you the story into the bargain. in it the valiant ranger sits on the stag, which he is stabbing through the neck with his _couteau de chasse_, looking meanwhile as solemn as if he were sitting in a pew and listening to _de profundis_. he who is great in one respect seldom fails in some other, and there is in the church another and a larger brass, from which it appears that selwyn not only had a wife, but also eleven children, who are depicted in successive grandeur or gradation. there are monuments by roubiliac and chantrey in the church, and on the left side of the altar lies buried william lilly, the great astrologer, the sidrophel of butler's "hudibras." and look into the chancel. there is a tablet to his memory, which was put up by elias ashmole, the antiquary, who has left it in print that this "fair black marble stone" cost him pounds _s_. _d_. when i was a youth, and used to pore in the old franklin library of philadelphia over lilly, i never thought that his grave would be so near my home. but a far greater literary favorite of mine lies buried in the church-yard without. this is dr. maginn, the author of "father tom and the pope," and many another racy, subtle jest. a fellow of infinite humor,--the truest disciple of rabelais,--and here he lies without a monument! summon the sexton, and let us ask him to show us the scold's, or gossip's, bridle. this is a rare curiosity, which is kept in the vestry. it would seem, from all that can be learned, that two hundred years ago there were in england viragoes so virulent, women so gifted with gab and so loaded and primed with the devil's own gunpowder, that all moral suasion was wasted on them, and simply showed, as old reisersberg wrote, that _fatue agit qui ignem conatur extinguere sulphure_ ('t is all nonsense to try to quench fire with brimstone). for such diavolas they had made--what the sexton is just going to show you--a muzzle of thin iron bars, which pass around the head and are padlocked behind. in front a flat piece of iron enters the mouth and keeps down the tongue. on it is the date , and certain lines, no longer legible:-- "chester presents walton with a bridle, to curb women's tongues that talk too idle." a sad story, if we only knew it all! what tradition tells is that long ago there was a master chester, who lost a fine estate through the idle, malicious clack of a gossiping, lying woman. "what is good for a bootless bene?" what he did was to endow the church with this admirable piece of head-gear. and when any woman in the parish was unanimously adjudged to be deserving of the honor, the bridle was put on her head and tongue, and she was led about town by the beadle as an example to all the scolding sisterhood. truly, if it could only be applied to the women and men who repeat gossip, rumors reports, _on dits_, small slanders, proved or unproved, to all gobe-mouches, club-gabblers, tea-talkers and tattlers, chatterers, church-twaddlers, wonderers if-it-be-true-what-they-say; in fine, to the entire sister and brother hood of tongue-waggers, i for one would subscribe my mite to have one kept in every church in the world, to be zealously applied to their vile jaws. for verily the mere social evil is an angel of light on this earth as regards doing evil, compared to the sociable evil,--and thus endeth the first lesson. we leave the church, so full of friendly memories. in this one building alone there are twenty things known to me from a boy. for from boyhood i have held in my memory those lines by queen elizabeth which she uttered here, and have read lilly and ashmole and maginn; and this is only one corner in merrie england! am i a stranger here? there is a father-land of the soul, which has no limits to him who, far sweeping on the wings of song and history, goes forth over many lands. we have but a little farther to go on our way before we come to the quaint old manor-house which was of old the home of president bradshaw, the grim old puritan. there is an old sailor in the village, who owns a tavern, and he says, and the policeman agrees with him, that it was in this house that the death-warrant of king charles the first was signed. also, that there is a subterranean passage which leads from it to the thames, which was in some way connected with battle, murder, plots, puritans, sudden death, and politics; though how this was is more than legend can clearly explain. whether his sacred majesty was led to execution through this cavity, or whether charles the second had it for one of his numerous hiding-places, or returned through it with nell gwynn from his exile, are other obscure points debated among the villagers. the truth is that the whole country about walton is subterrened with strange and winding ways, leading no one knows whither, dug in the days of the monks or knights, from one long-vanished monastery or castle to the other. there is the opening to one of these hard by the hotel, but there was never any gold found in it that ever i heard of. and all the land is full of legend, and ghosts glide o' nights along the alleys, and there is an infallible fairy well at hand, named the nun, and within a short walk stands the tremendous crouch oak, which was known of saxon days. whoever gives but a little of its bark to a lady will win her love. it takes its name from _croix_ (a cross), according to mr. kemble, { } and it is twenty-four feet in girth. its first branch, which is forty-eight feet long, shoots out horizontally, and is almost as large as the trunk. under this tree wickliffe preached, and queen elizabeth dined. it has been well said by irving that the english, from the great prevalence of rural habits throughout every class of society, have been extremely fond of those festivals and holidays which agreeably interrupt the stillness of country life. true, the days have gone when burlesque pageant and splendid procession made even villages magnificent. harp and tabor and viol are no longer heard in every inn when people would be merry, and men have forgotten how to give themselves up to headlong roaring revelry. the last of this tremendous frolicking in europe died out with the last yearly _kermess_ in amsterdam, and it was indeed wonderful to see with what utter _abandon_ the usually stolid dutch flung themselves into a rushing tide of frantic gayety. here and there in england a spark of the old fire, lit in mediaeval times, still flickers, or perhaps flames, as at dorking in the annual foot-ball play, which is carried on with such vigor that two or three thousand people run wild in it, while all the windows and street lamps are carefully screened for protection. but notwithstanding the gradually advancing republicanism of the age, which is dressing all men alike, bodily and mentally, the rollicking democracy of these old-fashioned festivals, in which the peasant bonneted the peer without ceremony, and rustic maids ran races _en chemise_ for a pound of tea, is entirely too leveling for culture. there are still, however, numbers of village fairs, quietly conducted, in which there is much that is pleasant and picturesque, and this at cobham was as pretty a bit of its kind as i ever saw. these are old-fashioned and gay in their little retired nooks, and there the plain people show themselves as they really are. the better class of the neighborhood, having no sympathy with such sports or scenes, do not visit village fairs. it is, indeed, a most exceptional thing to see any man who is a "gentleman," according to the society standard, in any fair except mayfair in london. cobham is well built for dramatic display. its white lion inn is of the old coaching days, and the lion on its front is a very impressive monster, one of the few relics of the days when signs were signs in spirit and in truth. in this respect the tavern keeper of to-day is a poor snob, that he thinks a sign painted or carven is degenerate and low, and therefore announces, in a line of letters, that his establishment is the pig and whistle, just as his remote predecessor thought it was low, or slow, or old-fashioned to dedicate his ale-shop to pigen wassail or hail to the virgin, and so changed it to a more genteel and secular form. in the public place were rows of booths arranged in streets forming _imperium in imperio_, a town within a town. there was of course the traditional gilt gingerbread, and the cheering but not inebriating ginger-beer, dear to the youthful palate, and not less loved by the tired pedestrian, when, mixed half and half with ale, it foams before him as _shandy gaff_. there, too, were the stands, presided over by jaunty, saucy girls, who would load a rifle for you and give you a prize or a certain number of shots for a shilling. you may be a good shot, but the better you shoot the less likely will you be to hit the bull's-eye with the rifle which that black-eyed egyptian minx gives you; for it is artfully curved and false-sighted, and the rifle was made only to rifle your pocket, and the damsel to sell you with her smiles, and the doll is stuffed with sawdust, and life is not worth living for, and miching mallocko says it,--albeit i believe he lives at times as if there might be moments when it was forgot. and we had not been long on the ground before we were addressed furtively and gravely by a man whom it required a second glance to recognize as samuel petulengro, so artfully was he disguised as a simple-seeming agriculturalist of the better lower-class. but that there remained in sam's black eyes that glint of the romany which nothing could disguise, one would have longed to buy a horse of him. and in the same quiet way there came, one by one, out of the crowd, six others, all speaking in subdued voices, like conspirators, and in romany, as if it were a sin. and all were dressed rustically, and the same with intent to deceive, and all had the solemn air of very small farmers, who must sell that horse at any sacrifice. but when i saw sam's horses i marked that his disguise of himself was nothing to the wondrous skill with which he had converted his five-pound screws into something comparatively elegant. they had been curried, clipped, singed, and beautified to the last resource, and the manner in which the finest straw had been braided into mane and tail was a miracle of art. this was _jour de fete_ for sam and his _diddikai_, or half-blood pals; his foot was on his native heath in the horse-fair, where all inside the ring knew the gypsy, and it was with pride that he invited us to drink ale, and once in the bar-room, where all assembled were jockeys and sharps, conversed loudly in romany, in order to exhibit himself and us to admiring friends. a romany rye, on such occasions, is to a sam petulengro what a scion of royalty is to minor aristocracy when it can lure him into its nets. to watch one of these small horse-dealers at a fair, and to observe the manner in which he conducts his bargains, is very curious. he lounges about all day, apparently doing nothing; he is the only idler around. once in a while somebody approaches him and mutters something, to which he gives a brief reply. then he goes to a tap-room or stable-yard, and is merged in a mob of his mates. but all the while he is doing sharp clicks of business. there is somebody talking to another party about _that horse_; somebody telling a farmer that he knows a young man as has got a likely 'oss at 'arf price, the larst of a lot which he wants to clear out, and it may be 'ad, but if the young man sees 'im [the farmer] he may put it on 'eavy. then the agent calls in one of the disguised romanys to testify to the good qualities of the horse. they look at it, but the third _deguise_, who has it in charge, avers that it has just been sold to a gentleman. but they have another. by this time the farmer wishes he had bought the horse. when any coin slips from between our fingers, and rolls down through a grating into the sewer, we are always sure that it was a sovereign, and not a half-penny. yes, and the fish which drops back from the line into the river is always the biggest take--or mistake--of the day. and this horse was a bargain, and the three in disguise say so, and wish they had a hundred like it. but there comes a voice from the depths, a casual remark, offering to bet that 'ere gent won't close on that hoss. "bet yer ten bob he will." "done." "how do yer know he don't take the hoss?" "he carn't; he's too heavy loaded with bill's mare. says he'll sell it for a pound better." the farmer begins to see his way. he is shrewd; it may be that he sees through all this myth of "the gentleman." but his attention has been attracted to the horse. perhaps he pays a little more, or "the pound better;" in greater probability he gets sam's horse for the original price. there are many ways among gypsies of making such bargains, but the motive power of them all is _taderin_, or drawing the eye of the purchaser, a game not unknown to gorgios. i have heard of a german _yahud_ in philadelphia, whose little boy moses would shoot from the door with a pop-gun or squirt at passers-by, or abuse them vilely, and then run into the shop for shelter. they of course pursued him and complained to the parent, who immediately whipped his son, to the great solace of the afflicted ones. and then the afflicted seldom failed to buy something in that shop, and the corrected son received ten per cent. of the profit. the attention of the public had been drawn. as we went about looking at people and pastimes, a romany, i think one of the ayres, said to me,-- "see the two policemen? they're following you two gentlemen. they saw you pallin' with bowers. that bowers is the biggest blackguard on the roads between london and windsor. i don't want to hurt his charackter, but it's no bad talkin' nor _dusherin_ of him to say that no decent romanys care to go with him. good at a mill? yes, he's that. a reg'lar _wastimengro_, i call him. and that's why it is." now there was in the fair a vast institution which proclaimed by a monstrous sign and by an excessive eruption of advertisement that it was the sensation of the age. this was a giant hand-organ in connection with a forty-bicycle merry-go-round, all propelled by steam. and as we walked about the fair, the two rural policemen, who had nothing better to do, shadowed or followed us, their bucolic features expressing the intensest suspicion allied to the extremest stupidity; when suddenly the sensation of the age struck up the gendarme's chorus, "we'll run 'em in," from genevieve de brabant, and the arrangement was complete. of all airs ever composed this was the most appropriate to the occasion, and therefore it played itself. the whole formed quite a little opera-bouffe, gypsies not being wanting. and as we came round, in our promenade, the pretty girl, with her rifle in hand, implored us to take a shot, and the walk wound up by her finally letting fly herself and ringing the bell. that pretty girl might or might not have a touch of romany blood in her veins, but it is worth noting that among all these show-men and show-women, acrobats, exhibitors of giants, purse-droppers, gingerbread-wheel gamblers, shilling knife-throwers, pitch-in-his-mouths, punches, cheap-jacks, thimble-rigs, and patterers of every kind there is always a leaven and a suspicion of gypsiness. if there be not descent, there is affinity by marriage, familiarity, knowledge of words and ways, sweethearting and trafficking, so that they know the children of the rom as the house-world does not know them, and they in some sort belong together. it is a muddle, perhaps, and a puzzle; i doubt if anybody quite understands it. no novelist, no writer whatever, has as yet _clearly_ explained the curious fact that our entire nomadic population, excepting tramps, is not, as we thought in our childhood, composed of english people like ourselves. it is leavened with direct indian blood; it has, more or less modified, a peculiar _morale_. it was old before the saxon heptarchy. i was very much impressed at this fair with the extensive and unsuspected amount of romany existent in our rural population. we had to be satisfied, as we came late into the tavern for lunch, with cold boiled beef and carrots, of which i did not complain, as cold carrots are much nicer than warm, a fact too little understood in cookery. there were many men in the common room, mostly well dressed, and decent even if doubtful looking. i observed that several used romany words in casual conversation. i came to the conclusion at last that all who were present knew something of it. the greatly reprobated bowers was not himself a gypsy, but he had a gypsy wife. he lived in a cottage not far from walton, and made baskets, while his wife roamed far and near, selling them; and i have more than once stopped and sent for a pot of ale, and shared it with bill, listening meantime to his memories of the road as he caned chairs or "basketed." i think his reputation came rather from a certain bohemian disregard of _convenances_ and of appearances than from any deeply-seated sinfulness. for there are bohemians even among gypsies; everything in this life being relative and socially-contractive. when i came to know the disreputable william well, i found in him the principles of panurge, deeply identified with the _morale_ of falstaff; a wondrous fund of unbundled humor, which expressed itself more by tones than words; a wisdom based on the practices of the prize-ring; and a perfectly sympathetic admiration of my researches into romany. one day, at kingston fair, as i wished to depart, i asked bill the way to the station. "i will go with you and show you," he said. but knowing that he had business in the fair i declined his escort. he looked at me as if hurt. "_does tute pen mandy'd chore tute_?" (do you think i would rob _you_ or pick your pockets?) for he believed i was afraid of it. i knew bill better. i knew that he was perfectly aware that i was about the only man in england who had a good opinion of him in any way, or knew what good there was in him. when a _femme incomprise_, a woman not as yet found out, discovers at last the man who is so much a master of the art of flattery as to satisfy somewhat her inordinate vanity, she is generally grateful enough to him who has thus gratified her desires to refrain from speaking ill of him, and abuse those who do, especially the latter. in like manner, bill bowers, who was every whit as interesting as any _femme incomprise_ in belgravia, or even russell square, believing that i had a little better opinion of him than anybody else, would not only have refrained from robbing me, but have proceeded to lam with his fists anybody else who would have done so,--the latter proceeding being, from his point of view, only a light, cheerful, healthy, and invigorating exercise, so that, as he said, and as i believe truthfully, "i'd rather be walloped than not fight." even as my friend h. had rather lose than not play "farrer." this was a very pretty little country fair at cobham; pleasant and purely english. it was very picturesque, with its flags, banners, gayly bedecked booths, and mammoth placards, there being, as usual, no lack of color or objects. i wonder that mr. frith, who has given with such idiomatic genius the humors of the derby, has never painted an old-fashioned rural fair like this. in a few years the last of them will have been closed, and the last gypsy will be there to look on. there was a pleasant sight in the afternoon, when all at once, as it seemed to me, there came hundreds of pretty, rosy-cheeked children into the fair. there were twice as many of them as of grown people. i think that, the schools being over for the day, they had been sent a-fairing for a treat. they swarmed in like small bee-angels, just escaped from some upset celestial hive; they crowded around the booths, buying little toys, chattering, bargaining, and laughing, when my eye caught theirs, as though to be noticed was the very best joke in the whole world. they soon found out the sensation of the age, and the mammoth steam bicycle was forthwith crowded with the happy little creatures, raptured in all the glory of a ride. the cars looked like baskets full of roses. it was delightful to see them: at first like grave and stolid little anglo-saxons, occupied seriously with the new sensation; then here and there beaming with thawing jollity; then smiling like sudden sun-gleams; and then laughing, until all were in one grand chorus, as the speed became greater, and the organ roared out its notes as rapidly as a runaway musical locomotive, and the steam-engine puffed in time, until a high-pressure scream told that the penn'orth of fun was up. as we went home in the twilight, and looked back at the trees and roofs of the village, in dark silhouette against the gold-bronze sky, and heard from afar and fitfully the music of the great sensation mingled with the beat of a drum and the shouts of the crowd, rising and falling with the wind, i felt a little sad, that the age, in its advancing refinement, is setting itself against these old-fashioned merry-makings, and shrinking like a weakling from all out-of-doors festivals, on the plea of their being disorderly, but in reality because they are believed to be vulgar. they come down to us from rough old days; but they are relics of a time when life, if rough, was at least kind and hearty. we admire that life on the stage, we ape it in novels, we affect admiration and appreciation of its rich picturesqueness and vigorous originality, and we lie in so doing; for there is not an aesthetic prig in london who could have lived an hour in it. truly, i should like to know what francois villon and chaucer would have thought of some of their modern adorers, or what the lioness fair-sinners of the olden time would have had to say to the nervous weaklings who try to play the genial blackguard in their praise! it is to me the best joke of the age that those who now set themselves up for priests of the old faith are the men, of all others, whom the old gods would have kicked, _cum magna injuria_, out of the temple. when i sit by bill bowers, as he baskets, and hear the bees buzz about his marigolds, or in plato buckland's van, or with a few hearty and true men of london town of whom i wot, _then_ i know that the old spirit liveth in its ashes; but there is little of it, i trow, among its penny prig-trumpeters. iv. the mixed fortunes. "thus spoke the king to the great master: 'thou didst bless and ban the people; thou didst give benison and curse, luck and sorrow, to the evil or the good.' "and the master said, 'it may be so.' "and the king continued, 'there came two men, and one was good and the other bad. and one thou didst bless, thinking he was good; but he was wicked. and the other thou didst curse, and thought him bad; but he was good.' "the master said, 'and what came of it?' "the king answered, 'all evil came upon the good man, and all happiness to the bad.' "and the master said, 'i write letters, but i am not the messenger; i hunt the deer, but i am not the cook; i plant the vine, but i do not pour the wine to the guests; i ordain war, yet do not fight; i send ships forth on the sea, but do not sail them. there is many a slip between cup and lip, as the chief of the rebel spirits said when he was thrown out of heaven, and i am not greater nor wiser than he was before he fell. hast thou any more questions, o son?' "and the king went his way." one afternoon i was walking with three ladies. one was married, one was a young widow, and one, no longer very young, had not as yet husbanded her resources. and as we went by the thames, conversation turned upon many things, and among them the mystery of the future and mediums; and the widow at last said she would like to have her fortune told. "you need not go far to have it done," i said. "there is a gypsy camp not a mile away, and in it one of the cleverest fortune-tellers in england." "i am almost afraid to go," said the maiden lady. "it seems to me to be really wrong to try to look into the awful secrets of futurity. one can never be certain as to what a gypsy may not know. it's all very well, i dare say, to declare it's all rubbish, but then you know you never can tell what may be in a rubbish-heap, and they may be predicting true things all the time while they think they're humbugging you. and they do often foretell the most wonderful things; i know they do. my aunt was told that she would marry a man who would cause her trouble, and, sure enough, she did; and it was such a shame, she was such a sweet-tempered, timid woman, and he spent half her immense fortune. now wasn't that wonderful?" it would be a curious matter for those who like studying statistics and chance to find out what proportion in england of sweet-tempered, timid women of the medium-middle class, in newly-sprouted families, with immense fortunes, do _not_ marry men who only want their money. such heiresses are the natural food of the noble shark and the swell sucker, and even a gypsy knows it, and can read them at a glance. i explained this to the lady; but she knew what she knew, and would not know otherwise. so we came along the rippling river, watching the darting swallows and light water-gnats, as the sun sank afar into the tawny, golden west, and night, in ever-nearing circles, wove her shades around us. we saw the little tents, like bee-hives,--one, indeed, not larger than the hive in which tyll eulenspiegel slept his famous nap, and in which he was carried away by the thieves who mistook him for honey and found him vinegar. and the outposts, or advanced pickets of small, brown, black-eyed elves, were tumbling about as usual, and shouted their glad greeting; for it was only the day before that i had come down with two dozen oranges, which by chance proved to be just one apiece for all to eat except for little synfie cooper, who saved hers up for her father when he should return. i had just an instant in which to give the gypsy sorceress a "straight tip," and this i did, saying in romany that one of the ladies was married and one a widow. i was indeed quite sure that she must know the married lady as such, since she had lived near at hand, within a mile, for months. and so, with all due solemnity, the sorceress went to her work. "you will come first, my lady, if you please," she said to the married dame, and led her into a hedge-corner, so as to be remote from public view, while we waited by the camp. the hand was inspected, and properly crossed with a shilling, and the seeress began her prediction. "it's a beautiful hand, my lady, and there's luck in it. the line o' life runs lovely and clear, just like a smooth river from sea to sea, and that means you'll never be in danger before you die, nor troubled with much ill. and it's written that you'll have another husband very soon." "but i don't want another," said the lady. "ah, my dear lady, so you'll say till you get him, but when he comes you'll be glad enough; so do you just get the first one out of your head as soon as you can, for the next will be the better one. and you'll cross the sea and travel in a foreign land, and remember what i told you to the end of your life days." then the widow had her turn. "this is a lucky hand, and little need you had to have your fortune told. you've been well married once, and once is enough when it's all you need. there's others as is never satisfied and wants everything, but you've had the best, and more you needn't want, though there'll be many a man who'll be in love with you. ay, indeed, there's fair and dark as will feel the favor of your beautiful eyes, but little good will it do them, and barons and lords as would kiss the ground you tread on; and no wonder, either, for you have the charm which nobody can tell what it is. but it will do 'em no good, nevermore." "then i'm never to have another husband," said the widow. "no, my lady. he that you married was the best of all, and, after him, you'll never need another; and that was written in your hand when you were born, and it will be your fate, forever and ever: and that is the gypsy's production over the future, and what she has producted will come true. all the stars in the fermentation of heaven can't change it. but if you ar'n't satisfied, i can set a planet for you, and try the cards, which comes more expensive, for i never do that under ten shillings." there was a comparing of notes among the ladies and much laughter, when it appeared that the priestess of the hidden spell, in her working, had mixed up the oracles. jacob had manifestly got esau's blessing. it was agreed that the _bonnes fortunes_ should be exchanged, that the shillings might not be regarded as lost, and all this was explained to the unmarried lady. she said nothing, but in due time was also _dukkered_ or fortune-told. with the same mystery she was conducted to the secluded corner of the hedge, and a very long, low-murmuring colloquy ensued. what it was we never knew, but the lady had evidently been greatly impressed and awed. all that she would tell was that she had heard things that were "very remarkable, which she was sure no person living could have known," and in fact that she believed in the gypsy, and even the blunder as to the married lady and the widow, and all my assurances that chiromancy as popularly practiced was all humbug, made no impression. there was once "a disciple in yabneh" who gave a hundred and fifty reasons to prove that a reptile was no more unclean than any other animal. but in those days people had not been converted to the law of turtle soup and the gospel of saint terrapin, so the people said it was a vain thing. and had i given a hundred and fifty reasons to this lady, they would have all been vain to her, for she wished to believe; and when our own wishes are served up unto us on nice brown pieces of the well-buttered toast of flattery, it is not hard to induce us to devour them. it is written that when ashmedai, or asmodeus, the chief of all the devils of mischief, was being led a captive to solomon, he did several mysterious things while on the way, among others bursting into extravagant laughter, when he saw a magician conjuring and predicting. on being questioned by benaiah, the son of jehoiada, why he had seemed so much amused, ashmedai answered that it was because the seer was at the very time sitting on a princely treasure, and he did not, with all his magic and promising fortune to others, know this. yet, if this had been told to all the world, the conjurer's business would not have suffered. not a bit of it. _entre jean_, _passe jeannot_: one comes and goes, another takes his place, and the poor will disappear from this world before the too credulous shall have departed. it was on the afternoon of the following day that i, by chance, met the gypsy with a female friend, each with a basket, by the roadside, in a lonely, furzy place, beyond walton. "you are a nice fortune-teller, aren't you now?" i said to her. "after getting a tip, which made it all as clear as day, you walk straight into the dark. and here you promise a lady two husbands, and she married already; but you never promised me two wives, that i might make merry withal. and then to tell a widow that she would never be married again! you're a _bori chovihani_ [a great witch],--indeed, you aren't." "_rye_," said the gypsy, with a droll smile and a shrug,--i think i can see it now,--"the _dukkerin_ [prediction] was all right, but i pet the right _dukkerins_ on the wrong ladies." and the master said, "i write letters, but i am not the messenger." his orders, like the gypsy's, had been all right, but they had gone to the wrong shop. thus, in all ages, those who affect superior wisdom and foreknowledge absolute have found that a great practical part of the real business consisted in the plausible explanation of failures. the great canadian weather prophet is said to keep two clerks busy, one in recording his predictions, the other in explaining their failures; which is much the case with the rain-doctors in africa, who are as ingenious and fortunate in explaining a miss as a hit, as, indeed, they need be, since they must, in case of error, submit to be devoured alive by ants,--insects which in africa correspond in several respects to editors and critics, particularly the stinging kind. "_und ist man bei der prophezeiung angestellt_," as heine says; "when a man has a situation in a prophecy-office," a great part of his business is to explain to the customers why it is that so many of them draw blanks, or why the trains of fate are never on time. v. hampton races. on a summer day, when waking dreams softly wave before the fancy, it is pleasant to walk in the noon-stillness along the thames, for then we pass a series of pictures forming a gallery which i would not exchange for that of the louvre, could i impress them as indelibly upon the eye-memory as its works are fixed on canvas. there exists in all of us a spiritual photographic apparatus, by means of which we might retain accurately all we have ever seen, and bring out, at will, the pictures from the pigeon-holes of the memory, or make new ones as vivid as aught we see in dreams, but the faculty must be developed in childhood. so surely as i am now writing this will become, at some future day, a branch of education, to be developed into results of which the wildest imagination can form no conception, and i put the prediction on record. as it is, i am sorry that i was never trained to this half-thinking, half-painting art, since, if i had been, i should have left for distant days to come some charming views of surrey as it appears in this decade. the reedy eyots and the rising hills; the level meadows and the little villes, with their antique perpendicular gothic churches, which form the points around which they have clustered for centuries, even as groups of boats in the river are tied around their mooring-posts; the bridges and trim cottages or elegant mansions with their flower-bordered grounds sweeping down to the water's edge, looking like rich carpets with new baize over the centre, make the pictures of which i speak, varying with every turn of the thames; while the river itself is, at this season, like a continual regatta, with many kinds of boats, propelled by stalwart young englishmen or healthy, handsome damsels, of every rank, the better class by far predominating. there is a disposition among the english to don quaint holiday attire, to put on the picturesque, and go to the very limits which custom permits, which would astonish an american. of late years this is becoming the case, too, in trans-atlantis, but it has always been usual in england, to mark the fete day with a festive dress, to wear gay ribbons, and to indulge the very harmless instinct of youth to be gallant and gay. i had started one morning on a walk by the thames, when i met a friend, who asked,-- "aren't you going to-day to the hampton races?" "how far is it?" "just six miles. on molesy hurst." six miles, and i had only six shillings in my pocket. i had some curiosity to see this race, which is run on the molesy hurst, famous as the great place for prize-fighting in the olden time, and which has never been able to raise itself to respectability, inasmuch as the local chronicler says that "the course attracts considerable and not very reputable gatherings." in fact, it is generally spoken of as the costermonger's race, at which a mere welsher is a comparatively respectable character, and every man in a good coat a swell. i was nicely attired, by chance, for the occasion, for i had come out, thinking of a ride, in a white hat, new corduroy pantaloons and waistcoat, and a velveteen coat, which dress is so greatly admired by the gypsies that it may almost be regarded as their "national costume." there was certainly, to say the least, a rather _bourgeois_ tone at the race, and gentility was conspicuous by its absence; but i did not find it so outrageously low as i had been led to expect. i confess that i was not encouraged to attempt to increase my little hoard of silver by betting, and the certainty that if i lost i could not lunch made me timid. but the good are never alone in this world, and i found friends whom i dreamed not of. leaving the crowd, i sought the gypsy vans, and by one of these was old liz buckland. "_sarishan rye_! and glad i am to see you. why didn't you come down into kent to see the hoppin'? many a time the romanys says they expected to see their _rye_ there. just the other night, your coopers was a-lyin' round their fire, every one of 'em in a new red blanket, lookin' so beautiful as the light shone on 'em, and i says, 'if our _rye_ was to see you, he'd just have that book of his out, and take all your pictures.'" after much gossip over absent friends, i said,-- "well, _dye_, i stand a shilling for beer, and that's all i can do to-day, for i've come out with only _shove trin-grushi_." liz took the shilling, looked at it and at me with an earnest air, and shook her head. "it'll never do, _rye_,--never. a gentleman wants more than six shillin's to see a race through, and a reg'lar romany rye like you ought to slap down his _lovvo_ with the best of 'em for the credit of his people. and if you want a _bar_ [a pound] or two, i'll lend you the money, and never fear about your payment." it was kind of the old _dye_, but i thought that i would pull through on my five shillings, before i would draw on the romany bank. to be considered with sincere sympathy, as an object of deserving charity, on the lowest race-ground in england, and to be offered eleemosynary relief by a gypsy, was, indeed, touching the hard pan of humiliation. i went my way, idly strolling about, mingling affably with all orders, for my watch was at home. _vacuus viator cantabit_. as i stood by a fence, i heard a gentlemanly-looking young man, who was evidently a superior pickpocket, or "a regular fly gonoff," say to a friend,-- "she's on the ground,--a great woman among the gypsies. what do they call her?" "mrs. lee." "yes. a swell romany she is." whenever one hears an englishman, not a scholar, speak of gypsies as "romany," he may be sure that man is rather more on the loose than becomes a steady citizen, and that he walks in ways which, if not of darkness, are at least in a shady _demi-jour_, with a gentle down grade. i do not think there was anybody on the race-ground who was not familiar with the older word. it began to rain, and before long my new velveteen coat was very wet. i looked among the booths for one where i might dry myself and get something to eat, and, entering the largest, was struck by the appearance of the landlady. she was a young and decidedly pretty woman, nicely dressed, and was unmistakably gypsy. i had never seen her before, but i knew who she was by a description i had heard. so i went up to the bar and spoke:-- "how are you, agnes?" "bloomin'. what will you have, sir?" "_dui curro levinor_, _yeck for tute_, _yeck for mandy_." (two glasses for ale,--one for you, one for me.) she looked up with a quick glance and a wondering smile, and then said,-- "you must be the romany rye of the coopers. i'm glad to see you. bless me, how wet you are. go to the fire and dry yourself. here, bill, i say! attend to this gentleman." there was a tremendous roaring fire at the farther end of the booth, at which were pieces of meat, so enormous as to suggest a giant's roast or a political barbecue rather than a kitchen. i glanced with some interest at bill, who came to aid me. in all my life i never saw a man who looked so thoroughly the regular english bull-dog bruiser of the lowest type, but battered and worn out. his nose, by oft-repeated pummeling, had gradually subsided almost to a level with his other features, just as an ancient british grave subsides, under the pelting storms of centuries, into equality with the plain. his eyes looked out from under their bristly eaves like sleepy wild-cats from a pig-pen, and his physique was tremendous. he noticed my look of curiosity. "old bruisin' bill, your honor. i was well knowed in the prize-ring once. been in the newspapers. now, you mus'n't dry your coat that way! new welweteen ought always to be wiped afore you dry it. i was a gamekeeper myself for six years, an' wore it all that time nice and proper, i did, and know how may be you've got a thrip'ny bit for old bill. thanky." i will do mrs. agnes wynn the credit to say that in her booth the best and most abundant meal that i ever saw for the price in england was given for eighteen pence. fed and dried, i was talking with her, when there came up a pretty boy of ten, so neat and well dressed and altogether so nice that he might have passed current for a gentleman's son anywhere. "well, agnes. you're wynn by name and winsome by nature, and all the best you have has gone into that boy. they say you gypsies used to steal children. i think it's time to turn the tables, and when i take the game up i'll begin by stealing your _chavo_." mrs. wynn looked pleased. "he is a good boy, as good as he looks, and he goes to school, and don't keep low company." here two or three octoroon, duodecaroon, or vigintiroon romany female friends of the landlady came up to be introduced to me, and of course to take something at my expense for the good of the house. this they did in the manner specially favored by gypsies; that is to say, a quart of ale, being ordered, was offered first to me, in honor of my social position, and then passed about from hand to hand. this rite accomplished, i went forth to view the race. the sun had begun to shine again, the damp flags and streamers had dried themselves in its cheering rays, even as i had renewed myself at dame wynn's fire, and i crossed the race-course. the scene was lively, picturesque, and thoroughly english. there are certain pleasures and pursuits which, however they may be perfected in other countries, always seem to belong especially to england, and chief among these is the turf. as a fresh start was made, as the spectators rushed to the ropes, roaring with excitement, and the horses swept by amid hurrahs, i could realize the sympathetic feeling which had been developed in all present by ancient familiarity and many associations with such scenes. whatever the moral value of these may be, it is certain that anything so racy with local color and so distinctly fixed in popular affection as the _race_ will always appeal to the artist and the student of national scenes. i found old liz lounging with old dick, her husband, on the other side. there was a canvas screen, eight feet high, stretched as a background to stop the sticks hurled by the players at "coker-nuts," while the nuts themselves, each resting on a stick five feet high, looked like disconsolate and starved spectres, waiting to be cruelly treated. in company with the old couple was a commanding-looking, eagle-eyed romany woman, in whom i at once recognized the remarkable gypsy spoken of by the pickpocket. "my name is lee," she said, in answer to my greeting. "what is yours?" "leland." "yes, you have added land to the lee. you are luckier than i am. i'm a lee without land." as she spoke she looked like an ideal meg merrilies, and i wished i had her picture. it was very strange that i made the wish at that instant, for just then she was within an ace of having it taken, and therefore arose and went away to avoid it. an itinerant photographer, seeing me talking with the gypsies, was attempting, though i knew it not, to take the group. but the keen eye of the romany saw it all, and she went her way, because she was of the real old kind, who believe it is unlucky to have their portraits taken. i used to think that this aversion was of the same kind as that which many good men evince in a marked manner when requested by the police to sit for their photographs for the rogues' gallery. but here i did the gypsies great injustice; for they will allow their likenesses to be taken if you will give them a shoe-string. that this old superstition relative to the binding and loosing of ill-luck by the shoe-string should exist in this connection is of itself curious. in the earliest times the shoe-latchet brought luck, just as the shoe itself did, especially when filled with corn or rice, and thrown after the bride. it is a great pity that the ignorant gentiles, who are so careful to do this at every wedding, do not know that it is all in vain unless they cry aloud in hebrew, "_peru urphu_!" { } with all their might when the shoe is cast, and that the shoe should be filled with rice. she went away, and in a few minutes the photographer came in great glee to show a picture which he had taken. "'ere you are, sir. an elegant photograph, surroundin' sentimental scenery and horiental coker-nuts thrown in,--all for a diminitive little shillin'." "now that time you missed it," i said; "for on my honor as a gentleman, i have only ninepence in all my pockets." "a gent like you with only ninepence!" said the artist. "if he hasn't got money in his pocket now," said old liz, speaking up in my defense, "he has plenty at home. he has given pounds and pounds to us gypsies." "_dovo's a huckaben_," i said to her in romany. "_mandy kekker delled tute kumi'n a trin-grushi_." (that is untrue. i never gave you more than a shilling.) "anyhow," said liz, "ninepence is enough for it." and the man, assenting, gave it to me. it was a very good picture, and i have since had several copies taken of it. "yes, _rya_," said old liz, when i regretted the absence of my lady lee, and talked with her about shoe-strings and old shoes, and how necessary it was to cry out "_peru urphu_!" when you throw them,--"yes. that's the way the gorgis always half does things. you see 'em get a horse-shoe off the roads, and what do they do with it! goes like _dinneli_ idiots and nails it up with the p'ints down, which, as is well beknown, brings all the bad luck there is flyin' in the air into the house, and _taders chovihanees_ [draws witches] like anise-seed does rats. now common sense ought to teach that the shoe ought to be put like horns, with the p'ints up. for if it's lucky to put real horns up, of course the horse-shoe goes the same _drom_ [road]. and it's lucky to pick up a red string in the morning,--yes, or at any time; but it's sure love from a girl if you do,--specially silk. and if so be she gives you a red string or cord, or a strip of red stuff, _that_ means she'll be bound to you and loves you." vi. street sketches. london, during hot weather, after the close of the wise season, suggests to the upper ten thousand, and to the lower twenty thousand who reflect their ways, and to the lowest millions who minister to them all, a scene of doleful dullness. i call the time which has passed wise, because that which succeeds is universally known as the silly season. then the editors in town have recourse to the american newspapers for amusing murders, while their rural brethren invent great gooseberries. then the sea-serpent again lifts his awful head. i am always glad when this sterling inheritance of the northern races reappears; for while we have _him_ i know that the capacity for swallowing a big bouncer, or for inventing one, is not lost. he is characteristic of a fine, bold race. long may he wave! it is true that we cannot lie as gloriously as our ancestors did about him. when the great news-dealer of norse times had no home-news he took his lyre, and either spun a yarn about vinland such as would smash the "telegraph," or else sung about "that sea-snake tremendous curled, whose girth encircles half the world." it is wonderful, it is awful, to consider how true we remain to the traditions of the older time. the french boast that they invented the _canard_. let them boast. they also invented the shirt-collar; but hoary legends say that an englishman invented the shirt for it, as well as the art of washing it. what the shirt is to the collar, that is the glorious, tough old northern _saga_, or maritime spun yarn, to the _canard_, or duck. the yarn will wash; it passes into myth and history; it fits exactly, because it was made to order; its age and glory illustrate the survival of the fittest. i have, during three or four summers, remained a month in london after the family had taken flight to the sea-side. i stayed to finish books promised for the autumn. it is true that nearly four million of people remain in london during the later summer; but it is wonderful what an influence the absence of a few exerts on them and on the town. then you realize by the long lines of idle vehicles in the ranks how few people in this world can afford a cab; then you find out how scanty is the number of those who buy goods at the really excellent shops; and then you may finally find out by satisfactory experience, if you are inclined to grumble at your lot in life or your fortune, how much better off you are than ninety-nine in a hundred of your fellow-murmurers at fate. it was my wont to walk out in the cool of the evening, to smoke my cigar in regent's park, seated on a bench, watching the children as they played about the clock-and-bull fountain,--for it embraces these objects among its adornments,--presented by cowasie jehanguire, who added to these magnificent persian names the prosaic english postscript of ready money. in this his name sets forth the history of his parsee people, who, from being heroic ghebers, have come down to being bankers, who can "do" any jew, and who might possibly tackle a yankee so long as they kept out of new jersey. one evening i walked outside of the park, passing by the gloucester bridge to a little walk or boulevard, where there are a few benches. i was in deep moon-shadow, formed by the trees; only the ends of my boots shone like eyes in the moonlight as i put them out. after a while i saw a nice-looking young girl, of the humble-decent class, seated by me, and with her i entered into casual conversation. on the bench behind us were two young italians, conversing in strongly marked florentine dialect. they evidently thought that no one could understand them; as they became more interested they spoke more distinctly, letting out secrets which i by no means wished to hear. at that instant i recalled the famous story of prince bismarck and the esthonian young ladies and the watch-key. i whispered to the girl,-- "when i say something to you in a language which you do not understand, answer '_si_' as distinctly as you can." the damsel was quick to understand. an instant after i said,-- "_ha veduto il mio 'havallo la sera_?" "_si_." there was a dead silence, and then a rise and a rush. my young friend rolled her eyes up at me, but said nothing. the italians had departed with their awful mysteries. then there came by a man who looked much worse. he was a truculent, untamable rough, evidently inspired with gin. at a glance i saw by the manner in which he carried his coat that he was a traveler, or one who lived on the roads. seeing me he stopped, and said, grimly,--"do you love your jesus?" this is certainly a pious question; but it was uttered in a tone which intimated that if i did not answer it affirmatively i might expect anything but christian treatment. i knew why the man uttered it. he had just come by an open-air preaching in the park, and the phrase had, moreover, been recently chalked and stenciled by numerous zealous and busy nonconformists all over northwestern london. i smiled, and said, quietly,-- "_pal_, _mor rakker sa drovan_. _ja pukenus on the drum_." (don't talk so loud, brother. go away quietly.) the man's whole manner changed. as if quite sober, he said,-- "_mang your shunaben_, _rye_. _but tute jins chomany_. _kushti ratti_!" (beg your pardon, sir. but you _do_ know a thing or two. good-night!) "i was awfully frightened," said the young girl, as the traveler departed. "i'm sure he meant to pitch into us. but what a wonderful way you have, sir, of sending people away! i wasn't so much astonished when you got rid of the italians. i suppose ladies and gentlemen know italian, or else they wouldn't go to the opera. but this man was a common, bad english tramp; yet i'm sure he spoke to you in some kind of strange language, and you said something to him that changed him into as peaceable as could be. what was it?" "it was gypsy, young lady,--what the gypsies talk among themselves." "do you know, sir, i think you're the most mysterious gentleman i ever met." "very likely. good-night." "good night, sir." i was walking with my friend the palmer, one afternoon in june, in one of the several squares which lie to the west of the british museum. as we went i saw a singular-looking, slightly-built man, lounging at a corner. he was wretchedly clad, and appeared to be selling some rudely-made, but curious contrivances of notched sticks, intended to contain flowerpots. he also had flower-holders made of twisted copper wire. but the greatest curiosity was the man himself. he had such a wild, wasted, wistful expression, a face marked with a life of almost unconscious misery. and most palpable in it was the unrest, which spoke of an endless struggle with life, and had ended by goading him into incessant wandering. i cannot imagine what people can be made of who can look at such men without emotion. "that is a gypsy," i said to the palmer. "_sarishan_, _pal_!" the wanderer seemed to be greatly pleased to hear romany. he declared that he was in the habit of talking it so much to himself when alone that his ordinary name was romany dick. "but if you come down to the potteries, and want to find me, you mus'n't ask for romany dick, but divius dick." "that means wild dick." "yes." "and why?" "because i wander about so, and can never stay more than a night in any one place. i can't help it. i must keep going." he said this with that wistful, sad expression, a yearning as for something which he had never comprehended. was it _rest_? "and so i _rakker_ romany [talk gypsy to myself], when i'm alone of a night, when the wind blows. it's better company than talkin' gorginess. more sociable. _he_ says--no--_i_ say more sensible things romaneskas than in english. you understand me?" he exclaimed suddenly, with the same wistful stare. "perfectly. it's quite reasonable. it must be like having two heads instead of one, and being twice as knowing as anybody else." "yes, that's it. but everybody don't know it." "what do you ask for one of those flower-stands, dick?" "a shillin', sir." "well, here is my name and where i live, on an envelope. and here are two shillings. but if you _chore mandy_ [cheat me] and don't leave it at the house, i'll look you up in the potteries, and _koor tute_ [whip you]." he looked at me very seriously. "ah, yes. you could _koor me kenna_ [whip me now]. but you couldn't have _koored_ my _dadas_ [whipped my father]. leastways not afore he got his leg broken fightin' lancaster sam. you must have heard of my father,--single-stick dick. but if your're comin' down to the potteries, don't come next sunday. come sunday three weeks. my brother is _stardo kenna_ for _chorin_ a _gry_ [in prison for horse-stealing]. in three weeks he'll be let out, and we're goin' to have a great family party to welcome him, and we'll be glad to see you. do come." the flower-stand was faithfully delivered, but another engagement prevented an acceptance of the invitation, and i have never seen dick since. * * * * * i was walking along marylebone road, which always seems to be a worn and wind-beaten street, very pretty once, and now repenting it; when just beyond baker street station i saw a gypsy van hung all round with baskets and wooden-ware. smoke issued from its pipe, and it went along smoking like any careless pedestrian. it always seems strange to think of a family being thus conveyed with its dinner cooking, the children playing about the stove, over rural roads, past common and gorse and hedge, in and out of villages, and through great babylon itself, as if the family had a _pied a terre_, and were as secluded all the time as though they lived in little pedlington or tinnecum. for they have just the same narrow range of gossip, and just the same set of friends, though the set are always on the move. traveling does not make a cosmopolite. by the van strolled the lord and master, with his wife. i accosted him. "_sarishan_?" "_sarishan rye_!" "did you ever see me before? do you know me?" "no, sir." "i'm sorry for that. i have a nice velveteen coat which i have been keeping for your father. how's your brother frank? traveling about kingston, i suppose. as usual. but i don't care about trusting the coat to anybody who don't know me." "i'll take it to him, safe enough, sir." "yes, i dare say. on your back. and wear it yourself six months before you see him." up spoke his wife: "that he shan't. i'll take good care that the _pooro mush_ [the old man] gets it all right, in a week." "well, _dye_, i can trust you. you remember me. and, anselo, here is my address. come to the house in half an hour." in half an hour the housekeeper, said with a quiet smile,-- "if you please, sir, there's a gentleman--a _gypsy_ gentleman--wishes to see you." it is an english theory that the master can have no "visitors" who are not gentlemen. i must admit that anselo's dress was not what could be called gentlemanly. from his hat to his stout shoes he looked the impenitent gypsy and sinful poacher, unaffected and natural. there was a cutaway, sporting look about his coat which indicated that he had grown to it from boyhood "in woodis grene." he held a heavy-handled whip, a regular romany _tchupni_ or _chuckni_, which mr. borrow thinks gave rise to the word "jockey." i thought the same once, but have changed my mind, for there were "jockeys" in england before gypsies. altogether, anselo (which comes from wenceslas) was a determined and vigorous specimen of an old-fashioned english gypsy, a type which, with all its faults, is not wanting in sundry manly virtues. i knew that anselo rarely entered any houses save ale-houses, and that he had probably never before been in a study full of books, arms, and bric-a-brac. and he knew that i was aware of it. now, if he had been more of a fool, like a red indian or an old-fashioned fop, he would have affected a stoical indifference, for fear of showing his ignorance. as it was, he sat down in an arm-chair, glanced about him, and said just the right thing. "it must be a pleasant thing, at the end of the day, after one has been running about, to come home to such a room as this, so full of fine things, and sit down in such a comfortable chair." "will i have a glass of old ale? yes, i thank you." "that is _kushto levinor_ [good ale]. i never tasted better." "would i rather have wine or spirits? no, i thank you; such ale as this is fit for a king." here anselo's keen eye suddenly rested on something which he understood. "what a beautiful little rifle! that's what i call a _rinkno yag-engree_ [pretty gun]." "has it been a _wafedo wen_ [hard winter], anselo?" "it has been a dreadful winter, sir. we have been hard put to it sometimes for food. it's dreadful to think of. i've acti'lly seen the time when i was almost desperated, and if i'd had such a gun as that i'm afraid, if i'd been tempted, i could a-found it in my heart to knock over a pheasant." i looked sympathetically at anselo. the idea of his having been brought to the very brink of such a terrible temptation and awful crime was touching. he met the glance with the expression of a good man, who had done no more than his duty, closed his eyes, and softly shook his head. then he took another glass of ale, as if the memory of the pheasants or something connected with the subject had been too much for him, and spoke:-- "i came here on my horse. but he's an ugly old white punch. so as not to discredit you, i left him standing before a gentleman's house, two doors off." here anselo paused. i acknowledged this touching act of thoughtful delicacy by raising my glass. he drank again, then resumed:-- "but i feel uneasy about leaving a horse by himself in the streets of london. he'll stand like a driven nail wherever you put him--but there's always plenty of claw-hammers to draw such nails." "don't be afraid, anselo. the park-keeper will not let anybody take him through the gates. i'll pay for him if he goes." but visions of a stolen horse seemed to haunt anselo. one would have thought that something of the kind had been familiar to him. so i sent for the velveteen coat, and, folding it on his arm, he mounted the old white horse, while waving an adieu with the heavy-handled whip, rode away in the mist, and was seen no more. farewell, farewell, thou old brown velveteen! i had thee first in by-gone years, afar, hunting ferocious fox and horrid hare, near brighton, on the downs, and wore thee well on many a sketching tour to churches old and castles dark or gray, when winter went with all his raines wete. farewell, my coat, and benedicite! i bore thee over france unto marseilles, and on the steamer where we took aboard two hundred paynim pilgrims of mahound. farewell, my coat, and benedicite! thou wert in naples by great virgil's tomb, and borest dust from posilippo's grot, and hast been wetted by the dainty spray from bays and shoals of old etrurian name. farewell, my coat, and benedicite! and thou wert in the old egyptian realm: i had thee on that morning 'neath the palms when long i lingered where of yore had stood the rose-red city, half as old as time. farewell, my coat, and benedicite! it was a lady called thee into life. she said, methinks ye need a velvet coat. it is a seemly guise to ride to hounds. another gave me whip and silvered spurs. now all have vanished in the darkening past. ladies and all are gone into the gloom. farewell, my coat, and benedicite. thou'st had a venturous and traveled life, for thou wert once in moscow in the snow. a true bohemian thou hast ever been, and as a right bohemian thou wilt die, the garment of a roving romany. fain would i see and hear what thou'rt to know of reckless riding and the gypsy _tan_, of camps in dark green lanes, afar from towns. farewell, mine coat, and benedicite! vii. of certain gentlemen and gypsies. one morning i was walking with mr. thomas carlyle and mr. froude. we went across hyde park, and paused to rest on the bridge. this is a remarkable place, since there, in the very heart of london, one sees a view which is perfectly rural. the old oaks rise above each other like green waves, the houses in the distance are country-like, while over the trees, and far away, a village-looking spire completes the picture. i think that it was mr. froude who called my attention to the beauty of the view, and i remarked that it needed only a gypsy tent and the curling smoke to make it in all respects perfectly english. "you have paid some attention to gypsies," said mr. carlyle. "they're not altogether so bad a people as many think. in scotland, we used to see many of them. i'll not say that they were not rovers and reivers, but they could be honest at times. the country folk feared them, but those who made friends wi' them had no cause to complain of their conduct. once there was a man who was persuaded to lend a gypsy a large sum of money. my father knew the man. it was to be repaid at a certain time. the day came; the gypsy did not. and months passed, and still the creditor had nothing of money but the memory of it; and ye remember '_nessun maggior dolore_,'--that there's na greater grief than to remember the siller ye once had. weel, one day the man was surprised to hear that his frien' the gypsy wanted to see him--interview, ye call it in america. and the gypsy explained that, having been arrested, and unfortunately detained, by some little accident, in preeson, he had na been able to keep his engagement. 'if ye'll just gang wi' me,' said the gypsy, 'aw'll mak' it all right.' 'mon, aw wull,' said the creditor,--they were scotch, ye know, and spoke in deealect. so the gypsy led the way to the house which he had inhabited, a cottage which belonged to the man himself to whom he owed the money. and there he lifted up the hearthstone; the hard-stane they call it in scotland, and it is called so in the prophecy of thomas of ercildowne. and under the hard-stane there was an iron pot. it was full of gold, and out of that gold the gypsy carle paid his creditor. ye wonder how 't was come by? well, ye'll have heard it's best to let sleeping dogs lie." "yes. and what was said of the poles who had, during the middle ages, a reputation almost as good as that of gypsies? _ad secretas poli_, _curas extendere noli_." (never concern your soul as to the secrets of a pole.) mr. carlyle's story reminds me that walter simpson, in his history of them, says that the scottish gypsies have ever been distinguished for their gratitude to those who treated them with civility and kindness, anent which he tells a capital story, while other instances sparkle here and there with many brilliant touches in his five hundred-and-fifty-page volume. i have more than once met with romanys, when i was in the company of men who, like carlyle and bilderdijk, "were also in the world of letters known," or who might say, "we have deserved to be." one of the many memories of golden days, all in the merrie tyme of summer song in england, is of the thames, and of a pleasure party in a little steam-launch. it was a weenie affair,--just room for six forward outside the cubby, which was called the cabin; and of these six, one was mr. roebuck,--"the last englishman," as some one has called him, but as the late lord lytton applies the same term to one of his characters about the time of the conquest, its accuracy may be doubted. say the last type of a certain phase of the englishman; say that roebuck was the last of the old iron and oak men, the _triplex aes et robur_ chiefs of the cobbet kind, and the phrase may pass. but it will only pass over into a new variety of true manhood. however frequently the last englishman may die, i hope it will be ever said of him, _le roi est mort_,--_vive le roi_! i have had talks with lord lytton on gypsies. he, too, was once a romany rye in a small way, and in the gay may heyday of his young manhood once went off with a band of romanys, and passed weeks in their tents,--no bad thing, either, for anybody. i was more than once tempted to tell him the strange fact that, though he had been among the black people and thought he had learned their language, what they had imposed upon him for that was not romany, but cant, or english thieves' slang. for what is given, in good faith, as the gypsy tongue in "paul clifford" and the "disowned," is only the same old mumping _kennick_ which was palmed off on bampfylde moore carew; or which he palmed on his readers, as the secret of the roms. but what is the use or humanity of disillusioning an author by correcting an error forty years old. if one could have corrected it in the proof, _a la bonne heure_! besides, it was of no particular consequence to anybody whether the characters in "paul clifford" called a clergyman a _patter-cove_ or a _rashai_. it is a supreme moment of triumph for a man when he discovers that his specialty--whatever it be--is not of such value as to be worth troubling anybody with it. as for everybody, _he_ is fair game. the boat went up the thames, and i remember that the river was, that morning, unusually beautiful. it is graceful, as in an outline, even when leaden with november mists, or iron-gray in the drizzle of december, but under the golden sunlight of june it is lovely. it becomes every year, with gay boating parties in semi-fancy dresses, more of a carnival, in which the carnivalers and their carnivalentines assume a more decided character. it is very strange to see this tendency of the age to unfold itself in new festival forms, when those who believe that there can never be any poetry or picturing in life but in the past are wailing over the vanishing of may-poles and old english sports. there may be, from time to time, a pause between the acts; the curtain may be down a little longer than usual; but in the long run the world-old play of the peoples' holiday will go on, as it has been going ever since satan suggested that little apple-stealing excursion to eve, which, as explained by the talmudists, was manifestly the direct cause of all the flirtations and other dreadful doings in all little outings down to the present day, in the drawing-room or "on the leads," world without end. and as the boat went along by weybridge we passed a bank by which was a small gypsy camp; tents and wagons, donkeys and all, reflected in the silent stream, as much as were the swans in the fore-water. and in the camp was a tall, handsome, wild beauty, named britannia, who knew me well; a damsel fond of larking, with as much genuine devil's gunpowder in her as would have made an entire pack or a chinese hundred of sixty-four of the small crackers known as fast girls, in or around society. she was a splendid creature, long and lithe and lissom, but well rounded, of a figure suggestive of leaping hedges; and as the sun shone on her white teeth and burning black eyes, there was a hint of biting, too, about her. she lay coiled and basking, in feline fashion, in the sun; but at sight of me on the boat, up she bounded, and ran along the bank, easily keeping up with the steamer, and crying out to me in romanes. now it just so happened that i by no means felt certain that _all_ of the company present were such genial bohemians as to appreciate anything like the joyous intimacy which britannia was manifesting, as she, atalanta-like, coursed along. consequently, i was not delighted with her attentions. "what a fine girl!" said mr. roebuck. "how well she would look on the stage! she seems to know you." "certainly," said one of the ladies, "or she would not be speaking her language. why don't you answer her? let us hear a conversation." thus adjured, i answered,-- "_miri pen_, _miri kushti pen_, _beng lel tute_, _ma rakker sa drovan_! _or ma rakker romaneskas_. _man dikesa te rania shan akai_. _miri kameli_--_man kair __mandy ladge_!" (my sister, my nice, sweet sister!--devil take you! don't hallo at me like that! or else don't talk romany. don't you see there are ladies here? my dear, don't put me to shame!) "_pen the rani ta wusser mandy a trin-grushi_--_who_--_op_, _hallo_!" (tell the lady to shy me a shilling--whoop!) cried the fast damsel. "_pa miri duvels kam_, _pen_--_o bero se ta duro_. _mandy'll de tute a pash-korauna keratti if tu tevel ja_. _gorgie shan i foki kavakoi_!" (for the lord's sake, sister!--the boat is too far from shore. i'll give you half a crown this evening if you'll clear out. these be gentiles, these here.) "it seems to be a melodious language," said mr. roebuck, greatly amused. "what are you saying?" "i am telling her to hold her tongue, and go." "but how on earth does it happen that you speak such a language?" inquired a lady. "i always thought that the gypsies only talked a kind of english slang, and this sounds like a foreign tongue." all this time britannia, like the cork leg, never tired, but kept on the chase, neck and neck, till we reached a lock, when, with a merry laugh like a child, she turned on her track and left us. "mr. l.'s proficiency in romany," said mr. roebuck, "is well known to me. i have heard him spoken of as the successor to george borrow." "that," i replied, "i do not deserve. there are other gentlemen in england who are by far my superiors in knowledge of the people." and i spoke very sincerely. apropos of mr. george borrow, i knew him, and a grand old fellow he was,--a fresh and hearty giant, holding his six feet two or three inches as uprightly at eighty as he ever had at eighteen. i believe that was his age, but may be wrong. borrow was like one of the old norse heroes, whom he so much admired, or an old-fashioned gypsy bruiser, full of craft and merry tricks. one of these he played on me, and i bear him no malice for it. the manner of the joke was this: i had written a book on the english gypsies and their language; but before i announced it, i wrote a letter to father george, telling him that i proposed to print it, and asking his permission to dedicate it to him. he did not answer the letter, but "worked the tip" promptly enough, for he immediately announced in the newspapers on the following monday his "word-book of the romany language," "with many pieces in gypsy, illustrative of the way of speaking and thinking of the english gypsies, with specimens of their poetry, and an account of various things relating to gypsy life in england." this was exactly what i had told him that my book would contain; for i intended originally to publish a vocabulary. father george covered the track by not answering my letter; but i subsequently ascertained that it had been faithfully delivered to him by a gentleman from whom i obtained the information. it was like the contest between hildebrand the elder and his son:-- "a ready trick tried hildebrand, that old, gray-bearded man; for when the younger raised to strike, beneath his sword he ran." and, like the son, i had no ill feeling about it. my obligations to him for "lavengro" and the "romany rye" and his other works are such as i owe to few men. i have enjoyed gypsying more than any sport in the world, and i owe my love of it all to george borrow. i have since heard that a part of mr. borrow's "romano lavo-lil" had been in manuscript for thirty years, and that it might never have been published but for my own work. i hope that this is true; for i am sincerely proud to think that i may have been in any way, directly or indirectly, the cause of his giving it to the world. i would gladly enough have burnt my own book, as i said, with a hearty laugh, when i saw the announcement of the "lavo-lil," if it would have pleased the old romany rye, and i never spoke a truer word. he would not have believed it; but it would have been true, all the same. i well remember the first time i met george borrow. it was in the british museum, and i was introduced to him by mrs. estelle lewis,--now dead,--the well known-friend of edgar a. poe. he was seated at a table, and had a large old german folio open before him. we talked about gypsies, and i told him that i had unquestionably found the word for "green," _shelno_, in use among the english romany. he assented, and said that he knew it. i mention this as a proof of the manner in which the "romano lavo-lil" must have been hurried, because he declares in it that there is no english gypsy word for "green." in this work he asserts that the english gypsy speech does not probably amount to fourteen hundred words. it is a weakness with the romany rye fraternity to believe that there are no words in gypsy which they to not know. i am sure that my own collection contains nearly four thousand anglo-romany terms, many of which i feared were doubtful, but which i am constantly verifying. america is a far better place in which to study the language than england. as an old scotch gypsy said to me lately, the deepest and cleverest old gypsies all come over here to america, where they have grown rich, and built the old language up again. i knew a gentleman in london who was a man of extraordinary energy. having been utterly ruined, at seventy years of age, by a relative, he left england, was absent two or three years in a foreign country, during which time he made in business some fifty thousand pounds, and, returning, settled down in england. he had been in youth for a long time the most intimate friend of george borrow, who was, he said, a very wild and eccentric youth. one night, when skylarking about london, borrow was pursued by the police, as he wished to be, even as panurge so planned as to be chased by the night-watch. he was very tall and strong in those days, a trained shoulder-hitter, and could run like a deer. he was hunted to the thames, "and there they thought they had him." but the romany rye made for the edge, and, leaping into the wan water, like the squyre in the old ballad, swam to the other side, and escaped. i have conversed with mr. borrow on many subjects,--horses, gypsies, and old irish. anent which latter subject i have heard him declare that he doubted whether there was any man living who could really read an old irish manuscript. i have seen the same statement made by another writer. my personal impressions of mr. borrow were very agreeable, and i was pleased to learn afterwards from mrs. lewis that he had expressed himself warmly as regarded myself. as he was not invariably disposed to like those whom be met, it is a source of great pleasure to me to reflect that i have nothing but pleasant memories of the good old romany rye, the nestor of gypsy gentlemen. it is commonly reported among gypsies that mr. borrow was one by blood, and that his real name was boro, or great. this is not true. he was of pure english extraction. when i first met "george eliot" and g. h. lewes, at their house in north bank, the lady turned the conversation almost at once to gypsies. they spoke of having visited the zincali in spain, and of several very curious meetings with the _chabos_. mr. lewes, in fact, seldom met me--and we met very often about town, and at many places, especially at the trubners'--without conversing on the romanys. the subject evidently had for him a special fascination. i believe that i have elsewhere mentioned that after i returned from russia, and had given him, by particular request, an account of my visits to the gypsies of st. petersburg and moscow, he was much struck by the fact that i had chiromanced to the romany clan of the latter city. to tell the fortunes of gypsy girls was, he thought, the refinement of presumption. "there was in this world nothing so impudent as a gypsy when determined to tell a fortune; and the idea of not one, but many gypsy girls believing earnestly in my palmistry was like a righteous retribution." the late tom taylor had, while a student at cambridge, been _aficionado_, or smitten, with gypsies, and made a manuscript vocabulary of romany words, which he allowed me to use, and from which i obtained several which were new to me. this fact should make all smart gypsy scholars "take tent" and heed as to believing that they know everything. i have many anglo-romany words--purely hindi as to origin--which i have verified again and again, yet which have never appeared in print. thus far the romany vocabulary field has been merely scratched over. who that knows london knoweth not sir patrick colquhoun? i made his acquaintance in , when, coming over from student-life in paris and the revolution, i was most kindly treated by his family. a glorious, tough, widely experienced man he was even in early youth. for then he already bore the enviable reputation of being the first amateur sculler on the thames, the first gentleman light-weight boxer in england, a graduate with honors of cambridge, a doctor ph. of heidelberg, a diplomat, and a linguist who knew arabic, persian, and gaelic, modern greek and the omnium botherum tongues. they don't make such men nowadays, or, if they do, they leave out the genial element. years had passed, and i had returned to london in , and found sir patrick living, as of yore, in the temple, where i once and yet again and again dined with him. it was in the early days of this new spring of english life that we found ourselves by chance at a boat-race on the thames. it was on the thames, by his invitation, that i had twenty years before first seen an english regatta, and had a place in the gayly decked, superbly luncheoned barge of his club. it is a curious point in english character that the cleverest people do not realize or understand how festive and genial they really are, or how gayly and picturesquely they conduct their sports. it is a generally accepted doctrine with them that they do this kind of thing better in france; they believe sincerely that they take their own amusements sadly; it is the tone, the style, with the wearily-witty, dreary clowns of the weekly press, in their watery imitations of thackeray's worst, to ridicule all english festivity and merry-making, as though sunshine had faded out of life, and god and nature were dead, and in their place a great wind-bag jesuit-mallock were crying, in tones tainted with sulphuretted hydrogen, "_ah bah_!" reader mine, i have seen many a fete in my time, all the way from illuminations of paris to the khedive's fifteen-million-dollar spree in and the last grand flash of the roman-candle carnival of , but for true, hearty enjoyment and quiet beauty give me a merry party on the thames. give me, i say, its sparkling waters, its green banks, the joyous, beautiful girls, the hearty, handsome men. give me the boats, darting like fishes, the gay cries. and oh--oh!--give me the alsopp's ale in a quart mug, and not a remark save of approbation when i empty it. i had met sir patrick in the crowd, and our conversation turned on gypsies. when living before-time in roumania, he had romany servants, and learned a little of their language. yes, he was inclined to be "affected" into the race, and thereupon we went gypsying. truly, we had not far to seek, for just outside the crowd a large and flourishing community of the black-blood had set itself up in the _pivlioi_ (cocoa-nut) or _kashta_ (stick) business, and as it was late in the afternoon, and the entire business-world was about as drunk as mere beer could make it, the scene was not unlively. at that time i was new to england, and unknown to every gypsy on the ground. in after-days i learned to know them well, very well, for they were chiefly coopers and their congeners, who came to speak of me as _their_ rye and own special property or proprietor,--an allegiance which involved on one side an amount of shillings and beer which concentrated might have set up a charity, but which was duly reciprocated on the other by jocular tenures of cocoa-nuts, baskets, and choice and deep words in the language of egypt. as we approached the cock-shy, where sticks were cast at cocoa-nuts, a young gypsy _chai_, whom i learned to know in after-days as athalia cooper, asked me to buy some sticks. a penny a throw, all the cocoa-nuts i could hit to be my own. i declined; she became urgent, jolly, riotous, insistive. i endured it well, for i held the winning cards. _qui minus propere_, _minus prospere_. and then, as her voice rose _crescendo_ into a bawl, so that all the romanys around laughed aloud to see the green gorgio so chaffed and bothered, i bent me low, and whispered softly in her ear a single monosyllable. why are all those sticks dropped so suddenly? why does athalia in a second become sober, and stand up staring at me, all her chaff and urgency forgotten. quite polite and earnest now. but there is joy behind in her heart. this _is_ a game, a jolly game, and no mistake. and uplifting her voice again, as the voice of one who findeth an exceeding great treasure even in the wilderness, she cried aloud,--"_it's a romany rye_!" the spiciest and saltest and rosiest of sir patrick's own stories, told after dinner over his own old port to a special conventicle of clergymen about town, was never received with such a roar of delight as that cry of athalia's was by the romany clan. up went three sheers at the find; further afield went the shout proclaiming the discovery of an aristocratic stranger of their race, a _rye_, who was to them as wheat,--a gypsy gentleman. neglecting business, they threw down their sticks, and left their cocoanuts to grin in solitude; the _dyes_ turned aside from fortune-telling to see what strange fortune had sent such a visitor. in ten minutes sir patrick and i were surrounded by such a circle of sudden admirers and vehement applauders, as it seldom happens to any mortal to acquire--out of ireland--at such exceedingly short notice and on such easy terms. they were not particular as to what sort of a gypsy i was, or where i came from, or any nonsense of that sort, you know. it was about _cerevisia vincit omnia_, or the beery time of day with them, and they cared not for anything. i was extremely welcome; in short, there was poetry in me. i had come down on them by a way that was dark and a trick that was vain, in the path of mystery, and dropped on athalia and picked her up. it was gypsily done and very creditable to me, and even sir patrick was regarded as one to be honored as an accomplice. it is a charming novelty in every life to have the better class of one's own kind come into it, and nobody feels so keenly as a jolly romany that _jucundum nihil est nisi quod ref icit varietas_--naught pleases us without variety. then and there i drew to me the first threads of what became in after-days a strange and varied skein of humanity. there was the thames upon a holiday. now i look back to it, i ask, _ubi sunt_? (where are they all?) joshua cooper, as good and earnest a rom as ever lived, in his grave, with more than one of those who made my acquaintance by hurrahing for me. some in america, some wandering wide. yet there by weybridge still the thames runs on. by that sweet river i made many a song. one of these, to the tune of "waves in sunlight dancing," rises and falls in memory like a fitful fairy coming and going in green shadows, and that it may not perish utterly i here give it a place:-- avella parl o pani. av' kushto parl o pani, av' kushto mir' akai! mi kameli chovihani, avel ke tiro rye! shan raklia rinkenidiri, mukkellan rinkeni se; kek rakli 'dre i temia se rinkenidiri mi. shan dudnidiri yakka, mukkelan dudeni; kek yakk peshel' sa kushti pa miro kameli zi. shan balia longi diri, mukk 'lende bori 'pre, kek waveri raklia balia, te lian man opre. yoi lela angustrini, i miri tacheni, kek wavei mush jinella, sa dovo covva se. adre, adre o doeyav patrinia pellelan, kenna yek chumer kerdo o wavero well' an. te wenna butidiri, ke jana sig akoi sa sig sa yeck si gillo shan waveri adoi. avella parl o pani, avella sig akai! mi kamli tani-rani avell' ke tiro rye! * * * * * come over the river o love, come o'er the water, o love, where'er you be! my own sweetheart, my darling, come over the river to me! if any girls are fairer, then fairer let them be; no maid in all the country is half so fair to me. if other eyes are brighter, then brighter let them shine; i know that none are lighter upon this heart of mine. if other's locks are longer, then longer let them grow; hers are the only fish-lines which ever caught me so. she wears upon her finger a ring we know so well, and we and that ring only know what the ring can tell. from trees into the water leaves fall and float away, so kisses come and leave us, a thousand in a day. yet though they come by thousands, yet still they show their face; as soon as one has left us another fills its place. o love, come o'er the water, o lore, where'er you be! my own sweetheart, my darling, come over the river to me! welsh gypsies. i. mat woods the fiddler. the gypsies of wales are to those of england what the welsh themselves are to the english; more antique and quaint, therefore to a collector of human bric-a-brac more curious. the welsh rom is specially grateful for kindness or courtesy; he is deeper as to language, and preserves many of the picturesque traits of his race which are now so rapidly vanishing. but then he has such excellent opportunity for gypsying. in wales there are yet thousands of acres of wild land, deep ravines, rocky corners, and roadside nooks, where he can boil the kettle and _hatch the tan_, or pitch his tent, undisturbed by the rural policeman. for it is a charming country, where no one need weary in summer, when the days are long, or in early autumn,-- "when the barley is ripe, and the frog doth pipe, in golden stripe and green all dressed; when the red apples roll in the chest." then it is pleasant walking in wales, and there too at times, between hedge-rows, you may meet with the romany. i was at aberystwith by the sea, and one afternoon we went, a party of three gentlemen and three ladies, in a char-a-banc, or wagonette, to drive. it was a pleasant afternoon, and we had many a fine view of distant mountains, on whose sides were mines of lead with silver, and of which there were legends from the time of queen elizabeth. the hills looked leaden and blue in the distance, while the glancing sea far beyond recalled silver,--for the alchemy of imagery, at least, is never wanting to supply ideal metals, though the real may show a sad _deficit_ in the returns. as we drove we suddenly overtook a singular party, the first of whom was the leader, who had lagged behind. he was a handsome, slender, very dark young man, carrying a violin. before him went a little open cart, in which lay an old woman, and by her a harp. with it walked a good-looking gypsy girl, and another young man, not a gypsy. he was by far the handsomest young fellow, in form and features, whom i ever met among the agricultural class in england; we called him a peasant apollo. it became evident that the passional affinity which had drawn this rustic to the gypsy girl, and to the roads, was according to the law of natural selection, for they were wonderfully well matched. the young man had the grace inseparable from a fine figure and a handsome face, while the girl was tall, lithe, and pantherine, with the diavolesque charm which, though often attributed by fast-fashionable novelists to their heroines, is really never found except among the lowborn beauties of nature. it is the beauty of the imp and of the serpent; it fades with letters; it dies in the drawing-room or on the stage. you are mistaken when you think you see it coming out of the synagogue, unless it be a very vulgar one. your lahova has it not, despite her black eyes, for she is too clever and too conscious; the devil-beauty never knows how to read, she is unstudied and no actress. rachel and the bernhardt have it not, any more than saint agnes or miss blanche lapin. it is not of good or of evil, or of culture, which is both; it is all and only of nature, and it does not know itself. as the wagonette stopped i greeted the young man at first in english, then in romany. when he heard the gypsy tongue he started, his countenance expressing the utmost surprise and delight. as if he could hardly believe in such a phenomenon he inquired, "_romany_?" and as i nodded assent, he clasped my hand, the tears coming into his eyes. such manifestations are not common among gypsies, but i can remember how one, the wife of black ben lee, was thus surprised and affected. how well i recall the time and scene,--by the thames, in the late twilight, when every tree and twig was violet black against the amber sky, where the birds were chirp-chattering themselves to roost and rest, and the river rippled and murmured a duet with the evening breeze. i was walking homeward to oatlands when i met the tawny sinaminta, bearing her little stock of baskets to the tent and van which i had just quitted, and where ben and his beautiful little boy were lighting the _al fresco_ fire. "i have prayed to see this day!" exclaimed the gypsy woman. "i have so wanted to see the romany rye of the coopers. and i laid by a little _delaben_, a small present, for you when we should meet. it's a photograph of ben and me and our child." i might have forgotten the evening and the amber sky, rippling river and dark-green hedge-rows, but for this strange meeting and greeting of an unknown friend, but a few kind words fixed them all for life. that must be indeed a wonderful landscape which humanity does not make more impressive. i spoke but a few words to the gypsy with the violin, and we drove on to a little wayside inn, where we alighted and rested. after a while the gypsies came along. "and now, if you will, let us have a real frolic," i said to my friends. a word was enough. a quart of ale, and the fiddle was set going, and i sang in romany, and the rustic landlord and his household wondered what sort of guests we could be. that they had never before entertained such a mixed party i can well believe. here, on one hand, were indubitable swells, above their usual range; there, on the other, were the dusky vagabonds of the road; and it could be no common condescending patronage, for i was speaking neither welsh nor english, and our friendly fraternity was evident. yes, many a time, in england, have i seen the civil landlady or the neat-handed phillis awed with bewilderment, as i have introduced plato buckland, or the most disreputable-looking but oily--yea, glycerine-politeful--old windsor frog, into the parlor, and conversed with him in mystic words. such an event is a rare joy to the gypsy. for he loves to be lifted up among men; he will tell you with pride of the times when he was pointed at, and people said, "_he's_ the man!" and how a real gentleman once invited him into his house and gave him a glass of wine. but to enter the best room of the familiar tavern, to order, in politest but imperative tones, "beer"--sixpenny beer--for himself and "the other gentleman," is indeed bliss. then, in addition to the honor of moving in distinguished society, before the very eyes and in the high places of those who have hitherto always considered him as a lowly cuss, the romany realizes far more than the common peasant the contrast-contradiction, or the humor of the drama, its bit of mystification, and especially the mystification of the house-folk. this is unto him the high hour of the soul, and it is not forgotten. it passes unto the golden legends of the heart, and you are tenderly enshrined in it. once, when i was wandering afoot with old cooper, we stopped at an inn, and in a room by ourselves ordered luncheon. the gypsy might have had poultry of the best; he preferred cold pork. while the attendant was in the room, he sat with exemplary dignity at the table; but as the girl left, he followed her step sounds with his ears, like a dog, moved his head, glanced at me with a nod, turned sideways from the table, and, putting his plate on his knees, proceeded to eat without a fork. "for it isn't proper for me to eat at the table with you, or _as_ you do." the welsh gypsy played well, and his sister touched the harp and sang, the ale circulated, and the villagers, assembling, gazed in a crowd into the hall. then the girl danced solo, just as i have seen her sisters do in egypt and in russia, to her brother's fiddling. even so of old, syrian and egyptian girls haunted gardens and taverns, and danced _pas seul_ all over the roman empire, even unto spain, behaving so gypsily that wise men have conjectured that they were gypsies in very truth. and who shall say they were not? for it is possible that prehistorically, and beyond all records of persian luri and syrian ballerine and egyptian almeh, there was all over the east an outflowing of these children of art from one common primeval indian stock. from one fraternity, in italy, at the present day, those itinerant pests, the hand-organ players, proceed to the ends of the earth and to the gold-diggings thereof, and time will yet show that before all time, or in its early dawn, there were root-born romany itinerants singing, piping, and dancing unto all the known world; yea, and into the unknown darkness beyond, _in partibus infidelium_. a gentleman who was in our party had been long in the east. i had known him in alexandria during the carnival, and he had lived long time _outre mer_, in india. hearing me use the gypsy numerals--_yeck_, _dui_, _trin_, _shtor_, _panj_,--he proceeded to count in hindustani or persian, in which the same words from one to ten are almost identical with romany. all of this was carefully noted by the old gypsy mother,--as, also, that my friend is of dark complexion, with sparkling black eyes. reduced in dress, or diluted down to worn corduroy and a red tie, he might easily pass muster, among the sons of the road, as one of them. and now the ladies must, of course, have their fortunes told, and this, i could observe, greatly astonished the gypsies in their secret souls, though they put a cool face on it. that we, ourselves, were some kind of a mysterious high-caste romany they had already concluded, and what faith could we put in _dukkerin_? but as it would indubitably bring forth shillings to their benefit, they wisely raised no questions, but calmly took this windfall, which had fallen as it were, from the skies, even as they had accepted the beer, which had come, like a providential rain, unto them, in the thirst of a dry journey. it is customary for all gypsy sorceresses to take those who are to be fortune-told aside, and, if possible, into a room by themselves. this is done partly to enhance the mystery of the proceeding, and partly to avoid the presence of witnesses to what is really an illegal act. and as the old sorceress led a lady into the little parlor, the gypsy man, whose name was mat, glanced up at me, with a droll, puzzled expression, and said, "patchessa _tu_ adovo?" (do _you_ believe in that?) with a wink, i answered, "why not? i, too, tell fortunes myself." _anch io sono pittore_. it seemed to satisfy him, for he replied, with a nod-wink, and proceeded to pour forth the balance of his thoughts, if he had any, into the music of his violin. when the ladies had all been instructed as to their future, my friend, who had been in the east, must needs have his destiny made known unto him. he did not believe in this sort of thing, you know,--of course not. but he had lived a long time among orientals, and he just happened to wish to know how certain speculations would fall out, and he loves, above all things, a lark, or anything out of the common. so he went in. and when alone with the sybil, she began to talk to him in romany. "oh, i say, now, old lady, stow that!" he exclaimed. "i don't understand you." "you don't understand me!" exclaimed the fortune-teller. "perhaps you didn't understand your own mother when she talked romany to you. what's the use of your tryin' to make yourself out a gorgio to _me_? don't i know our people? didn't your friend there talk romanes? isn't he all romaneskas? and didn't i hear you with my own ears count up to ten in romany? and now, after that, you would deny your own blood and people! yes, you've dwelt in gorgines so long that you think your eyes are blue and your hair is yellow, my son, and you have been far over the sea; but wherever you went you knew romanes, if you don't know your own color. but you shall hear your fortune. there is lead in the mines and silver in the lead, and wealth for him who is to win it, and that will be a dark man who has been nine times over the sea, and eaten his bread under the black tents, and been three times near death, once from a horse, and once from a man, and once through a woman. and you will know something you don't know now before a month is over, and something will be found that is now hidden, and has been hidden since the world was made. and there's a good fortune coming to the man it was made for, before the oldest tree that's a-growing was a seed, and that's a man as knows how to count romanes up to ten, and many a more thing beside that, that he's learned beyond the great water." and so we went our ways, the harp and violin sounds growing fainter as we receded, till they were like the buzzing of bees in drying clover, and the twilight grew rosier brown. i never met mat woods again, though i often heard of his fame as a fiddler. whether my anglo-indian friend found the fortune so vaguely predicted is to me as yet unknown. but i believe that the prediction encouraged him. that there are evils in palmistry, and sin in card-drawing, and iniquity in coffee-grounding, and vice in all the planets, is established by statute, and yet withal i incline to believe that the art of prediction cheers up many a despondent soul, and does some little good, even as good ale, despite the wickedness of drinking, makes some hearts merry and others stronger. if there are foolish maids who have had their heads turned by being told of coming noblemen and prospective swells, who loved the ground they trod on, and were waiting to woo and win and wed, and if the same maidens herein described have thereby, in the manner set forth, been led by the aforesaid devices unto their great injury, as written in the above indictment, it may also _per contra_ and on the other hand be pleaded that divers girls, to wit, those who believe in prediction, have, by encouragement and hope to them held out of legally marrying sundry young men of good estate, been induced to behave better than they would otherwise have done, and led by this hope have acted more morally than was their wont, and thereby lifted themselves above the lowly state of vulgarity, and even of vice, in which they would otherwise have groveled, hoveled, or cottaged. and there have been men who, cherishing in their hearts a prediction, or, what amounts to the same thing, a conviction, or a set fancy, have persevered in hope until the hope was realized. you, o christian, who believe in a millennium, you, o jew, who expect a messiah, and await the fulfillment of your _dukkerin_, are both in the right, for both will come true when you _make_ them do so. ii. the pious washerwoman. there is not much in life pleasanter than a long ramble on the road in leaf-green, sun-gold summer. then it is nature's merry-time, when fowls in woods them maken blithe, and the crow preaches from the fence to his friends afield, and the honeysuckle winketh to the wild rose in the hedge when she is wooed by the little buzzy bee. in such times it is good for the heart to wander over the hills and far away, into haunts known of old, where perhaps some semi-saxon church nestles in a hollow behind a hill, where grass o'ergrows each mouldering tomb, and the brook, as it ripples by in a darksome aldered hollow, speaks in a language which man knows no more, but which is answered in the same forgotten tongue by the thousand-year yew as it rustles in the breeze. and when there are runic stones in this garden of god, where he raises souls, i often fancy that this old dialect is written in their rhythmic lines. the yew-trees were planted by law, lang-syne, to yield bows to the realm, and now archery is dead and martini-henry has taken its place, but the yews still live, and the runic fine art of the twisted lines on the tombs, after a thousand years' sleep, is beginning to revive. every thing at such a time speaks of joy and resurrection--tree and tomb and bird and flower and bee. these are all memories of a walk from the town of aberystwith, in wales, which walk leads by an ancient church, in the soul garden of which are two runic cross tombstones. one day i went farther afield to a more ancient shrine, on the top of a high mountain. this was to the summit of cader idris, sixteen miles off. on this summit there is a druidical circle, of which the stones, themselves to ruin grown, are strange and death-like old. legend says that this is the burial-place of taliesin, the first of welsh bards, the primeval poet of celtic time. whoever sleeps on the grave will awake either a madman or a poet, or is at any rate unsafe to become one or the other. i went, with two friends, afoot on this little pilgrimage. both were professors at one of the great universities. the elder is a gentleman of great benevolence, learning, and gentleness; the other, a younger man, has been well polished and sharpened by travel in many lands. it is rumored that he has preached islam in a mosque unto the moslem even unto taking up a collection, which is the final test of the faith which reaches forth into a bright eternity. that he can be, as i have elsewhere noted, a persian unto persians, and a romany among roms, and a professional among the hanky-pankorites, is likewise on the cards, as surely as that he knows the roads and all the devices and little games of them that dwell thereon. though elegant enough in his court dress and rapier when he kisses the hand of our sovereign lady the queen, he appears such an abandoned rough when he goes a-fishing that the innocent and guileless gypsies, little suspecting that a _rye_ lies _perdu_ in his wrap-rascal, will then confide in him as if he and in-doors had never been acquainted. we had taken with us a sparing lunch of thin sandwiches and a frugal flask of modest, blushing brandy, which we diluted at a stingy little fountain spring which dropped economically through a rift in the rock, as if its nymph were conscious that such a delicious drink should not be wasted. as it was, it refreshed us, and we were resting in a blessed repose under the green leaves, when we heard footsteps, and an old woman came walking by. she was the ideal of decent and extreme poverty. i never saw anybody who was at once so poor and so clean. in her face and in her thin garments was marked the mute, resolute struggle between need and self-respect, which, to him who understands it, is as brave as any battle between life and death. she walked on as if she would have gone past without a word, but when we greeted her she paused, and spoke respectfully. without forwardness she told her sad and simple story: how she belonged to the wesleyan confession, how her daughter was dying in the hospital at caernarvon; how she had walked sixty miles to see her, and hoped to get there in time to close her eyes. in reply to a question as to her means, she admitted that they were exhausted, but that she could get through without money; she did not beg. and then came naturally enough the rest of the little artless narrative, as it generally happens among the simple annals of the poor: how she had been for forty years a washerwoman, and had a letter from her clergyman. there was a tear in the eye of the elder professor, and his hand was in his pocket. the younger smoked in silence. i was greatly moved myself,--perhaps bewildered would be the better word,--when, all at once, as the old woman turned in the sunlight, i caught the expression _of the corner of an eye_! my friend salaman, who boasts that he is of the last of the sadducees,--that strange, ancient, and secret sect, who disguise themselves as the _neu reformirte_,--declares that the sephardim may be distinguished from the ashkenazim as readily as from the confounded goyim, by the corners of their eyes. this he illustrated by pointing out to me, as they walked by in the cool of the evening, the difference between the eyes of fraulein eleonora kohn and senorita linda abarbanel and divers and sundry other young ladies,--the result being that i received in return thirty-six distinct _oeillades_, several of which expressed indignation, and in all of which there was evidently an entire misconception of my object in looking at them. now the eyes of the sephardesses are unquestionably fascinating; and here it may be recalled that, in the middle ages, witches were also recognized by having exactly the same corners, or peaks, to the eye. this is an ancient mystery of darksome lore, that the enchantress always has the bird-peaked eye, which betokens danger to somebody, be she of the sephardim, or an ordinary witch or enchantress, or a gypsy. now, as the old wesleyan washerwoman turned around in the sunshine, i saw the witch-pointed eye and the glint of the romany. and then i glanced at her hands, and saw that they had not been long familiar with wash-tubs; for, though clean, they were brown, and had never been blanched with an age of soap-suds. and i spoke suddenly, and said,-- "_can tute rakker romanes_, _miri dye_?" (can you speak romany, my mother?) and she answered, as if bewildered,-- "the lord forbid, sir, that i should talk any of them wicked languages." the younger professor's eyes expressed dawning delight. i followed my shot with,-- "_tute needn't be attrash to rakker_. _mandy's been apre the drom mi-kokero_." (you needn't be afraid to speak. i have been upon the road myself.) and, still more confused, she answered in english,-- "why, sir, you be upon the road now!" "it seems to me, old lady," remarked the younger professor, "that you understand romany very well for one who has been for forty years in the methodist communion." it may be observed that he here confounded washing with worshiping. the face of the true believer was at this point a fine study. all her confidence had deserted her. whether she thought we were of her kind in disguise, or that, in the unknown higher world of respectability, there might be gypsies of corresponding rank, even as there might be gypsy angels among the celestial hierarchies, i cannot with confidence assert. about a week ago a philologist and purist told me that there is no exact synonym in english for the word _flabbergasted_, as it expresses a peculiar state of bewilderment as yet unnamed by scholars, and it exactly sets forth the condition in which our virtuous poverty appeared. she was, indeed, flabbergasted. _cornix scorpum rapuit_,--the owl had come down on the rabbits, and lo! they had fangs. i resumed,-- "now, old lady, here is a penny. you are a very poor person, and i pity you so much that i give you this penny for your poverty. but there is a pocketful where this came from, and you shall have the lot if you'll _rakker_,"--that is, talk gypsy. and at that touch of the ithuriel spear the old toad flashed up into the romany devil, as with gleaming eyes and a witch-like grin she cried in a mixture of gypsy and tinker languages,-- "gents, i'll have tute jin when you tharis mandy you rakker a reg'lar fly old bewer." which means, "gentlemen, i'll have you know, when you talk to me, you talk to a reg'lar shrewd old female thief." the face of the elder professor was a study of astonishment for lavater. his fingers relaxed their grasp of the shilling, his hand was drawn from his pocket, and his glance, like bill nye's, remarked: "_can_ this be?" he tells the story to this day, and always adds, "i _never_ was so astonished in my life." but the venerable washerwoman was also changed, and, the mask once thrown aside, she became as festive as a witch on the brocken. truly, it is a great comfort to cease playing a part, particularly a pious one, and be at home and at ease among your like; and better still if they be swells. this was the delight of anderson's ugly duck when it got among the swans, "and, blest sensation, felt genteel." and to show her gratitude, the sorceress, who really seemed to have grown several shades darker, insisted on telling our fortunes. i think it was to give vent to her feelings in defiance of the law that she did this; certain it was that just then, under the circumstances, it was the only way available in which the law could be broken. and as it was, indeed, by heath and hill that the priestess of the hidden spell bade the palmer from over the sea hold out his palm. and she began in the usual sing-song tone, mocking the style of gypsy fortune-tellers, and satirizing herself. and thus she spoke,-- "you're born under a lucky star, my good gentleman, and you're a married man; but there's a black-eyed young lady that's in love with you." "oh, mother of all the thieves!" i cried, "you've put the _dukkerin_ on the wrong man. i'm the one that the dark girls go after." "yes, my good gentleman. she's in love with you both." "and now tell my fortune!" i exclaimed, and with a grim expression, casting up my palm, i said,-- "_pen mengy if mandy'll be bitchade padel for chorin a gry_, _or nasherdo for merin a gav-mush_." (tell me if i am to be transported for stealing a horse, or hung for killing a policeman.) the old woman's face changed. "you'll never need to steal a horse. the man that knows what you know never need be poor like me. i know who _you_ are _now_; you're not one of these tourists. you're the boro romany rye [the tall gypsy gentleman]. and go your way, and brag about it in your house,--and well you may,--that old moll of the roads couldn't take you in, and that you found her out. never another _rye_ but you will ever say that again. never." and she went dancing away in the sunshine, capering backwards along the road, merrily shaking the pennies in her hand for music, while she sang something in gypsy,--witch to the last, vanishing as witches only can. and there came over me a feeling as of the very olden time, and some memory of another witch, who had said to another man, "_thou_ art no traveler, great master, i know thee now;" and who, when he called her the mother of the giants, replied, "go thy way, and boast at home that no man will ever waken me again with spells. never." that was the parting of odin and the vala sorceress, and it was the story of oldest time; and so the myth of ancient days becomes a tattered parody, and thus runs the world away to romanys and rags--when the gods are gone. when i laughed at the younger professor for confounding forty years in the church with as many at the wash-tub, he replied,-- "cleanliness is with me so near to godliness that it is not remarkable that in my hurry i mistook one for the other." so we went on and climbed cader idris, and found the ancient grave of rocks in a mystic circle, whose meaning lies buried with the last druid, who would perhaps have told you they were-- "seats of stone nevir hewin with mennes hand but wrocht by nature as it ane house had bene for nymphes, goddis of floudes and woodis grene." and we saw afar the beautiful scene, "where fluddes rynnys in the foaming sea," as gawain douglas sings, and where, between the fresh water and salt, stands a village, even where it stood in earliest cymric prehistoric dawn, and the spot where ran the weir in which the prince who was in grief because his weir yielded no fish, at last fished up a poet, even as pharaoh's daughter fished out a prophet. i shall not soon forget that summer day, nor the dream-like panorama, nor the ancient grave; nor how the younger professor lay down on the seat of stone nevir hewin with mennes hand, and declared he had a nap,--just enough to make him a poet. to prove which he wrote a long poem on the finding of taliesin in the nets, and sent it to the aberystwith newspaper; while i, not to be behindhand, wrote another, in imitation of the triplets of llydwarch hen, which were so greatly admired as tributes to welsh poetry that they were forthwith translated faithfully into lines of consonants, touched up with so many _w_'s that they looked like saws; and they circulated even unto llandudno, and, for aught i know, may be sung at eistedfodds, now and ever, to the twanging of small harps,--_in soecula saeculorum_. truly, the day which had begun with a witch ended fitly enough at the tomb of a prophet poet. iii. the gypsies at aberystwith. aberystwith is a little fishing-village, which has of late years first bloomed as a railway-station, and then fruited into prosperity as a bathing-place. like many _parvenus_, it makes a great display of its norman ancestor, the old castle, saying little about the long centuries of plebeian obscurity in which it was once buried. this castle, after being woefully neglected during the days when nobody cared for its early respectability, has been suddenly remembered, now that better times have come, and, though not restored, has been made comely with grass banks, benches, and gravel walks, reminding one of an irish grandfather in america, taken out on a sunday with "the childher," and looking "gintale" in the clean shirt and whole coat unknown to him for many a decade in tipperary. of course the castle and the wealth, or the hotels and parade, are well to the fore, or boldly displayed, as englishly as possible, while the little welsh town shrinks quietly into the hollow behind. and being new to prosperity, aberystwith is also a little muddled as to propriety. it would regard with horror the idea of allowing ladies and gentlemen to bathe together, even though completely clad; but it sees nothing out of the way when gentlemen in pre-fig-leaf costume disport themselves, bathing just before the young ladies' boarding-school and the chief hotel, or running joyous races on the beach. i shall never forget the amazement and horror with which an aberystwithienne learned that in distant lands ladies and gentlemen went into the water arm in arm, although dressed. but when it was urged that the aberystwith system was somewhat peculiar, she replied, "oh, _that_ is a very different thing!" on which words for a text a curious sermon might be preached to the philistiny souls who live perfectly reconciled to absurd paradoxes, simply because they are accustomed to them. now, of all human beings, i think the gypsies are freest from trouble with paradoxes as to things being different or alike, and the least afflicted with moral problems, burning questions, social puzzles, or any other kind of mental rubbish. they are even freer than savages or the heathen in this respect, since of all human beings the fijian, new zealander, mpongwe, or esquimaux is most terribly tortured with the laws of etiquette, religion, social position, and propriety. among many of these heathen unfortunates the meeting with an equal involves fifteen minutes of bowing, re-bowing, surre-bowing, and rejoinder-bowing, with complementary complimenting, according to old custom, while the worship of mrs. grundy through a superior requires a half hour wearisome beyond belief. "in fiji," says miss c. f. gordon cumming, "strict etiquette rules every action of life, and the most trifling mistake in such matters would cause as great dissatisfaction as a breach in the order of precedence at a european ceremonial." in dividing cold baked missionary at a dinner, especially if a chief be present, the host committing the least mistake as to helping the proper guest to the proper piece in the proper way would find himself promptly put down in the _menu_. in fiji, as in all other countries, this punctilio is nothing but the direct result of ceaseless effort on the part of the upper classes to distinguish themselves from the lower. cannibalism is a joint sprout from the same root; "the devourers of the poor" are the scorners of the humble and lowly, and they are all grains of the same corn, of the devil's planting, all the world over. perhaps the quaintest error which haunts the world in england and america is that so much of this stuff as is taught by rule or fashion as laws for "the _elite_" is the very nucleus of enlightenment and refinement, instead of its being a remnant of barbarism. and when we reflect on the degree to which this naive and child-like faith exists in the united states, as shown by the enormous amount of information in certain newspapers as to what is the latest thing necessary to be done, acted, or suffered in order to be socially saved, i surmise that some future historian will record that we, being an envious people, turned out the chinese, because we could not endure the presence among us of a race so vastly our superiors in all that constituted the true principles of culture and "custom." arthur mitchell, in inquiring what is civilization? { } remarks that "all the things which gather round or grow upon a high state of civilization are not necessarily true parts of it. these conventionalities are often regarded as its very essence." and it is true that the greater the fool or snob, the deeper is the conviction that the conventional is the core of "culture." "'it is not genteel,' 'in good form,' or 'the mode,' to do this or do that, or say this or say that." "such things are spoken of as marks of a high civilization, or by those who do not confound civilization with culture as differentiators between the cultured and the uncultured." dr. mitchell "neither praises nor condemns these things;" but it is well for a man, while he is about it, to know his own mind, and i, for myself, condemn them with all my heart and soul, whenever anybody declares that such brass counters in the game of life are real gold, and insists that i shall accept them as such. for small play in a very small way with small people, i would endure them; but many men and nearly all women make their capital of them. and whatever may be said in their favor, it cannot be denied that they constantly lead to lying and heartlessness. even dr. mitchell, while he says he does not condemn them, proceeds immediately to declare that "while we submit to them they constitute a sort of tyranny, under which we fret and secretly pine for escape. does not the exquisite of rotten row weary for his flannel shirt and shooting-jacket? do not 'well-constituted' men want to fish and shoot or kill something, themselves, by climbing mountains, when they can find nothing else? in short, does it not appear that these conventionalities are irksome, and are disregarded when the chance presents itself? and does it not seem as if there were something in human nature pulling men back to a rude and simple life?" to find that _men_ suffer under the conventionalities, "adds, on the whole," says our canny, prudent scot, "to the respectability of human nature." _tu ha ragione_ (right you are), dr. mitchell, there. for the conventional, whether found among fijians as they were, or in mayfair as it is, whenever it is vexatious and merely serves as a cordon to separate "sassiety" from society, detracts from the respectability of humanity, and is in itself vulgar. if every man in society were a gentleman and every woman a lady, there would be no more conventionalism. _usus est tyrannus_ (custom is a tyrant), or, as the talmud proverb saith, "custom is the plague of wise men, but is the idol of fools." and he was a wise jew, whoever he was, who declared it. but let us return to our black sheep, the gypsy. while happy in not being conventional, and while rejoicing, or at least unconsciously enjoying freedom from the bonds of etiquette, he agrees with the chinese, red indians, may fairies, and fifth avenoodles in manifesting under the most trying circumstances that imperturbability which was once declared by an eminent philadelphian to be "the corinthian ornament of a gentleman." he who said this builded better than he knew, for the ornament in question, if purely corinthian, is simply brass. one morning i was sauntering with the palmer in aberystwith, when we met with a young and good-looking gypsy woman, with whom we entered into conversation, learning that she was a bosville, and acquiring other items of news as to egypt and the roads, and then left. we had not gone far before we found a tinker. he who catches a tinker has got hold of half a gypsy and a whole cosmopolite, however bad the catch may be. he did not understand the greeting _sarishan_!--he really could not remember to have heard it. he did not know any gypsies,--"he could not get along with them." they were a bad lot. he had seen some gypsies three weeks before on the road. they were curious dark people, who lived in tents. he could not talk romany. this was really pitiable. it was too much. the palmer informed him that he was wasting his best opportunities, and that it was a great pity that any man who lived on the roads should be so ignorant. the tinker never winked. in the goodness of our hearts we even offered to give him lessons in the _kalo jib_, or black language. the grinder was as calm as a belgravian image. and as we turned to depart the professor said,-- "_mandy'd del tute a shahori to pi moro kammaben_, _if tute jinned sa mandi pukkers_." (i'd give you a sixpence to drink our health, if you knew what i am saying.) with undisturbed gravity the tinker replied,-- "now i come to think of it, i do remember to have heard somethin' in the parst like that. it's a conwivial expression arskin' me if i won't have a tanner for ale. which i will." "now since you take such an interest in gypsies," i answered, "it is a pity that you should know so little about them. i have seen them since you have. i saw a nice young woman, one of the bosvilles here, not half an hour ago. shall i introduce you?" "that young woman," remarked the tinker, with the same immovable countenance, "is my wife. and i've come down here, by app'intment, to meet some romany pals." and having politely accepted his sixpence, the griddler went his way, tinkling his bell, along the road. he did not disturb himself that his first speeches did not agree with his last; he was not in the habit of being disturbed about anything, and he knew that no one ever learned romany without learning with it not to be astonished at any little inconsistencies. serene and polished as a piece of tin in the sunshine, he would not stoop to be put out by trifles. he was a typical tinker. he knew that the world had made up proverbs expressing the utmost indifference either for a tinker's blessing or a tinker's curse, and he retaliated by not caring a curse whether the world blessed or banned him. in all ages and in all lands the tinker has always been the type of this droning indifference, which goes through life bagpiping its single melody, or whistling, like the serene marquis de crabs, "toujours santerre." "es ist und bleibt das alte lied von dem versoff'nen pfannenschmied, und wer's nicht weiter singen kann, der fang's von vorne wieder an." 't will ever be the same old song of tipsy tinkers all day long, and he who cannot sing it more may sing it over, as before. i should have liked to know john bunyan. as a half-blood gypsy tinker he must have been self-contained and pleasant. he had his wits about him, too, in a very romanly way. when confined in prison he made a flute or pipe out of the leg of his three legged-stool, and would play on it to pass time. when the jailer entered to stop the noise, john replaced the leg in the stool, and sat on it looking innocent as only a gypsy tinker could,--calm as a summer morning. i commend the subject for a picture. very recently, that is, in the beginning of , a man of the same tinkering kind, and possibly of the same blood as honest john, confined in the prison of moyamensing, philadelphia, did nearly the same thing, only that instead of making his stool leg into a musical pipe he converted it into a pipe for tobacco. but when the watchman, led by the smell, entered his cell, there was no pipe to be found; only a deeply injured man complaining that "somebody, had been smokin' outside, and it had blowed into his cell through the door-winder from the corridore, and p'isoned the atmosphere. and he didn't like it." and thus history repeats itself. 't is all very well for the sticklers for wesleyan gentility to deny that john bunyan was a gypsy, but he who in his life cannot read romany between the lines knows not the jib nor the cut thereof. tough was j. b., "and de-vil-ish sly," and altogether a much better man than many suppose him to have been. the tinker lived with his wife in a "tramps' lodging-house" in the town. to those americans who know such places by the abominable dens which are occasionally reported by american grand juries, the term will suggest something much worse than it is. in england the average tramp's lodging is cleaner, better regulated, and more orderly than many western "hotels." the police look closely after it, and do not allow more than a certain number in a room. they see that it is frequently cleaned, and that clean sheets are frequently put on the beds. one or two hand-organs in the hall, with a tinker's barrow or wheel, proclaimed the character of the lodgers, and in the sitting-room there were to be found, of an evening, gypsies, laborers with their families seeking work or itinerant musicians. i can recall a powerful and tall young man, with a badly expressive face, one-legged, and well dressed as a sailor. he was a beggar, who measured the good or evil of all mankind by what they gave him. he was very bitter as to the bad. yet this house was in its way upper class. it was not a den of despair, dirt, and misery, and even the italians who came there were obliged to be decent and clean. it would not have been appropriate to have written for them on the door, "_voi che intrate lasciate ogni speranza_." (he who enters here leaves soap behind.) the most painful fact which struck me, in my many visits, was the intelligence and decency of some of the boarders. there was more than one who conversed in a manner which indicated an excellent early education; more than one who read the newspaper aloud and commented on it to the company, as any gentleman might have done. indeed, the painful part of life as shown among these poor people was the manifest fact that so many of them had come down from a higher position, or were qualified for it. and this is characteristic of such places. in his "london labour and the london poor," vol. i. p. , mahew tells of a low lodging-house "in which there were at one time five university men, three surgeons, and several sorts of broken-down clerks." the majority of these cases are the result of parents having risen from poverty and raised their families to "gentility." the sons are deprived by their bringing up of the vulgar pluck and coarse energy by which the father rose, and yet are expected to make their way in the world, with nothing but a so-called "education," which is too often less a help than a hindrance. in the race of life no man is so heavily handicapped as a young "gentleman." the humblest and raggedest of all the inmates of this house were two men who got their living by _shelkin gallopas_ (or selling ferns), as it is called in the shelta, or tinker's and tramp's slang. one of these, whom i have described in another chapter as teaching me this dialect, could conjugate a french verb; we thought he had studied law. the other was a poor old fellow called krooty, who could give the latin names for all the plants which he gathered and sold, and who would repeat poetry very appropriately, proving sufficiently that he had read it. both the fern-sellers spoke better english than divers lord mayors and knights to whom i have listened, for they neither omitted _h_ like the lowly, nor _r_ like the lofty ones of london. the tinker's wife was afflicted with a nervous disorder, which caused her great suffering, and made it almost impossible for her to sell goods, or contribute anything to the joint support. her husband always treated her with the greatest kindness; i have seldom seen an instance in which a man was more indulgent and gentle. he made no display whatever of his feelings; it was only little by little that i found out what a heart this imperturbable rough of the road possessed. now the palmer, who was always engaged in some wild act of unconscious benevolence, bought for her some medicine, and gave her an order on the first physician in the town for proper advice; the result being a decided amelioration of her health. and i never knew any human being to be more sincerely grateful than the tinker was for this kindness. ascertaining that i had tools for wood-carving, he insisted on presenting me with crocus powder, "to put an edge on." he had a remarkably fine whetstone, "the best in england; it was worth half a sovereign," and this he often and vainly begged me to accept. and he had a peculiar little trick of relieving his kindly feelings. whenever we dropped in of an evening to the lodging-house, he would cunningly borrow my knife, and then disappear. presently the _whiz-whiz_, _st'st_ of his wheel would be heard without, and then the artful dodger would reappear with a triumphant smile, and with the knife sharpened to a razor edge. anent which gratitude i shall have more to say anon. one day i was walking on the front, when i overtook a gypsy van, loaded with baskets and mats, lumbering along. the proprietor, who was a stranger to me, was also slightly or lightly lumbering in his gait, being cheerfully beery, while his berry brown wife, with a little three-year-old boy, peddled wares from door to door. both were amazed and pleased at being accosted in romany. in the course of conversation they showed great anxiety as to their child, who had long suffered from some disorder which caused them great alarm. the man's first name was anselo, though it was painted onslow on his vehicle. mr. anselo, though himself just come to town, was at once deeply impressed with the duty of hospitality to a romany rye. i had called him _pal_, and this in gypsydom involves the shaking of hands, and with the better class an extra display of courtesy. he produced half a crown, and declared his willingness to devote it all to beer for my benefit. i declined, but he repeated his offer several times,--not with any annoying display, but with a courteous earnestness, intended to set forth a sweet sincerity. as i bade him good-by, he put the crown-piece into one eye, and as he danced backward, gypsy fashion up the street and vanished in the sunny purple twilight towards the sea i could see him winking with the other, and hear him cry, "don't say no--now's the last chance--do i hear a bid?" we found this family in due time at the lodging-house, where the little boy proved to be indeed seriously ill, and we at once discovered that the parents, in their ignorance, had quite misunderstood his malady and were aggravating it by mal-treatment. to these poor people the good palmer also gave an order on the old physician, who declared that the boy must have died in a few days, had he not taken charge of him. as it was, the little fellow was speedily cured. there was, it appeared, some kind of consanguinity between the tinker or his wife and the anselo family. these good people, anxious to do anything, yet able to do little, consulted together as to showing their gratitude, and noting that we were specially desirous of collecting old gypsy words gave us all they could think of, and without informing us of their intention, which indeed we only learned by accident a long time after, sent a messenger many miles to bring to aberystwith a certain bosville, who was famed as being deep in romany lore, and in possession of many ancient words. which was indeed true, he having been the first to teach us _pisali_, meaning a saddle, and in which professor cowell, of cambridge, promptly detected the sanskrit for sit-upon, the same double meaning also existing in _boshto_; or, as old mrs. buckland said to me at oaklands park, in philadelphia, "a _pisali_ is the same thing with a _boshto_." "what will gain thy faith?" said quentin durward to hayradden maugrabhin. "kindness," answered the gypsy. the joint families, solely with intent to please us, although they never said a word about it, next sent for a young romany, one of the lees, and his wife whom they supposed we would like to meet. walking along the front, i met the tinker's wife with the handsomest romany girl i ever beheld. in a london ball-room or on the stage she would have been a really startling beauty. this was young mrs. lee. her husband was a clever violinist, and it was very remarkable that when he gave himself up to playing, with _abandon_ or self-forgetfulness, there came into his melodies the same wild gypsy expression, the same chords and tones, which abound in the music of the austrian tsigane. it was not my imagination which prompted the recognition; the palmer also observed it, without thinking it remarkable. from the playing of both mat woods and young lee, i am sure that there has survived among the welsh gypsies some of the spirit of their old eastern music, just as in the solo dancing of mat's sister there was precisely the same kind of step which i had seen in moscow. among the hundreds of the race whom i have met in great britain, i have never known any young people who were so purely romany as these. the tinker and anselo with his wife had judged wisely that we would be pleased with this picturesque couple. they always seemed to me in the house like two wild birds, and tropical ones at that, in a cage. there was a tawny-gold, black and scarlet tone about them and their garb, an indian spanish duskiness and glow which i loved to look at. every proceeding of the tinker and anselo was veiled in mystery and hidden in the obscurity so dear to such grown-up children, but as i observed after a few days that lee did nothing beyond acting as assistant to the tinker at the wheel, i surmised that the visit was solely for our benefit. as the tinker was devoted to his poor wife, so was anselo and his dame devoted to their child. he was, indeed, a brave little fellow, and frequently manifested the precocious pluck and sturdiness so greatly admired by the romanys of the road; and when he would take a whip and lead the horse, or in other ways show his courage, the delight of his parents was in its turn delightful. they would look at the child as if charmed, and then at one another with feelings too deep for words, and then at me for sympathetic admiration. the keeper of the house where they lodged was in his way a character and a linguist. welsh was his native tongue and english his second best. he also knew others, such as romany, of which he was proud, and the shelta or minklas of the tinkers, of which he was not. the only language which he knew of which he was really ashamed was italian, and though he could maintain a common conversation in it he always denied that he remembered more than a few words. for it was not as the tongue of dante, but as the lingo of organ-grinders and such "catenone" that he knew it, and i think that the palmer and i lost dignity in his eyes by inadvertently admitting that it was familiar to us. "i shouldn't have thought it," was all his comment on the discovery, but i knew his thought, and it was that we had made ourselves unnecessarily familiar with vulgarity. it is not every one who is aware of the extent to which italian is known by the lower orders in london. it is not spoken as a language; but many of its words, sadly mangled, are mixed with english as a jargon. thus the italian _scappare_, to escape, or run away, has become _scarper_; and a dweller in the seven dials has been heard to say he would "_scarper_ with the _feele_ of the _donna_ of the _cassey_;" which means, run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house, and which, as the editor of the slang dictionary pens, is almost pure italian,--_scappare colla figlia della donna_, _della casa_. most costermongers call a penny a _saltee_, from _soldo_; a crown, a _caroon_; and one half, _madza_, from _mezza_. they count as follows:-- italian. oney saltee, a penny uno soldo. dooey saltee, twopence dui soldi. tray saltee, threepence tre soldi. quarterer saltee, fourpence quattro soldi. chinker saltee, fivepence cinque soldi. say saltee, sixpence sei soldi. say oney saltee, or setter sette soldi. saltee, sevenpence say dooee saltee, or otter otto soldi. saltee, eightpence say tray saltee, or nobba saltee, nove soldi. ninepence say quarterer saltee, or dacha dieci soldi. (datsha) saltee, tenpence say chinker saltee, or dacha one dieci uno soldi saltee, elevenpence oney beong, one shilling uno bianco. a beong say saltee, one shilling uno bianco sei soldi. and sixpence madza caroon, half a crown mezza corona. mr. hotten says that he could never discover the derivation of _beong_, or _beonk_. it is very plainly the italian _bianco_, white, which, like _blanc_ in french and _blank_ in german, is often applied slangily to a silver coin. it is as if one had said, "a shiner." apropos of which word there is something curious to be noted. it came forth in evidence, a few years ago in england, that burglars or other thieves always carried with them a piece of coal; and on this disclosure, a certain writer, in his printed collection of curiosities, comments as if it were a superstition, remarking that the coal is carried for an amulet. but the truth is that the thief has no such idea. the coal is simply a sign for money; and when the bearer meets with a man whom he thinks may be a "fence," or a purchaser of stolen goods, he shows the coal, which is as much as to say, have you money? money, in vulgar gypsy, is _wongur_, a corruption of the better word _angar_, which also means a hot coal; and _braise_, in french _argot_, has the same double meaning. i may be wrong, but i suspect that _rat_, a dollar in hebrew, or at least in schmussen, has its root in common with _ratzafim_, coals, and possibly _poschit_, a farthing, with _pecham_, coal. in the six kinds of fire mentioned in the talmud, { } there is no identification of coals with money; but in the german legends of rubezahl, there is a tale of a charcoal-burner who found them changed to gold. coins are called shiners because they shine like glowing coals, and i dare say that the simile exists in many more languages. one twilight we found in the public sitting-room of the lodging-house a couple whom i can never forget. it was an elderly gypsy and his wife. the husband was himself characteristic; the wife was more than merely picturesque. i have never met such a superb old romany as she was; indeed, i doubt if i ever saw any woman of her age, in any land or any range of life, with a more magnificently proud expression or such unaffected dignity. it was the whole poem of "crescentius" living in modern time in other form. when a scholar associates much with gypsies there is developed in him in due time a perception or intuition of certain kinds of men or minds, which it is as difficult to describe as it is wonderful. he who has read matthew arnold's "gipsy scholar" may, however, find therein many apt words for it. i mean very seriously what i say; i mean that through the romany the demon of socrates acquires distinctness; i mean that a faculty is developed which is as strange as divination, and which is greatly akin to it. the gypsies themselves apply it directly to palmistry; were they well educated they would feel it in higher forms. it may be reached among other races and in other modes, and nature is always offering it to us freely; but it seems to live, or at least to be most developed, among the romany. it comes upon the possessor far more powerfully when in contact with certain lives than with others, and with the sympathetic it takes in at a glance that which may employ it at intervals for years to think out. and by this _duk_ i read in a few words in the romany woman an eagle soul, caged between the bars of poverty, ignorance, and custom; but a great soul for all that. both she and her husband were of the old type of their race, now so rare in england, though commoner in america. they spoke romany with inflection and conjugation; they remembered the old rhymes and old words, which i quoted freely, with the palmer. little by little, the old man seemed to be deeply impressed, indeed awed, by our utterly inexplicable knowledge. i wore a velveteen coat, and had on a broad, soft felt hat. "you talk as the old romanys did," said the old man. "i hear you use words which i once heard from old men who died when i was a boy. i thought those words were lying in graves which have long been green. i hear songs and sayings which i never expected to hear again. you talk like gypsies, and such gypsies as i never meet now; and you look like gorgios. but when i was still young, a few of the oldest romany _chals_ still wore hats such as you have; and when i first looked at you, i thought of them. i don't understand you. it is strange, very strange." "it is the romany _soul_," said his wife. "people take to what is in them; if a bird were born a fox, it would love to fly." i wondered what flights she would have taken if she had wings. but i understood why the old man had spoken as he did; for, knowing that we had intelligent listeners, the palmer and i had brought forth all our best and quaintest romany curios, and these rural welsh wanderers were not, like their english pals, familiar with romany ryes. and i was moved to like them, and nobody perceives this sooner than a gypsy. the old couple were the parents of young lee, and said they had come to visit him; but i think that it was rather to see us that we owed their presence in aberystwith. for the tinker and anselo were at this time engaged, in their secret and owl-like manner, as befitted men who were up to all manner of ways that were dark, in collecting the most interesting specimens of romanys, for our especial study; and whenever this could be managed so that it appeared entirely accidental and a surprise, then they retired into their shadowed souls and chuckled with fiendish glee at having managed things so charmingly. but it will be long ere i forget how the old man's eye looked into the past as he recalled,-- "the hat of antique shape and coat of gray, the same the gypsies wore," and went far away back through my words to words heard in the olden time, by fires long since burnt out, beneath the flame-gilt branches of forests which have sailed away as ships, farther than woods e'er went from dunsinane, and been wrecked in southern seas. but though i could not tell exactly what was in every room, i knew into what house his soul had gone; and it was for this that the scholar-gypsy went from oxford halls "to learn strange arts and join a gypsy tribe." his friends had gone from earth long since, and were laid to sleep; some, perhaps, far in the wold and wild, amid the rocks, where fox and wild bird were their visitors; but for an instant they rose again from their graves, and i knew them. "they could do wonders by the power of the imagination," says glanvil of the gypsies; "their fancy binding that of others." understand by imagination and fancy all that glanvil really meant, and i agree with him. it is a matter of history that, since the aryan morning of mankind, the romanys have been chiromancing, and, following it, trying to read people's minds and bind them to belief. thousands of years of transmitted hereditary influences always result in something; it has really resulted with the gypsies in an instinctive, though undeveloped, intuitive perception, which a sympathetic mind acquires from them,--nay, is compelled to acquire, out of mere self-defense; and when gained, it manifests itself in many forms, "but it needs heaven-sent moments for this skill." american gypsies. i. gypsies in philadelphia. it is true that the american gypsy has grown more vigorous in this country, and, like many plants, has thriven better for being trans--i was about to write incautiously _ported_, but, on second thought, say _planted_. strangely enough, he is more romany than ever. i have had many opportunities of studying both the elders from england and the younger gypsies, born of english parents, and i have found that there is unquestionably a great improvement in the race here, even from a gypsy stand-point. the young sapling, under more favorable influences, has pushed out from the old root, and grown stronger. the causes for this are varied. gypsies, like peacocks, thrive best when allowed to range afar. _il faut leur donner le clef des champs_ (you must give them the key of the fields), as i once heard an old frenchman, employed on delmonico's long island farm, lang syne, say of that splendid poultry. and what a range they have, from the atlantic to the pacific! marry, sir, 't is like roaming from sunrise to sunset, east and west, "and from the aurora borealis to a southern blue-jay," and no man shall make them afraid. wood! "well, 't is a _kushto tem for kasht_" (a fair land for timber), as a very decent _romani-chal_ said to me one afternoon. it was thinking of him which led me to these remarks. i had gone with my niece--who speaks romany--out to a gypsyry by oaklands park, and found there one of our good people, with his wife and children, in a tent. hard by was the wagon and the horse, and, after the usual initiatory amazement at being accosted in the _kalo jib_, or black language, had been survived, we settled down into conversation. it was a fine autumnal day, indian-summery,--the many in one of all that is fine in weather all the world over, put into a single glorious sense,--a sense of bracing air and sunshine not over-bold or bright, and purple, tawny hues in western skies, and dim, sweet feelings of the olden time. and as we sat lounging in lowly seats, and talked about the people and their ways, it seemed to me as if i were again in devonshire or surrey. our host--for every gypsy who is visited treats you as a guest, thus much oriental politeness being deeply set in him--had been in america from boyhood, but he seemed to be perfectly acquainted with all whom i had known over the sea. only one thing he had not heard, the death of old gentilla cooper, of the devil's dyke, near brighton, for i had just received a letter from england announcing the sad news. "yes, this america is a good country for travelers. _we can go south in winter_. aye, the land is big enough to go to a warm side in winter, and a cool one in summer. but i don't go south, because i don't like the people; i don't get along with them. _some romanys do_. yes, but i'm not on that horse, i hear that the old country's getting to be a hard place for our people. yes, just as you say, there's no _tan to hatch_, no place to stay in there, unless you pay as much as if you went to a hotel. 't isn't so here. some places they're uncivil, but mostly we can get wood and water, and a place for a tent, and a bite for the old _gry_ [horse]. the country people like to see us come, in many places. they're more high-minded and hon'rable here than they are in england. if we can cheat them in horse-dealin' they stand it as gentlemen always ought to do among themselves in such games. horse-dealin' is horse-stealin', in a way, among real gentlemen. if i can jew you or you do me, it's all square in gamblin', and nobody has any call to complain. therefore, i allow that americans are higher up as gentlemen than what they are in england. it is not all of one side, like a jug-handle, either. many of these american farmers can cheat me, and have done it, and are proud of it. oh, yes; they're much higher toned here. in england, if you put off a _bavolengro_ [broken-winded horse] on a fellow he comes after you with a _chinamangri_ [writ]. here he goes like a man and swindles somebody else with the _gry_, instead of sneaking off to a magistrate. "yes," he continued, "england's a little country, very little, indeed, but it is astonishing how many romanys come out of it over here. _do i notice any change in them after coming_? i do. when they first come, they drink liquor or beer all the time. after a while they stop heavy drinking." i may here observe that even in england the gypsy, although his getting drunk is too often regulated or limited simply by his means, seldom shows in his person the results of long-continued intemperance. living in the open air, taking much exercise, constantly practicing boxing, rough riding, and other manly sports, he is "as hard as nails," and generally lives to a hearty old age. as he very much prefers beer to spirits, it may be a question whether excess in such drinking is really any serious injury to him. the ancestors of the common english peasants have for a thousand, it may be for two thousand, years or more all got drunk on beer, whenever they could afford it, and yet a more powerful human being than the english peasant does not exist. it may be that the weaklings all die at an early age. this i cannot deny, nor that those who survive are simply so tough that beer cannot kill them. what this gypsy said of the impartial and liberal manner in which he and his kind are received by the farmers is also true. i once conversed on this subject with a gentleman farmer, and his remarks were much like those of the rom. i inferred from what he said that the coming of a party of gypsy horse-dealers into his neighborhood was welcomed much as the passengers on a southern steamboat were wont of old to welcome the proprietor of a portable faro bank. "i think," said he, "that the last time the gypsies were here they left more than they took away." an old rom told me once that in some parts of new jersey they were obliged to watch their tents and wagons very carefully for fear of the country people. i do not answer for the truth of this. it speaks vast volumes for the cleverness of gypsies that they can actually make a living by trading horses in new spain. it is very true that in many parts of america the wanderers are welcomed with _feux de joie_, or with salutes of shot-guns,--the guns, unfortunately, being shotted and aimed at them. i have mentioned in another chapter, on a gypsy magic spell, that once in tennessee, when an old romany mother had succeeded in hoaxing a farmer's wife out of all she had in the world, the neighboring farmers took the witch, and, with a view to preventing effectually further depredation, caused her to pass "through flames material and temporal unto flames immaterial and eternal;" that is to say, they burned her alive. but the gypsy would much prefer having to deal with lynchers than with lawyers. like the hedge-hog, which is typically a gypsy animal, he likes better to be eaten by those of his own kind than to be crushed into dirt by those who do not understand him. this story of the hedge-hog was cited from my first gypsy book by sir charles dilke, in a speech in which he made an application of it to certain conservatives who remained blindly suffering by their own party. it will hold good forever. gypsies never flourished so in europe as during the days when every man's hand was against them. it is said that they raided and plundered about scotland for fifty years before they were definitely discovered to be mere marauders, for the scots themselves were so much given up to similar pursuits that the gypsies passed unnoticed. the american gypsies do not beg, like their english brothers, and particularly their english sisters. this fact speaks volumes for their greater prosperity and for the influence which association with a proud race has on the poorest people. our friends at oaklands always welcomed us as guests. on another occasion when we went there, i said to my niece, "if we find strangers who do not know us, do not speak at first in romany. let us astonish them." we came to a tent, before which sat a very dark, old-fashioned gypsy woman. i paused before her, and said in english,-- "can you tell a fortune for a young lady?" "she don't want her fortune told," replied the old woman, suspiciously and cautiously, or it may be with a view of drawing us on. "no, i can't tell fortunes." at this the young lady was so astonished that, without thinking of what she was saying, or in what language, she cried,-- "_dordi_! _can't tute pen dukkerin_?" (look! can't you tell fortunes?) this unaffected outburst had a greater effect than the most deeply studied theatrical situation could have brought about. the old dame stared at me and at the lady as if bewildered, and cried,-- "in the name of god, what kind of gypsies are _you_?" "oh! _mendui shom bori chovihani_!" cried l., laughing; "we are a great witch and a wizard, and if you can't tell me my fortune, i'll tell yours. hold out your hand, and cross mine with a dollar, and i'll tell you as big a lie as you ever _penned_ a _galderli gorgio_ [a green gentile]." "well," exclaimed the gypsy, "i'll believe that you can tell fortunes or do anything! _dordi_! _dordi_! but this is wonderful. yet you're not the first romany _rani_ [lady] i ever met. there's one in delaware: a _boridiri_ [very great] lady she is, and true romany,--_flick o the jib te rinkeni adosta_ [quick of tongue and fair of face]. well, i am glad to see you." "who is that talking there?" cried a man's voice from within the tent. he had heard romany, and he spoke it, and came out expecting to see familiar faces. his own was a study, as his glance encountered mine. as soon as he understood that i came as a friend, he gave way to infinite joy, mingled with sincerest grief that he had not at hand the means of displaying hospitality to such distinguished romanys as we evidently were. he bewailed the absence of strong drink. would we have some tea made? would i accompany him to the next tavern, and have some beer? all at once a happy thought struck him. he went into the tent and brought out a piece of tobacco, which i was compelled to accept. refusal would have been unkind, for it was given from the very heart. george borrow tells us that, in spain, a poor gypsy once brought him a pomegranate as a first acquaintanceship token. a gypsy is a gypsy wherever you find him. these were very nice people. the old dame took a great liking to l., and showed it in pleasant manners. the couple were both english, and liked to talk with me of the old country and the many mutual friends whom we had left behind. on another visit, l. brought a scarlet silk handkerchief, which she had bound round her head and tied under her chin in a very gypsy manner. it excited, as i anticipated, great admiration from the old dame. "_ah kenna tute dikks rinkeni_--now you look nice. that's the way a romany lady ought to wear it! don't she look just as alfi used to look?" she cried to her husband. "just such eyes and hair!" here l. took off the _diklo_, or handkerchief, and passed it round the gypsy woman's head, and tied it under her chin, saying,-- "i am sure it becomes you much more than it does me. now you look nice:-- "'red and yellow for romany, and blue and pink for the gorgiee.'" we rose to depart, the old dame offered back to l. her handkerchief, and, on being told to keep it, was greatly pleased. i saw that the way in which it was given had won her heart. "did you hear what the old woman said while she was telling your fortune?" asked l., after we had left the tent. "now, i think of it, i remember that she or you had hold of my hand, while i was talking with the old man, and he was making merry with my whisky. i was turned away, and around so that i never noticed what you two were saying." "she _penned_ your _dukkerin_, and it was wonderful. she said that she must tell it." and here l. told me what the old _dye_ had insisted on reading in my hand. it was simply very remarkable, and embraced an apparent knowledge of the past, which would make any credulous person believe in her happy predictions of the future. "ah, well," i said, "i suppose the _dukk_ told it to her. she may be an eye-reader. a hint dropped here and there, unconsciously, the expression of the face, and a life's practice will make anybody a witch. and if there ever was a witch's eye, she has it." "i would like to have her picture," said l., "in that _lullo diklo_ [red handkerchief]. she looked like all the sorceresses of thessaly and egypt in one, and, as bulwer says of the witch of vesuvius, was all the more terrible for having been beautiful." some time after this we went, with britannia lee a-gypsying, not figuratively, but literally, over the river into new jersey. and our first greeting, as we touched the ground, was of good omen, and from a great man, for it was walt whitman. it is not often that even a poet meets with three sincerer admirers than the venerable bard encountered on this occasion; so, of course, we stopped and talked, and l. had the pleasure of being the first to communicate to bon gualtier certain pleasant things which had recently been printed of him by a distinguished english author, which is always an agreeable task. blessed upon the mountains, or at the camden ferryboat, or anywhere, are the feet of anybody who bringeth glad tidings. "well, are you going to see gypsies?" "we are. we three gypsies be. by the abattoir. _au revoir_." and on we went to the place where i had first found gypsies in america. all was at first so still that it seemed if no one could be camped in the spot. "_se kekno adoi_." (there's nobody there.) "_dordi_!" cried britannia, "_dikkava me o tuv te tan te wardo_. [i see a smoke, a tent, a wagon.] i declare, it is my _puro pal_, my old friend, w." and we drew near the tent and greeted its owner, who was equally astonished and delighted at seeing such distinguished romany _tani ranis_, or gypsy young ladies, and brought forth his wife and three really beautiful children to do the honors. w. was a good specimen of an american-born gypsy, strong, healthy, clean, and temperate, none the worse for wear in out-of-dooring, through tropical summers and terrible winters. like all american romanys, he was more straightforward than most of his race in europe. all romanys are polite, but many of the european kind are most uncomfortably and unconsciously naive. strange that the most innocent people should be those who most offend morality. i knew a lady once--heaven grant that i may never meet with such another!--who had been perfectly educated in entire purity of soul. and i never knew any _devergondee_ who could so shock, shame, and pain decent people as this agnes did in her sweet ignorance. "i shall never forget the first day you came to my camp," said w. to britannia. "ah, you astonished me then. you might have knocked me down with a feather. and i didn't know what to say. you came in a carriage with two other ladies. and you jumped out first, and walked up to me, and cried, '_sa'shan_!' that stunned me, but i answered, '_sa'shan_.' then i didn't speak romanes to you, for i didn't know but what you kept it a secret from the other two ladies, and i didn't wish to betray you. and when you began to talk it as deep as any old romany i ever heard, and pronounced it so rich and beautiful, i thought i'd never heard the like. i thought you must be a witch." "_awer me shom chovihani_" (but i am a witch), cried the lady. "_mukka men ja adre o tan_." (let us go into the tent.) so we entered, and sat round the fire, and asked news of all the wanderers of the roads, and the young ladies, having filled their pockets with sweets, produced them for the children, and we were as much at home as we had ever been in any salon; for it was a familiar scene to us all, though it would, perhaps, have been a strange one to the reader, had he by chance, walking that lonely way in the twilight, looked into the tent and asked his way, and there found two young ladies--_bien mises_--with their escort, all very much at their ease, and talking romany as if they had never known any other tongue from the cradle. "what is the charm of all this?" it is that if one has a soul, and does not live entirely reflected from the little thoughts and little ways of a thousand other little people, it is well to have at all times in his heart some strong hold of nature. no matter how much we may be lost in society, dinners, balls, business, we should never forget that there is an eternal sky with stars over it all, a vast, mysterious earth with terrible secrets beneath us, seas, mountains, rivers, and forests away and around; and that it is from these and what is theirs, and not from gas-lit, stifling follies, that all strength and true beauty must come. to this life, odd as he is, the gypsy belongs, and to be sometimes at home with him by wood and wold takes us for a time from "the world." if i express myself vaguely and imperfectly, it is only to those who know not the charm of nature, its ineffable soothing sympathy,--its life, its love. gypsies, like children, feel this enchantment as the older grown do not. to them it is a song without words; would they be happier if the world brought them to know it as words without song, without music or melody? i never read a right old english ballad of sumere when the leaves are grene or the not-broune maid, with its rustling as of sprays quivering to the song of the wode-wale, without thinking or feeling deeply how those who wrote them would have been bound to the romany. it is ridiculous to say that gypsies are not "educated" to nature and art, when, in fact, they live it. i sometimes suspect that aesthetic culture takes more true love of nature out of the soul than it inspires. one would not say anything of a wild bird or deer being deficient in a sense of that beauty of which it is a part. there are infinite grades, kinds, or varieties of feeling of nature, and every man is perfectly satisfied that his is the true one. for my own part, i am not sure that a rabbit, in the dewy grass, does not feel the beauty of nature quite as much as mr. ruskin, and much more than i do. no poet has so far set forth the charm of gypsy life better than lenau has done, in his highly-colored, quickly-expressive ballad of "die drei zigeuner," of which i here give a translation into english and another into anglo-american romany. the three gypsies. i saw three gypsy men, one day, camped in a field together, as my wagon went its weary way, all over the sand and heather. and one of the three whom i saw there had his fiddle just before him, and played for himself a stormy air, while the evening-red shone o'er him. and the second puffed his pipe again serenely and undaunted, as if he at least of earthly men had all the luck that he wanted. in sleep and comfort the last was laid, in a tree his cymbal { } lying, over its strings the breezes played, o'er his heart a dream went flying. ragged enough were all the three, their garments in holes and tatters; but they seemed to defy right sturdily the world and all worldly matters. thrice to the soul they seemed to say, when earthly trouble tries it, how to fiddle, sleep it, and smoke it away, and so in three ways despise it. and ever anon i look around, as my wagon onward presses, at the gypsy faces darkly browned, and the long black flying tresses. trin romani chalia. dikdom me trin geeria sar yeckno a tacho rom, sa miro wardo ghias adur apre a wafedo drom. o yeckto sos boshengero, yuv kellde pes-kokero, o kamlo-dud te perele sos lullo apre lo. o duito sar a swagele dikde 'pre lestes tuv, ne kamde kumi, penava me 'dre sar o miduvels puv. o trinto sovade kushto-bak lest 'zimbel adre rukk se, o bavol kelld' pre i tavia, o sutto 'pre leskro zi. te sar i lengheri rudaben shan katterdi-chingerdo awer me penav' i romani chals ne kesserden chi pa lo. trin dromia lende sikkerden kan sar dikela wafedo, ta bosher, tuver te sove-a-le aja sa bachtalo. dikdom palal, sa ghiom adur talla yeckno romani chal 'pre lengheri kali-brauni mui, te lengheri kali bal. ii. the crocus-pitcher. { } (philadelphia.) it was a fine spring noon, and the corner of fourth and library streets in philadelphia was like a rock in the turn of a rapid river, so great was the crowd of busy business men which flowed past. just out of the current a man paused, put down a parcel which he carried, turned it into a table, placed on it several vials, produced a bundle of hand-bills, and began, in the language of his tribe, to _cant_--that is, _cantare_, to sing--the virtues of a medicine which was certainly _patent_ in being spread out by him to extremest thinness. in an instant there were a hundred people round him. he seemed to be well known and waited for. i saw at a glance what he was. the dark eye and brown face indicated a touch of the _diddikai_, or one with a little gypsy blood in his veins, while his fluent patter and unabashed boldness showed a long familiarity with race-grounds and the road, or with the cheap-jack and dutch auction business, and other pursuits requiring unlimited eloquence and impudence. how many a man of learning, nay of genius, might have paused and envied that vagabond the gifts which were worth so little to their possessor! but what was remarkable about him was that instead of endeavoring to conceal any gypsy indications, they were manifestly exaggerated. he wore a broad-brimmed hat and ear-rings and a red embroidered waistcoat of the most forcible old romany pattern, which was soon explained by his words. "sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "i am always sorry to detain a select and genteel audience. but i was detained myself by a very interesting incident. i was invited to lunch with a wealthy german gentleman; a very wealthy german, i say, one of the pillars of your city and front door-step of your council, and who would be the steeple of your exchange, if it had one. and on arriving at his house he remarked, 'toctor, by tam you koom yust in goot dime, for mine frau und die cook ish bote fall sick mit some-ding in a hoory, und i kess she'll die pooty quick-sudden.' unfortunately i had with me, gentlemen, but a single dose of my world-famous gypsy's elixir and romany pharmacopheionepenthe. (that is the name, gentlemen, but as i detest quackery i term it simply the gypsy's elixir.) when the german gentleman learned that in all probability but one life could be saved he said, 'veil, denn, doctor, subbose you gifes dat dose to de cook. for mine frau ish so goot dat it's all right mit her. she's reaty to tie. but de boor gook ish a sinner, ash i knows, und not reaty for de next world. and dere ish no vomans in town dat can gook mine sauer-kraut ash she do.' fortunately, gentlemen, i found in an unknown corner of a forgotten pocket an unsuspected bottle of the gypsy's elixir, and both interesting lives were saved with such promptitude, punctuality, neatness and dispatch that the cook proceeded immediately to conclude the preparation of our meal--(thank you sir,--one dollar, if you please, sir. you say i only charged half a dollar yesterday! that was for a smaller bottle, sir. same size, as this, was it? ah, yes, i gave you a large bottle by mistake,--so you owe me fifty cents. never mind, don't give it back. i'll take the half dollar.") all of this had been spoken with the utmost volubility. as i listened i almost fancied myself again in england, and at a country fair. taking in his audience at a glance, i saw his eye rest on me ere it flitted, and he resumed,-- "we gypsies are, as you know, a remarkable race, and possessed of certain rare secrets, which have all been formulated, concentrated, dictated, and plenipotentiarated into this idealized elixir. if i were a mountebank or a charlatan i would claim that it cures a hundred diseases. charlatan is a french word for a quack. i speak french, gentlemen; i speak nine languages, and can tell you the hebrew for an old umbrella. the gypsy's elixir cures colds, gout, all nervous affections, with such cutaneous disorders as are diseases of the skin, debility, sterility, hostility, and all the illities that flesh is heir to except what it can't, such as small-pox and cholera. it has cured cholera, but it don't claim to do it. others claim to cure, but can't. i am not a charlatan, but an ann-eliza. that is the difference between me and a lady, as the pig said when he astonished his missus by blushing at her remarks to the postman. (_better have another bottle_, _sir_. _haven't you the change_? _never mind_, _you can owe me fifty cents_. _i know a gentleman when i see one_.) i was recently down east in maine, where they are so patriotic, they all put the stars and stripes into their beds for sheets, have the fourth of july three hundred and sixty-five times in the year, and eat the declaration of independence for breakfast. and they wouldn't buy a bottle of my gypsy's elixir till they heard it was good for the constitution, whereupon they immediately purchased my entire stock. don't lose time in securing this invaluable blessing to those who feel occasional pains in the lungs. this is not taradiddle. i am engaged to lecture this afternoon before the medical association of germantown, as on wednesday before the university of baltimore; for though i sell medicine here in the streets, it is only, upon my word of honor, that the poor may benefit, and the lowly as well as the learned know how to prize the philanthropic and eccentric gypsy." he run on with his patter for some time in this vein, and sold several vials of his panacea, and then in due time ceased, and went into a bar-room, which i also entered. i found him in what looked like prospective trouble, for a policeman was insisting on purchasing his medicine, and on having one of his hand-bills. he was remonstrating, when i quietly said to him in romany, "don't trouble yourself; you were not making any disturbance." he took no apparent notice of what i said beyond an almost imperceptible wink, but soon left the room, and when i had followed him into the street, and we were out of ear-shot, he suddenly turned on me and said,-- "well, you _are_ a swell, for a romany. how do you do it up to such a high peg?" "do what?" "do the whole lay,--look so gorgeous?" "why, i'm no better dressed than you are,--not so well, if you come to that _vongree_" (waistcoat). "'t isn't _that_,--'t isn't the clothes. it's the air and the style. anybody'd believe you'd had no end of an education. i could make ten dollars a patter if i could do it as natural as you do. perhaps you'd like to come in on halves with me as a bonnet. _no_? well, i suppose you have a better line. you've been lucky. i tell you, you astonished me when you _rakkered_, though i spotted you in the crowd for one who was off the color of the common gorgios,--or, as the yahudi say, the _goyim_. no, i carn't _rakker_, or none to speak of, and noways as deep as you, though i was born in a tent on battersea common and grew up a fly fakir. what's the drab made of that i sell in these bottles? why, the old fake, of course,--you needn't say _you_ don't know that. _italic good english_. yes, i know i do. a fakir is bothered out of his life and chaffed out of half his business when he drops his _h_'s. a man can do anything when he must, and i must talk fluently and correctly to succeed in such a business. _would i like a drop of something_? you paid for the last, now you must take a drop with me. _do i know of any romany's in town_? lots of them. there is a ken in lombard street with a regular fly mort,--but on second thoughts we won't go there,--_and_--oh, i say--a very nice place in --- street. the landlord is a yahud; his wife can _rakker_ you, i'm sure. _she's_ a good lot, too." and while on the way i will explain that my acquaintance was not to be regarded as a real gypsy. he was one of that large nomadic class with a tinge of gypsy blood who have grown up as waifs and strays, and who, having some innate cleverness, do the best they can to live without breaking the law--much. they deserve pity, for they have never been cared for; they owe nothing to society for kindness, and yet they are held even more strictly to account by the law than if they had been regularly sunday-schooled from babyhood. this man when he spoke of romanys did not mean real gypsies; he used the word as it occurs in ainsworth's song of "nix my dolly, pals fake away. and here i am both tight and free, a regular rollicking romany." for he meant _bohemian_ in its widest and wildest sense, and to him all that was apart from the world was _his_ world, whether it was rom or yahudi, and whether it conversed in romany or schmussen, or any other tongue unknown to the gentiles. he had indeed no home, and had never known one. it was not difficult to perceive that the place to which he led me was devoted in the off hours to some other business besides the selling of liquor. it was neat and quiet, in fact rather sleepy; but its card, which was handed to me, stated in a large capital head-line that it was open all night, and that there was pool at all hours. i conjectured that a little game might also be performed there at all hours, and that, like the fountain of jupiter ammon, it became livelier as it grew later, and that it certainly would not be on the full boil before midnight. "_scheiker fur mich_, _der isch will jain soreff shaskenen_" (beer for me and brandy for him), i said to the landlord, who at once shook my hand and saluted me with _sholem_! even so did ben daoud of jerusalem, not long ago. ben knew me not, and i was buying a pocket-book of him at his open-air stand in market street, and talking german, while he was endeavoring to convince me that i ought to give five cents more for it than i had given for a similar case the day before, on the ground that it was of a different color, or under color that the leather had a different ground, i forget which. in talking i let fall the word _kesef_ (silver). in an instant ben had taken my hand, and said _sholem aleichum_, and "can you talk spanish?"--which was to show that he was superfine sephardi, and not common ashkenaz. "yes," resumed the crocus-fakir; "a man must be able to talk english very fluently, pronounce it correctly, and, above all things, keep his temper, if he would do anything that requires chanting or pattering. _how did i learn it_? a man can learn to do anything when it's business and his living depends on it. the people who crowd around me in the streets cannot pronounce english decently; not one in a thousand here can say _laugh_, except as a sheep says it. suppose that you are a cheap jack selling things from a van. about once in an hour some tipsy fellow tries to chaff you. he hears your tongue going, and that sets his off. he hears the people laugh at your jokes, and he wants them to laugh at his. when you say you're selling to raise money for a burned-out widow, he asks if she isn't your wife. then you answer him, 'no, but the kind-hearted old woman who found you on the door-step and brought you up to the begging business.' if you say you are selling goods under cost, it's very likely some yokel will cry out, 'stolen, hey?' and you patter as quick as lightning, 'very likely; i thought your wife sold 'em to me too cheap for the good of somebody's clothes-line.' if you show yourself his superior in language awd wit, the people will buy better; they always prefer a gentleman to a cad. bless me! why, a swell in a dress-coat and kid gloves, with good patter and hatter, can sell a hundred rat-traps while a dusty cad in a flash kingsman would sell one. as for the replies, most of them are old ones. as the men who interrupt you are nearly all of the same kind, and have heads of very much the same make, with an equal number of corners, it follows that they all say nearly the same things. why, i've heard two duffers cry out the same thing at once to me. so you soon have answers cut and dried for them. we call 'em _cocks_, because they're just like half-penny ballads, all ready printed, while the pitcher always has the one you want ready at his finger-ends. it is the same in all canting. i knew a man once who got his living by singing of evenings in the gaffs to the piano, and making up verses on the gentlemen and ladies as they came in; and very nice verses he made, too,--always as smooth as butter. _how do you do it_? i asked him one day. 'well, you wouldn't believe it,' said he; 'but they're mostly cocks. the best ones i buy for a tanner [sixpence] apiece. if a tall gentleman with a big beard comes in, i strike a deep chord and sing,-- "'this tall and handsome party, with such a lot of hair, who seems so grand and hearty, must be a _militaire_; we like to see a swell come who looks so _distingue_, so let us bid him welcome, and hope he'll find us gay.' "the last half can be used for anybody. that's the way the improvisatory business is managed for visitors. why, it's the same with fortune-telling. _you have noticed that_. well, if the gorgios had, it would have been all up with the fake long ago. the old woman has the same sort of girls come to her with the same old stories, over and over again, and she has a hundred dodges and gets a hundred straight tips where nobody else would see anything; and of course she has the same replies all ready. there is nothing like being glib. and there's really a great deal of the same in the regular doctor business, as i know, coming close on to it and calling myself one. why, i've been called into a regular consultation in chicago, where i had an office,--'pon my honor i was, and no great honor neither. it was all patter, and i pattered 'em dumb." i began to think that the fakir could talk forever and ever faster. if he excelled in his business, he evidently practiced at all times to do so. i intimated as much, and he at once proceeded fluently to illustrate this point also. "you hear men say every day that if they only had an education they would do great things. what it would all come to with most of them is that they would _talk_ so as to shut other men up and astonish 'em. they have not an idea above that. i never had any schooling but the roads and race-grounds, but i can talk the hat off a lawyer, and that's all i can do. any man of them could talk well if he tried; but none of them will try, and as they go through life, telling you how clever they'd have been if somebody else had only done something for them, instead of doing something for themselves. so you must be going. well, i hope i shall see you again. just come up when you're going by and say that your wife was raised from the dead by my elixir, and that it's the best medicine you ever had. and if you want to see some regular tent gypsies, there's a camp of them now just four miles from here; real old style romanys. go out on the road four miles, and you'll find them just off the side,--anybody will show you the place. _sarishan_!" i was sorry to read in the newspaper, a few days after, that the fakir had been really arrested and imprisoned for selling a quack medicine. for in this land of liberty it makes an enormous difference whether you sell by advertisement in the newspapers or on the sidewalk, which shows that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor, even in a republic. iii. gypsies in camp. (new jersey.) the weather had put on his very worst clothes, and was never so hard at work for the agricultural interests, or so little inclined to see visitors, as on the sunday afternoon when i started gypsying. the rain and the wind were fighting one with another, and both with the mud, even as the jews in jerusalem fought with themselves, and both with the romans,--which was the time when the _shaket_, or butcher, killed the ox who drank the water which quenched the fire which the reader has often heard all about, yet not knowing, perhaps, that the house which jack built was the holy temple of jerusalem. it was with such reflections that i beguiled time on a long walk, for which i was not unfitly equipped in corduroy trousers, with a long ulster and a most disreputable cap befitting a stable-boy. the rig, however, kept out the wet, and i was too recently from england to care much that it was raining. i had seen the sun on color about thirty times altogether during the past year, and so had not as yet learned to miss him. it is on record that when the shah was in england a lady said to him, "can it be possible, your highness, that there are in your dominions people who worship the sun?" "yes," replied the monarch, musingly; "and so would you, if you could only see him." the houses became fewer as i went on, till at last i reached the place near which i knew the gypsies must be camped. as is their custom in england, they had so established themselves as not to be seen from the road. the instinct which they display in thus getting near people, and yet keeping out of their sight, even as rats do, is remarkable. i thought i knew the town of brighton, in england, thoroughly, and had explored all its nooks, and wondered that i had never found any gypsies there. one day i went out with a romany acquaintance, who, in a short time, took me to half a dozen tenting-places, round corners in mysterious by-ways. it often happens that the spots which they select to _hatch the tan_, or pitch the tent, are picturesque bits, such as artists love, and all gypsies are fully appreciative of beauty in this respect. it is not a week, as i write, since i heard an old horse-dealing veteran of the roads apologize to me with real feeling for the want of a view near his tent, just as any other man might have excused the absence of pictures from his walls. the most beautiful spot for miles around williamsport, in pennsylvania, a river dell, which any artist would give a day to visit, is the favorite camping-ground of the romany. woods and water, rocks and loneliness, make it lovely by day, and when, at eventide, the fire of the wanderers lights up the scene, it also lights up in the soul many a memory of tents in the wilderness, of pictures in the louvre, of arabs and of wouvermanns and belated walks by the thames, and of salvator rosa. ask me why i haunt gypsydom. it has put me into a thousand sympathies with nature and art, which i had never known without it. the romany, like the red indian, and all who dwell by wood and wold as outlawes wont to do, are the best human links to bind us to their home-scenery, and lead us into its inner life. what constitutes the antithetic charm of those wonderful lines, "afar in the desert, i love to ride, with the silent bush-boy alone by my side," but the presence of the savage who belongs to the scene, and whose _being_ binds the poet to it, and blends him with it as the flux causes the fire to melt the gold? i left the road, turned the corner, and saw before me the low, round tents, with smoke rising from the tops, dark at first and spreading into light gray, like scalp-locks and feathers upon indian heads. near them were the gayly-painted vans, in which i at once observed a difference from the more substantial-looking old-country _vardo_. the whole scene was so english that i felt a flutter at the heart: it was a bit from over the sea; it seemed as if hedge-rows should have been round, and an old gothic steeple looking over the trees. i thought of the last gypsy camp i had seen near henley-on-thames, and wished plato buckland were with me to share the fun which one was always sure to have on such an occasion in his eccentric company. but now plato was, like his father in the song, "_duro pardel the boro pani_," far away over the broad-rolling sea, and i must introduce myself. there was not a sign of life about, save in a sorrowful hen, who looked as if she felt bitterly what it was to be a pariah among poultry and a down-pin, and who cluttered as if she might have had a history of being borne from her bower in the dark midnight by desperate african reivers, of a wild moonlit flitting and crossing black roaring torrents, drawn all the while by the neck, as a turcoman pulls a persian prisoner on an "alaman," with a rope, into captivity, and finally of being sold unto the egyptians. i drew near a tent: all was silent, as it always is in a _tan_ when the foot-fall of the stranger is heard; but i knew that it was packed with inhabitants. i called in romany my greeting, and bade somebody come out. and there appeared a powerfully built, dark-browed, good-looking man of thirty, who was as gypsy as plato himself. he greeted me very civilly, but with some surprise, and asked me what he could do for me. "ask me in out of the rain, pal," i replied. "you don't suppose i've come four miles to see you and stop out here, do you?" this was, indeed, reasonable, and i was invited to enter, which i did, and found myself in a scene which would have charmed callot or goya. there was no door or window to the black tent; what light there was came through a few rifts and rents and mingled with the dull gleam of a smoldering fire, producing a perfect rembrandt blending of rosy-red with dreamy half-darkness. it was a real witch-aura, and the denizens were worthy of it. as my eyes gradually grew to the gloom, i saw that on one side four brown old romany sorceresses were "_beshing apre ye pus_" (sitting on the straw), as the song has it, with deeper masses of darkness behind them, in which other forms were barely visible. their black eyes all flashed up together at me, like those of a row of eagles in a cage; and i saw in a second that, with men and all i was in a party who were anything but milksops; in fact, with as regularly determined a lot of hard old romanys as ever battered a policeman. i confess that a feeling like a thrill of joy came over me--a memory of old days and by-gone scenes over the sea--when i saw this, and knew they were not _diddikais_, or half-breed mumpers. on the other side, several young people, among them three or four good-looking girls, were eating their four-o'clock meal from a canvas spread on the ground. there were perhaps twenty persons in the place, including the children who swarmed about. even in a gypsy tent something depends on the style of a self-introduction by a perfect stranger. stepping forward, i divested myself of my ulster, and handed it to a nice damsel, giving her special injunction to fold it up and lay it by. my _mise en scene_ appeared to meet with approbation, and i stood forth and remarked,-- "here i am, glad to see you; and if you want to see a regular _romany rye_ [gypsy gentleman], just over from england, now's your chance. _sarishan_!" and i received, as i expected, a cordial welcome. i was invited to sit down and eat, but excused myself as having just come from _habben_, or food, and settled myself to a cigar. but while everybody was polite, i felt that under it all there was a reserve, a chill. i was altogether too heavy a mystery. i knew my friends, and they did not know me. something, however, now took place which went far to promote conviviality. the tent-flap was lifted, and there entered an elderly woman, who, as a gypsy, might have been the other four in one, she was so quadruply dark, so fourfold uncanny, so too-too witch-like in her eyes. the others had so far been reserved as to speaking romany; she, glancing at me keenly, began at once to talk it very fluently, without a word of english, with the intention of testing me; but as i understood her perfectly, and replied with a burning gush of the same language, being, indeed, glad to have at last "got into my plate," we were friends in a minute. i did not know then that i was talking with a celebrity whose name has even been groomily recorded in an english book; but i found at once that she was truly "a character." she had manifestly been sent for to test the stranger, and i knew this, and made myself agreeable, and was evidently found _tacho_, or all right. it being a rule, in fact, with few exceptions, that when you really like people, in a friendly way, and are glad to be among them, they never fail to find it out, and the jury always comes to a favorable verdict. and so we sat and talked on in the monotone in which romany is generally spoken, like an indian song, while, like an indian drum, the rain pattered an accompaniment on the tightly drawn tent. those who live in cities, and who are always realizing self, and thinking how they think, and are while awake given up to introverting vanity, never _live_ in song. to do this one must be a child, an indian, a dweller in fields and green forests, a brother of the rain and road-puddles and rolling streams, and a friend of the rustling leaves and the summer orchestra of frogs and crickets and rippling grass. those who hear this music and think to it never think about it; those who live only in books never sing to it in soul. as there are dreams which _will not_ be remembered or known to _reason_, so this music shrinks from it. it is wonderful how beauty perishes like a shade-grown flower before the sunlight of analysis. it is dying out all the world over in women, under the influence of cleverness and "style;" it is perishing in poetry and art before criticism; it is wearing away from manliness, through priggishness; it is being crushed out of true gentleness of heart and nobility of soul by the pessimist puppyism of miching mallockos. but nature is eternal and will return. when man has run one of his phases of culture fairly to the end, and when the fruit is followed by a rattling rococo husk, then comes a winter sleep, from which he awakens to grow again as a child-flower. we are at the very worst of such a time; but there is a morning redness far away, which shows that the darkness is ending, the winter past, the rain is over and gone. arise, and come away! "sossi kair'd tute to av'akai pardel o boro pani?" (and what made you come here across the broad water?) said the good old dame confidentially and kindly, in the same low monotone. "si lesti chorin a gry?" (was it stealing a horse?) _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _patter_, _dum_! played the rain. "avali i dikked your romus kaliko" (i saw your husband yesterday), remarked some one aside to a girl. _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _patter_, _dum_! "no, mother deari, it was not a horse, for i am on a better, higher lay." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _patter_, _dum_! "he is a first-rate dog, but mine's as good." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "tacho! there's money to be made by a gentleman like you by telling fortunes." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "yes, a five-hundred-dollar hit sometimes. but _dye_, i work upon a better lay." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "perhaps you are _a boro drabengro_" (a great physician). _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "it was away among the rocks that he fell into the reeds, half in the water, and kept still till they went by." "if any one is ill among you, i may be of use." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "and what a wind! it blows as if the good lord were singing! kushti chirus se atch a-kerri." (this is a pleasant day to be at home.) _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "i thought you were a doctor, for you were going about in the town with the one who sells medicine. i heard of it." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! "do not hurry away! come again and see us. i think the coopers are all out in ohio." _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! the cold wind and slight rain seemed refreshing and even welcome, as i went out into the cold air. the captain showed me his stock of fourteen horses and mules, and we interchanged views as to the best method of managing certain maladies in such stock. i had been most kindly entertained; indeed, with the home kindliness which good people in the country show to some hitherto unseen and unknown relative who descends to them from the great world of the city. not but that my friends did not know cities and men as well as ulysses, but even ulysses sometimes met with a marvel. in after days i became quite familiar with the several families who made the camp, and visited them in sunshine. but they always occur to me in memory as in a deep rembrandt picture, a wonderful picture, and their voices as in vocal chiaroscuro; singing to the wind without and the rain on the tent,-- _dum_, _dum_, _dum_, _patter_, _dum_! iv. house gypsies in philadelphia this chapter was written by my niece through marriage, miss elizabeth robins. it is a part of an article which was published in "the century," and it sets forth certain wanderings in seeking old houses in the city of philadelphia. all along the lower part of race street, saith the lady, are wholesale stores and warehouses of every description. some carts belonging to one of them had just been unloaded. the stevedores who do this--all negroes--were resting while they waited for the next load. they were great powerful men, selected for their strength, and were of many hues, from _cafe au lait_, or coffee much milked, up to the browned or black-scorched berry itself, while the very _athletae_ were coal-black. they wore blue overalls, and on their heads they had thrown old coffee-bags, which, resting on their foreheads, passed behind their ears and hung loosely down their backs. it was in fact the _haik_ or bag-cloak of the east, and it made a wonderfully effective arab costume. one of them was half leaning, half sitting, on a pile of bags; his herculean arms were folded, and he had unconsciously assumed an air of dignity and defiance. he might have passed for an african chief. when we see such men in egypt or other sunny countries _outre mer_, we become artistically eloquent; but it rarely occurs to sketchers and word-painters to do much business in the home-market. the mixture of races in our cities is rapidly increasing, and we hardly notice it. yet it is coming to pass that a large part of our population is german and irish, and that our streets within ten years have become fuller of italian fruit dealers and organ-grinders, so that _cives sum romanus_ (i am a roman citizen), when abroad, now means either "i possess a monkey" or "i sell pea-nuts." jews from jerusalem peddle pocket-books on our sidewalks, chinamen are monoplizing our washing and ironing, while among laboring classes are thousands of scandinavians, bohemians, and other slaves. the prim provincial element which predominated in my younger years is yielding before this influx of foreigners, and quaker monotony and stern conservatism are vanishing, while philadelphia becomes year by year more cosmopolite. as we left the handsome negroes and continued our walk on water street an italian passed us. he was indeed very dirty and dilapidated; his clothes were of the poorest, and he carried a rag-picker's bag over his shoulder; but his face, as he turned it towards us, was really beautiful. "_siete italiano_?" (are you an italian?) asked my uncle. "_si_, _signore_" (yes, sir), he answered, showing all his white teeth, and opening his big brown eyes very wide. "_e come lei piace questo paese_?" (and how do you like this country?) "not at all. it is too cold," was his frank answer, and laughing good-humoredly he continued his search through the gutters. he would have made a good model for an artist, for he had what we do not always see in italians, the real southern beauty of face and expression. two or three weeks after this encounter, we were astonished at meeting on chestnut street a little man, decently dressed, who at once manifested the most extraordinary and extravagant symptoms of delighted recognition. never saw i mortal so grin-full, so bowing. as we went on and crossed the street, and looked back, he was waving his hat in the air with one hand, while he made gestures of delight with the other. it was the little italian rag-picker. then along and afar, till we met a woman, decently enough dressed, with jet-black eyes and hair, and looking not unlike a gypsy. "a romany!" i cried with delight. her red shawl made me think of gypsies, and when i caught her eye i saw the indescrible flash of the _kalorat_, or black blood. it is very curious that hindus, persians, and gypsies have in common an expression of the eye which distinguishes them from all other oriental races, and chief in this expression is the romany. captain newbold, who first investigated the gypsies of egypt, declares that, however disguised, he could always detect them by their glance, which is unlike that of any other human being, though something resembling it is often seen in the ruder type of the rural american. i believe myself that there is something in the gypsy eye which is inexplicable, and which enables its possessor to see farther through that strange mill-stone, the human soul, than i can explain. any one who has ever seen an old fortune-teller of "the people" keeping some simple-minded maiden by the hand, while she holds her by her glittering eye, like the ancient mariner, with a basilisk stare, will agree with me. as scheele de vere writes, "it must not be forgotten that the human eye has, beyond question, often a power which far transcends the ordinary purposes of sight, and approaches the boundaries of magic." but one glance, and my companion whispered, "answer me in romany when i speak, and don't seem to notice her." and then, in loud tone, he remarked, while looking across the street,-- "_adovo's a kushto puro rinkeno ker adoi_." (that is a nice old pretty house there.) "_avali_, _rya_" (yes, sir), i replied. there was a perceptible movement by the woman in the red shawl to keep within ear-shot of us. mine uncle resumed,-- "_boro kushto covva se ta rakker a jib te kek gorgio iinella_." (it's nice to talk a language that no gentile knows.) the red shawl was on the trail. "_je crois que ca mord_," remarked my uncle. we allowed our artist guide to pass on, when, as i expected, i felt a twitch at my outer garment. i turned, and the witch eyes, distended with awe and amazement, were glaring into mine, while she said, in a hurried whisper,-- "wasn't it romanes?" "_avah_," i replied, "_mendui rakker sarja adovo jib_. _butikumi ryeskro lis se denna gorgines_." (yes, we always talk that language. much more genteel it is than english.) "_te adovo wavero rye_?" (and that _other_ gentleman?) with a glance of suspicion at our artist friend. "_sar tacho_" (he's all right), remarked mine uncle, which i greatly fear meant, when correctly translated in a christian sense, "he's all wrong." but there is a natural sympathy and intelligence between bohemians of every grade, all the world over, and i never knew a gypsy who did not understand an artist. one glance satisfied her that he was quite worthy of our society. "and where are you _tannin kenna_?" (tenting now), i inquired. "we are not tenting at this time of year; we're _kairin_," _i.e._, houseing, or home-ing. it is a good verb, and might be introduced into english. "and where is your house?" "there, right by mammy sauerkraut's row. come in and sit down." i need not give the romany which was spoken, but will simply translate. the house was like all the others. we passed through a close, dark passage, in which lay canvas and poles, a kettle and a _sarshta_, or the iron which is stuck into the ground, and by which a kettle hangs. the old-fashioned tripod, popularly supposed to be used by gypsies, in all probability never existed, since the roms of india to-day use the _sarshta_, as mine uncle tells me he learned from a _ci-devant_ indian gypsy dacoit, or wandering thief, who was one of his intimates in london. we entered an inner room, and i was at once struck by its general indescribable unlikeness to ordinary rooms. architects declare that the type of the tent is to be distinctly found in all chinese and arab or turkish architecture; it is also as marked in a gypsy's house--when he gets one. this room, which was evidently the common home of a large family, suggested, in its arrangement of furniture and the manner in which its occupants sat around the tent and the wagon. there was a bed, it is true but there was a roll of sail-cloth, which evidently did duty for sleeping on at night, but which now, rolled up, acted the part described by goldsmith:-- "a thing contrived a double part to play, a bed by night, a sofa during day." there was one chair and a saddle, a stove and a chest of drawers. i observed an engraving hanging up which i have several times seen in gypsy tents. it represents a very dark italian youth. it is a favorite also with roman catholics, because the boy has a consecrated medal. the gypsies, however, believe that the boy stole the medal. the catholics think the picture is that of a roman boy, because the inscription says so; and the gypsies call it a romany, so that all are satisfied. there were some eight or nine children in the room, and among them more than one whose resemblance to the dark-skinned saint might have given color enough to the theory that he was "one whose blood had rolled through gypsies ever since the flood." there was also a girl, of the pantherine type, and one damsel of about ten, who had light hair and fair complexion, but whose air was gypsy and whose youthful countenance suggested not the golden, but the brazenest, age of life. scarcely was i seated in the only chair, when this little maiden, after keenly scrutinizing my appearance, and apparently taking in the situation, came up to me and said,-- "yer come here to have yer fortune told. i'll tell it to yer for five cents." "_can tute pen dukkerin aja_?" (can you tell fortunes already?) i inquired. and if that damsel had been lifted at that instant by the hair into the infinite glory of the seventh sphere, her countenance could not have manifested more amazement. she stood _bouche beante_, stock still staring, open-mouthed wide. i believe one might have put a brandy ball into it, or a "bull's eye," without her jaws closing on the dainty. it was a stare of twenty-four carats, and fourth proof. "this here _rye_" remarked mine uncle, affably, in middle english, "is a hartist. he puts 'is heart into all he does; _that's_ why. he ain't romanes, but he may be trusted. he's come here, that wot he has, to draw this 'ere mammy sauerkraut's row, because it's interestin'. he ain't a tax-gatherer. _we_ don't approve o' payin' taxes, none of hus. we practices heconomy, and dislike the po-lice. who was mammy sauerkraut?" "i know!" cried the youthful would-be fortune-teller. "she was a witch." "_tool yer chib_!" (hold your tongue!) cried the parent. "don't bother the lady with stories about _chovihanis_" (witches). "but that's just what i want to hear!" i cried. "go on, my little dear, about mammy sauerkraut, and you will get your five cents yet, if you only give me enough of it." "well, then, mammy sauerkraut was a witch, and a little black girl who lives next door told me so. and mammy sauerkraut used to change herself into a pig of nights, and that's why they called her sauerkraut. this was because they had pig ketchers going about in those times, and once they ketched a pig that belonged to her, and to be revenged on them she used to look like a pig, and they would follow her clear out of town way up the river, and she'd run, and they'd run after her, till by and by fire would begin to fly out of her bristles, and she jumped into the river and sizzed." this i thought worthy of the five cents. then my uncle began to put questions in romany. "where is anselo w.? he that was _staruben_ for a _gry_?" (imprisoned for a horse). "_staruben apopli_." (imprisoned again.) "i am sorry for it, sister nell. he used to play the fiddle well. i wot he was a canty chiel', and dearly lo'ed the whusky, oh!" "yes, he was too fond of that. how well he could play!" "yes," said my uncle, "he could. and i have sung to his fiddling when the _tatto-pani_ [hot water, _i.e._, spirits] boiled within us, and made us gay, oh, my golden sister! that's the way we hungarian gypsy gentlemen always call the ladies of our people. i sang in romany." "i'd like to hear you sing now," remarked a dark, handsome young man, who had just made a mysterious appearance out of the surrounding shadows. "it's a _kamaben gilli_" (a love-song), said the _rye_; "and it is beautiful, deep old romanes,--enough to make you cry." there was the long sound of a violin, clear as the note of a horn. i had not observed that the dark young man had found one to his hand, and, as he accompanied, my uncle sang; and i give the lyric as he afterwards gave it to me, both in romany and english. as he frankly admitted, it was his own composition. ke teinali. tu shan miri pireni me kamava tute, kamlidiri, rinkeni, kames mande buti? sa o miro kushto gry taders miri wardi,-- sa o boro buno rye rikkers lesto stardi. sa o bokro dre o char hawala adovo,-- sa i choramengeri lels o ryas luvoo,-- sa o sasto levinor kairs amandy matto,-- sa o yag adre o tan kairs o geero tatto,-- sa i puri romni chai pens o kushto dukkrin,-- sa i gorgi dinneli, patsers lakis pukkrin,-- tute taders tiro rom, sims o gry, o wardi, tute chores o zi adrom rikkers sa i stardi. tute haws te chores m'ri all, tutes dukkered buti tu shan miro jivaben me t'vel paller tute. paller tute sarasa pardel puv te pani, trinali--o krallisa! miri chovihani! to trinali. now thou art my darling girl, and i love thee dearly; oh, beloved and my fair, lov'st thou me sincerely? as my good old trusty horse draws his load or bears it; as a gallant cavalier cocks his hat and wears it; as a sheep devours the grass when the day is sunny; as a thief who has the chance takes away our money; as strong ale when taken down makes the strongest tipsy; as a fire within a tent warms a shivering gypsy; as a gypsy grandmother tells a fortune neatly; as the gentile trusts in her, and is done completely,-- so you draw me here and there, where you like you take me; or you sport me like a hat,-- what you will you make me. so you steal and gnaw my heart for to that i'm fated! and by you, my gypsy kate, i'm intoxicated. and i own you are a witch, i am beaten hollow; where thou goest in this world i am bound to follow,-- follow thee, where'er it be, over land and water, trinali, my gypsy queen! witch and witch's daughter! "well, that _is_ deep romanes," said the woman, admiringly. "it's beautiful." "_i_ should think it was," remarked the violinist. "why, i didn't understand more than one half of it. but what i caught i understood." which, i reflected, as he uttered it, is perhaps exactly the case with far more than half the readers of all poetry. they run on in a semi-sensuous mental condition, soothed by cadence and lulled by rhyme, reading as they run for want of thought. are there not poets of the present day who mean that you shall read them thus, and who cast their gold ornaments hollow, as jewelers do, lest they should be too heavy? "my children," said meister karl, "i could go on all day with romany songs; and i can count up to a hundred in the black language. i know three words for a mouse, three for a monkey, and three for the shadow which falleth at noonday. and i know how to _pen dukkerin_, _lel dudikabin te chiv o manzin apre latti_." { } "well, the man who knows _that_ is up to _drab_ [medicine], and hasn't much more to learn," said the young man. "when a _rye's_ a rom he's anywhere at home." "so _kushto bak_!" (good luck!) i said, rising to go. "we will come again!" "yes, we will come again," said meister karl. "look for me with the roses at the races, and tell me the horse to bet on. you'll find my _patteran_ [a mark or sign to show which way a gypsy has traveled] at the next church-door, or may be on the public-house step. child of the old egyptians, mother of all the witches, sister of the stars, daughter of darkness, farewell!" this bewildering speech was received with admiring awe, and we departed. i should have liked to hear the comments on us which passed that evening among the gypsy denizens of mammy sauerkraut's row. v. a gypsy letter. all the gypsies in the country are not upon the roads. many of them live in houses, and that very respectably, nay, even aristocratically. yea, and it may be, o reader, that thou hast met them and knowest them not, any more than thou knowest many other deep secrets of the hearts and lives of those who live around thee. dark are the ways of the romany, strange his paths, even when reclaimed from the tent and the van. it is, however, intelligible enough that the rom converted to the true faith of broadcloth garments by poole, or dresses by worth, as well as to the holy gospel of daily baths and _savon au violet_, should say as little as possible of his origin. for the majority of the world being snobs, they continually insist that all blood unlike their own is base, and the child of the _kalorat_, knowing this, sayeth naught, and ever carefully keeps the lid of silence on the pot of his birth. and as no being that ever was, is, or will be ever enjoyed holding a secret, playing a part, or otherwise entering into the deepest mystery of life--which is to make a joke of it--so thoroughly as a gypsy, it follows that the being respectable has to him a raciness and drollery and pungency and point which passeth faith. it has often occurred to me, and the older i grow the more i find it true, that the _real_ pleasure which bank presidents, moral politicians, not a few clergymen, and most other highly representative good men take in having a high character is the exquisite secret consciousness of its being utterly undeserved. they love acting. let no man say that the love of the drama is founded on the artificial or sham. i have heard the reverend histriomastix war and batter this on the pulpit; but the utterance _per se_ was an actual, living lie. he was acting while he preached. love or hunger is not more an innate passion than acting. the child in the nursery, the savage by the nyanza or in alaska, the multitude of great cities, all love to bemask and seem what they are not. crush out carnivals and masked balls and theatres, and lo, you! the disguising and acting and masking show themselves in the whole community. mawworm and aminidab sleek then play a role in every household, and every child becomes a wretched little roscius. verily i say unto you, the fewer actors the more acting; the fewer theatres the more stages, and the worse. lay it to heart, study it deeply, you who believe that the stage is an open door to hell, for the chances are ninety and nine to one that if this be true _you_ will end by consciously or unconsciously keeping a private little gate thereunto. beloved, put this in thy pipe and fumigate it, that acting in some form is a human instinct which cannot be extinguished, which never has been and never will be; and this being so, is it not better, with dr. bellows, to try to put it into proper form than to crush it? truly it has been proved that with this, as with a certain other unquenchable penchant of humanity, when you suppress a score of professionals you create a thousand zealous amateurs. there was never in this world a stage on which mere acting was more skillfully carried out than in all england under cromwell, or in philadelphia under the quakers. eccentric dresses, artificial forms of language, separate and "peculiar" expressions of character unlike those of "the world," were all only giving a form to that craving for being odd and queer which forms the soul of masking and acting. of course people who act all the time object to the stage. _le diable ne veut pas de miroir_. the gypsy of society not always, but yet frequently, retains a keen interest in his wild ancestry. he keeps up the language; it is a delightful secret; he loves now and then to take a look at "the old thing." closely allied to the converted sinners are the _aficionados_, or the ladies and gentlemen born with unconquerable bohemian tastes, which may be accounted for by their having been themselves gypsies in preexistent lives. no one can explain how or why it is that the _aficion_ comes upon them. it is _in_ them. i know a very learned man in england, a gentleman of high position, one whose name is familiar to my readers. he could never explain or understand why from early childhood he had felt himself drawn towards the wanderers. when he was only ten years old he saved up all his little store of pence wherewith to pay a tinker to give him lessons in romany, in which tongue he is now a past grand. i know ladies in england and in america, both of the blood and otherwise, who would give up a ball of the highest flight in society, to sit an hour in a gypsy tent, and on whom a whispered word of romany acts like wild-fire. great as my experience has been i can really no more explain the intensity of this yearning, this _rapport_, than i can fly. my own fancy for gypsydom is faint and feeble compared to what i have found in many others. it is in them like the love for opium, for music, for love itself, or for acting. i confess that there is to me a nameless charm in the strangely, softly flowing language, which gives a sweeter sound to every foreign word which it adopts, just as the melody of a forest stream is said to make more musical the songs of the birds who dwell beside it. thus wentzel becomes wenselo and anselo; arthur, artaros; london, lundra; sylvester, westaros. such a phrase as "_dordi_! _dovelo adoi_?" (see! what is that there?) could not be surpassed for mere beauty of sound. it is apropos of living double lives, and playing parts, and the charm of stealing away unseen, like naughty children, to romp with the tabooed offspring of outlawed neighbors, that i write this, to introduce a letter from a lady, who has kindly permitted me to publish it. it tells its own story of two existences, two souls in one. i give it as it was written, first in romany, and then in english:-- _febmunti_ _st_. miro kamlo pal,--tu tevel mishto ta shun te latcherdum me akovo kurikus tacho romany tan akai adre o gav. buti kamaben lis sas ta dikk mori foki apopli; buti kushti ta shun moro jib. mi-duvel atch apa mande, si ne shomas pash naflo o gorginess, vonk' akovo vias. o waver divvus sa me viom fon a swell saleskro haben, dikdom me dui romani chia beshin alay apre a longo skamin adre --- square. kalor yakkor, kalor balyor, lullo diklas apre i sherria, te lender trushnia aglal lender piria. mi-duvel, shomas pash divio sar kamaben ta dikav lender! avo! kairdum o wardomengro hatch i graia te sheldom avri, "_come here_!" yon penden te me sos a rani ta dukker te vian sig adosta. awer me saldom te pendom adre romanis: "sarishan miri dearis! tute don't jin mandy's a romany!" yon nastis patser lende kania nera yakkor. "mi-duvel! sa se tiro nav? putchde yeck. "miro nav se britannia lee." kenna-sig yon diktas te me sos tachi, te penden amengi lender navia shanas m. te d. lis sos duro pa lende ta jin sa a romani rani astis jiv amen gorgios, te dikk sa gorgious, awer te vel kushti romani aja, te tevel buoino lakis kaloratt. buti rakkerdem apre mori foki, buti nevvi, buti savo sos rumado, te beeno, te puredo, savo sos vino fon o puro tem, te butikumi aja kekkeno sos rakkerben sa gudli. m. pende amengi, "mandy don't jin how tute can jiv among dem gorgies." pukerdom anpali: "mandy dont jiv, mandy mers kairin amen lender." yon mangades mande ta well ta dikk a len, adre lendes ker apre o chumba kai atchena pa o wen. pende m., "av miri pen ta ha a bitti sar mendi. tute jins the chais are only kerri aratti te kurrkus." sunday sala miri pen te me ghion adoi te latchedon o ker. o tan sos bitto, awer sa i romanis pende, dikde boro adosta paller jivin adre o wardo. m. sos adoi te lakis roms dye, a kushti puri chai. a. sar shtor chavia. m. kerde haben sa mendui viom adoi. i puri dye sos mishto ta dikk mande, yoi kamde ta jin sar trustal mande. rakkerdem buti aja, te yoi pende te yoi ne kekker latchde a romani rani denna mande. pendom me ke laki shan adre society kumi romani rania, awer i galderli gorgios ne jinena lis. yoi pende sa miri pen dikde simlo lusha cooper, te siggerde lakis kaloratt butider denna me. "tute don't favor the coopers, miri dearie! tute pens tiri dye rummerd a mush navvered smith. was adovo the smith as lelled kellin te kurin booths pasher lundra bridge? sos tute beeno adre anglaterra?" pukkerdom me ke puri dye sar jinav me trustal miri kokeri te simensi. tu jinsa shan kek gorgies sa longi-bavoli apre genealogies, sa i puri romani dyia. vonka foki nastis chin lende adre lilia, rikkerena lende aduro adre lendros sherria. _que la main droit perd recueille la gauche_. "does tute jin any of the ---'s?" pende m. "tute dikks sim ta ---'s juva." "ne kekker, yois too pauno,' pens a. "it's chomani adre the look of her," pende m. dikkpali miro pal. tu jinsa te --- sos i chi savo dudikabinde manush, navdo --- buti wongur. vanka yoi sos lino apre, o beshomengro pende ta ker laki chiv apre a shuba sims gorgios te adenne lelled laki adre a tan sar desh te dui gorgi chaia. --- astissa pen i chai savo chorde lestis lovvo. vanka yoi vias adre o tan, yoi ghias sig keti laki, te pende: "jinava me laki talla lakis longi vangusti, te rinkeni mui. yoi sos stardi dui beshya, awer o gorgio kekker las leski vongur pali." savo-chirus mendi rakkerden o wuder pirido, te trin manushia vian adre. . . . pali lenders sarishans, m. shelde avri: "av ta misali, rikker yer skammins longo tute! mrs. lee, why didn't tute bring yer rom?" "adenna me shom kek rumadi." "mi-duvel, britannia!" pende --- "m. pende amengy te tu sos rumado." "m. didn't dukker tacho vonka yoi dukkerd adovo. yois a dinneli," pendom me. te adenne sar mendi saden atut m. haben sos kushto, loim a kani, ballovas te puvengros, te kushto curro levina. liom mendi kushto paiass dre moro puro romany dromus. rinkenodiro sos, kerde mande pash ta ruv, shomas sa kushto-bakno ta atch yecker apopli men mori foki. sos "britannia!" akai, te "britannia!" doi, te sar sa adre o puro cheirus, vonka chavi shomas. ne patserava me ta dante chinde:-- "nessun maggior dolore che ricordarsi dei tempi felici." talla me shomas kushto-bakno ta pen apre o puro chirus. sar lende piden miro kamaben romaneskaes, sar gudlo; talla h. yov pende nastis ker lis, pa yuv kenna lias tabuti. kushto dikin romnichal yuv. tu tevel jin lesti sarakai pa romani, yuv se sa kalo. te _avec l'air indefinnissable du vrai bohemien_. yuv patserde me ta piav miro sastopen wavescro chirus. kana shomas pa misali, geero vias keti ian; dukkeriben kamde yov. hunali sos i puri dye te pendes amergi, "beng lel o puro jukel for wellin vanka mendi shom hain, te kenna tu shan akai, miri britannia yov ne tevel lel kek kushto bak. mandy'll pen leste a wafedo dukkerin." adoi a. putcherde mengy, "does tute dukker or sa does tute ker." "miri pen, mandy'll pen tute tacho. mandy dukkers te dudikabins te kers buti covvas. shom a tachi romani chovihani." "tacho! tacho!" saden butider. miri pen te me rikkerdem a boro matto-morricley pa i chavis. yon beshden alay apre o purj, hais lis. rinkeno _picture_ sas, pendom dikkav mande te miri penia te pralia kenna shomas bitti. latcherdom me a tani kali chavi of panj besh chorin levina avri miro curro. dikde, sar lakis bori kali yakka te kali balia simno tikno bacchante, sa yoi prasterde adrom. pendom parako pa moro kushto-bakeno chirus--"kushto bak" te "kushto divvus." mendi diom moro tachopen ta well apopli, te kan viom kerri. patserava dikk tute akai talla o prasterin o ye graia. kushto bak te kushto ratti. sarja tiro pen, britannia lee. translation. _february_ _st_. my dear friend,--you will be glad to learn that i, within the week, found a real romany family (place) here in this town. charming it was to find our folk again; pleasant it was to listen to our tongue. the lord be on me! but i was half sick of gentiles and their ways till this occurred. the other day, as i was returning from a highly aristocratic breakfast, where we had winter strawberries with the _creme de la creme_, i saw two gypsy women sitting on a bench in --- square. black eyes, black hair, red kerchiefs on their heads, their baskets on the ground before their feet. dear lord! but i was half wild with delight at seeing them. aye, i made the coachman stop the horses, and cried aloud, "come here!" they thought i was a lady to fortune-tell, and came quickly. but i laughed, and said in romany, "how are you, my dears? you don't know that i am a gypsy." they could not trust their very ears or eyes! at length one said, "my god! what _is_ your name?" "my name's britannia lee," and, at a glance, they saw that i was to be trusted, and a romany. their names, they said, were m. and d. it was hard (far) for them to understand how a romany lady _could_ live among gentiles, and look so gorgious, and yet be a true gypsy withal, and proud of her dark blood. much they talked about our people; much news i heard,--much as to who was married and born and buried, who was come from the old country, and much more. oh, _never_ was such news so sweet to me! m. said, "i don't know how you _can_ live among the gentiles." i answered, "i don't live; i _die_, living in their houses with them." they begged me then to come and see them in their home, upon the hill, where they are wintering. m. said, "come, my sister, and eat a little with us. you know that the women are only at home at night and on sunday." sunday morning, sister and i went there, and found the house. it was a little place, but, as they said, after the life in wagons it seemed large. m. was there, and her husband's mother, a nice old woman; also a., with four children. m. was cooking as we entered. the old mother was glad to see us; she wished to know all about us. all talked, indeed, and that quite rapidly, and she said that i was the first romany lady { } she had ever seen. i said to her that in society are many gypsy ladies to be found, but that the wretched gentiles do not know it. she said that my sister looked like lusha cooper, and showed her dark blood more than i do. "you don't favor the coopers, my dearie. you say your mother married a smith. was that the smith who kept a dancing and boxing place near london bridge? were you born in england?" i told the old mother all i knew about myself and my relations. you know that no gorgios are so long-winded on genealogies as old mothers in rom. when people don't write them down in their family bibles, they carry them, extended, in their heads. _que la main droit perd recueille la gauche_. "do you know any of the ---'s?" said m. "you look like ---'s wife." "no; she's too pale," said a. "it's something in the look of her," said m. reflect, my brother. you know that --- was the woman who "cleaned out" a man named --- of a very large sum { } by "dukkeripen" and "dudikabin." "when she was arrested, the justice made her dress like any gorgio, and placed her among twelve gentile women. the man who had been robbed was to point out who among them had stolen his money. when she came into the room, he went at once to her, and said, 'i know her by her long skinny fingers and handsome face.' she was imprisoned for two years, but the gorgio never recovered his money." what time we reasoned thus, the door undid, and three men entered. after their greetings, m. cried, "come to table; bring your chairs with you!" "mrs. lee, why didn't you bring your husband?" "because i am not married." "lord! britannia! why, m. told me that you were." "ah, m. didn't fortune right when she fortuned that. she's a fool," quoth i. and then we all laughed like children. the food was good: chickens and ham and fried potatoes, with a glass of sound ale. we were gay as flies in summer, in the real old romany way. 't was "britannia" here, "britannia" there, as in the merry days when we were young. little do i believe in dante's words,-- "nessun maggior dolore, che ricordarsi dei tempi felici." "there is no greater grief than to remember by-gone happy days." for it is always happiness to me to think of good old times when i was glad. all drank my health, _romaneskaes_, together, with a shout,--all save h., who said he had already had too much. good-looking gypsy, that! you'd know him anywhere for romany, he is so dark,--_avec l'air indefinissable du vrai bohemien_. he promised to drink my health another time. as we sat, a gentleman came in below, wishing to have his fortune told. i remember to have read that the pythoness of delphian oracle prepared herself for _dukkerin_, or presaging, by taking a few drops of cherry-laurel water. (i have had it prescribed for my eyes as r _aq. laur. cerasi. fiat lotio_,--possibly to enable me to see into the future.) perhaps it was the cherry-brandy beloved of british matrons and brighton school-girls, taken at mutton's. _mais revenons a nos moutons_. the old mother had taken, not cherry-laurel water, nor even cherry-brandy, but joly good ale, and olde, which, far from fitting her to reveal the darksome lore of futurity, had rendered her loath to leave the festive board of the present. wrathful was the sybil, furious as the vala when waked by odin, angry as thor when he missed his hammer, to miss her merriment. "may the devil take the old dog for coming when we are eating, and when thou art here, my britannia! little good fortune will he hear this day. evil shall be the best i'll promise him." thus spake the sorceress, and out she went to keep her word. truly it was a splendid picture this of "the enraged witch," as painted by hexenmeister von teufel, of hollenstadt,--her viper eyes flashing infernal light and most unchristian fire, shaking _les noirs serpents de ses cheveux_, as she went forth. i know how, in an instant, her face was beautiful with welcome, smiling like a neapolitan at a cent; but the poor believer caught it hot, all the same, and had a sleepless night over his future fate. i wonder if the pythoness of old, when summoned from a _petit souper_, or a holy prophet called out of bed of a cold night, to decide by royal command on the fate of israel, ever "took it out" on the untimely king by promising him a lively, unhappy time of it. truly it is fine to be behind the scenes and see how they work the oracle. for the gentleman who came to consult my witch was a man of might in the secrets of state, and one whom i have met in high society. and, oh! _if_ he had known who it was that was up-stairs, laughing at him for a fool! while she was forth, a. asked me, "do you tell fortunes, or _what_?" "my sister," i replied, "i'll tell thee the truth. i do tell fortunes. i keep a house for the purchase of stolen goods. i am largely engaged in making counterfeit money and all kinds of forgery. i am interested in burglary. i lie, swear, cheat, and steal, and get drunk on sunday. and i do many other things. i am a real romany witch." this little confession of faith brought down the house. "bravo! bravo!" they cried, laughing. sister and i had brought a great tipsy-cake for the children, and they were all sitting under a table, eating it. it was a pretty picture. i thought i saw in it myself and all my sisters and brothers as we were once. just such little gypsies and duckling romanys! and now! and then! what a comedy some lives are,--yea, such lives as mine! and now it is _you_ who are behind the scenes; anon, i shall change with you. _va pierre_, _vient pierette_. then i surprised a little brown maiden imp of five summers stealing my beer, and as she was caught in the act, and tore away shrieking with laughter, she looked, with her great black eyes and flowing jetty curling locks, like a perfect little bacchante. then we said, "thank you for the happy time!" "good luck!" and "good day!" giving our promises to come again. so we went home all well. i hope to see you at the races here. good luck and good-night also to you. always your friend, britannia lee i have somewhat abbreviated the romany text of this letter, and miss lee herself has somewhat polished and enlarged the translation, which is strictly fit and proper, she being a very different person in english from what she is in gypsy, as are most of her kind. this letter may be, to many, a strange lesson, a quaint essay, a social problem, a fable, an epigram, or a frolic,--just as they choose to take it. to me it is a poem. thou, my friend, canst easily understand why all that is wild and strange, out-of-doors, far away by night, is worthy of being tennysoned or whitmanned. if there be given unto thee stupendous blasted trees, looking in the moonlight like the pillars of a vast and ghostly temple; the fall of cataracts down awful rocks; the wind wailing in wondrous language or whistling indian melody all night on heath, rocks, and hills, over ancient graves and through lonely caves, bearing with it the hoot of the night-owl; while over all the stars look down in eternal mystery, like eyes reading the great riddle of the night which thou knowest not,--this is to thee like ariel's song. to me and to us there are men and women who are in life as the wild river and the night-owl, as the blasted tree and the wind over ancient graves. no man is educated until he has arrived at that state of thought when a picture is quite the same as a book, an old gray-beard jug as a manuscript, men, women, and children as libraries. it was but yester morn that i read a cuneiform inscription printed by doves' feet in the snow, finding a meaning where in by-gone years i should have seen only a quaint resemblance. for in this by the _ornithomanteia_ known of old to the chaldean sages i saw that it was neither from arrow-heads or wedges which gave the letters to the old assyrians. when thou art at this point, then nature is equal in all her types, and the city, as the forest, full of endless beauty and piquancy,--_in saecula saeculorum_. i had written the foregoing, and had enveloped and directed it to be mailed, when i met in a lady-book entitled "magyarland" with the following passages:-- "the gypsy girl in this family was a pretty young woman, with masses of raven hair and a clear skin, but, notwithstanding her neat dress and civilized surroundings, we recognized her immediately. it is, in truth, not until one sees the romany translated to an entirely new form of existence, and under circumstances inconsistent with their ordinary lives, that one realizes how completely different they are from the rest of mankind in form and feature. instead of disguising, the garb of civilization only enhances the type, and renders it the more apparent. no matter what dress they may assume, no matter what may be their calling, no matter whether they are dwellers in tents or houses, it is impossible for gypsies to disguise their origin. taken from their customary surroundings, they become at once an anomaly and an anachronism, and present such an instance of the absurdity of attempting to invert the order of nature that we feel more than ever how utterly different they are from the human race; that there is a key to their strange life which we do not possess,--a secret free masonry that renders them more isolated than the veriest savages dwelling in the african wilds,--and a hidden mystery hanging over them and their origin that we shall never comprehend. they are indeed a people so entirely separate and distinct that, in whatever clime or quarter of the globe they may be met with, they are instantly recognized; for with them forty centuries of association with civilized races have not succeeded in obliterating one single sign." * * * * * "alas!" cried the princess; "i can never, never find the door of the enchanted cavern, nor enter the golden cavern, nor solve its wonderful mystery. it has been closed for thousands of years, and it will remain closed forever." "what flowers are those which thou holdest?" asked the hermit. "only primroses or mary's-keys, { } and tulips," replied the princess. "touch the rock with them," said the hermit, "and the door will open." * * * * * the lady writer of "magyarland" held in her hand all the while, and knew it not, a beautiful primrose, which might have opened for her the mysterious romany cavern. on a danube steamboat she saw a little blind boy sitting all day all alone: only a little slavonian peasant boy, "an odd, quaint little specimen of humanity, with loose brown garments, cut precisely like those of a grown-up man, and his bits of feet in little raw-hide moccasins." however, with a tender, gentle heart she began to pet the little waif. and the captain told her what the boy was. "he is a _guslar_, or minstrel, as they call them in croatia. the yougo-slavs dedicate all male children who are born blind, from infancy, to the muses. as soon as they are old enough to handle anything, a small mandolin is given them, which they are taught to play; after which they are taken every day into the woods, where they are left till evening to commune in their little hearts with nature. in due time they become poets, or at any rate rhapsodists, singing of the things they never saw, and when grown up are sent forth to earn their livelihood, like the troubadours of old, by singing from place to place, and asking alms by the wayside. "it is not difficult for a slav to become a poet; he takes in poetic sentiment as a river does water from its source. the first sounds he is conscious of are the words of his mother singing to him as she rocks his cradle. then, as she watches the dawning of intelligence in his infant face, her mother language is that of poetry, which she improvises at the moment, and though he never saw the flowers nor the snow-capped mountains, nor the flowing streams and rivers, he describes them out of his inner consciousness, and the influence which the varied sounds of nature have upon his mind." rock and river and greenwood tree, sweet-spiced spring flower, rustling grass, and bird-singing nature and freedom,--this is the secret of the poets' song and of the romany, and there is no other mystery in either. he who sleeps on graves rises mad or a poet; all who lie on the earth, which is the grave and cradle of nature, and who live _al fresco_, understand gypsies as well as my lady britannia lee. nay, when some natures take to the romany they become like the norman knights of the pale, who were more paddyfied than the paddies themselves. these become leaders among the gypsies, who recognize the fact that one renegade is more zealous than ten turks. as for the "mystery" of the history of the gypsies, it is time, sweet friends, that 't were ended. when we know that there is to-day, in india, a sect and set of vauriens, who are there considered gipsissimae, and who call themselves, with their wives and language and being, rom, romni, and romnipana, even as they do in england; and when we know, moreover, that their faces proclaim them to be indian, and that they have been a wandering caste since the dawn of hindu history, we have, i trow, little more to seek. as for the rest, you may read it in the great book of out-of doors, _capitulo nullo folio nigro_, or wherever you choose to open it, written as distinctly, plainly, and sweetly as the imprint of a school-boy's knife and fork on a mince-pie, or in the uprolled rapture of the eyes of britannia when she inhaleth the perfume of a fresh bunch of florentine violets. _ite missa est_. gypsies in the east. noon in cairo. a silent old court-yard, half sun and half shadow in which quaintly graceful, strangely curving columns seem to have taken from long companionship with trees something of their inner life, while the palms, their neighbors, from long in-door existence, look as if they had in turn acquired household or animal instincts, if not human sympathies. and as the younger the race the more it seeks for poets and orators to express in thought what it only feels, so these dumb pillars and plants found their poet and orator in the fountain which sang or spoke for them strangely and sweetly all night and day, uttering for them not only their waking thoughts, but their dreams. it gave a voice, too, to the ancient persian tiles and the cufic inscriptions which had seen the caliphs, and it told endless stories of zobeide and mesrour and haroun al raschid. beyond the door which, when opened, gave this sight was a dark ancient archway twenty yards long, which opened on the glaring, dusty street, where camels with their drivers and screaming _sais_, or carriage-runners and donkey-boys and crying venders, kept up the wonted oriental din. but just within the archway, in its duskiest corner, there sat all day a living picture, a dark and handsome woman, apparently thirty years old, who was unveiled. she had before her a cloth and a few shells; sometimes an egyptian of the lower class stopped, and there would be a grave consultation, and the shells would be thrown, and then further solemn conference and a payment of money and a departure. and it was world-old egyptian, or chaldean, as to custom, for the woman was a rhagarin, or gypsy, and she was one of the diviners who sit by the wayside, casting shells for auspices, even as shells and arrows were cast of old, to be cursed by israel. it is not remarkable that among the myriad _manteias_ of olden days there should have been one by shells. the sound of the sea as heard in the nautilus or conch, when "it remembers its august abode and murmurs as the ocean murmurs there," is very strange to children, and i can remember how in childhood i listened with perfect faith to the distant roaring, and marveled at the mystery of the ocean song being thus forever kept alive, inland. shells seem so much like work of human hands, and are often so marked as with letters, that it is not strange that faith soon found the supernatural in them. the magic shell of all others is the cowrie. why the roman ladies called it _porcella_, or little pig, because it has a pig's back, is the objective explanation of its name, and how from its gloss that name, or porcellana, was transferred to porcelain, is in books. but there is another side to the shell, and another or esoteric meaning to "piggy," which was also known to the _dames du temps jadis_, to archipiada and thais, _qui fut la belle romaine_,--and this inner meaning makes of it a type of birth or creation. now all that symbolizes fertility, birth, pleasure, warmth, light, and love is opposed to barrenness, cold, death, and evil; whence it follows that the very sight of a shell, and especially of a cowrie, frightens away the devils as well as a horse-shoe, which by the way has also its cryptic meaning. hence it was selected to cast for luck, a world-old custom, which still lingers in the game of props; and for the same reason it is hung on donkeys, the devil being still scared away by the sight of a cowrie, even as he was scared away of old by its prototype, as told by rabelais. as the sibyls sat in caves, so the sorceress sat in the dark archway, immovable when not sought, mysterious as are all her kind, and something to wonder at. it was after passing her, and feeling by quick intuition what she was, that the court-yard became a fairy-land, and the fountain its poet, and the palm-trees tamar maids. there are people who believe there is no mystery, that an analysis of the gypsy sorceress would have shown an ignorant outcast; but while nature gives chiaro-oscuro and beauty, and while god is the unknown, i believe that the more light there is cast by science the more stupendous will be the new abysses of darkness revealed. these natures must be taken with the _life_ in them, not dead,--and their life is mystery. the hungarian gypsy lives in an intense mystery, yes, in true magic in his singing. you may say that he cannot, like orpheus, move rocks or tame beasts with his music. if he could he could do no more than astonish and move us, and he does that now, and the _why_ is as deep a mystery as that would be. so far is it from being only a degrading superstition in those who believe that mortals like themselves can predict the future, that it seems, on the contrary ennobling. it is precisely because man feels a mystery within himself that he admits it may be higher in others; if spirits whisper to him in dreams and airy passages of trembling light, or in the music never heard but ever felt below, what may not be revealed to others? you may tell me if you will that prophecies are all rubbish and magic a lie, and it may be so,--nay, _is_ so, but the awful mystery of the unknown without a name and the yearning to penetrate it _is_, and is all the more, because i have found all prophecies and jugglings and thaumaturgy fail to bridge over the abyss. it is since i have read with love and faith the evolutionists and physiologists of the most advanced type that the unknown has become to me most wonderful, and that i have seen the light which never shone on sea or land as i never saw it before. and therefore to me the gypsy and all the races who live in freedom and near to nature are more poetic than ever. for which reason, after the laws of acoustics have fully explained to me why the nautilus sounds like a far off-ocean dirge, the unutterable longing _to know more_ seizes upon me, "till my heart is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me." that gypsy fortune-teller, sitting in the shadow, is, moreover, interesting as a living manifestation of a dead past. as in one of her own shells when petrified we should have the ancient form without its color, all the old elements being displaced by new ones, so we have the old magic shape, though every atom in it is different; the same, yet not the same life in the future, and the divination thereof, was a stupendous, ever-present reality to the ancient egyptian, and the sole inspiration of humanity when it produced few but tremendous results. it is when we see it in such living forms that it is most interesting. as in western wilds we can tell exactly by the outline of the forests where the borders of ancient inland seas once ran, so in the great greenwood of history we can trace by the richness or absence of foliage and flower the vanished landmarks of poetry, or perceive where the enchantment whose charm has now flown like the snow of the foregone year once reigned in beauty. so a line of lilies has shown me where the sea-foam once fell, and pine-trees sang of masts preceding them. "i sometimes think that never blows so red the rose as where some buried caesar bled; that every hyacinth the garden wears dropt in her lap from some once lovely head." { } the memory of that court-yard reminds me that i possess two persian tiles, each with a story. there is a house in cairo which is said to be more or less contemporary with the prophet, and it is inhabited by an old white-bearded emir, more or less a descendant of the prophet. this old gentleman once gave as a precious souvenir to an american lady two of the beautiful old tiles from his house, whereof i had one. in the eyes of a muslim there is a degree of sanctity attached to this tile, as one on which the eyes of the prophet may have rested,--or at least the eyes of those who were nearer to him than we are. long after i returned from cairo i wrote and published a fairy-book called johnnykin, { } in which occurred the following lines:-- trust not the ghoul, love, heed not his smile; _out of the mosque_, _love_, _he stole the tile_. one day my friend the palmer from over the sea came to me with a present. it was a beautiful persian tile. "where did you get it?" i asked. "i stole it out of a mosque in syria." "did you ever read my johnnykin?" "of course not." "i know you never did." here i repeated the verse. "but you remember what the persian poet says:-- "'and never since the vine-clad earth was young was some great crime committed on the earth, but that some poet prophesied the deed.'" "true, and also what the great tsigane poet sang:-- "'o manush te lela sossi choredo, wafodiro se te choramengro.' "he who takes the stolen ring, is worse than he who stole the thing." "and it would have been better for you, while you were _dukkerin_ or prophesying, to have prophesied about something more valuable than a tile." and so it came to pass that the two persian tiles, one given by a descendant of the prophet, and the other the subject of a prophecy, rest in my cabinet side by side. in egypt, as in austria, or syria, or persia, or india, the gypsies are the popular musicians. i had long sought for the derivation of the word _banjo_, and one day i found that the oriental gypsies called a gourd by that name. walking one day with the palmer in cambridge, we saw in a window a very fine hindu lute, or in fact a real banjo made of a gourd. we inquired, and found that it belonged to a mutual friend, mr. charles brookfield, one of the best fellows living, and who, on being forthwith "requisitioned" by the unanimous voice of all who sympathized with me in my need, sent me the instrument. "he did not think it right," he said, "to keep it, when philology wanted it. if it had been any other party,--but he always had a particular respect and awe of her." i do not assert that this discovery settles the origin of the word _banjo_, but the coincidence is, to say the least, remarkable. i saw many gypsies in egypt, but learned little from them. what i found i stated in a work called the "egyptian sketch book." it was to this effect: my first information was derived from the late khedive ismael, who during an interview with me said, "there are in egypt many people known as rhagarin, or ghagarin, who are probably the same as the gypsies of europe. they are wanderers, who live in tents, and are regarded with contempt even by the peasantry. their women tell fortunes, tattoo, and sell small wares; the men work in iron. they are all adroit thieves, and noted as such. the men may sometimes be seen going round the country with monkeys. in fact, they appear to be in all respects the same people as the gypsies of europe." i habitually employed, while in cairo, the same donkey-driver, an intelligent and well-behaved man named mahomet, who spoke english fairly. on asking him if he could show me any rhagarin, he replied that there was a fair or market held every saturday at boulac, where i would be sure to meet with women of the tribe. the men, he said, seldom ventured into the city, because they were subject to much insult and ill-treatment from the common people. on the day appointed i rode to boulac. the market was very interesting. i saw no european or frangi there, except my companion, baron de cosson, who afterwards traveled far into the white nile country, and who had with his brother edward many remarkable adventures in abyssinia, which were well recorded by the latter in a book. all around were thousands of blue-skirted and red-tarbouched or white-turbaned egyptians, buying or selling, or else amusing themselves, but with an excess of outcry and hallo which indicates their grown child character. there were dealers in donkeys and horses roaring aloud, "he is for ten napoleons! had i asked twenty you would have gladly given me fifteen!" "o true believers, here is a syrian steed which will give renown to the purchaser!" strolling loosely about were dealers in sugar-cane and pea-nuts, which are called gooba in africa as in america, pipe peddlers and venders of rosaries, jugglers and minstrels. at last we came to a middle-aged woman seated on the ground behind a basket containing beads, glass armlets, and such trinkets. she was dressed like any arab-woman of the lower class, but was not veiled, and on her chin blue lines were tattooed. her features and expression were, however, gypsy, and not egyptian. and as she sat there quietly i wondered how a woman could feel in her heart who was looked down upon with infinite scorn by an egyptian, who might justly be looked down on in his turn with sublime contempt by an average american methodist colored whitewasher who "took de 'ledger.'" yet there was in the woman the quiet expression which associates itself with respectability, and it is worth remarking that whenever a race is greatly looked down on by another from the stand-point of mere color, as in america, or mere religion, as in mahometan lands, it always contains proportionally a larger number of _decent_ people than are to be found among those who immediately oppress it. an average chinese is as a human being far superior to a hoodlum, and a man of color to the white man who cannot speak of him or to him except as a "naygur" or a "nigger." it is when a man realizes that he is superior in _nothing_ else save race, color, religion, family, inherited fortune, and their contingent advantages that he develops most readily into the prig and snob. i spoke to the woman in romany, using such words as would have been intelligible to any of her race in any other country; but she did not understand me, and declared that she could speak nothing but arabic. at my request mahomet explained to her that i had come from a distant country in orobba, or europe, where there were many rhagarin, who said that their fathers came from egypt, and that i wished to know if any in the old country could speak the old language. she replied that the rhagarin of montesinos could still speak it; but that her people in egypt had lost the tongue. mahomet, in translating, here remarked that montesinos meant mount sinai or syria. i then asked her if the rhagarin had no peculiar name for themselves, and she answered, "yes; we call ourselves tataren." this at least was satisfactory. all over southern germany and in norway the gypsies are called tartaren, and though the word means tartars, and is misapplied, it indicates the race. the woman seemed to be much gratified at the interest i manifested in her people. i gave her a double piaster, and asked for its value in blue glass armlets. she gave me four, and as i turned to depart called me back, and with a good-natured smile handed me four more as a present. this generosity was very gypsy-like, and very unlike the habitual meanness of the ordinary egyptian. after this mahomet took me to a number of rhagarin. they all resembled the one whom i had seen, and all were sellers of small articles and fortune-tellers. they all differed slightly from common egyptians in appearance, and were more unlike them in not being importunate for money, nor disagreeable in their manners. but though they were as certainly gypsies as old charlotte cooper herself, none of them could speak romany. i used to amuse myself by imagining what some of my english gypsy friends would have done if turned loose in cairo among their cousins. how naturally old charlotte would have waylaid and "dukkered" and amazed the english ladies in the muskee, and how easily that reprobate old amiable cosmopolite, the windsor frog, would have mingled with the motley mob of donkey-boys and tourists before shepherd's hotel, and appointed himself an _attache_ to their excursions to the pyramids, and drunk their pale ale or anything else to their healths, and then at the end of the day have claimed a wage for his politeness! and how well the climate would have agreed with them, and how they would have agreed that it was of all lands the best for _tannin_, or tenting out, in the world! the gypsiest-looking gypsy in cairo, with whom i became somewhat familiar, was a boy of sixteen, a snake-charmer; a dark and even handsome youth, but with eyes of such wild wickedness that no one who had ever seen him excited could hope that he would ever become as other human beings. i believe that he had come, as do all of his calling, from a snake-catching line of ancestors, and that he had taken in from them, as did elsie venner, the serpent nature. they had gone snaking, generation after generation, from the days of the serpent worship of old, it may be back to the old serpent himself; and this tawny, sinuous, active thing of evil, this boy, without the least sense of sympathy for any pain, who devoured a cobra alive with as much indifference as he had just shown in petting it, was the result. he was a human snake. i had long before reading the wonderfully original work of doctor holmes reflected deeply on the moral and immoral influences which serpent worship of old, in syria and other lands, must have had upon its followers. but elsie venner sets forth the serpent nature as benumbed or suspended by cold new england winters and new england religions, moral and social influences; the ophites of old and the cairene gypsy showed the boy as warmed to life in lands whose winters are as burning summers. elsie venner is not sensual, and sensuality is the leading trait of the human-serpent nature. herein lies an error, just as a sculptor would err who should present lady godiva as fully draped, or sappho merely as a sweet singer of lesbos, or antinous only as a fine young man. he who would harrow hell and rake out the devil, and then exhibit to us an ordinary sinner, or an _opera bouffe_ "mefistofele," as the result, reminds one of the seven suabians who went to hunt a monster,--"_a ungeheuer_,"--and returned with a hare. elsie venner is not a hare; she is a wonderful creation; but she is a winter-snake. i confess that i have no patience, however, with those who pretend to show us summer-snakes, and would fain dabble with vice; who are amateurs in the diabolical, and drawing-room dilettanti in damnation. such, as i have said before, are the aesthetic adorers of villon, whom the old _roue_ himself would have most despised, and the admirers of "faustine," whom faustina would have picked up between her thumb and finger, and eyed with serene contempt before throwing them out of the window. a future age will have for these would-be wickeds, who are only monks half turned inside out, more laughter than we now indulge in at chloe and strephon. i always regarded my young friend abdullah as a natural child of the devil and a serpent-souled young sinner, and he never disappointed me in my opinion of him. i never in my life felt any antipathy to serpents, and he evidently regarded me as a _sapengro_, or snake-master. the first day i met him he put into my hands a cobra which had the fangs extracted, and then handled an asp which still had its poison teeth. on his asking me if i was afraid of it, and my telling him "no," he gave it to me, and after i had petted it, he always manifested an understanding,--i cannot say sympathy. i should have liked to see that boy's sister, if he ever had one, and was not hatched out from some egg found in the desert by an egyptian incubus or incubator. she must have been a charming young lady, and his mother must have been a beauty, especially when in court-dress,--with her broom _et praeterea nihil_. but neither, alas, could be ever seen by me, for it is written in the "gittin" that there are three hundred species of male demons, but what the female herself is like is known to no one. abdullah first made his appearance before me at shepherd's hotel, and despite his amazing natural impudence, which appeared to such splendid advantage in the street that i always thought he must be a lineal descendant of the brazen serpent himself, he evinced a certain timidity which was to me inexplicable, until i recalled that the big snake of irish legends had shown the same modesty when saint patrick wanted him to enter the chest which he had prepared for his prison. "sure, it's a nate little house i've made for yees," said the saint, "wid an iligant parlor." "i don't like the look av it at all, at all," says the sarpent, as he squinted at it suspiciously, "and i'm loath to _inter_ it." abdullah looked at the parlor as if he too were loath to "inter" it; but he was in charge of one in whom his race instinctively trust, so i led him in. his apparel was simple: it consisted of a coarse shirt, very short, with a belt around the waist, and an old tarbouch on his head. between the shirt and his bare skin, as in a bag, was about a half peck of cobras, asps, vipers, and similar squirming property; while between his cap and his hair were generally stowed one or two enormous living scorpions, and any small serpents that he could not trust to dwell with the larger ones. when i asked abdullah where he contrived to get such vast scorpions and such lively serpents, he replied, "out in the desert." i arranged, in fact, to go out with him some day a-snaking and scorp'ing, and have ever since regretted that i did not avail myself of the opportunity. he showed off his snakes to the ladies, and concluded by offering to eat the largest one alive before our eyes for a dollar, which price he speedily reduced to a half. there was a young new england lady present who was very anxious to witness this performance; but as i informed abdullah that if he attempted anything of the kind i would kick him out-of-doors, snakes and all, he ceased to offer to show himself a cannibal. perhaps he had learned what rabbi simon ben yochai taught, that it is a good deed to smash the heads of the best of serpents, even as it is a duty to kill the best of goyim. and if by goyim he meant philistines, i agree with him. i often met abdullah after that, and helped him to several very good exhibitions. two or three things i learned from him. one was that the cobra, when wide awake, yet not too violently excited, lifts its head and maintains a curious swaying motion, which, when accompanied by music, may readily be mistaken for dancing acquired from a teacher. the hindu _sappa-wallahs_ make people believe that this "dancing" is really the result of tuition, and that it is influenced by music. later, i found that the common people in egypt continue to believe that the snakes which abdullah and his tribe exhibit are as dangerous and deadly as can be, and that they are managed by magic. whether they believe, as it was held of old by the rabbis, that serpents are to be tamed by sorcery only on the sabbath, i never learned. abdullah was crafty enough for a whole generation of snakes, but in the wisdom attributed to serpents he was woefully wanting. he would run by my side in the street as i rode, expecting that i would pause to accept a large wiggling scorpion as a gift, or purchase a viper, i suppose for a riding-whip or a necktie. one day when i was in a jam of about a hundred donkey-boys, trying to outride the roaring mob, and all of a fever with heat and dust, abdullah spied me, and, joining the mob, kept running by my side, crying in maddening monotony, "snake, sah! scorpion, sah! very fine snake to-day, sah!"--just as if his serpents were edible delicacies, which were for that day particularly fresh and nice. there are three kinds of gypsies in egypt,--the rhagarin, the helebis, and the nauar. they have secret jargons among themselves; but as i ascertained subsequently from specimens given by captain newboldt { a} and seetzen, as quoted by pott, { b} their language is made up of arabic "back-slang," turkish and greek, with a very little romany,--so little that it is not wonderful that i could not converse with them in it. the syrian gypsies, or nuri, who are seen with bears and monkeys in cairo, are strangers in the land. with them a conversation is not difficult. it is remarkable that while english, german, and turkish or syrian gypsy look so different and difficult as printed in books, it is on the whole an easy matter to get on with them in conversation. the roots being the same, a little management soon supplies the rest. abdullah was a helebi. the last time i saw him i was sitting on the balcony of shepherd's hotel, in the early evening, with an american, who had never seen a snake-charmer. i called the boy, and inadvertently gave him his pay in advance, telling him to show all his stock in trade. but the temptation to swindle was too great, and seizing the coin he rushed back into the darkness. from that hour i beheld him no more. i think i can see that last gleam of his demon eyes as he turned and fled. i met in after-days with other snake-boys, but for an eye which indicated an unadulterated child of the devil, and for general blackguardly behavior to match, i never found anybody like my young friend abdullah. the last snake-masters whom i came across were two sailors at the oriental seamen's home in london. and strangely enough, on the day of my visit they had obtained in london, of all places, a very large and profitable job; for they had been employed to draw the teeth of all the poisonous serpents in the zoological garden. whether these practitioners ever applied for or received positions as members of the dental college i do not know, any more than if they were entitled to practice as surgeons without licenses. like all the hindu _sappa-wallahs_, or snake-men, they are what in europe would be called gypsies. gypsy names and family characteristics. the following list gives the names of the principal gypsy families in england, with their characteristics. it was prepared for me by an old, well-known romany, of full blood. those which have (a) appended to them are known to have representatives in america. for myself, i believe that gypsies bearing all these names are to be found in both countries. i would also state that the personal characteristics attributed to certain families are by no means very strictly applicable, neither do any of them confine themselves rigidly to any particular part of england. i have met, for instance, with bosvilles, lees, coopers, smiths, bucklands, etc., in every part of england as well as wales. i am aware that the list is imperfect in all respects. ayres. bailey (a). half-bloods. also called rich. roam in sussex. barton. lower wiltshire. black. hampshire. bosville (a). generally spread, but are specially to be found in devonshire. i have found several fine specimens of real romanys among the american bosvilles. in romany, _chumomishto_, that is, buss (or kiss) well. broadway (a). somerset. buckland. in gloucestershire, but abounding over england. sometimes called _chokamengro_, that is tailor. burton (a). wiltshire. chapman (a). half-blood, and are commonly spoken of as a rich clan. travel all over england. chilcott (vul. chilcock). clarke. half-blood. portsmouth. cooper (a). chiefly found in berkshire and windsor. in romany, _vardo mescro_. davies. dickens. half-blood. dighton. blackheath. draper. hertfordshire. finch. fuller. hardly half-blood, but talk romany. gray. essex. in romany, _gry_, or horse. hare (a). chiefly in hampshire. hazard. half-blood. windsor. herne. oxfordshire and london. "of this name there are," says borrow (romano lavo-lil), "two gypsy renderings: ( .) rosar-mescro or ratzie-mescro, that is, _duck_-fellow; the duck being substituted for the _heron_, for which there is no word in romany, this being done because there is a resemblance in the sound of heron and herne. ( .) balor-engre, or hairy people, the translator having confounded herne with haaren, old english for hairs." hicks. half-blood. berkshire. hughes. wiltshire. ingraham (a). wales and birmingham, or in the kalo tem or black country. james. half-blood. jenkins. wiltshire. jones. half-blood. headquarters at battersea, near london. lee (a). the same in most respects as the smiths, but are even more widely extended. i have met with several of the most decided type of pure-blooded, old-fashioned gypsies among lees in america. they are sometimes among themselves called _purum_, a _lee-k_, from the fancied resemblance of the words. lewis. hampshire. locke. somerset and gloucestershire. lovel. known in romany as kamlo, or kamescro, that is, lover. london, but are found everywhere. loveridge. travel in oxfordshire; are in london at shepherd's bush. marshall. as much scotch as english, especially in dumfriesshire and galloway, in which latter region, in saint cuthbert's church-yard, lies buried the "old man" of the race, who died at the age of one hundred and seven. in romany makkado-tan-engree, that is, fellows of the marshes. also known as bungoror, cork-fellows and chikkenemengree, china or earthenware (lit. dirt or clay) men, from their cutting corks, and peddling pottery, or mending china. matthews. half-blood. surrey. north. petulengro, or smith. the romany name petulengro means master of the horseshoe; that is, smith. the gypsy who made this list declared that he had been acquainted with jasper petulengro, of borrow's lavengro, and that he died near norwich about sixty years ago. the smiths are general as travelers, but are chiefly to be found in the east of england. pike. berkshire. pinfold, or penfold. half and quarter blood. widely extended, but most at home in london. rollin (roland?). half-blood. chiefly about london. scamp. chiefly in kent. a small clan. mr. borrow derives this name from the sanskrit ksump, to go. i trust that it has not a more recent and purely english derivation. shaw. small (a). found in west england, chiefly in somerset and devonshire. stanley (a). one of the most extended clans, but said to be chiefly found in devonshire. they sometimes call themselves in joke beshalay, that is, sit-down, from the word _stan_, suggesting standing up in connection with lay. also bangor, or baromescre, that is, stone (stan) people. thus "stony-lea" was probably their first name. also called kashtengrees, woodmen, from the new forest. taylor. a clan described as _diddikai_, or half-bloods. chiefly in london. this clan should be the only one known as _chokamengro_. turner. walker. half-blood. travel about surrey. wells (a). half-blood. somerset. wharton. worton. i have only met the whartons in america. wheeler. pure and half-blood. battersea. white. "adre o lavines tem o romanies see woods, roberts, williams, and jones. in wales the gypsies are woods, roberts, williams, and jones." { a} characteristics. { b} of these gypsies the bailies are fair. the birds are in norfolk and suffolk. the blacks are dark, stout, and strong. the bosvilles are rather short, fair, stout, and heavy. the broadways are fair, of medium height and good figures. the bucklands are thin, dark, and tallish. the bunces travel in the south of england. the burtons are short, dark, and very active. the chapmans are fair. the clarkes are fair and well-sized men. the coopers are short, dark, and very active. the dightons are very dark and stout. the drapers are very tall and large and dark. the faas are at kirk yetholm, in scotland. the grays are very large and fair. the greenes are small and dark. the gregories range from surrey to suffolk. the hares are large, stout, and dark. the hazards are tall and fair. the hernes (herons) are very large and dark. the hicks are very large, strong, and fair. the hughes are short, stubby, and dark. the ingrahams are fair and all of medium height. the jenkins are dark, not large, and active. the jones are fair and of middling height. the lanes are fair and of medium height. the lees are dark, tall, and stout. the lewis are dark and of medium height. the lights are half-bloods, and travel in middlesex. the lockes are shortish, dark, and large. the lovells are dark and large. the maces are about norwich. the matthews are thick, short, and stout, fair, and good fighters. the millers are at battersea. north. are to be found at shepherd's bush. the olivers are in kent. the pikes are light and very tall. the pinfolds are light, rather tall, not heavy. (are really a norfolk family. f. groome.) the rolands are rather large and dark. the scamps are very dark and stout. the shaws travel in middlesex. the smalls are tall, stout, and fair. the smiths are dark, rather tall, slender, and active. the stanleys are tall, dark, and handsome. the taylors are short, stout, and dark. the turners are also in norfolk and suffolk. the walkers are stout and fair. the wells are very light and tall. the wheelers are thin and fair. the whites are short and light. the youngs are very dark. they travel in the northern counties, and belong both to scotland and england. * * * * * the following is a collection of the more remarkable "fore" or christian names of romanys:-- masculine names. opi boswell. wanselo, or anselo. i was once of the opinion that this name was originally lancelot, but as mr. borrow has found wentzlow, _i.e._, wenceslas, in england, the latter is probably the original. i have found it changed to onslow, as the name painted on a romany van in aberystwith, but it was pronounced anselo. pastor-rumis. spico. jineral, _i.e._, general cooper. horferus and horfer. either arthur or orpheus. his name was then changed to wacker-doll, and finally settled into wacker. plato or platos buckland. wine-vinegar cooper. the original name of the child bearing this extraordinary name was owen. he died soon after birth, and was in consequence always spoken of as wine-vinegar,--wine for the joy which his parents had at his birth, and vinegar to signify their grief at his loss. gilderoy buckland. silvanus boswell. lancelot cooper. sylvester, vester, wester, westarus and 'starus. oscar buckland. dimiti buckland. liberty. piramus boswell. goliath. reconcile. octavius. justerinus. render smith. faunio. shek-esu. i am assured on good authority that a gypsy had a child baptized by this name. artaros. sacki. culvato (claude). spysell. divervus. spico. lasho, _i.e._, louis. vesuvius. i do not know whether any child was actually called by this burning cognomen, but i remember that a gypsy, hearing two gentlemen talking about mount vesuvius, was greatly impressed by the name, and consulted with them as to the propriety of giving it to his little boy. wisdom. loverin. inverto. mantis. studaveres lovel. happy boswell. feminine names. selinda, slinda, linda, slindi. delilah. mia. prudence. mizelia, mizelli, mizela. providence. lina. eve. pendivella. athaliah. jewranum, _i.e._, geranium. gentilla, gentie. virginia. synfie. probably cynthia. suby, azuba. sybie. probably from sibyl. isaia. richenda. canairis. kiomi. fenella. liberina. floure, flower, flora. malindi. kisaiya. otchame. orlenda. renee. reyora, regina. sinaminta. syeira. probably cyra. y-yra or yeira. truffeni. delira, deleera. ocean solis. marili stanley. penelli. possibly from fenella. britannia. glani. segel buckland. zuba. morella knightly. sybarini cooper. eza. esmeralda locke. lenda. penti. collia. reservi. this extraordinary name was derived from a reservoir, by which some gypsies were camped, and where a child was born. lementina. casello (celia). rodi. catseye. alabina. trainette. dosia. perpinia. lavi. dora. silvina. starlina. richenda. bazena. marbelenni. bena. ashena. ewri. vashti. koket. youregh. lusho. gypsy stories in romany, with translation. merlinos te trinali. "miro koko, pen mandy a rinkeno gudlo?" avali miri chavi. me 'tvel pen tute dui te shyan trin, vonka tute 'atches sar pukeno. shun amengi. yeckorus adre o lavines tem sos a boro chovihan, navdo merlinos. gusvero mush sos merlinos, buti seeri covva yuv asti kair. jindas yuv ta pur yeck jivnipen adre o waver, saster adre o rupp, te o rupp adre sonakai. fino covva sos adovo te sos miro. te longoduro fon leste jivdes a bori chovihani, trinali sos lakis nav. boridiri chovihani sos trinali, buti manushe seerdas yoi, buti ryor purdas yoi adre mylia te balor, te ne kesserdas yeck haura pa sar lender dush. yeck divvus merlinos lias lester chovihaneskro ran te jas aduro ta latcher i chovihani te pessur laki drovan pa sar lakis wafropen. te pa adovo tacho divvus i rani trinali shundas sa merlinos boro ruslo sorelo chovihan se, te pendas, "sossi ajafra mush? me dukkerava leste or yuv tevel mer mande, s'up mi o beng! me shom te seer leste. mukkamen dikk savo lela kumi shunaben, te savo se o jinescrodiro?" te adoi o merlinos jas apre o dromus, sarodivvus akonyo, sarja adre o kamescro dud, te trinali jas adre o wesh sarja adre o ratinus, o tam, o kalopen, o shure, denne yoi sos chovihani. kennasig, yan latcherde yeckawaver, awer merlinos ne jindas yoi sos trinali, te trinali ne jindas adovo manush se merlinos. te yuv sos buti kamelo ke laki, te yoi apopli; kennasig yandui ankairde ta kam yeckawaver butidiro. vonka yeck jinella adovo te o waver jinella lis, kek boro chirus tvel i dui sosti jinavit. merlinos te trinali pende "me kamava tute," sig ketenes, te chumerde yeckawaver, te beshde alay rikkerend adre o simno pelashta te rakkerde kushto bak. te adenna merlinos pukkerdas laki, yuv jas ta dusher a buti wafodi chovihani, te trinali pendas lesko o simno covva, sa yoi sos ruzno ta kair o simno keti a boro chovihano. te i dui ankairede ta manger yeckawaver ta mukk o covva ja, te yoi te yuv shomas atrash o nasherin lende pireno te pireni. awer merlinos pendas, "mandy sovahalldom pa o kam ta pur laki pa sar lakis jivaben adre o waves truppo." te yoi ruvvedas te pendas, "sovahalldas me pa o chone ta pur adovo chovihano adre a wavero, sim's tute." denna merlinos putcherdas, "sasi lesters nav?" yoi pendas, "merlinos." yuv rakkeredas palall, "me shom leste, sasi tiro nav?" yoi shelledas avri, "trinali!" kenna vanka chovihanis sovahallan chumeny apre o kam te i choni, yan sosti keravit or mer. te denna merlinos pendas, "jinesa tu sa ta kair akovo pennis sar kushto te tacho?" "kekker miro kamlo pireno," pendas i chori chovihani sa yoi ruvdas." "denna me shom kumi jinescro, ne tute," pendas merlinos. "shukar te kushto covva se akovo, miri romni. me bevel pur tute adre mande, te mande adre tute. te vonka mendui shom romadi mendui tevel yeck." sa yeck mush ta divvus kenna penella yoi siggerdas leste, te awavero pens yuv siggerdas laki. ne jinava me miri kameli. ne dikkdas tu kekker a dui sherescro haura? avail! wusser lis uppar, te vanka lis pellalay pukk amengy savo rikk se alay. welsher pendas man adovo. welsheri pennena sarja tachopen. merlin and trinali. "my uncle, tell me a pretty story!" yes, my child. i will tell you two, and perhaps three, if you keep very quiet. listen to me. once in wales there was a great wizard named merlin. many magic things he could do. he knew how to change one living being into another, iron into silver, and silver into gold. a fine thing that would be if it were mine. and afar from him lived a great witch. trinali was her name. a great witch was trinali. many men did she enchant, many gentlemen did she change into asses and pigs, and never cared a copper for all their sufferings. one day merlin took his magic rod, and went afar to find the witch, and pay her severely for all her wickedness. and on that very [true] day the lady trinali heard how merlin was [is] a great, powerful wizard, and said, "what sort of a man is this? i will punish him or he shall kill me, deuce help me! i will bewitch him. let us see who has the most cleverness and who is the most knowing." and then merlin went on the road all day alone, always in sunshine; and trinali went in the forest, always in the shade, the darkness, the gloom, for she was a black witch. soon they found one another, but merlin did not know [that] she was trinali, and trinal, did not know that man was [is to be] merlin. and he was very pleasant to her, and she to him again. very soon the two began to love one another very much. when one knows that and the other knows it, both will soon know it. merlin and trinali said "i love thee" both together, and kissed one another, and sat down wrapped in the same cloak, and conversed happily. then merlin told her he was going to punish a very wicked witch; and trinali told him the same thing, how she was bold [daring] to do the same thing to a great wizard. and the two began to beg one another to let the thing go, and she and he were afraid of losing lover and sweetheart. but merlin said, "i swore by the sun to change her for her whole life into another form" [body]; and she wept and said, "i swore by the moon to change that wizard into another [person] even as you did." then merlin inquired, "what is his name?" she said, "merlin." he replied, "i am he; what is your name?" she cried aloud, "trinali." now when witches swear anything on the sun or the moon, they must do it or die. then merlin said, "do you know how to make this business all nice and right?" "not at all, my dear love," said the poor witch, as she wept. "then i am cleverer than you," said merlin. "an easy and nice thing it is, my bride. for i will change you into me, and myself into you. and when we are married we two will be one." so one man says nowadays that she conquered him, and another that he conquered her. i do not know [which it was], my dear. did you ever see a two-headed halfpenny? _yes_? throw it up, and when it falls down ask me which side is under. a welsher told me that story. welshers always tell the truth. o puv-suver. yeckorus sims buti kedivvus, sos rakli, te yoi sos kushti partanengri, te yoi astis kair a rinkeno plachta, yeck sar divvus. te covakai chi kamdas rye butidiro, awer yeck divvus lakis pireno sos stardo adre staruben. te vonka yoi shundas lis, yoi hushtiedas apre te jas keti krallis te mangerdas leste choruknes ta mukk lakis pireno ja piro. te krallis patserdas laki tevel yoi kairdas leste a rinkeno plachta, yeck sar divvus pa kurikus, hafta plachta pa hafta divvus, yuv tvel ferdel leste, te de leste tachaben ta ja 'vri. i tani rani siggerdas ta keravit, te pa shov divvus yoi taderedas adrom, kushti zi, pa lis te sarkon chirus adre o shab yoi bitcherdas plachta keta krallis. awer avella yeck divvus yoi sos kinlo, te pendes yoi nei kamdas kair butsi 'dovo divvus si sos brishnu te yoi nestis shiri a sappa dre o kamlo dud. adenn' o krallis pendas te yoi nestis kair butsi hafta divvus lava lakis pireno, o rye sosti hatch staramescro te yoi ne mukkdas kamaben adosta pa leste. te i rakli sos sa hunnalo te tukno dre lakis zi yoi merdas o ruvvin te lias puraben adre o puv-suver. te keti divvus kenna yoi pandella apre lakris tavia, vonka kam peshella, te i cuttor pani tu dikess' apre lende shan o panni fon lakis yakka yoi ruvdas pa lakris pireno. te tu vel hatch kaulo yeck lilieskro divvus tu astis nasher sar o kairoben fon o chollo kurikus, miri chavi. tu peness' tu kamess' to shun waveri gudli. sar tacho. me tevel puker tute rinkno gudlo apre kali foki. repper tute sarkon me penava sa me repper das lis fon miro babus. the spider. { } once there was a girl, as there are many to-day, and she was a good needle-worker, and could make a beautiful cloak in one day. and that [there] girl loved a gentleman very much; but one day her sweetheart was shut up in prison, and when she heard it she hastened and went to the king, and begged him humbly to let her love go free. and the king promised her if she would make him a fine cloak,--one every day for a week, seven cloaks for seven days,--he would forgive him, and give him leave to go free. the young lady hastened to do it, and for six days she worked hard [lit. pulled away] cheerfully at it, and always in the evening she sent a cloak to the king. but it came [happened] one day that she was tired, and said [that] she did not wish to work because it was rainy, and she could not dry or bleach the cloth [?] in the sunlight. then the king said that if she could not work seven days to get her lover the gentleman must remain imprisoned, for she did not love him as she should [did not let love enough on him]. and the maid was so angry and vexed in her heart [or soul] that she died of grief, and was changed into a spider. and to this day she spreads out her threads when the sun shines, and the dew-drops which you see on them are the tears which she has wept for her lover. if you remain idle one summer day you may lose a whole week's work, my dear. you say that you would like to hear more stories! all right. i will tell you a nice story about lazy people. { b} remember all i tell you, as i remembered it from my grandfather. gorgio, kalo-manush, te rom. yeckorus pa ankairoben, kon i manushia nanei lavia, o boro duvel jas pirian. sa si asar? shun miri chavi, me givellis tute:-- buti beshia kedivrus kenna adre o tem ankairoben, o boro duvel jas 'vri aja, ta dikk i mushia miraben. sa yuv pirridas, dikkdas trin mushia pash o dromescro rikk, hatchin keti chomano mush te vel de lendis navia, te len putcherde o boro duvel ta navver lende. dordi, o yeckto mush sos pano, te o boro duvel pukkerdas kavodoi, "gorgio." te yuv sikkerdas leste kokero keti dovo, te suderdas leste buti kameli sa jewries, te rinkeni rudaben, te jas _gorgeous_. te o wavescro geero sos kalo sa skunya, te o boro duvel pendas, "nigger!" te yuv _nikkeredas_ adrom, sa sujery te muzhili, te yuv se _nikkerin_ sarja keti kenna, adre o kamescro dud, te yuv's kalo-kalo ta kair butsi, nanei tu serbers leste keti lis, te tazzers lis. te o trinto mush sos brauuo, te yuv beshdas pukeno, tuvin leste's swagler, keti o boro duvel rakkerdas, "rom!" te adenna o mush hatchedas apre, te pendas buti kamelo, "parraco rya tiro kushtaben; me te vel mishto piav tiro sastopen!" te jas romeli a _roamin_ langs i lescro romni, te kekker dukkerdas lester kokerus, ne kesserdas pa chichi fon adennadoi keti kenna, te jas adral o sweti, te kekker hatchedas pukenus, te nanei hudder ta keravit ket' o boro duvel penell' o lav. tacho adovo se sa tiri yakka, miri kamli. gorgio, { a} black man, and gypsy. once in the creation, when men had no names, the lord went walking. how was that? listen, my child, i will sing it to you:-- many a year has passed away since the world was first begun, that the great lord went out one day to see how men's lives went on. as he walked along he saw three men by the roadside, waiting till some man would give them names; and they asked the lord to name them. see! the first man was white, and the lord called him gorgio. then he adapted himself to that name, and adorned himself with jewelry and fine clothes, and went _gorgeous_. and the other man was black and the lord called him nigger, and he lounged away [_nikker_, to lounge, loiter; an attempted pun], so idle and foul; and he is always lounging till now in the sunshine, and he is too lazy [_kalo-kalo_, black-black, or lazy-lazy, that is, too black or too lazy] to work unless you compel and punish him. and the third man was brown, and he sat quiet, smoking his pipe, till the lord said, rom! [gypsy, or "roam"]; and then that man arose and said, very politely, "thank you, lord, for your kindness. i'd be glad to drink your health." and he went, romany fashion, a-roaming { b} with his romni [wife], and never troubled himself about anything from that time till to-day, and went through the world, and never rested and never wished to until the lord speaks the word. that is all as true as your eyes, my dear! yag-bar te saster. sa o kam sos ankerdo. "pen mandy a waver gudlo trustal o ankairoben!" ne shomas adoi, awer shundom buti apa lis fon miro babus. foki pende mengy sa o chollo-tem { } sos kerdo fon o kam, awer i romany chalia savo keren sar chingernes, pen o kam sos kerdo fon o boro tem. wafedo gry se adovo te nestis ja sigan te anpali o kushto drom. yeckorus 'dre o puro chirus, te kenna, sos a bori pureni chovihani te kerdas sirini covvas, te jivdas sar akonyo adre o heb adre o ratti. yeck divvus yoi latchedas yag-bar adre o puv, te tilldas es apre te pukkeredas lestes nav pale, "yag-bar." te pash a bittus yoi latchedas a bitto kushto-saster, te haderdas lis apre te putchedas lestis nav, te lis rakkerdas apopli, "saster." chivdasi dui 'dre lakis putsi, te pendas yag-bar, "tu sosti rummer o rye, saster!" te yan kerdavit, awer yeck divvus i dui ankairede ta chinger, te saster des lestis juva yag-bar a tatto-yek adre o yakk, te kairedas i chingari ta mukker avri, te hotcher i puri juva's putsi. sa yoi wusserdas hotcherni putsi adre o hev, te pendas lis ta kessur adrom keti avenna o mush sari juva kun kekker chingerd chichi. i chingari shan staria, te dovo yag se o kam, te lis nanei jillo avri keti kenna, te lis tevel hotcher anduro buti beshia pa sar jinova me keti chingerben. tacho si? ne shomas adoi. flint and steel. or how the sun was created. "tell me another story about the creation!" i was not there at the time, but i heard a great deal about it from my grandfather. all he did there was to turn the wheel. people tell me that the world was made from the sun, but gypsies, who do everything all contrary, say that the sun was made from the earth. a bad horse is that which will not travel either way on a road. once in the old time, as [there may be] now, was a great old witch, who made enchantments, and lived all alone in the sky in the night. one day she found a flint in a field, and picked her up, and the stone told her that her name was flint. and after a bit she found a small piece of steel, and picked him up, and asked his name, and he replied, "steel" [iron]. she put the two in her pocket, and said to flint, "you must marry master steel." so they did, but one day the two began to quarrel, and steel gave his wife flint a hot one [a severe blow] in the eye, and made sparks fly, and set fire to the old woman's pocket. so she threw the burning pocket up into the sky, and told it to stay there until a man and his wife who had never quarreled should come there. the sparks [from flint's eye] are the stars, and the fire is the sun, and it has not gone out as yet, and it will burn on many a year, for all i know to the contrary. is it true? i was not there. o manush kon jivdas adre o chone (shone). "pen mandy a waver gudlo apa o chone?" avail miri deari. adre o puro chirus butidosta manushia jivvede kushti-bakeno 'dre o chone, sar chichi ta kair awer ta rikker ap o yag so kerela o dud. awer, amen i foki jivdas buti wafodo muleno manush, kon dusherdas te lias witchaben atut sar i waveri deari manushia, te yuv kairedas lis sa's ta shikker lende sar adrom, te chivdas len avri o chone. te kenna o sig o i foki shan jillo, yuv pendas: "kenna akovi dinneli juckalis shan jillo, me te vel jiv mashni te kushto, sar akonyus." awer pash o bitto, o yag ankairdas ta hatch alay, te akovo geero latchdas se yuv ne kamdas ta hatch adre o ratti te merav shillino, yuv sosti ja sarja pa kosht. te kanna i waveri foki shanas adoi, yan ne kerden o rikkaben te wadderin i kashta adre o divvusko chirus, awer kenna asti lel lis sar apre sustis pikkia, sar i ratti, te sar o divvus. sa i foki akai apre o chollo-tem dikena adovo manush keti divvus kenna, sar pordo o koshter te bittered, te muserd te gumeri, te guberin keti leskro noko kokero, te kunerin akonyus pash lestis yag. te i chori mushia te yuv badderedas adrom, yul [yan] jassed sar atut te trustal o hev akai, te adoi, te hatchede up buti pa lender kokeros; te adovi shan i starya, te chirkia, te bitti dudapen tu dikessa sarakai. "se adovo sar tacho?" akovi se kumi te me jinova. awer kanna sa tu penessa me astis dikk o manush dre o chone savo rikkela kasht apre lestes dumo, yuv sosti keravit ta chiv adre o yag, te yuv ne tevel dukker lestes kokero ta kair adovo te yuv sus rumado or lias palyor, sa lis se kammaben adosta o mush chingerd lestis palya te nassered lende sar anduro. tacho. the man who lived in the moon. "tell me another story about the moon." yes, my dear. in the old time many men lived happily in the moon, with nothing to do but keep up the fire which makes the light. but among the folk lived a very wicked, obstinate man, who troubled and hated all the other nice [dear] people, and he managed it so as to drive them all away, and put them out of the moon. and when the mass of the folk were gone, he said, "now those stupid dogs have gone, i will live comfortably and well, all alone." but after a bit the fire began to burn down, and that man found that if he did not want to be in the darkness [night] and die of cold he must go all the time for wood. and when the other people were there, they never did any carrying or splitting wood in the day-time, but now he had to take it all on his shoulders, all night and all day. so the people here on our earth see that man to this day all burdened [full] of wood, and bitter and grumbling to himself, and lurking alone by his fire. and the poor people whom he had driven away went all across and around heaven, here and there, and set up in business for themselves, and they are the stars and planets and lesser lights which you see all about. romany tachipen. taken down accurately from an old gypsy. common dialect, or "half-and-half" language. "rya, tute kams mandy to pukker tute the tachopen--awo? se's a boro or a kusi covva, mandy'll rakker tacho, s'up mi-duvel, apre mi meriben, bengis adre man'nys see if mandy pens a bitto huckaben! an' sa se adduvvel? did mandy ever chore a kani adre mi jiv? and what do the romany chals kair o' the poris, 'cause kekker ever dikked chichi pash of a romany tan? kek rya,--mandy _never_ chored a kani an' adre sixty beshes kenna 'at mandy's been apre the drumyors, an' sar dovo chirus mandy never dikked or shuned or jinned of a romany chal's chorin yeck. what's adduvel tute pens?--that petulengro kaliko divvus penned tute yuv rikkered a yagengeree to muller kanis! avail rya--tacho se aja--the mush penned adre his kokero see _weshni_ kanis. but kek _kairescro_ kanis. romanis kekker chores lendy." gypsy truth. "master, you want me to tell you all the truth,--yes? if it's a big or a little thing, i'll tell the truth, so help me god, upon my life! the devil be in my soul if i tell the least lie! and what is it? did i ever in all my life steal a chicken? and what do the gypsies do with the feathers, because nobody ever saw any near a gypsy tent? never, sir,--i _never_ stole a chicken; and in all the sixty years that i've been on the roads, in all that time i never saw or heard or knew of a gypsy's stealing one. what's that you say?--that petulengro told you yesterday that he carried a gun to kill _chickens_! ah yes, sir,--that is true, too. the man meant in his heart wood chickens [that is, pheasants]. but not _domestic_ chickens. gypsies never steal _them_." { } chovihanipen. "miri diri bibi, me kamava butidiro tevel chovihani. kamava ta dukker geeris te ta jin kunjerni cola. tu sosti sikker mengi sarakovi." "oh miri kamli! vonka tu vissa te vel chovihani, te i gorgie jinena lis, tu lesa buti tugnus. sar i chavi tevel shellavri, te kair a gudli te wusser baria kanna dikena tute, te shyan i bori foki merena tute. awer kushti se ta jin garini covva, kushti se vonka chori churkni juva te sar i sweti chungen' apre, jinela sa ta kair lende wafodopen ta pessur sar lenghis dush. te man tevel sikker tute chomany chovihaneskes. shun! vonka tu kamesa pen o dukkerin, lesa tu sar tiro man { } ta latcher ajafera a manush te manushi lis se. de lende o yack, chiv lis drovan opa lakis yakka tevel se rakli. vonka se pash trasherdo yoi tevel pen buti talla jinaben. kanna tu sos kedo lis sorkon cherus tu astis risser buti dinneli chaia sa tav trustal tiro angushtri. kenna-sig tiri yakka dikena pensa sappa, te vonka tu shan hoini tu tevel dikk pens' o puro beng. o pashno covva miri deari se ta jin sa ta plasser, te kamer, te masher foki. vanka rakli lela chumeni kek-siglo adre lakis mui, tu sastis pen laki adovo sikerela buti bak. kanna lela lulli te safrani balia, pen laki adovo se tatcho sigaben yoi sasti lel buti sonakei. kanna lakis koria wena ketenes, dovo sikerela yoi tevel ketni buti barveli rya. pen sarja vonka tu dikesa o latch apre lakis cham, talla lakis kor, te vaniso, adovos sigaben yoi tevel a bori rani. ma kessur tu ki lo se, 'pre o truppo te pre o bull, pen laki sarja o latch adoi se sigaben o boridirines. hammer laki apre. te dikessa tu yoi lela bitti wastia te bitti piria, pen laki trustal a rye ko se divius pa rinkeni piria, te sa o rinkeno wast anela kumi bacht te rinkno mui. hammerin te kamerin te masherin te shorin shan o pash o dukkerin. se kek rakli te kekno mush adre mi duvel's chollo-tem savo ne se boino te hunkari pa chomani, te si tu astis latcher sa se tu susti lel lender wongur. stastis, latcher sar o rakkerben apre foki. "awer miri bibi, adovos sar hokkanipen. me kamava buti ta sikker tachni chovihanipen. pen mandy si nanei tachi chovahanis, te sa yol dikena." "o tachi chovihani miri chavi, lela yakka pensa chiriclo, o kunsus se rikkeredo apre pensa bongo chiv. buti yahudi, te nebollongeri lena jafri yakka. te cho'hani balia shan rikkerdi pa lakis ankairoben te surri, te adenna risserdi. vonka gorgikani cho'hani lena shelni yakka, adulli shan i trasheni. "me penava tuki chomani sirines. vonka tu latchesa o pori te o sasterni krafni, te anpali tu latchesa cuttor fon papiros, tu sastis chin apre lis sar o pori savo tu kamesa, te ha lis te tu lesa lis. awer tu sasti chin sar tiro noko ratt. si tu latchessa pash o lon-doeyav o boro matcheskro-bar, te o puro curro, chiv lis keti kan, shunesa godli. tevel tastis kana pordo chone peshela, besh sar nangi adre lakis dud hefta ratti, te shundes adre lis, sarrati o gudli te vel tachodiro, te anpale tu shunesa i feris rakerena sig adosta. vonka tu keresa hev sar o bar adre o mulleskri-tan, jasa tu adoi yeck ratti pash a waver te kenna-sig tu shunesa sa i mulia rakerena. sorkon-chirus penena ki lovo se garrido. sastis lel o bar te risser lis apre o mulleskri-tan, talla hev si kedo. "me penava tuki apopli chomani cho'haunes. le vini o sar covva te suverena apre o pani, pa lenia, pa doeyav. te asar i paneskri mullos kon jivena adre o pani rakkerena keti puveskri chovihanis. si manush dikela pano panna, te partan te diklo apre o pani te lela lis, adovo sikela astis lel a pireni, o yuzhior te o kushtidir o partan se, o kushtidir i rakli. si latchesa ran apre o pani, dovo sikela sastis kur tiro wafedo geero. chokka or curro apre o pani penela tu tevel sig atch kamelo sar tiri pireni, te pireno. te safrani ruzhia pa pani dukerena sonaki, te pauni, rupp, te loli, kammaben." "kana latchesa klisin, dovo se buti bacht. vonka haderesa lis apre, pen o manusheskro te rakleskri nav, te yan wena kamlo o tute. butidir bacht si lullo dori te tav. rikker lis, sikela kushti kamaben. man nasher lis avri tiro zi miri chavi." "nanei, bibi, kekker." witchcraft. { } "my dear aunt, i wish very much to be a witch. i would like to enchant people and to know secret things. you can teach me all that." "oh, my darling! if you come to be a witch, and the gentiles know it, you will have much trouble. all the children will cry aloud, and make a noise and throw stones at you when they see you, and perhaps the grown-up people will kill you. but it is nice to know secret things; pleasant for a poor old humble woman whom all the world spits upon to know how to do them evil and pay them for their cruelty. and i _will_ teach you something of witchcraft. listen! when thou wilt tell a fortune, put all thy heart into finding out what kind of a man or woman thou hast to deal with. look [keenly], fix thy glance sharply, especially if it be a girl. when she is half-frightened, she will tell you much without knowing it. when thou shalt have often done this thou wilt be able to twist many a silly girl like twine around thy fingers. soon thy eyes will look like a snake's, and when thou art angry thou wilt look like the old devil. half the business, my dear, is to know how to please and flatter and allure people. when a girl has anything unusual in her face, you must tell her that it signifies extraordinary luck. if she have red or yellow hair, tell her that is a true sign that she will have much gold. when her eyebrows meet, that shows she will be united to many rich gentlemen. tell her always, when you see a mole on her cheek or her forehead or anything, that is a sign she will become a great lady. never mind where it is, on her body,--tell her always that a mole or fleck is a sign of greatness. _praise her up_. and if you see that she has small hands or feet, tell her about a gentleman who is wild about pretty feet, and how a pretty hand brings more luck than a pretty face. praising and petting and alluring and crying-up are half of fortune-telling. there is no girl and no man in all the lord's earth who is not proud and vain about something, and if you can find it out you can get their money. if you can, pick up all the gossip about people." "but, my aunt, that is all humbug. i wish much to learn real witchcraft. tell me if there are no real witches, and how they look." "a real witch, my child, has eyes like a bird, the corner turned up like the point of a curved pointed knife. many jews and un-christians have such eyes. and witches' hairs are drawn out from the beginning [roots] and straight, and then curled [at the ends]. when gentile witches have green eyes they are the most [to be] dreaded. "i will tell you something magical. when you find a pen or an iron nail, and then a piece of paper, you should write on it with the pen all thou wishest, and eat it, and thou wilt get thy wish. but thou must write all in thy own blood. if thou findest by the sea a great shell or an old pitcher [cup, etc.], put it to your ear: you will hear a noise. if you can, when the full moon shines sit quite naked in her light and listen to it; every night the noise will become more distinct, and then thou wilt hear the fairies talking plainly enough. when you make a hole with a stone in a tomb go there night after night, and erelong thou wilt hear what the dead are saying. often they tell where money is buried. you must take a stone and turn it around in the tomb till a hole is there. "i will tell you something more witchly. observe [take care] of everything that swims on water, on rivers or the sea. for so the water-spirits who live in the water speak to the earth's witches. if a man sees cloth on the water and gets it, that shows he will get a sweetheart; the cleaner and nicer the cloth, the better the maid. if you find a staff [stick or rod] on the water, that shows you will beat your enemy. a shoe or cup floating on the water means that you will soon be loved by your sweetheart. and yellow flowers [floating] on the water foretell gold, and white, silver, and red, love. "when you find a key, that is much luck. when you pick [lift it] up, utter a male or female name, and the person will become your own. very lucky is a red string or ribbon. keep it. it foretells happy love. do not let this run away from thy soul, my child." "no, aunt, never." the origin of the gypsies. this chapter contains in abridged form the substance of papers on the origin of the gypsies and their language, read before the london philological society; also of another paper read before the oriental congress at florence in ; and a _resume_ of these published in the london _saturday review_. it has been repeated until the remark has become accepted as a sort of truism, that the gypsies are a mysterious race, and that nothing is known of their origin. and a few years ago this was true; but within those years so much has been discovered that at present there is really no more mystery attached to the beginning of these nomads than is peculiar to many other peoples. what these discoveries or grounds of belief are i shall proceed to give briefly, my limits not permitting the detailed citation of authorities. first, then, there appears to be every reason for believing with captain richard burton that the jats of northwestern india furnished so large a proportion of the emigrants or exiles who, from the tenth century, went out of india westward, that there is very little risk in assuming it as an hypothesis, at least, that they formed the _hauptstamm_ of the gypsies of europe. what other elements entered into these, with whom we are all familiar, will be considered presently. these gypsies came from india, where caste is established and callings are hereditary even among out-castes. it is not assuming too much to suppose that, as they evinced a marked aptitude for certain pursuits and an inveterate attachment to certain habits, their ancestors had in these respects resembled them for ages. these pursuits and habits were that they were tinkers, smiths, and farriers. they dealt in horses, and were naturally familiar with them. they were without religion. they were unscrupulous thieves. their women were fortune-tellers, especially by chiromancy. they ate without scruple animals which had died a natural death, being especially fond of the pig, which, when it has thus been "butchered by god," is still regarded even by prosperous gypsies in england as a delicacy. they flayed animals, carried corpses, and showed such aptness for these and similar detested callings that in several european countries they long monopolized them. they made and sold mats, baskets, and small articles of wood. they have shown great skill as dancers, musicians, singers, acrobats; and it is a rule almost without exception that there is hardly a traveling company of such performers or a theatre, in europe or america, in which there is not at least one person with some romany blood. their hair remains black to advanced age, and they retain it longer than do europeans or ordinary orientals. they speak an aryan tongue, which agrees in the main with that of the jats, but which contains words gathered from other indian sources. this is a consideration of the utmost importance, as by it alone can we determine what was the agglomeration of tribes in india which formed the western gypsy. admitting these as the peculiar pursuits of the race, the next step should be to consider what are the principal nomadic tribes of gypsies in india and persia, and how far their occupations agree with those of the romany of europe. that the jats probably supplied the main stock has been admitted. this was a bold race of northwestern india, which at one time had such power as to obtain important victories over the caliphs. they were broken and dispersed in the eleventh century by mahmoud, many thousands of them wandering to the west. they were without religion, "of the horse, horsey," and notorious thieves. in this they agree with the european gypsy. but they are not habitual eaters of _mullo balor_, or "dead pork;" they do not devour everything like dogs. we cannot ascertain that the jat is specially a musician, a dancer, a mat and basket maker, a rope-dancer, a bear-leader, or a peddler. we do not know whether they are peculiar in india among the indians for keeping their hair unchanged to old age, as do pure-blood english gypsies. all of these things are, however, markedly characteristic of certain different kinds of wanderers, or gypsies, in india. from this we conclude, hypothetically, that the jat warriors were supplemented by other tribes,--chief among these may have been the dom,--and that the jat element has at present disappeared, and been supplanted by the lower type. the doms are a race of gypsies found from central india to the far northern frontier, where a portion of their early ancestry appears as the domarr, and are supposed to be pre-aryan. in "the people of india," edited by j. forbes watson and j. w. kaye (india museum, ), we are told that the appearance and modes of life of the doms indicate a marked difference from those of the people who surround them (in behar). the hindus admit their claim to antiquity. their designation in the shastras is sopuckh, meaning dog-eater. they are wanderers; they make baskets and mats, and are inveterate drinkers of spirits, spending all their earnings on it. they have almost a monopoly as to burning corpses and handling all dead bodies. they eat all animals which have died a natural death, and are particularly fond of pork of this description. "notwithstanding profligate habits, many of them attain the age of eighty or ninety; and it is not till sixty or sixty-five that their hair begins to get white." the domarr are a mountain race, nomads, shepherds, and robbers. travelers speak of them as "gypsies." a specimen which we have of their language would, with the exception of one word, which is probably an error of the transcriber, be intelligible to any english gypsy, and be called pure romany. finally, the ordinary dom calls himself a dom, his wife a domni, and the being a dom, or the collective gypsydom, domnipana. _d_ in hindustani is found as _r_ in english gypsy speech,--_e.g._, _doi_, a wooden spoon, is known in europe as _roi_. now in common romany we have, even in london,-- rom . . . a gypsy. romni . . . a gypsy wife. romnipen . . . gypsydom. of this word _rom_ i shall have more to say. it may be observed that there are in the indian _dom_ certain distinctly-marked and degrading features, characteristic of the european gypsy, which are out of keeping with the habits of warriors, and of a daring aryan race which withstood the caliphs. grubbing in filth as if by instinct, handling corpses, making baskets, eating carrion, being given to drunkenness, does not agree with anything we can learn of the jats. yet the european gypsies are all this, and at the same time "horsey" like the jats. is it not extremely probable that during the "out-wandering" the dom communicated his name and habits to his fellow-emigrants? the marked musical talent characteristic of the slavonian and other european gypsies appears to link them with the luri of persia. these are distinctly gypsies; that is to say, they are wanderers, thieves, fortune-tellers, and minstrels. the shah-nameh of firdusi tells us that about the year a.d. shankal, the maharajah of india, sent to behram gour, a ruler of the sassanian dynasty in persia, ten thousand minstrels, male and female, called _luri_. though lands were allotted to them, with corn and cattle, they became from the beginning irreclaimable vagabonds. of their descendants, as they now exist, sir henry pottinger says:-- "they bear a marked affinity to the gypsies of europe. { } they speak a dialect peculiar to themselves, have a king to each troupe, and are notorious for kidnapping and pilfering. their principal pastimes are drinking, dancing, and music. . . . they are invariably attended by half a dozen of bears and monkeys that are broke in to perform all manner of grotesque tricks. in each company there are always two or three members who profess . . . modes of divining, which procure them a ready admission into every society." this account, especially with the mention of trained bears and monkeys, identifies them with the ricinari, or bear-leading gypsies of syria (also called nuri), turkey, and roumania. a party of these lately came to england. we have seen these syrian ricinari in egypt. they are unquestionably gypsies, and it is probable that many of them accompanied the early migration of jats and doms. the nats or nuts are indian wanderers, who, as dr. j. forbes watson declares, in "the people of india," "correspond to the european gypsy tribes," and were in their origin probably identical with the luri. they are musicians, dancers, conjurers, acrobats, fortune-tellers, blacksmiths, robbers, and dwellers in tents. they eat everything, except garlic. there are also in india the banjari, who are spoken of by travelers as "gypsies." they are traveling merchants or peddlers. among all these wanderers there is a current slang of the roads, as in england. this slang extends even into persia. each tribe has its own, but the name for the generally spoken _lingua franca_ is _rom_. it has never been pointed out, however, by any writer, that there is in northern and central india a distinct tribe, which is regarded, even by the nats and doms and jats themselves, as peculiarly and distinctly gypsy. there are, however, such wanderers, and the manner in which i became aware of their existence was, to say the least, remarkable. i was going one day along the marylebone road when i met a very dark man, poorly clad, whom i took for a gypsy; and no wonder, as his eyes had the very expression of the purest blood of the oldest families. to him i said,-- "_rakessa tu romanes_?" (can you talk gypsy?) "i know what you mean," he answered in english. "you ask me if i can talk gypsy. i know what those people are. but i'm a mahometan hindu from calcutta. i get my living by making curry powder. here is my card." saying this he handed me a piece of paper, with his name written on it: _john nano_. "when i say to you, '_rakessa tu romanes_?' what does it mean?" "it means, 'can you talk rom?' but _rakessa_ is not a hindu word. it's panjabi." i met john nano several times afterwards and visited him in his lodgings, and had him carefully examined and cross-questioned and pumped by professor palmer of cambridge, who is proficient in eastern tongues. he conversed with john in hindustani, and the result of our examination was that john declared he had in his youth lived a very loose life, and belonged to a tribe of wanderers who were to all the other wanderers on the roads in india what regular gypsies are to the english gorgio hawkers and tramps. these people were, he declared, "the _real_ gypsies of india, and just like the gypsies here. people in india called them trablus, which means syrians, but they were full-blood hindus, and not syrians." and here i may observe that this word trablus which is thus applied to syria, is derived from tripoli. john was very sure that his gypsies were indian. they had a peculiar language, consisting of words which were not generally intelligible. "could he remember any of these words?" yes. one of them was _manro_, which meant bread. now _manro_ is all over europe the gypsy word for bread. john nano, who spoke several tongues, said that he did not know it in any indian dialect except in that of his gypsies. these gypsies called themselves and their language _rom_. rom meant in india a real gypsy. and rom was the general slang of the road, and it came from the roms or trablus. once he had written all his autobiography in a book. this is generally done by intelligent mahometans. this manuscript had unfortunately been burned by his english wife, who told us that she had done so "because she was tired of seeing a book lying about which she could not read." reader, think of losing such a life! the autobiography of an indian gypsy,--an abyss of adventure and darksome mysteries, illuminated, it may be, with vivid flashes of dacoitee, while in the distance rumbled the thunder of thuggism! lost, lost, irreparably lost forever! and in this book john had embodied a vocabulary of the real indian romany dialect. nothing was wanting to complete our woe. john thought at first that he had lent it to a friend who had never returned it. but his wife remembered burning it. of one thing john was positive: rom was as distinctively gypsy talk in india as in england, and the trablus are the true romanys of india. what here suggests itself is, how these indian gypsies came to be called _syrian_. the gypsies which roam over syria are evidently of indian origin; their language and physiognomy both declare it plainly. i offer as an hypothesis that bands of gypsies who have roamed from india to syria have, after returning, been called trablus, or syrians, just as i have known germans, after returning from the father-land to america, to be called americans. one thing, however, is at least certain. the rom are the very gypsies of gypsies in india. they are thieves, fortune-tellers, and vagrants. but whether they have or had any connection with the migration to the west we cannot establish. their language and their name would seem to indicate it; but then it must be borne in mind that the word _rom_, like _dom_, is one of wide dissemination, _dum_ being a syrian gypsy word for the race. and the very great majority of even english gypsy words are hindi, with an admixture of persian, and do not belong to a slang of any kind. as in india, _churi_ is a knife, _nak_ the nose, _balia_ hairs, and so on, with others which would be among the first to be furnished with slang equivalents. and yet these very gypsies are _rom_, and the wife is a _romni_, and they use words which are not hindu in common with european gypsies. it is therefore not improbable that in these trablus, so called through popular ignorance, as they are called tartars in egypt and germany, we have a portion at least of the real stock. it is to be desired that some resident in india would investigate the trablus. it will probably be found that they are hindus who have roamed from india to syria and back again, here and there, until they are regarded as foreigners in both countries. next to the word _rom_ itself, the most interesting in romany is _zingan_, or _tchenkan_, which is used in twenty or thirty different forms by the people of every country, except england, to indicate the gypsy. an incredible amount of far-fetched erudition has been wasted in pursuing this philological _ignis fatuus_. that there are leather-working and saddle-working gypsies in persia who call themselves zingan is a fair basis for an origin of the word; but then there are tchangar gypsies of jat affinity in the punjab. wonderful it is that in this war of words no philologist has paid any attention to what the gypsies themselves say about it. what they do say is sufficiently interesting, as it is told in the form of a legend which is intrinsically curious and probably ancient. it is given as follows in "the people of turkey," by a consul's daughter and wife, edited by mr. stanley lane poole, london, : "although the gypsies are not persecuted in turkey, the antipathy and disdain felt for them evinces itself in many ways, and appears to be founded upon a strange legend current in the country. this legend says that when the gypsy nation were driven out of their country (india), and arrived at mekran, they constructed a wonderful machine to which a wheel was attached." from the context of this imperfectly told story, it would appear as if the gypsies could not travel farther until this wheel should revolve:-- "nobody appeared to be able to turn it, till in the midst of their vain efforts some evil spirit presented himself under the disguise of a sage, and informed the chief, whose name was chen, that the wheel would be made to turn only when he had married his sister guin. the chief accepted the advice, the wheel turned round, and the name of the tribe after this incident became that of the combined names of the brother and sister, chenguin, the appellation of all the gypsies of turkey at the present day." the legend goes on to state that in consequence of this unnatural marriage the gypsies were cursed and condemned by a mahometan saint to wander forever on the face of the earth. the real meaning of the myth--for myth it is--is very apparent. _chen_ is a romany word, generally pronounced _chone_, meaning the moon; { a} while _guin_ is almost universally given as _gan_ or _kan_. that is to say, chen-gan or -kan, or zin-kan, is much commoner than chen-guin. now _kan_ is a common gypsy word for the sun. george borrow gives it as such, and i myself have heard romanys call the sun _kan_, though _kam_ is commoner, and is usually assumed to be right. chen-kan means, therefore, moon-sun. and it may be remarked in this connection, that the neighboring roumanian gypsies, who are nearly allied to the turkish, have a wild legend stating that the sun was a youth who, having fallen in love with his own sister, was condemned as the sun to wander forever in pursuit of her, after she was turned into the moon. a similar legend exists in greenland { b} and in the island of borneo, and it was known to the old irish. it is in fact a spontaneous myth, or one of the kind which grow up from causes common to all races. it would be natural, to any imaginative savage, to regard the sun and moon as brother and sister. the next step would be to think of the one as regularly pursuing the other over the heavens, and to this chase an erotic cause would naturally be assigned. and as the pursuit is interminable, the pursuer never attaining his aim, it would be in time regarded as a penance. hence it comes that in the most distant and different lands we have the same old story of the brother and the sister, just as the wild hunter pursues his bride. it was very natural that the gypsies, observing that the sun and moon were always apparently wandering, should have identified their own nomadic life with that of these luminaries. that they have a tendency to assimilate the idea of a wanderer and pilgrim to that of the romany, or to _romanipen_, is shown by the assertion once made to me by an english gypsy that his people regarded christ as one of themselves, because he was always poor, and went wandering about on a donkey, and was persecuted by the gorgios. it may be very rationally objected by those to whom the term "solar myth" is as a red rag, that the story, to prove anything, must first be proved itself. this will probably not be far to seek. everything about it indicates an indian origin, and if it can be found among any of the wanderers in india, it may well be accepted as the possible origin of the greatly disputed word _zingan_. it is quite as plausible as dr. miklosich's very far-fetched derivation from the acingani,--[greek text],--an unclean, heretical christian sect, who dwelt in phrygia and lycaonia from the seventh till the eleventh century. the mention of mekran indicates clearly that the moon story came from india before the romany could have obtained any greek name. and if gypsies call themselves or are called jen-gan, or chenkan, or zingan, in the east, especially if they were so called by persian poets, it is extremely unlikely that they ever received such a name from the gorgios of europe. it is really extraordinary that all the philologists who have toiled to derive the word _zingan_ from a greek or western source have never reflected that if it was applied to the race at an early time in india or persia all their speculations must fall to the ground. one last word of john nano, who was so called from two similar indian words, meaning "the pet of his grandfather." i have in my possession a strange hindu knife, with an enormously broad blade, perhaps five or six inches broad towards the end, with a long handle richly mounted in the purest bronze with a little silver. i never could ascertain till knew him what it had been used for. even the old ex-king of oude, when he examined it, went wrong on it. not so john nano. "i know well enough what that knife is. i have seen it before,--years ago. it is very old, and it was long in use; it was the knife used by the public executioner in bhotan. it is bhotani." by the knife hangs the ivory-handled court-dagger which belonged to francis ii. of france, the first husband of mary queen of scots. i wonder which could tell the strangest story of the past! "it has cut off many a head," said john nano, "and i have seen it before!" i do not think that i have gone too far in attaching importance to the gypsy legend of the origin of the word _chen-kan_ or _zingan_. it is their own, and therefore entitled to preference over the theories of mere scholars; it is indian and ancient, and there is much to confirm it. when i read the substance of this chapter before the philological society of london, prince lucien bonaparte,--who is beyond question a great philologist, and one distinguished for vast research,--who was in the chair, seemed, in his comments on my paper, to consider this sun and moon legend as frivolous. and it is true enough that german symbolizers have given us the sun myth to such an extent that the mere mention of it in philology causes a recoil. then, again, there is the law of humanity that the pioneer, the gatherer of raw material, who is seldom collector and critic together, is always assailed. columbus always gets the chains and amerigo vespucci the glory. but the legend itself is undeniably of the gypsies and indian. it is remarkable that there are certain catch-words, or test-words, among old gypsies with which they try new acquaintances. one of these is _kekkavi_, a kettle; another, _chinamangri_, a bill-hook, or chopper (also a letter), for which there is also another word. but i have found several very deep mothers in sorcery who have given me the word for sun, _kam_, as a precious secret, but little known. now the word really is very well known, but the mystery attached to it, as to _chone_ or _shule_, the moon, would seem to indicate that at one time these words had a peculiar significance. once the darkest-colored english gypsy i ever met, wishing to sound the depth of my romany, asked me for the words for sun and moon, making more account of my knowledge of them than of many more far less known. as it will interest the reader, i will here give the ballad of the sun and the moon, which exists both in romany and roumani, or roumanian, in the translation which i take from "a winter in the city of pleasure" (that is bucharest), by florence k. berger,--a most agreeable book, and one containing two chapters on the tzigane, or gypsies. the sun and the moon. brother, one day the sun resolved to marry. during nine years, drawn by nine fiery horses, he had rolled by heaven and earth as fast as the wind or a flying arrow. but it was in vain that he fatigued his horses. nowhere could he find a love worthy of him. nowhere in the universe was one who equaled in beauty his sister helen, the beautiful helen with silver tresses. the sun went to meet her, and thus addressed her: "my dear little sister helen, helen of the silver tresses, let us be betrothed, for we are made for one another. "we are alike not only in our hair and our features, but also in our beauty. i have locks of gold, and thou hast locks of silver. my face is shining and splendid, and thine is soft and radiant." "o my brother, light of the world, thou who art pure of all stain, one has never seen a brother and sister married together, because it would be a shameful sin." at this rebuke the sun hid himself, and mounted up higher to the throne of god, bent before him, and spoke:-- "lord our father, the time has arrived for me to wed. but, alas! i cannot find a love in the world worthy of me except the beautiful helen, helen of the silver hair!" god heard him, and, taking him by the hand, led him into hell to affright his heart, and then into paradise to enchant his soul. then he spake to him, and while he was speaking the sun began to shine brightly and the clouds passed over:-- "radiant sun! thou who art free from all stain, thou hast been through hell and hast entered paradise. choose between the two." the sun replied, recklessly, "i choose hell, if i may have, for a life, helen, helen of the shining silver hair." the sun descended from the high heaven to his sister helen, and ordered preparation for his wedding. he put on her forehead the waving gold chaplet of the bride, he put on her head a royal crown, he put on her body a transparent robe all embroidered with fine pearls, and they all went into the church together. but woe to him, and woe to her! during the service the lights were extinguished, the bells cracked while ringing, the seats turned themselves upside down, the tower shook to its base, the priests lost their voices, and the sacred robes were torn off their backs. the bride was convulsed with fear. for suddenly, woe to her! an invisible hand grasped her up, and, having borne her on high, threw her into the sea, where she was at once changed into a beautiful silver fish. the sun grew pale and rose into the heaven. then descending to the west, he plunged into the sea to search for his sister helen, helen of the shining silver hair. however, the lord god (sanctified in heaven and upon the earth) took the fish in his hand, cast it forth into the sky, and changed it anew into the moon. then he spoke. and while god was speaking the entire universe trembled, the peaks of the mountains bowed down, and men shivered with fear. "thou, helen of the long silver tresses, and thou resplendent sun, who are both free from all stain, i condemn you for eternity to follow each other with your eyes through space, without being ever able to meet or to reach each other upon the road of heaven. pursue one another for all time in traveling around the skies and lighting up the world." * * * * * fallen from a high estate by sin, wicked, and therefore wandering: it was with such a story of being penitent pilgrims, doomed for a certain space to walk the earth, that the gypsies entered europe from india, into islam and into christendom, each time modifying the story to suit the religion of the country which they invaded. now i think that this sun and moon legend is far from being frivolous, and that it conforms wonderfully well with the famous story which they told to the emperor sigismund and the pope and all europe, that they were destined to wander because they had sinned. when they first entered europe, the gypsies were full of these legends; they told them to everybody; but they had previously told them to themselves in the form of the indian sun and moon story. this was the root whence other stories grew. as the tale of the wandering jew typifies the hebrew, so does this of the sun and moon the romany. a gypsy magic spell. there is a meaningless rhyme, very common among children. it is repeated while counting off those who are taking part in a game, and allotting to each a place. it is as follows:-- "ekkeri akkery u-kery an fillisi', follasy, nicolas john queebee-quabee--irishman. stingle 'em--stangle 'em--buck!" with a very little alteration in sounds, and not more than children make of these verses in different places, this may be read as follows:-- "'ekkeri, akai-ri, you kair--an. filissin follasy. nakelas ja'n. kivi, kavi. irishman. stini--stani--buck!" this is nonsense, of course, but it is romany, or gypsy, and may be translated:-- "first--here--you begin. castle--gloves. you don't play. go on! _kivi_--kettle. how are you? _stini_--buck--buck." the common version of the rhyme begins with:-- "_one_ 'eri--two-ery, ekkeri--an." but one-ry is the _exact_ translation of ekkeri; ek or yek being one. and it is remarkable that in "_hickory_ dickory dock, the rat ran up the clock; the clock struck _one_, and down he run, _hickory_ dickory dock." we have hickory or ekkeri again, followed by a significant _one_. it may be observed that while, the first verses abound in romany words, i can find no trace of any in other child-rhymes of the kind. it is also clear that if we take from the fourth line the _ingle 'em_, _angle 'em_, evidently added for mere jingle, there remains _stan_ or _stani_, "a buck," followed by the very same word in english. with the mournful examples of mr. bellenden kerr's efforts to show that all our old proverbs and tavern signs are dutch, and sir william betham's etruscan-irish, i should be justly regarded as one of the too frequent seekers for mystery in moonshine if i declared that i positively believed this to be romany. yet it is possible that it contains gypsy words, especially "fillissi,' follasy," which mean exactly _chateau_ and gloves, and i think it not improbable that it was once a sham charm used by some romany fortune-teller to bewilder gorgios. let the reader imagine the burnt-sienna wild-cat eyed old sorceress performing before a credulous farm-wife and her children the great ceremony of _hakk'ni panki_, which mr. borrow calls _hokkani boro_, but for which there is a far deeper name,--that of _the great secret_,--which even my best friends among the romany tried to conceal from me. this feat is performed by inducing some woman of largely magnified faith to believe that there is hidden in her house a magic treasure, which can only be made to come to hand by depositing in the cellar another treasure, to which it will come by natural affinity and attraction. "for gold, as you sees, my deari, draws gold, and so if you ties up all your money in a pocket-handkercher and leaves it, you'll find it doubled. an' wasn't there the squire's lady, and didn't she draw two hundred old gold guineas out of the ground where they'd laid in a old grave,--and only one guinea she gave me for all my trouble; an' i hope you'll do better by the poor old gypsy, my deari --- ---." the gold and all the spoons are tied up,--for, as the enchantress observes, there may be silver too,--and she solemnly repeats over it magical rhymes, while the children, standing around in awe, listen to every word. it is a good subject for a picture. sometimes the windows are closed, and candles give the only light. the next day the gypsy comes and sees how the charm is working. could any one look under her cloak he might find another bundle precisely resembling the one containing the treasure. she looks at the precious deposit, repeats her rhyme again, and departs, after carefully charging the housewife that the bundle must not be touched or spoken of for three weeks. "every word you tell about it, my-deari will be a guinea gone away." sometimes she exacts an oath on the bible that nothing shall be said. back to the farmer's wife never again. after three weeks another extraordinary instance of gross credulity appears in the country paper, and is perhaps repeated in a colossal london daily, with a reference to the absence of the school-master. there is wailing and shame in the house,--perhaps great suffering, for it may be that the savings of years have beer swept away. the charm has worked. but the little sharp-eared children remember it and sing it, and the more meaningless it is in their ears the more mysterious does it sound. and they never talk about the bundle, which when opened was found to contain only sticks, stones, and rags, without repeating it. so it goes from mouth to mouth, until, all mutilated, it passes current for even worse nonsense than it was at first. it may be observed, however,--and the remark will be fully substantiated by any one who knows the language,--that there is a romany _turn_ to even the roughest corners of these rhymes. _kivi_, _stingli_, _stangli_, are all gypsyish. but, as i have already intimated, this does not appear in any other nonsense verses of the kind. there is nothing of it in "intery, mintery, cutery corn"-- or in anything else in mother goose. it is alone in its sounds and sense,--or nonsense. but there is not a wanderer of the roads who on hearing it would not explain, "rya, there's a great deal of romanes in that ere." i should also say that the word _na-kelas_ or _ne-kelas_, which i here translate differently, was once explained to me at some length by a gypsy as signifying "not speaking," or "keeping quiet." now the mystery of mysteries of which i have spoken in the romany tongue is this. the _hokkani boro_, or great trick, consists of three parts. firstly, the telling of a fortune, and this is to _pen dukkerin_ or _pen durkerin_. the second part is the conveying away of the property, which is to _lel dudikabin_, or to take lightning, possibly connected with the very old english slang term of _bien lightment_. there is evidently a great confusion of words here. and the third is to "_chiv o manzin apre lati_," or to put the oath upon her, which explains itself. when all the deceived are under oath not to utter a word about the trick, the gypsy mother has "a safe thing of it." the _hokkani boro_, or great trick, was brought by the gypsies from the east. it has been practiced by them all over the world, it is still played every day somewhere. this chapter was written long ago in england. i am now in philadelphia, and here i read in the "press" of this city that a mrs. brown, whom i sadly and reluctantly believe is the wife of an acquaintance of mine, who walks before the world in other names, was arrested for the same old game of fortune-telling and persuading a simple dame that there was treasure in the house, and all the rest of the grand deception. and mrs. brown, good old mrs. brown, went to prison, where she will linger until a bribed alderman, or a purchased pardon, or some one of the numerous devices by which justice is evaded in pennsylvania, delivers her. yet it is not a good country, on the whole, for _hokkani boro_, since the people here, especially in the rural districts, have a rough-and-ready way of inflicting justice which interferes sadly with the profits of aldermen and other politicians. some years ago, in tennessee, a gypsy woman robbed a farmer by the great trick of all he was worth. now it is no slander to say that the rural folk of tennessee greatly resemble indians in certain respects, and when i saw thousands of them, during the war, mustered out in nashville, i often thought, as i studied their dark brown faces, high cheek bones, and long straight black hair, that the american is indeed reverting to the aboriginal type. the tennessee farmer and his neighbors, at any rate, reverted very strongly indeed to the original type when robbed by the gypsies, for they turned out all together, hunted them down, and, having secured the sorceress, burned her alive at the stake. and thus in a single crime and its punishment we have curiously combined a world-old oriental offense, an european middle-age penalty for witchcraft, and the fierce torture of the red indians. shelta, the tinkers' talk. "so good a proficient in one quarter of an hour that i can drink with any tinker in his own language during my life."--_king henry the fourth_. one summer day, in the year , i was returning from a long walk in the beautiful country which lies around bath, when, on the road near the town, i met with a man who had evidently grown up from childhood into middle age as a beggar and a tramp. i have learned by long experience that there is not a so-called "traveler" of england or of the world, be he beggar, tinker, gypsy, or hawker, from whom something cannot be learned, if one only knows how to use the test-glasses and proper reagents. most inquirers are chiefly interested in the morals--or immorals--of these nomads. my own researches as regards them are chiefly philological. therefore, after i had invested twopence in his prospective beer, i addressed him in romany. of course he knew a little of it; was there ever an old "traveler" who did not? "but we are givin' romanes up very fast,--all of us is," he remarked. "it is a gettin' to be too blown. everybody knows some romanes now. but there _is_ a jib that ain't blown," he remarked reflectively. "back slang an' cantin' an' rhymin' is grown vulgar, and italian always _was_ the lowest of the lot; thieves _kennick_ is genteel alongside of organ-grinder's lingo, you know. do _you_ know anythin' of italian, sir?" "i can _rakker_ it pretty _flick_" (talk it tolerably), was my reply. "well i should never a _penned_ [thought] sitch a swell gent as you had been down so low in the slums. now _romanes_ is genteel. i heard there's actilly a book about romanes to learn it out of. but as for this other jib, its wery hard to talk. it is most all old irish, and they calls it shelter." this was all that i could learn at that time. it did not impress me much, as i supposed that the man merely meant old irish. a year went by, and i found myself at aberystwith, the beautiful sea-town in wales, with my friend professor palmer--a palmer who has truly been a pilgrim _outre-mer_, even by galilee's wave, and dwelt as an arab in the desert. one afternoon we were walking together on that end of the beach which is the antithesis of the old norman castle; that is, at the other extremity of the town, and by the rocks. and here there was a little crowd, chiefly of young ladies, knitting and novel-reading in the sun, or watching children playing on the sand. all at once there was an alarm, and the whole party fled like partridges, skurrying along and hiding under the lee of the rocks. for a great rock right over our heads was about to be blasted. so the professor and i went on and away, but as we went we observed an eccentric and most miserable figure crouching in a hollow like a little cave to avoid the anticipated falling stones. "_dikk o dovo mush adoi a gavverin lester kokero_!" (look at that man there, hiding himself!) said the professor in romanes. he wished to call attention to the grotesque figure without hurting the poor fellow's feelings. "_yuv's atrash o' ye baryia_" (he is afraid of the stones), i replied. the man looked up. "i know what you're saying, gentlemen. that's romany." "jump up, then, and come along with us." he followed. we walked from rock to rock, and over the sand by the sea, to a secluded nook under a cliff. then, seated around a stone table, we began our conversation, while the ocean, like an importunate beggar, surfed and foamed away, filling up the intervals with its mighty roaring language, which poets only understand or translate:-- "thus far, and then no more:" such language speaks the sounding sea to the waves upon the shore. our new acquaintance was ragged and disreputable. yet he held in his hand a shilling copy of "helen's babies," in which were pressed some fern leaves. "what do you do for a living?" i asked. "_shelkin gallopas_ just now," he replied. "and what is that?" "selling ferns. don't you understand? that's what we call it in _minklers thari_. that's tinkers' language. i thought as you knew romanes you might understand it. the right name for it is _shelter_ or _shelta_." out came our note-books and pencils. so this was the _shelter_ of which i had heard. he was promptly asked to explain what sort of a language it was. "well, gentlemen, you must know that i have no great gift for languages. i never could learn even french properly. i can conjugate the verb _etre_,--that is all. i'm an ignorant fellow, and very low. i've been kicked out of the lowest slums in whitechapel because i was too much of a blackguard for 'em. but i know rhyming slang. do you know lord john russell?" "well, i know a little of rhyming, but not that." "why, it rhymes to _bustle_." "i see. _bustle_ is to pick pockets." "yes, or anything like it, such as ringing the changes." here the professor was "in his plate." he knows perfectly how to ring the changes. it is effected by going into a shop, asking for change for a sovereign, purchasing some trifling article, then, by ostensibly changing your mind as to having the change, so bewilder the shopman as to cheat him out of ten shillings. it is easily done by one who understands it. the professor does not practice this art for the lucre of gain, but he understands it in detail. and of this he gave such proofs to the tramp that the latter was astonished. "a tinker would like to have a wife who knows as much of that as you do," he remarked. "no woman is fit to be a tinker's wife who can't make ten shillings a day by _glantherin_. _glantherin_ or _glad'herin_ is the correct word in shelter for ringing the changes. as for the language, i believe it's mostly gaelic, but it's mixed up with romanes and canting or thieves' slang. once it was the common language of all the old tinkers. but of late years the old tinkers' families are mostly broken up, and the language is perishing." then he proceeded to give us the words in shelta, or minklers thari. they were as follows:-- shelkin gallopas selling ferns. soobli, soobri brother, friend--a man. bewr woman. gothlin or goch'thlin child. young bewr girl. durra, or derra bread. pani water (romany). stiff a warrant (common cant). yack a watch (cant, _i.e._ bull's eye, _yack_, an eye in romany). mush-faker umbrella mender. mithani (mithni) policeman. ghesterman (ghesti) magistrate. needi-mizzler a tramp. dinnessy cat. stall go, travel. biyeghin stealing. biyeg to steal. biyeg th'eenik to steal the thing. crack a stick. monkery country. prat stop, stay, lodge. ned askan lodging. glantherin (glad'herin) money, swindling. this word has a very peculiar pronunciation. sauni or sonni see. strepuck (reepuck) a harlot. strepuck lusk, luthrum's gothlin son of a harlot. kurrb yer pee punch your head or face. pee face. borers and jumpers tinkers' tools. borers gimlets. jumpers cranks. ogles eyes (common slang). nyock head. nyock a penny. odd two. midgic a shilling. nyo(d)ghee a pound. sai, sy sixpence. charrshom, cherrshom, tusheroon a crown. tre-nyock threepence. tripo-rauniel a pot of beer. thari, bug talk. can you thari shelter? can you bug shelta? can you talk tinkers' language? shelter, shelta tinker's slang. larkin girl. curious as perhaps indicating an affinity between the hindustani _larki_, a girl, and the gypsy _rakli_. snips scissors (slang). dingle fakir a bell-hanger. dunnovans potatoes. fay (_vulgarly_ fee) meat. our informant declared that there are vulgar forms of certain words. gladdher ring the changes (cheat in change). "no minkler would have a bewr who couldn't gladdher." reesbin prison. tre-moon three months, a 'drag.' rauniel, runniel beer. max spirits (slang). chiv knife. (romany, a pointed knife, _i.e. tongue_.) thari to speak or tell. "i tharied the soobri i sonnied him." (i told the man i saw him.) mushgraw. our informant did not know whether this word, of romany origin, meant, in shelta, policeman or magistrate. scri, scree to write. our informant suggested _scribe_ as the origin of this word. reader a writ. "you're readered soobri." (you are put in the "police gazette," friend.) our informant could give only a single specimen of the shelta literature. it was as follows:-- "my name is barney mucafee, with my borers and jumpers down to my thee (thigh). an' it's forty miles i've come to kerrb yer pee." this vocabulary is, as he declared, an extremely imperfect specimen of the language. he did not claim to speak it well. in its purity it is not mingled with romany or thieves' slang. perhaps some student of english dialects may yet succeed in recovering it all. the pronunciation of many of the words is singular, and very different from english or romany. just as the last word was written down, there came up a woman, a female tramp of the most hardened kind. it seldom happens that gentlemen sit down in familiar friendly converse with vagabonds. when they do they are almost always religious people, anxious to talk with the poor for the good of their souls. the talk generally ends with a charitable gift. such was the view (as the vagabond afterwards told us) which she took of our party. i also infer that she thought we must be very verdant and an easy prey. almost without preliminary greeting she told us that she was in great straits,--suffering terribly,--and appealed to the man for confirmation, adding that if we would kindly lend her a sovereign it should be faithfully repaid in the morning. the professor burst out laughing. but the fern-collector gazed at her in wrath and amazement. "i say, old woman," he cried; "do you know who you're _rakkerin_ [speaking] to? this here gentleman is one of the deepest romany ryes [gypsy gentlemen] a-going. and that there one could _gladdher_ you out of your eye-teeth." she gave one look of dismay,--i shall never forget that look,--and ran away. the witch had chanced upon arbaces. i think that the tramp had been in his time a man in better position. he was possibly a lawyer's clerk who had fallen into evil ways. he spoke english correctly when not addressing the beggar woman. there was in aberystwith at the same time another fern-seller, an elderly man, as wretched and as ragged a creature as i ever met. yet he also spoke english purely, and could give in latin the names of all the plants which he sold. i have always supposed that the tinkers' language spoken of by shakespeare was romany; but i now incline to think it may have been shelta. time passed, and "the levis grene" had fallen thrice from the trees, and i had crossed the sea and was in my native city of philadelphia. it was a great change after eleven years of europe, during ten of which i had "homed," as gypsies say, in england. the houses and the roads were old-new to me; there was something familiar-foreign in the voices and ways of those who had been my earliest friends; the very air as it blew hummed tunes which had lost tones in them that made me marvel. yet even here i soon found traces of something which is the same all the world over, which goes ever on "as of ever," and that was the wanderer of the road. near the city are three distinct gypsyries, where in summer-time the wagon and the tent may be found; and ever and anon, in my walks about town, i found interesting varieties of vagabonds from every part of europe. italians of the most bohemian type, who once had been like angels,--and truly only in this, that their visits of old were few and far between,--now swarmed as fruit dealers and boot-blacks in every lane; germans were of course at home; czechs, or slavs, supposed to be germans, gave unlimited facilities for slavonian practice; while tinkers, almost unknown in , had in become marvelously common, and strange to say were nearly all austrians of different kinds. and yet not quite all, and it was lucky for me they were not. for one morning, as i went into the large garden which lies around the house wherein i wone, i heard by the honeysuckle and grape-vine a familiar sound,--suggestive of the road and romanys and london, and all that is most traveler-esque. it was the tap, tap, tap of a hammer and the clang of tin, and i knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled at the end of the garden a tinker was near. and i advanced to him, and as he glanced up and greeted, i read in his irish face long rambles on the roads. "good-morning!" "good-mornin', sorr!" "you're an old traveler?" "i am, sorr." "can you rakker romanes?" "i can, sorr!" "_pen yer nav_." (tell your name.) "owen ---, sorr." a brief conversation ensued, during which we ascertained that we had many friends in common in the _puro tem_ or ould country. all at once a thought struck me, and i exclaimed,-- "do you know any other languages?" "yes, sorr: ould irish an' welsh, an' a little gaelic." "that's all?" "yes, sorr, all av thim." "all but one?" "an' what's that wan, sorr?" "can you _thari shelta_, _subli_?" no tinker was ever yet astonished at anything. if he could be he would not be a tinker. if the coals in his stove were to turn to lumps of gold in a twinkle, he would proceed with leisurely action to rake them out and prepare them for sale, and never indicate by a word or a wink that anything remarkable had occurred. but owen the tinker looked steadily at me for an instant, as if to see what manner of man i might be, and then said,-- "_shelta_, is it? an' i can talk it. an' there's not six min livin' as can talk it as i do." "do you know, i think it's very remarkable that you can talk shelta." "an' begorra, i think it's very remarkable, sorr, that ye should know there is such a language." "will you give me a lesson?" "troth i will." i went into the house and brought out a note-book. one of the servants brought me a chair. owen went on soldering a tin dish, and i proceeded to take down from him the following list of words in _shelta_: theddy fire (_theinne_. irish). strawn tin. blyhunka horse. leicheen girl. soobli male, man. binny soobli boy. binny small. chimmel stick. gh'ratha, grata hat. griffin, or gruffin coat. respes trousers. gullemnocks shoes. grascot waistcoat. skoich, or skoi button. numpa sovereign, one pound. gorhead, or godhed money. merrih nose (?). nyock head. graigh hair. kaine, or kyni ears (romany, _kan_). melthog inner shirt. medthel black. cunnels potatoes. faihe, or feye meat (_feoil_. gaelic). muogh pig (_muck_. irish). miesli, misli to go (origin of "mizzle"?) mailyas, or moillhas fingers (_meirleach_, stealers gaelic). shaidyog policeman. respun to steal. shoich water, blood, liquid. alemnoch milk. raglan, or reglan hammer. goppa furnace, smith (_gobha_, a smith. gaelic). terry a heating-iron. khoi pincers. chimmes (compare _chimmel_) wood or stick. mailyas arms. koras legs (_cos_, leg. gaelic). skoihopa whisky. bulla (_ull_ as in _gull_) a letter. thari word, language. mush umbrella (slang). lyesken cherps telling fortunes. loshools flowers (_lus_, erb or flower? gaelic). dainoch to lose. chaldroch knife (_caldock_, sharply pointed. gaelic). bog to get. masheen cat. cambra dog. laprogh goose, duck. kaldthog hen. rumogh egg. kiena house (_ken_, old gypsy and modern cant). rawg wagon. gullemnoch shoes. analt to sweep, to broom. analken to wash. d'erri bread. r'ghoglin (gogh'leen) to laugh. kradyin to stop, stay, sit, lodge, remain. oura town. lashool nice (_lachool_. irish). moinni, or moryeni good (_min_, pleasant. gaelic). moryenni yook good man. gyami bad (_cam_. gaelic). probably the origin of the common canting term _gammy_, bad. ishkimmisk drunk (_misgeach_. gaelic) roglan a four-wheeled vehicle. lorch a two-wheeled vehicle. smuggle anvil. granya nail. riaglon iron. gushuk vessel of any kind. tedhi, thedi coal; fuel of any kind. grawder solder. tanyok halfpenny. (query _tani_, little, romany, and _nyok_, a head.) chlorhin to hear. sunain to see. salkaneoch to taste, take. mailyen to feel (_cumail_, to hold. gaelic). crowder string. sobye (?) mislain raining (mizzle?). goo-ope, guop cold. skoichen rain. thomyok magistrate. shadyog police. bladhunk prison. bogh to get. salt arrested, taken. straihmed a year. gotherna, guttema policeman. [a very rare old word.] dyukas, or jukas gorgio, gentile; one not of the class. misli coming, to come, to send. to my-deal to me. lychyen people. grannis know. skolaia to write. skolaiyami a good scholar. nyok head. lurk eye. menoch nose. glorhoch ear. koris feet. tashi shingomai to read the newspaper. gorheid money. tomgarheid (_i.e._ big money) gold. skawfer, skawper silver. tomnumpa bank-note. terri coal. ghoi put. nyadas table. kradyin being, lying. tarryin rope. kor'heh box. miseli quick. krad'hyi slow. th-mddusk door. khaihed chair (_khahir_. irish). bord table. grainyog window. rumog egg. aidh butter. okonneh a priest. thus explained in a very irish manner: "_okonneh_, or _koony_, _is_ a _sacred_ man, and _kuni_ in romany means secret. an' sacret and sacred, sure, are all the same." shliema smoke, pipe. munches tobacco. khadyogs stones. yiesk fish (_iasg_. gaelic). cab cabbage. cherpin book. this appears to be vulgar. _llyower_ was on second thought declared to be the right word. (_leabhar_, gaelic.) misli dainoch to write a letter; to write; that is, send or go. misli to my bewr write to my woman. gritche dinner. gruppa supper. goihed to leave, lay down. lurks eyes. ainoch thing. clisp to fall, let fall. clishpen to break by letting fall. guth, gut black. gothni, gachlin child. styemon rat. krepoch cat. grannien with child. loshub sweet. shum to own. l'yogh to lose. crimum sheep. khadyog stone. nglou nail. gial yellow, red. talosk weather. laprogh bird. madel tail. carob to cut. lubran, luber to hit. thom violently. mish it thom hit it hard. subli, or soobli man (_siublach_, a vagrant. gaelic). there you are, readers! make good cheer of it, as panurge said of what was beyond him. for what this language really is passeth me and mine. of celtic origin it surely is, for owen gave me every syllable so garnished with gutturals that i, being even less of one of the celtes than a chinaman, have not succeeded in writing a single word according to his pronunciation of it. thus even minklers sounds more like _minkias_, or _pikias_, as he gave it. to the foregoing i add the numerals and a few phrases:-- hain, or heen one. do two. tri three. ch'air, or k'hair four. cood five. she, or shay six. schaacht, or schach' seven. ocht eight. ayen, or nai nine. dy'ai, djai, or dai ten. hinniadh eleven. do yed'h twelve. trin yedh thirteen. k'hair yedh, etc. fourteen, etc. tat 'th chesin ogomsa that belongs to me. grannis to my deal it belongs to me. dioch maa krady in in this nadas i am staying here. tash emilesh he is staying there. boghin the brass cooking the food. my deal is mislin i am going. the nidias of the kiena don't the people of the house don't know granny what we're a tharyin what we're saying. this was said within hearing of and in reference to a bevy of servants, of every hue save white, who were in full view in the kitchen, and who were manifestly deeply interested and delighted in our interview, as well as in the constant use of my note-book, and our conference in an unknown tongue, since owen and i spoke frequently in romany. that bhoghd out yer mailya you let that fall from your hand. i also obtained a verse of a ballad, which i may not literally render into pure english:-- "cosson kailyah corrum me morro sari, me gul ogalyach mir; rahet manent trasha moroch me tu sosti mo diele." "coming from galway, tired and weary, i met a woman; i'll go bail by this time to-morrow, you'll have had enough of me." _me tu sosti_, "thou shalt be (of) me," is romany, which is freely used in shelta. the question which i cannot solve is, on which of the celtic languages is this jargon based? my informant declares that it is quite independent of old irish, welsh, or gaelic. in pronunciation it appears to be almost identical with the latter; but while there are gaelic words in it, it is certain that much examination and inquiry have failed to show that it is contained in that language. that it is "the talk of the ould picts--thim that built the stone houses like beehives"--is, i confess, too conjectural for a philologist. i have no doubt that when the picts were suppressed thousands of them must have become wandering outlaws, like the romany, and that their language in time became a secret tongue of vagabonds on the roads. this is the history of many such lingoes; but unfortunately owen's opinion, even if it be legendary, will not prove that the painted people spoke the shelta tongue. i must call attention, however, to one or two curious points. i have spoken of shelta as a jargon; but it is, in fact, a language, for it can be spoken grammatically and without using english or romany. and again, there is a corrupt method of pronouncing it, according to english, while correctly enunciated it is purely celtic in sound. more than this i have naught to say. shelta is perhaps the last old british dialect as yet existing which has thus far remained undiscovered. there is no hint of it in john camden hotten's slang dictionary, nor has it been recognized by the dialect society. mr. simson, had he known the "tinklers" better, would have found that not romany, but shelta, was the really secret language which they employed, although romany is also more or less familiar to them all. to me there is in it something very weird and strange. i cannot well say why; it seems as if it might be spoken by witches and talking toads, and uttered by the druid stones, which are fabled to come down by moonlight to the water-side to drink, and who will, if surprised during their walk, answer any questions. anent which i would fain ask my spiritualist friends one which i have long yearned to put. since you, my dear ghost-raisers, can call spirits from the vasty deep of the outside-most beyond, will you not--having many millions from which to call--raise up one of the pictish race, and, having brought it in from the _ewigkeit_, take down a vocabulary of the language? let it be a lady _par preference_,--the fair being by far the more fluent in words. moreover, it is probable that as the picts were a painted race, woman among them must have been very much to the fore, and that madame rachels occupied a high position with rouge, enamels, and other appliances to make them young and beautiful forever. according to southey, the british blue-stocking is descended from these woad-stained ancestresses, which assertion dimly hints at their having been literary. in which case, _voila notre affaire_! for then the business would be promptly done. wizards of the secret spells, i adjure ye, raise me a pictess for the sake of philology--and the picturesque! footnotes: { } from the observations of frederic drew (_the northern barrier of india_, london, ) there can be little doubt that the dom, or dum, belong to the pre-aryan race or races of india. "they are described in the shastras as sopukh, or dog-eaters" (_types of india_). i have somewhere met with the statement that the dom was pre-aryan, but allowed to rank as hindoo on account of services rendered to the early conquerors. { } up-stairs in this gentleman's dialect signified up or upon, like _top_ pidgin-english. { } _puccasa_, sanskrit. low, inferior. given by pliny e. chase in his _sanskrit analogues_ as the root-word for several inferior animals. { } _a trip up the volga to the fair of nijni-novgovod_. by h. a. munro butler johnstone. . { } _seven years in the deserts of america_. { } in old english romany this is called _dorrikin_; in common parade, _dukkerin_. both forms are really old. { } flower-flag-nation man; that is, american. { a} _leadee_, reads. { b} _dly_, dry. { c} _lun_, run. { } diamonds true. _o latcho bar_ (in england, _tatcho bar_), "the true or real stone," is the gypsy for a diamond. { } within a mile, maginn lies buried, without a monument. { } _mashing_, a word of gypsy origin (_mashdva_), meaning fascination by the eye, or taking in. { } goerres, _christliche mystik_, i. . . . { } _the saxons in england_, i. . { } _peru urphu_! "increase and multiply!" _vide_ bodenschatz _kirchliche verfassung der juden_, part iv. ch. , sect. . { } _the past in the present_, part , lect. { } _yoma_, fol. , col. . { } _zimbel_. the cymbal of the austrian gypsies is a stringed instrument, like the zitter. { } _crocus_, in common slang an itinerant quack, mountebank, or seller of medicine; _pitcher_, a street dealer. { } a brief _resume_ of the most characteristic gypsy mode of obtaining property. { } lady, in gypsy _rani_. the process of degradation is curiously marked in this language. _rani_ (_rawnee_), in hindi, is a queen. _rye_, or _rae_, a gentleman, in its native land, is applicable to a nobleman, while _rashai_, a clergyman, even of the smallest dissenting type, rises in the original _rishi_ to a saint of the highest order. { } this was the very same affair and the same gypsies described and mentioned on page of _in gypsy tents_, by francis hindes groome, edinburgh, . i am well acquainted with them. { } _primulaveris_: in german _schlussel blume_, that is, key flowers; also mary's-keys and keys of heaven. both the primrose and tulip are believed in south germany to be an open sesame to hidden treasure. { } omar khayyam, _rubaiyat_. { } _johnnykin and the goblins_. london: macmillan. { a} vide _journal of the royal asiatic society_, vol. xvi. part , p. . { b} _die zigeuner_. { a} _the dialect of the english gypsies_. { b} i beg the reader to bear it in mind that all this is literally as it was given by an old gypsy, and that i am not responsible for its accuracy or inaccuracy. { a} literally, the earth-sewer. { b} _kali foki_. _kalo_ means, as in hindustani, not only black, but also lazy. pronounced _kaw-lo_. { a} _gorgio_. gentile; any man not a gypsy. possibly from _ghora aji_ "master white man," hindu. used as _goi_ is applied by hebrews to the unbelievers. { b} _romeli_, _rom'ni_. wandering, gypsying. it is remarkable that _remna_, in hindu, means to roam. { } _chollo-tem_. whole country, world. { } there is a great moral difference, not only in the gypsy mind, but in that of the peasant, between stealing and poaching. but in fact, as regards the appropriation of poultry of any kind, a young english gypsy has neither more nor less scruple than other poor people of his class. { } _man lana_, hindostani: to set the heart upon. _manner_, eng. gyp.: to encourage; also, to forbid. { } _chovihan_, m., _chovihani_, fem., often _cho'ian_ or _cho'ani_, a witch. probably from the hindu _'toanee_, a witch, which has nearly the same pronunciation as the english gypsy word. { } _travels in beloochistan and scinde_, p. . { a} english gypsies also call the moon _shul_ and _shone_. { b} _tales and traditions of the eskimo_, by dr. henry rink. london , p. . language*** transcribed from the trubner & co. edition by david price, email ccx @coventry.ac.uk the english gipsies and their language by charles g. leland author of "hans breitmann's ballads," "the music lesson of confucius," etc. etc. second edition london trubner & co., & ludgate hill [_all rights reserved_] preface. as author of this book, i beg leave to observe that all which is stated in it relative to the customs or peculiarities of gipsies _was gathered directly from gipsies themselves_; and that every word of their language here given, whether in conversations, stories, or sayings, was taken from gipsy mouths. while entertaining the highest respect for the labours of mr george borrow in this field, i have carefully avoided repeating him in the least detail; neither have i taken anything from simson, hoyland, or any other writer on the rommany race in england. whatever the demerits of the work may be, it can at least claim to be an original collection of material fresh from nature, and not a reproduction from books. there are, it is true, two german gipsy letters from other works, but these may be excused as illustrative of an english one. i may here in all sincerity speak kindly and gratefully of every true gipsy i have ever met, and of the cheerfulness with which they have invariably assisted me in my labour to the extent of their humble abilities. other writers have had much to say of their incredible distrust of _gorgios_ and unwillingness to impart their language, but i have always found them obliging and communicative. i have never had occasion to complain of rapacity or greediness among them; on the contrary, i have often wondered to see how the great want of such very poor people was generally kept in check by their natural politeness, which always manifests itself when they are treated properly. in fact, the first effort which i ever made to acquire a knowledge of english rommany originated in a voluntary offer from an intelligent old dame to teach me "the old egyptian language." and as she also suggested that i should set forth the knowledge which i might acquire from her and her relatives in a book (referring to mr borrow's having done so), i may hold myself fully acquitted from the charge of having acquired and published anything which my gipsy friends would not have had made known to the public. mr borrow has very well and truly said that it is not by passing a few hours among gipsies that one can acquire a knowledge of their characteristics; and i think that this book presents abundant evidence that its contents were not gathered by slight and superficial intercourse with the rommany. it is only by entering gradually and sympathetically, without any parade of patronage, into a familiar knowledge of the circumstances of the common life of humble people, be they gipsies, indians, or whites, that one can surprise unawares those little inner traits which constitute the _characteristic_. however this may be, the reader will readily enough understand, on perusing these pages--possibly much better than i do myself--how it was i was able to collect whatever they contain that is new. the book contains some remarks on that great curious centre and secret of all the nomadic and vagabond life in england, the rommany, with comments on the fact, that of the many novel or story-writers who have described the "travellers" of the roads, very few have penetrated the real nature of their life. it gives several incidents illustrating the character of the gipsy, and some information of a very curious nature in reference to the respect of the english gipsies for their dead, and the strange manner in which they testify it. i believe that this will be found to be fully and distinctly illustrated by anecdotes and a narrative in the original gipsy language, with a translation. there is also a chapter containing in rommany and english a very characteristic letter from a full-blood gipsy to a relative, which was dictated to me, and which gives a sketch of the leading incidents of gipsy life--trading in horses, fortune-telling, and cock-shying. i have also given accounts of conversations with gipsies, introducing in their language and in english their own remarks (noted down by me) on certain curious customs; among others, on one which indicates that many of them profess among themselves a certain regard for our saviour, because his birth and life appear to them to be like that of the rommany. there is a collection of a number of words now current in vulgar english which were probably derived from gipsy, such as row, shindy, pal, trash, bosh, and niggling, and finally a number of _gudli_ or short stories. these _gudli_ have been regarded by my literary friends as interesting and curious, since they are nearly all specimens of a form of original narrative occupying a middle ground between the anecdote and fable, and abounding in gipsy traits. some of them are given word for word as they are current among gipsies, and others owe their existence almost entirely either to the vivid imagination and childlike fancies of an old gipsy assistant, or were developed from some hint or imperfect saying or story. but all are thoroughly and truly rommany; for every one, after being brought into shape, passed through a purely "unsophisticated" gipsy mind, and was finally declared to be _tacho_, or sound, by real rommanis. the truth is, that it is a difficult matter to hear a story among english gipsies which is not mangled or marred in the telling; so that to print it, restitution and invention become inevitable. but with a man who lived in a tent among the gorse and fern, and who intermitted his earnest conversation with a little wooden bear to point out to me the gentleman on horseback riding over the two beautiful little girls in the flowers on the carpet, such fables as i have given sprang up of themselves, owing nothing to books, though they often required the influence of a better disciplined mind to guide them to a consistent termination. the rommany english vocabulary which i propose shall follow this work is many times over more extensive than any ever before published, and it will also be found interesting to all philologists by its establishing the very curious fact that this last wave of the primitive aryan-indian ocean which spread over europe, though it has lost the original form in its subsidence and degradation, consists of the same substance--or, in other words, that although the grammar has wellnigh disappeared, the words are almost without exception the same as those used in india, germany, hungary, or turkey. it is generally believed that english gipsy is a mere jargon of the cant and slang of all nations, that of england predominating; but a very slight examination of the vocabulary will show that during more than three hundred years in england the rommany have not admitted a single english word to what they correctly call their language. i mean, of course, so far as my own knowledge of rommany extends. to this at least i can testify, that the gipsy to whom i was principally indebted for words, though he often used "slang," invariably discriminated correctly between it and rommany; and i have often admired the extraordinary pride in their language which has induced the gipsies for so many generations to teach their children this difference. { a} almost every word which my assistant declared to be gipsy i have found either in hindustani or in the works of pott, liebich, or paspati. on this subject i would remark by the way, that many words which appear to have been taken by the gipsies from modern languages are in reality indian. and as i have honestly done what i could to give the english reader fresh material on the gipsies, and not a rewarming of that which was gathered by others, i sincerely trust that i may not be held to sharp account (as the authors of such books very often are) for not having given more or done more or done it better than was really in my power. gipsies in england are passing away as rapidly as indians in north america. they keep among themselves the most singular fragments of their oriental origin; they abound in quaint characteristics, and yet almost nothing is done to preserve what another generation will deeply regret the loss of. there are complete dictionaries of the dacotah and many other american indian languages, and every detail of the rude life of those savages has been carefully recorded; while the autobiographic romances of mr borrow and mr simson's history contain nearly all the information of any value extant relative to the english gipsies. yet of these two writers, mr borrow is the only one who had, so to speak, an inside view of his subject, or was a philologist. in conclusion i would remark, that if i have not, like many writers on the poor gipsies, abused them for certain proverbial faults, it has been because they never troubled me with anything very serious of the kind, or brought it to my notice; and i certainly never took the pains to hunt it up to the discredit of people who always behaved decently to me. i have found them more cheerful, polite, and grateful than the lower orders of other races in europe or america; and i believe that where their respect and sympathy are secured, they are quite as upright. like all people who are regarded as outcasts, they are very proud of being trusted, and under this influence will commit the most daring acts of honesty. and with this i commend my book to the public. should it be favourably received, i will add fresh reading to it; in any case i shall at least have the satisfaction of knowing that i did my best to collect material illustrating a very curious and greatly-neglected subject. it is merely as a collection of material that i offer it; let those who can use it, do what they will with it. if i have not given in this book a sketch of the history of the gipsies, or statistics of their numbers, or accounts of their social condition in different countries, it is because nearly everything of the kind may be found in the works of george borrow and walter simson, which are in all respectable libraries, and may be obtained from any bookseller. i would remark to any impatient reader for mere entertainment, who may find fault with the abundance of rommany or gipsy language in the following pages, that _the principal object of the author was to collect and preserve such specimens of a rapidly-vanishing language_, and that the title-page itself indirectly indicates such an object. i have, however, invariably given with the gipsy a translation immediately following the text in plain english--at times very plain--in order that the literal meaning of words may be readily apprehended. i call especial attention to this fact, so that no one may accuse me of encumbering my pages with rommany. while writing this book, or in fact after the whole of the first part was written, i passed a winter in egypt; and as that country is still supposed by many people to be the fatherland of the gipsies, and as very little is known relative to the rommany there, i have taken the liberty of communicating what i could learn on the subject, though it does not refer directly to the gipsies of england. those who are interested in the latter will readily pardon the addition. there are now in existence about three hundred works on the gipsies, but of the entire number comparatively few contain fresh material gathered from the rommany themselves. of late years the first philologists of europe have taken a great interest in their language, which is now included in "die sprachen europas" as the only indian tongue spoken in this quarter of the world; and i believe that english gipsy is really the only strongly-distinct rommany dialect which has never as yet been illustrated by copious specimens or a vocabulary of any extent. i therefore trust that the critical reader will make due allowances for the very great difficulties under which i have laboured, and not blame me for not having done better that which, so far as i can ascertain, would possibly not have been done at all. within the memory of man the popular rommany of this country was really grammatical; that which is now spoken, and from which i gathered the material for the following pages, is, as the reader will observe, almost entirely english as to its structure, although it still abounds in hindu words to a far greater extent than has been hitherto supposed. chapter i. introductory. the rommany of the roads.--the secret of vagabond life in england.--its peculiar and thoroughly hidden nature.--gipsy character and the causes which formed it.--moral results of hungry marauding.--gipsy ideas of religion. the scripture story of the seven whistlers.--the baker's daughter.--difficulties of acquiring rommany.--the fable of the cat.--the chinese, the american indian, and the wandering gipsy. although the valuable and curious works of mr george borrow have been in part for more than twenty years before the british public, { } it may still be doubted whether many, even of our scholars, are aware of the remarkable, social, and philological facts which are connected with an immense proportion of our out-of-door population. there are, indeed, very few people who know, that every time we look from the window into a crowded street, the chances are greatly in favour of the assertion, that we shall see at least one man who bears in his memory some hundreds of sanscrit roots, and that man english born; though it was probably in the open air, and english bred, albeit his breeding was of the roads. for go where you will, though you may not know it, you encounter at every step, in one form or the other, _the rommany_. true, the dwellers in tents are becoming few and far between, because the "close cultivation" of the present generation, which has enclosed nearly all the waste land in england, has left no spot in many a day's journey, where "the travellers," as they call themselves, can light the fire and boil the kettle undisturbed. there is almost "no tan to hatch," or place to stay in. so it has come to pass, that those among them who cannot settle down like unto the gentiles, have gone across the great water to america, which is their true canaan, where they flourish mightily, the more enterprising making a good thing of it, by _prastering graias_ or "running horses," or trading in them, while the idler or more moral ones, pick up their living as easily as a mouse in a cheese, on the endless roads and in the forests. and so many of them have gone there, that i am sure the child is now born, to whom the sight of a real old-fashioned gipsy will be as rare in england as a sioux or pawnee warrior in the streets of new york or philadelphia. but there is a modified and yet real rommany-dom, which lives and will live with great vigour, so long as a regularly organised nomadic class exists on our roads--and it is the true nature and inner life of this class which has remained for ages, an impenetrable mystery to the world at large. a member of it may be a tramp and a beggar, the proprietor of some valuable travelling show, a horse-dealer, or a tinker. he may be eloquent, as a cheap jack, noisy as a punch, or musical with a fiddle at fairs. he may "peddle" pottery, make and sell skewers and clothes-pegs, or vend baskets in a caravan; he may keep cock-shys and aunt sallys at races. but whatever he may be, depend upon it, reader, that among those who follow these and similar callings which he represents, are literally many thousands who, unsuspected by the _gorgios_, are known to one another, and who still speak among themselves, more or less, that curious old tongue which the researches of the greatest living philologists have indicated, is in all probability not merely allied to sanscrit, but perhaps in point of age, an elder though vagabond sister or cousin of that ancient language. for the rommany is the characteristic leaven of all the real tramp life and nomadic callings of great britain. and by this word i mean not the language alone, which is regarded, however, as a test of superior knowledge of "the roads," but a curious _inner life_ and freemasonry of secret intelligence, ties of blood and information, useful to a class who have much in common with one another, and very little in common with the settled tradesman or worthy citizen. the hawker whom you meet, and whose blue eyes and light hair indicate no trace of oriental blood, may not be a _churdo_, or _pash-ratt_, or half-blood, or _half-scrag_, as a full gipsy might contemptuously term him, but he may be, of his kind, a quadroon or octoroon, or he may have "gipsified," by marrying a gipsy wife; and by the way be it said, such women make by far the best wives to be found among english itinerants, and the best suited for "a traveller." but in any case he has taken pains to pick up all the gipsy he can. if he is a tinker, he knows _kennick_, or cant, or thieves' slang by nature, but the rommany, which has very few words in common with the former, is the true language of the mysteries; in fact, it has with him become, strangely enough, what it was originally, a sort of sacred sanscrit, known only to the brahmins of the roads, compared to which the other language is only commonplace _prakrit_, which anybody may acquire. he is proud of his knowledge, he makes of it a deep mystery; and if you, a gentleman, ask him about it, he will probably deny that he ever heard of its existence. should he be very thirsty, and your manners frank and assuring, it is, however, not impossible that after draining a pot of beer at your expense, he may recall, with a grin, the fact that he _has_ heard that the gipsies have a queer kind of language of their own; and then, if you have any rommany yourself at command, he will perhaps _rakker rommanis_ with greater or less fluency. mr simeon, in his "history of the gipsies," asserts that there is not a tinker or scissors- grinder in great britain who cannot talk this language, and my own experience agrees with his declaration, to this extent--that they all have some knowledge of it, or claim to have it, however slight it may be. so rare is a knowledge of rommany among those who are not connected in some way with gipsies, that the slightest indication of it is invariably taken as an irrefutable proof of relationship with them. it is but a few weeks since, as i was walking along the marine parade in brighton, i overtook a tinker. wishing him to sharpen some tools for me, i directed him to proceed to my home, and _en route_ spoke to him in gipsy. as he was quite fair in complexion, i casually remarked, "i should have never supposed you could speak rommany--you don't look like it." to which he replied, very gravely, in a tone as of gentle reproach, "you don't look a gipsy yourself, sir; but you know you _are_ one--_you talk like one_." truly, the secret of the rommany has been well kept in england. it seems so to me when i reflect that, with the exception of lavengro and the rommany rye, { } i cannot recall a single novel, in our language, in which the writer has shown familiarity with the _real_ life, habits, or language of the vast majority of that very large class, the itinerants of the roads. mr dickens has set before us cheap jacks, and a number of men who were, in their very face, of the class of which i speak; but i cannot recall in his writings any indication that he knew that these men had a singular secret life with their _confreres_, or that they could speak a strange language; for we may well call that language strange which is, in the main, sanscrit, with many persian words intermingled. mr dickens, however, did not pretend, as some have done, to specially treat of gipsies, and he made no affectation of a knowledge of any mysteries. he simply reflected popular life as he saw it. but there are many novels and tales, old and new, devoted to setting forth rommany life and conversation, which are as much like the originals as a pastor fido is like a common shepherd. one novel which i once read, is so full of "the dark blood," that it might almost be called a gipsy novel. the hero is a gipsy; he lives among his kind--the book is full of them; and yet, with all due respect to its author, who is one of the most gifted and best- informed romance writers of the century, i must declare that, from beginning to end, there is not in the novel the slightest indication of any real and familiar knowledge of gipsies. again, to put thieves' slang into the mouths of gipsies, as their natural and habitual language, has been so much the custom, from sir walter scott to the present day, that readers are sometimes gravely assured in good faith that this jargon is pure rommany. but this is an old error in england, since the vocabulary of cant appended to the "english rogue," published in , was long believed to be gipsy; and captain grose, the antiquary, who should have known better, speaks with the same ignorance. it is, indeed, strange to see learned and shrewd writers, who pride themselves on truthfully depicting every element of european life, and every type of every society, so ignorant of the habits, manners, and language of thousands of really strange people who swarm on the highways and bye-ways! we have had the squire and the governess, my lord and all bohemia--bohemia, artistic and literary--but where are our _vrais bohemiens_?--out of lavengro and rommany rye--nowhere. yet there is to be found among the children of rom, or the descendants of the worshippers of rama, or the doms or coptic romi, whatever their ancestors may have been, more that is quaint and adapted to the purposes of the novelist, than is to be found in any other class of the inhabitants of england. you may not detect a trace of it on the roads; but once become truly acquainted with a fair average specimen of a gipsy, pass many days in conversation with him, and above all acquire his confidence and respect, and you will wonder that such a being, so entirely different from yourself, could exist in europe in the nineteenth century. it is said that those who can converse with irish peasants in their own native tongue, form far higher opinions of their appreciation of the beautiful, and of the elements of humour and pathos in their hearts, than do those who know their thoughts only through the medium of english. i know from my own observation that this is quite the case with the indians of north america, and it is unquestionably so with the gipsy. when you know a true specimen to the depths of his soul, you will find a character so entirely strange, so utterly at variance with your ordinary conceptions of humanity, that it is no exaggeration whatever to declare that it would be a very difficult task for the best writer to convey to the most intelligent reader an idea of his subject's nature. you have in him, to begin with, a being whose every condition of life is in direct contradiction to what you suppose every man's life in england must be. "i was born in the open air," said a gipsy to me a few days since; "and put me down anywhere, in the fields or woods, i can always support myself." understand me, he did not mean by pilfering, since it was of america that we were speaking, and of living in the lonely forests. we pity with tears many of the poor among us, whose life is one of luxury compared to that which the gipsy, who despises them, enjoys with a zest worth more than riches. "what a country america must be," quoth pirengro, the walker, to me, on the occasion just referred to. "why, my pal, who's just welled apopli from dovo tem--(my brother, who has just returned from that country), tells me that when a cow or anything dies there, they just chuck it away, and nobody ask a word for any of it." "what would _you_ do," he continued, "if you were in the fields and had nothing to eat?" i replied, "that if any could be found, i should hunt for fern-roots." "i could do better than that," he said. "i should hunt for a _hotchewitchi_,--a hedge-hog,--and i should be sure to find one; there's no better eating." whereupon assuming his left hand to be an imaginary hedge-hog, he proceeded to score and turn and dress it for ideal cooking with a case- knife. "and what had you for dinner to-day?" i inquired. "some cocks' heads. they're very fine--very fine indeed!" now it is curious but true that there is no person in the world more particular as to what he eats than the half-starved english or irish peasant, whose sufferings have so often been set forth for our condolence. we may be equally foolish, you and i--in fact chemistry proves it--when we are disgusted at the idea of feeding on many things which mere association and superstition render revolting. but the old fashioned gipsy has none of these qualms--he is haunted by no ghost of society--save the policeman, he knows none of its terrors. whatever is edible he eats, except horse-meat; wherever there is an empty spot he sleeps; and the man who can do this devoid of shame, without caring a pin for what the world says--nay, without even knowing that he does not care, or that he is peculiar--is independent to a degree which of itself confers a character which is not easy to understand. i grew up as a young man with great contempt for helvetius, d'holbach, and all the french philosophers of the last century, whose ideal man was a perfect savage; but i must confess that since i have studied gipsy nature, my contempt has changed into wonder where they ever learned in their _salons_ and libraries enough of humanity to theorise so boldly, and with such likeness to truth, as they did. it is not merely in the absolute out-of-doors independence of the old-fashioned gipsy, freer than any wild beast from care for food, that his resemblance to a "philosopher" consists, or rather to the ideal man, free from imaginary cares. for more than this, be it for good or for evil, the real gipsy has, unlike all other men, unlike the lowest savage, positively no religion, no tie to a spiritual world, no fear of a future, nothing but a few trifling superstitions and legends, which in themselves indicate no faith whatever in anything deeply seated. it would be difficult, i think, for any highly civilised man, who had not studied thought deeply, and in a liberal spirit, to approach in the least to a rational comprehension of a real gipsy mind. during my life it has been my fortune to become intimate with men who were "absolutely" or "positively" free-thinkers--men who had, by long study and mere logic, completely freed themselves from any mental tie whatever. such men are rare; it requires an enormous amount of intellectual culture, an unlimited expenditure of pains in the metaphysical hot-bed, and tremendous self- confidence to produce them--i mean "the real article." among the most thorough of these, a man on whom utter and entire freedom of thought sat easily and unconsciously, was a certain german doctor of philosophy named p---. to him god and all things were simply ideas of development. the last remark which i can recall from him was "_ja, ja_. we advanced hegelians agree exactly on the whole with the materialists." now, to my mind, nothing seems more natural than that, when sitting entire days talking with an old gipsy, no one rises so frequently from the past before me as mr p---. to him all religion represented a portion of the vast mass of frozen, petrified developments, which simply impede the march of intelligent minds; to my rommany friend, it is one of the thousand inventions of _gorgio_ life, which, like policemen, are simply obstacles to gipsies in the search of a living, and could he have grasped the circumstances of the case, he would doubtless have replied "_avali_, we gipsies agree on the whole exactly with mr p---." extremes meet. one sunday an old gipsy was assuring me, with a great appearance of piety, that on that day she neither told fortunes nor worked at any kind of labour--in fact, she kept it altogether correctly. "_avali_, _dye_," i replied. "do you know what the gipsies in germany say became of their church?" "_kek_," answered the old lady. "no. what is it?" "they say that the gipsies' church was made of pork, and the dogs ate it." long, loud, and joyously affirmative was the peal of laughter with which the gipsies welcomed this characteristic story. so far as research and the analogy of living tribes of the same race can establish a fact, it would seem that the gipsies were, previous to their quitting india, not people of high caste, but wandering pariahs, outcasts, foes to the brahmins, and unbelievers. all the pariahs are not free-thinkers, but in india, the church, as in italy, loses no time in making of all detected free-thinkers pariahs. thus we are told, in the introduction to the english translation of that very curious book, "the tales of the gooroo simple," which should be read by every scholar, that all the true literature of the country--that which has life, and freedom, and humour--comes from the pariahs. and was it different in those days, when rabelais, and von hutten, and giordano bruno were, in their wise, pariahs and gipsies, roving from city to city, often wanting bread and dreading fire, but asking for nothing but freedom? the more i have conversed intimately with gipsies, the more have i been struck by the fact, that my mingled experiences of european education and of life in the far west of america have given me a basis of mutual intelligence which had otherwise been utterly wanting. i, myself, have known in a wild country what it is to be half-starved for many days--to feel that all my thoughts and intellectual exertions, hour by hour, were all becoming centered on one subject--how to get something to eat. i felt what it was to be wolfish and even ravening; and i noted, step by step, in myself, how a strange sagacity grew within me--an art of detecting food. it was during the american war, and there were thousands of us pitifully starved. when we came near some log hut i began at once to surmise, if i saw a flour sack lying about, that there was a mill not far distant; perhaps flour or bread in the house; while the dwellers in the hut were closely scanned to judge from their appearance if they were well fed, and of a charitable disposition. it is a melancholy thing to recall; but it is absolutely necessary for a thinker to have once lived such a life, that he may be able to understand what is the intellectual status of those fellow beings whose whole life is simply a hunt for enough food to sustain life, and enough beer to cheer it. i have spoken of the gipsy fondness for the hedgehog. richard liebich, in his book, _die zigeuner in ihrem wesen und in ihrer sprache_, tells his readers that the only indication of a belief in a future state which he ever detected in an old gipsy woman, was that she once dreamed she was in heaven. it appeared to her as a large garden, full of fine fat hedgehogs. "this is," says mr liebich, "unquestionably very earthly, and dreamed very sensuously; reminding us of mahommed's paradise, which in like manner was directed to the animal and not to the spiritual nature, only that here were hedgehogs and there houris." six or seven thousand years of hungry-marauding, end by establishing strange points of difference between the mind of a gipsy and a well-to-do citizen. it has starved god out of the former; he inherited unbelief from his half fed pariah ancestors, and often retains it, even in england, to this day, with many other unmistakable signs of his eastern- jackal origin. and strange as it may seem to you, reader, his intercourse with christians has all over europe been so limited, that he seldom really knows what religion is. the same mr liebich tells us that one day he overheard a gipsy disputing with his wife as to what was the true character of the belief of the gentiles. both admitted that there was a great elder grown up god (the _baro puro dewel_), and a smaller younger god (the _tikno tarno dewel_). but the wife maintained, appealing to mr liebich for confirmation, that the great god no longer reigned, having abdicated in favour of the son, while the husband declared that the great older god died long ago, and that the world was now governed by the little god who was, however, not the son of his predecessor, but of a poor carpenter. i have never heard of any such nonsense among the english wandering gipsies with regard to christianity, but at the same time i must admit that their ideas of what the bible contains are extremely vague. one day i was sitting with an old gipsy, discussing rommany matters, when he suddenly asked me what the word was in the _waver temmeny jib_, or foreign gipsy, for the seven stars. "that would be," i said, "the _efta sirnie_. i suppose your name for it is the hefta pens. there is a story that once they were seven sisters, but one of them was lost, and so they are called seven to this day--though there are only six. and their right name is the pleiades." "that _gudlo_--that story," replied the gipsy, "is like the one of the seven whistlers, which you know is in the scriptures." "what!" "at least they told me so; that the seven whistlers are seven spirits of ladies who fly by night, high in the air, like birds. and it says in the bible that once on a time one got lost, and never came back again, and now the six whistles to find her. but people calls 'em the seven whistlers--though there are only six--exactly the same as in your story of the stars." "it's queer," resumed my gipsy, after a pause, "how they always tells these here stories by sevens. were you ever on salisbury plain?" "no!" "there are great stones there--_bori bars_--and many a night i've slept there in the moonlight, in the open air, when i was a boy, and listened to my father tellin' me about the baker. for there's seven great stories, and they say that hundreds of years ago a baker used to come with loaves of bread, and waste it all a tryin' to make seven loaves remain at the same place, one on each stone. but one all'us fell off, and to this here day he's never yet been able to get all seven on the seven stones." i think that my gipsy told this story in connection with that of the whistlers, because he was under the impression that it also was of scriptural origin. it is, however, really curious that the gipsy term for an owlet is the _maromengro's chavi_, or baker's daughter, and that they are all familiar with the monkish legend which declares that jesus, in a baker's shop, once asked for bread. the mistress was about to give him a large cake, when her daughter declared it was too much, and diminished the gift by one half. "he nothing said, but by the fire laid down the bread, when lo, as when a blossom blows-- to a vast loaf the manchet rose; in angry wonder, standing by, the girl sent forth a wild, rude cry, and, feathering fast into a fowl, flew to the woods a wailing owl." according to eilert sundt, who devoted his life to studying the _fanten and tataren_, or vagabonds and gipsies of sweden and norway, there is a horrible and ghastly semblance among them of something like a religion, current in scandinavia. once a year, by night, the gipsies of that country assemble for the purpose of un-baptizing all of their children whom they have, during the year, suffered to be baptized for the sake of gifts, by the gorgios. on this occasion, amid wild orgies, they worship a small idol, which is preserved until the next meeting with the greatest secresy and care by their captain. i must declare that this story seems very doubtful to me. i have devoted this chapter to illustrating from different points the fact that there lives in england a race which has given its impress to a vast proportion of our vagabond population, and which is more curious and more radically distinct in all its characteristics, than our writers, with one or two exceptions, have ever understood. one extraordinary difference still remains to be pointed out--as it has, in fact, already been, with great acumen, by mr george borrow, in his "gipsies in spain," and by dr alexander paspati, in his "etudes sur les tchinghianes ou bohemiens de l'empire ottoman" (constantinople, ); also by mr bright, in his "hungary," and by mr simson. it is this, that in every part of the world it is extremely difficult to get rommany words, even from intelligent gipsies, although they may be willing with all their heart to communicate them. it may seem simple enough to the reader to ask a man "how do you call 'to carry' in your language?" but can the reader understand that a man, who is possibly very much shrewder than himself in reading at a glance many phases of character, and in countless trickeries, should be literally unable to answer such a question? and yet i have met with many such. the truth is, that there are people in this world who never had such a thing as an abstract idea, let us say even of an apple, plumped suddenly at them--not once in all their lives--and, when it came, the unphilosophical mind could no more grasp it, than the gentleman mentioned by g. h. lewes (history of philosophy), could grasp the idea of substance without attribute as presented by berkeley. the real gipsy could talk about apples all day, but the sudden demand for the unconnected word, staggers him--at least, until he has had some practice in this, to him, new process. and it is so with other races. professor max muller once told me in conversation, as nearly as i can recollect, that the mohawk indian language is extremely rich in declension, every noun having some sixteen or seventeen inflexions of case, but no nominative. one can express one's relations to a father to a most extraordinary extent, among the dilapidated descendants of that once powerful tribe. but such a thing as the abstract idea of _a_ father, or of 'father' _pur et simple_, never entered the mohawk mind, and this is very like the gipsies. when a rather wild gipsy once gives you a word, it must be promptly recorded, for a demand for its repetition at once confuses him. _on doit saisir le mot echappe au nomade, et ne pas l'obliger a le repeter, car il le changera selon so, facon_, says paspati. unused to abstract efforts of memory, all that he can retain is the sense of his last remark, and very often this is changed with the fleeting second by some associated thought, which materially modifies it. it is always difficult, in consequence, to take down a story in the exact terms which a philologist desires. there are two words for "bad" in english gipsy, _wafro_ and _vessavo_; and i think it must have taken me ten minutes one day to learn, from a by no means dull gipsy, whether the latter word was known to him, or if it were used at all. he got himself into a hopeless tangle in trying to explain the difference between _wafro_ and _naflo_, or ill, until his mind finally refused to act on _vessavo_ at all, and spasmodically rejected it. with all the patience of job, and the meekness of moses, i awaited my time, and finally obtained my information. the impatience of such minds in narrative is amusing. let us suppose that i am asking some _kushto rommany chal_ for a version of aesop's fable of the youth and the cat. he is sitting comfortably by the fire, and good ale has put him into a story-telling humour. i begin-- "now then, tell me this _adree rommanis_, in gipsy--once upon a time there was a young man who had a cat." gipsy.--"_yeckorus--'pre yeck cheirus_--_a raklo lelled a matchka_"-- while i am writing this down, and long before it is half done, the professor of rommany, becoming interested in the subject, continues volubly-- --"_an' the matchka yeck sala dicked a chillico apre a rukk_--(and the cat one morning saw a bird in a tree"--) i.--"stop, stop! _hatch a wongish_! that is not it! now go on. _the young man loved this cat so much_"-- _gipsy_ (fluently, in rommany), "that he thought her skin would make a nice pair of gloves"-- "confound your gloves! now do begin again"-- _gipsy_, with an air of grief and injury: "i'm sure i was telling the story for you the best way i knew how!" yet this man was far from being a fool. what was it, then? simply and solely, a lack of education--of that mental training which even those who never entered a schoolhouse, receive more or less of, when they so much as wait patiently for a month behind a chair, or tug for six months at a plough, or in short, acquire the civilised virtue of christian patience. that is it. we often hear in this world that a little education goes a great way; but to get some idea of the immense value of a very little education indeed, and the incredible effect it may have upon character, one should study with gentleness and patience a real gipsy. probably the most universal error in the world is the belief that all men, due allowance being made for greater or less knowledge, or "talents," have minds like our own; are endowed with the same moral perception, and see things on the whole very much as we do. now the truth is that a chinese, whose mind is formed, not by "religion" as we understand it, but simply by the intense pressure of "old custom," which we do not understand, thinks in a different manner from an european; moralists accuse him of "moral obliquity," but in reality it is a moral difference. docility of mind, the patriarchal principle, and the very perfection of innumerable wise and moral precepts have, by the practice of thousands of years, produced in him their natural result. whenever he attempts to think, his mind runs at once into some broad and open path, beautifully bordered with dry artificial flowers, { } and the result has been the inability to comprehend any new idea--a state to which the church of the middle ages, or any too rigidly established system, would in a few thousand years have reduced humanity. under the action of widely different causes, the gipsy has also a different cast of mind from our own, and a radical moral difference. a very few years ago, when i was on the plains of western kansas, old black kettle, a famous indian chief said in a speech, "i am not a white man, i am a _wolf_. i was born like a wolf on the prairies. i have lived like a wolf, and i shall die like one." such is the wild gipsy. ever poor and hungry, theft seems to him, in the trifling easy manner in which he practises it, simply a necessity. the moral aspects of petty crime he never considers at all, nor does he, in fact, reflect upon anything as it is reflected on by the humblest peasant who goes to church, or who in any way feels himself connected as an integral part of that great body-corporate--society. chapter ii. a gipsy cottage. the old fortune-teller and her brother.--the patteran, or gipsies' road- mark .--the christian cross, named by continental gipsies trushul, after the trident of siva.--curious english-gipsy term for the cross.--ashwood fires on christmas day.--our saviour regarded with affection by the rommany because he was like themselves and poor.--strange ideas of the bible.--the oak.--lizards renew their lives.--snails.--slugs.--tobacco pipes as old as the world. "duveleste; avo. mandy's kaired my patteran adusta chairuses where a drum jals atut the waver," which means in english--"god bless you, yes. many a time i have marked my sign where the roads cross." i was seated in the cottage of an old gipsy mother, one of the most noted fortune-tellers in england, when i heard this from her brother, himself an ancient wanderer, who loves far better to hear the lark sing than the mouse cheep when he wakes of a morning. it was a very small but clean cottage, of the kind quite peculiar to the english labourer, and therefore attractive to every one who has felt the true spirit of the most original poetry and art which this country has produced. for look high or low, dear reader, you will find that nothing has ever been better done in england than the pictures of rural life, and over nothing have its gifted minds cast a deeper charm. there were the little rough porcelain figures of which the english peasantry are so fond, and which, cheap as they are, indicate that the taste of your friends lady --- for worcester "porcelain," or the duchess of --- for majolica, has its roots among far humbler folk. in fact there were perhaps twenty things which no english reader would have supposed were peculiar, yet which were something more than peculiar to me. the master of the house was an anglo-saxon--a gorgio--and his wife, by some magic or other, the oracle before-mentioned. and i, answering said-- "so you all call it _patteran_?" { } "no; very few of us know that name. we do it without calling it anything." then i took my stick and marked on the floor the following sign-- [sign: ill .jpg] "there," i said, "is the oldest patteran--first of all--which the gipsies use to-day in foreign lands. in germany, when one band of gipsies goes by a cross road, they draw that deep in the dust, with the end of the longest line pointing in the direction in which they have gone. then, the next who come by see the mark, and, if they choose, follow it." "we make it differently," said the gipsy. "this is our sign--the _trin bongo drums_, or cross." and he drew his patteran thus-- [cross: ill .jpg] "the long end points the way," he added; "just as in your sign." "you call a cross," i remarked, "_trin bongo drums_, or the three crooked roads. do you know any such word as _trushul_ for it?" "no; _trushilo_ is thirsty, and _trushni_ means a faggot, and also a basket." "i shouldn't wonder if a faggot once got the old rommany word for cross," i said, "because in it every stick is crossed by the wooden _withy_ which binds it; and in a basket, every wooden strip crosses the other." i did not, however, think it worth while to explain to the gipsies that when their ancestors, centuries ago, left india, it was with the memory that shiva, the destroyer, bore a trident, the tri-cula in sanscrit, the _trisul_ of mahadeva in hindustani, and that in coming to europe the resemblance of its shape to that of the cross impressed them, so that they gave to the christian symbol the name of the sacred triple spear. { } for if you turn up a little the two arms of a cross, you change the emblem of suffering and innocence at once into one of murder--just as ever so little a deviation from goodness will lead you, my dear boy, into any amount of devilry. and that the unfailing lucid flash of humour may not be wanting, there lightens on my mind the memory of _the mysterious pitchfork_--a german satirical play which made a sensation in its time--and herlossohn in his romance of _der letzte taborit_ (which helped george sand amazingly in consuelo), makes a gipsy chieftain appear in a wonderfully puzzling light by brandishing, in fierce midnight dignity, this agricultural parody on neptune's weapon, which brings me nicely around to my gipsies again. if i said nothing to the inmates of the cottage of all that the _trushul_ or cross trident suggested, still less did i vex their souls with the mystic possible meaning of the antique _patteran_ or sign which i had drawn. for it has, i opine, a deep meaning, which as one who knew creuzer of old, i have a right to set forth. briefly, then, and without encumbering my book with masses of authority, let me state that in all early lore, the _road_ is a symbol of life; christ himself having used it in this sense. cross roads were peculiarly meaning-full as indicating the meet-of life with life, of good with evil, a faith of which abundant traces are preserved in the fact that until the present generation suicides were buried at them, and magical rites and diabolic incantations are supposed to be most successful when practised in such places. the english _path_, the gipsy patteran, the rommany-hindu _pat_, a foot, and the hindu _panth_, a road, all meet in the sanscrit _path_, which was the original parting of the ways. now the _patteran_ which i have drawn, like the koua of the chinese or the mystical _swastika_ of the buddhists, embraces the long line of life, or of the infinite and the short, or broken lines of the finite, and, therefore, as an ancient magical eastern sign, would be most appropriately inscribed as a _sikker-paskero dromescro_--or hand post--to show the wandering rommany how to proceed on their way of life. [svastika: ill .jpg] that the ordinary christian cross should be called by the english gipsies a _trin bongo drum_--or the three cross roads--is not remarkable when we consider that their only association with it is that of a "wayshower," as germans would call it. to you, reader, it may be that it points the way of eternal life; to the benighted rommany-english-hindoo, it indicates nothing more than the same old weary track of daily travel; of wayfare and warfare with the world, seeking food and too often finding none; living for petty joys and driven by dire need; lying down with poverty and rising with hunger, ignorant in his very wretchedness of a thousand things which he _ought_ to want, and not knowing enough to miss them. just as the reader a thousand, or perhaps only a hundred, years hence--should a copy of this work be then extant--may pity the writer of these lines for his ignorance of the charming comforts, as yet unborn, which will render _his_ physical condition so delightful. to thee, oh, future reader, i am what the gipsy is to me! wait, my dear boy of the future--wait--till _you_ get to heaven! which is a long way off from the gipsies. let us return. we had spoken _of patteran_, or of crosses by the way-side, and this led naturally enough to speaking of him who died on the cross, and of wandering. and i must confess that it was with great interest i learned that the gipsies, from a very singular and rommany point of view, respect, and even pay him, in common with the peasantry in some parts of england, a peculiar honour. for this reason i bade the gipsy carefully repeat his words, and wrote them down accurately. i give them in the original, with a translation. let me first state that my informant was not quite clear in his mind as to whether the boro divvus, or great day, was christmas or new year's, nor was he by any means certain on which christ was born. but he knew very well that when it came, the gipsies took great pains to burn an ash-wood fire. "avali--adusta cheirus i've had to jal dui or trin mees of a boro divvus sig' in the sala, to lel ash-wood for the yag. that was when i was a bitti chavo, for my dadas always would keravit. "an' we kairs it because foki pens our saviour, the tikno duvel was born apre the boro divvus, 'pre the puv, avree in the temm, like we rommanis, and he was brought 'pre pash an ash yag--(_why you can dick dovo adree the scriptures_!). "the ivy and holly an' pine rukks never pookered a lav when our saviour was gaverin' of his kokero, an' so they tools their jivaben saw (sar) the wen, and dicks selno saw the besh; but the ash, like the surrelo rukk, pukkered atut him, where he was gaverin, so they have to hatch mullo adree the wen. and so we rommany chals always hatchers an ash yag saw the boro divvuses. for the tickno duvel was chivved a wadras 'pre the puvius like a rommany chal, and kistered apre a myla like a rommany, an' jalled pale the tem a mangin his moro like a rom. an' he was always a pauveri choro mush, like we, till he was nashered by the gorgios. "an' he kistered apre a myla? avali. yeckorus he putchered the pash- grai if he might kister her, but she pookered him _kek_. so because the pash-grai wouldn't rikker him, she was sovahalled againsus never to be a dye or lel tiknos. so she never lelled kek, nor any cross either. "then he putchered the myla to rikker him, and she penned: 'avali!' so he pet a cross apre laki's dumo. and to the divvus the myla has a trin bongo drum and latchers tiknos, but the pash-grai has kek. so the mylas 'longs of the rommanis." (translation.)--"yes--many a time i've had to go two or three miles of a great day (christmas), early in the morning, to get ash-wood for the fire. that was when i was a small boy, for my father always would do it. "and we do it because people say our saviour, the small god, was born on the great day, in the field, out in the country, like we rommanis, and he was brought up by an ash-fire." here a sudden sensation of doubt or astonishment at my ignorance seemed to occur to my informant, for he said,-- "why, you can see that in the scriptures!" to which i answered, "but the gipsies have scripture stories different from those of the gorgios, and different ideas about religion. go on with your story. why do you burn ash-wood?" "the ivy, and holly, and pine trees, never told a word where our saviour was hiding himself, and so they keep alive all the winter, and look green all the year. but the ash, like the oak (_lit_. strong tree), told of him (_lit_. across, against him), where he was hiding, so they have to remain dead through the winter. and so we gipsies always burn an ash- fire every great day. for the saviour was born in the open field like a gipsy, and rode on an ass like one, and went round the land a begging his bread like a rom. and he was always a poor wretched man like us, till he was destroyed by the gentiles. "and he rode on an ass? yes. once he asked the mule if he might ride her, but she told him no. so because the mule would not carry him, she was cursed never to be a mother or have children. so she never had any, nor any cross either. "then he asked the ass to carry him, and she said 'yes;' so he put a cross upon her back. and to this day the ass has a cross and bears young, but the mule has none. so the asses belong to (are peculiar to) the gipsies." there was a pause, when i remarked-- "that is a _fino gudlo_--a fine story; and all of it about an ash tree. can you tell me anything about the _surrelo rukk_--the strong tree--the oak?" "only what i've often heard our people say about its life." "and what is that?" "dui hundred besh a hatchin, dui hundred besh nasherin his chuckko, dui hundred besh 'pre he mullers, and then he nashers sar his ratt and he's kekoomi kushto." { } "that is good, too. there are a great many men who would like to live as long." "_tacho_, true. but an old coat can hold out better than a man. if a man gets a hole in him he dies, but his _chukko_ (coat) can be _toofered_ and _sivved apre_ (mended and sewed up) for ever. so, unless a man could get a new life every year, as they say the _hepputs_, the little lizards do, he needn't hope to live like an oak." "do the lizards get a new life every year?" "_avali_. a _hepput_ only lives one year, and then he begins life over again." "do snails live as long as lizards?" "not when i find 'em rya--if i am hungry. snails are good eating. { } you can find plenty on the hedges. when they're going about in the fields or (are found) under wood, they are not good eating. the best are those which are kept, or live through (literally _sleep_) the winter. take 'em and wash 'em and throw 'em into the kettle, with water and a little salt. the broth's good for the yellow jaundice." "so you call a snail"-- "a bawris," said the old fortune-teller. "bawris! the hungarian gipsies call it a _bouro_. but in germany the rommanis say stargoli. i wonder why a snail should be a stargoli." "i know," cried the brother, eagerly. "when you put a snail on the fire it cries out and squeaks just like a little child. stargoli means 'four cries.'" i had my doubts as to the accuracy of this startling derivation, but said nothing. the same gipsy on a subsequent occasion, being asked what he would call a _roan_ horse in rommany, replied promptly-- "a matchno grai"--a fish-horse. "why a matchno grai?" "because a fish has a roan (_i.e_., roe), hasn't it? leastways i can't come no nearer to it, if it ain't that." but he did better when i was puzzling my brain, as the learned pott and zippel had done before me, over the possible origin of churro or tchurro, "a ball, or anything round," when he suggested-- "rya--i should say that as a _churro_ is round, and a _curro_ or cup is round, and they both sound alike and look alike, it must be all werry much the same thing." { } "can you tell me anything more about snails?" i asked, reverting to a topic which, by the way, i have observed is like that of the hedgehog, a favourite one with gipsies. "yes; you can cure warts with the big black kind that have no shells." "you mean slugs. i never knew they were fit to cure anything." "why, that's one of the things that everybody knows. when you get a wart on your hands, you go on to the road or into the field till you find a slug, one of the large kind with no shell (literally, with no house upon him), and stick it on the thorn of a blackthorn in a hedge, and as the snail dies, one day after the other, for four or five days, the wart will die away. many a time i've told that to gorgios, and gorgios have done it, and the warts have gone away (literally, cleaned away) from their hands." { } here the gipsy began to inquire very politely if smoking were offensive to me; and as i assured him that it was not, he took out his pipe. and knowing by experience that nothing is more conducive to sociability, be it among chippeways or gipsies, than that smoking which is among our indians, literally a burnt-offering, { } i produced a small clay pipe of the time of charles the second, given to me by a gentleman who has the amiable taste to collect such curiosities, and give them to his friends under the express condition that they shall be smoked, and not laid away as relics of the past. if you move in _etching_ circles, dear readers, you will at once know to whom i refer. the quick eye of the gipsy at once observed my pipe. "that is a _crow-swagler_--a crow-pipe," he remarked. "why a crow-pipe?" "i don't know. some gipsies call 'em _mullos' swaglers_, or dead men's pipes, because those who made 'em were dead long ago. there are places in england where you can find 'em by dozens in the fields. i never dicked (saw) one with so long a stem to it as yours. and they're old, very old. what is it you call it before everything" (here he seemed puzzled for a word) "when the world was a-making?" "the creation." "avali--that's it, the creation. well, them crow-swaglers was kaired at the same time; they're hundreds--avali--thousands of beshes (years) old. and sometimes we call the beng (devil) a swagler, or we calls a swagler the beng." "why?" "because the devil lives in smoke." chapter iii. the gipsy tinker. difficulty of coming to an understanding with gipsies.--the cabman.--rommany for french.--"wanderlust."--gipsy politeness.--the tinker and the painting.--secrets of bat-catching.--the piper of hamelin, and the tinker's opinion of the story.--the walloon tinker of spa.--argot. one summer day in london, in , i was seated alone in an artist's studio. suddenly i heard without, beneath the window, the murmur of two voices, and the sleepy, hissing, grating sound of a scissors-grinder's wheel. by me lay a few tools, one of which, a chisel, was broken. i took it, went softly to the window, and looked down. there was the wheel, including all the apparatus of a travelling tinker. i looked to see if i could discover in the two men who stood by it any trace of the rommany. one, a fat, short, mind-his-own-business, ragged son of the roads, who looked, however, as if a sturdy drinker might be hidden in his shell, was evidently not my "affair." he seemed to be the "co." of the firm. but by him, and officiating at the wheeling smithy, stood a taller figure--the face to me invisible--which i scrutinised more nearly. and the instant i observed his _hat_ i said to myself, "this looks like it." for dilapidated, worn, wretched as that hat was, there was in it an attempt, though indescribably humble, to be something melo-dramatic, foreign, bohemian, and poetic. it was the mere blind, dull, dead germ of an effort--not even _life_--only the ciliary movement of an antecedent embryo--and yet it _had_ got beyond anglo-saxondom. no costermonger, or common cad, or true englishman, ever yet had that indefinable touch of the opera-supernumerary in the streets. it _was_ a sombrero. "that's the man for me," i said. so i called him, and gave him the chisel, and after a while went down. he was grinding away, and touched his hat respectfully as i approached. now the reader is possibly aware that of all difficult tasks one of the most difficult is to induce a disguised gipsy, or even a professed one, to utter a word of rommany to a man not of the blood. of this all writers on the subject have much to say. for it is so black-swanish, i may say so centenarian in unfrequency, for a gentleman to speak gipsy, that the zingaro thus addressed is at once subjected to morbid astonishment and nervous fears, which under his calm countenance and infinite "cheek" are indeed concealed, but which speedily reduce themselves to two categories. . that rommany is the language of men at war with the law; therefore you are either a detective who has acquired it for no healthy purpose, or else you yourself are a scamp so high up in the profession that it behooves all the little fish of outlawdom to beware of you. . or else--what is quite as much to be dreaded--you are indeed a gentleman, but one seeking to make fun of him, and possibly able to do so. at any rate, your knowledge of rommany is a most alarming coin of vantage. certainly, reader, you know that a regular london streeter, say a cabman, would rather go to jail than be beaten in a chaffing match. i nearly drove a hansom into sheer convulsions one night, about the time this chapter happened, by a very light puzzler indeed. i had hesitated between him and another. "you don't know _your own mind_," said the disappointed candidate to me. "_mind your own_ business," i replied. it was a poor palindrome, { } reader--hardly worth telling--yet it settled him. but he swore--oh, of course he did--he swore beautifully. therefore, being moved to caution, i approached calmly and gazed earnestly on the revolving wheel. "do you know," i said, "i think a great deal of your business, and take a great interest in it." "yes, sir." "i can tell you all the names of your tools in french. you'd like to hear them, wouldn't you?" "wery much indeed, sir." so i took up the chisel. "this," i said, "is a _churi_, sometimes called a _chinomescro_." "that's the french for it, is it, sir?" replied the tinker, gravely. not a muscle of his face moved. "the _coals_," i added, "are _hangars_ or _wongurs_, sometimes called _kaulos_." "never heerd the words before in my life," quoth the sedate tinker. "the bellows is a _pudemengro_. some call it a _pishota_." "wery fine language, sir, is french," rejoined the tinker. in every instance he repeated the words after me, and pronounced them correctly, which i had not invariably done. "wery fine language. but it's quite new to me." "you wouldn't think now," i said, affably, "that _i_ had ever been on the roads!" the tinker looked at me from my hat to my boots, and solemnly replied-- "i should say it was wery likely. from your language, sir, wery likely indeed." i gazed as gravely back as if i had not been at that instant the worst sold man in london, and asked-- "can you _rakher rommanis_?" (_i.e_., speak gipsy.) and _he_ said he _could_. then we conversed. he spoke english intermingled with gipsy, stopping from time to time to explain to his assistant, or to teach him a word. this portly person appeared to be about as well up in the english gipsy as myself--that is, he knew it quite as imperfectly. i learned that the master had been in america, and made new york and brooklyn glad by his presence, while philadelphia, my native city had been benefited as to its scissors and morals by him. "and as i suppose you made money there, why didn't you remain?" i inquired. the gipsy--for he was really a gipsy, and not a half-scrag--looked at me wistfully, and apparently a little surprised that i should ask him such a question. "why, sir, _you_ know that _we_ can't keep still. somethin' kept telling me to move on, and keep a movin'. some day i'll go back again." suddenly--i suppose because a doubt of my perfect freemasonry had been aroused by my absurd question--he said, holding up a kettle-- "what do you call this here in rommanis?" "i call it a _kekavi_ or a _kavi_," i said. "but it isn't _right_ rommany. it's greek, which the rommanichals picked up on their way here." and here i would remark, by the way, that i have seldom spoken to a gipsy in england who did not try me on the word for kettle. "and what do you call a face?" he added. "i call a face a _mui_," i said, "and a nose a _nak_; and as for _mui_, i call _rikker tiro mui_, 'hold your jaw.' that is german rommany." the tinker gazed at me admiringly, and then said, "you're 'deep' gipsy, i see, sir--that's what _you_ are." "_mo rov a jaw_; _mo rakker so drovan_?" i answered. "don't talk so loud; do you think i want all the gorgios around here to know i talk gipsy? come in; _jal adree the ker and pi a curro levinor_." the tinker entered. as with most gipsies there was really, despite the want of "education," a real politeness--a singular intuitive refinement pervading all his actions, which indicated, through many centuries of brutalisation, that fountain-source of all politeness--the oriental. many a time i have found among gipsies whose life, and food, and dress, and abject ignorance, and dreadful poverty were far below that of most paupers and prisoners, a delicacy in speaking to and acting before ladies, and a tact in little things, utterly foreign to the great majority of poor anglo-saxons, and not by any means too common in even higher classes. for example, there was a basket of cakes on the table, which cakes were made like soldiers in platoons. now mr katzimengro, or scissorman, as i call him, not being familiar with the anatomy of such delicate and winsome maro, or bread, was startled to find, when he picked up one biscuit de rheims, that he had taken a row. instantly he darted at me an astonished and piteous glance, which said-- "i cannot, with my black tinker fingers, break off and put the cakes back again; i do not want to take all--it looks greedy." so i said, "put them in your pocket." and he did so, quietly. i have never seen anything done with a better grace. on the easel hung an unfinished picture, representing the piper of hamelin surrounded by rats without number. the gipsy appeared to be much interested in it. "i used to be a rat-catcher myself," he said. "i learned the business under old lee, who was the greatest rat-catcher in england. i suppose you know, of course, sir, how to _draw_ rats?" "certainly," i replied. "oil of rhodium. i have known a house to be entirely cleared by it. there were just thirty-six rats in the house, and they had a trap which held exactly twelve. for three nights they caught a dozen, and that finished the congregation." "aniseed is better," replied the gipsy, solemnly. (by the way, another and an older gipsy afterwards told me that he used caraway-oil and the heads of dried herrings.) "and if you've got a rat, sir, anywhere in this here house, i'll bring it to you in five minutes." he did, in fact, subsequently bring the artist as models for the picture two very pretty rats, which he had quite tamed while catching them. "but what does the picture mean, sir?" he inquired, with curiosity. "once upon a time," i replied, "there was a city in germany which was overrun with rats. they teased the dogs and worried the cats, and bit the babies in the cradle, and licked the soup from the cook's own ladle." "there must have been an uncommon lot of them, sir," replied the tinker, gravely. "there was. millions of them. now in those days there were no rommanichals, and consequently no rat-catchers." "'taint so now-a-days," replied the gipsy, gloomily. "the business is quite spiled, and not to get a livin' by." "avo. and by the time the people had almost gone crazy, one day there came a man--a gipsy--the first gipsy who had ever been seen in _dovo tem_ (or that country). and he agreed for a thousand crowns to clear all the rats away. so he blew on a pipe, and the rats all followed him out of town." "what did he blow on a pipe for?" "just for _hokkerben_, to humbug them. i suppose he had oils rubbed on his heels. but when he had drawn the rats away and asked for his money, they would not give it to him. so then, what do you think he did?" "i suppose--ah, i see," said the gipsy, with a shrewd look. "he went and drew 'em all back again." "no; he went, and this time piped all the children away. they all went after him--all except one little lame boy--and that was the last of it." the gipsy looked earnestly at me, and then, as if i puzzled, but with an expression of perfect faith, he asked-- "and is that all _tacho_--all a fact--or is it made up, you know?" "well, i think it is partly one and partly the other. you see, that in those days gipsies were very scarce, and people were very much astonished at rat-drawing, and so they made a queer story of it." "but how about the children?" "well," i answered; "i suppose you have heard occasionally that gipsies used to chore gorgios' chavis--steal people's children?" very grave indeed was the assent yielded to this explanation. he _had_ heard it among other things. my dear mr robert browning, i little thought, when i suggested to the artist your poem of the piper, that i should ever retail the story in rommany to a tinker. but who knows with whom he may associate in this life, or whither he may drift on the great white rolling sea of humanity? did not lord lytton, unless the preface to pelham err, himself once tarry in the tents of the egyptians? and did not christopher north also wander with them, and sing-- "oh, little did my mother think, the day she cradled me, the lands that i should travel in, or the death that i should dee; or gae rovin' about wi' tinkler loons, and sic-like companie"? "you know, sir," said the gipsy, "that we have two languages. for besides the rummany, there's the reg'lar cant, which all tinkers talk." "_kennick_ you mean?" "yes, sir; that's the rummany for it. a 'dolly mort' is kennick, but it's _juva_ or _rakli_ in rummanis. it's a girl, or a rom's _chi_." "you say _rom_ sometimes, and then _rum_." "there's _rums_ and _roms_, sir. the _rum_ is a gipsy, and a _rom_ is a husband." "that's your english way of calling it. all the rest of the world over there is only one word among gipsies, and that is _rom_." now, the allusion to _kennick_ or cant by a tinker, recalls an incident which, though not strictly gipsy in its nature, i will nevertheless narrate. in the summer of i spent several weeks at spa, in the ardennes. one day while walking i saw by the roadside a picturesque old tinker, looking neither better nor worse than the grinder made immortal by teniers. i was anxious to know if all of his craft in belgium could speak gipsy, and addressed him in that language, giving him at the same time my knife to grind. he replied politely in french that he did not speak rommany, and only understood french and walloon. yet he seemed to understand perfectly the drift of my question, and to know what gipsy was, and its nature, since after a pause he added, with a significant smile-- "but to tell the truth, monsieur, though i cannot talk rommany, i know another secret language. i can speak _argot_ fluently." now, i retain in my memory, from reading the memoirs of vidocq thirty years ago, one or two phrases of this french thieves' slang, and i at once replied that i knew a few words of it myself, adding-- "_tu sais jaspiner en bigorne_?"--you can talk argot? "_oui, monsieur_." "_et tu vas roulant de vergne en vergne_?"--and you go about from town to town? grave and keen, and with a queer smile, the tinker replied, very slowly-- "monsieur knows the gipsies" (here he shook his head), "and monsieur speaks _argot_ very well." (a shrug.) "perhaps he knows more than he credits himself with. perhaps" (and here his wink was diabolical)-- "_perhaps monsieur knows the entire tongue_!" spa is full not only of gamblers, but of numbers of well-dressed parisian sharpers who certainly know "the entire tongue." i hastened to pay my tinker, and went my way homewards. ross browne was accused in syria of having "burgled" onions, and the pursuit of philology has twice subjected me to be suspected by tinkers as a flourishing member of the "dangerous classes." but to return to my rat-catcher. as i quoted a verse of german gipsy song, he manifested an interest in it, and put me several questions with regard to the race in other lands. "i wish i was a rich gentleman. i would like to travel like you, sir, and have nothing to do but go about from land to land, looking after our rummany people as you do, and learnin' everything rummany. is it true, sir, we come from egypt?" "no. i think not. there are gipsies in egypt, but there is less rommany in their _jib_ (language) than in any other gipsy tribe in the world. the gipsies came from india." "and don't you think, sir, that we're of the children of the lost ten tribes?" "i am quite sure that you never had a drop of blood in common with them. tell me, do you know any gipsy _gilis_--any songs?" "only a bit of a one, sir; most of it isn't fit to sing, but it begins--" and here he sang: "jal 'dree the ker my honey, and you shall be my rom." and chanting this, after thanking me, he departed, gratified with his gratuity, rejoiced at his reception, and most undoubtedly benefited by the beer with which i had encouraged his palaver--a word, by the way, which is not inappropriate, since it contains in itself the very word of words, the _lav_, which means a word, and is most antiquely and excellently gipsy. pehlevi is old persian, and to _pen lavi_ is rommany all the world over "to speak words." chapter iv. gipsy respect for the dead. gipsies and comteists identical as to "religion"--singular manner of mourning for the dead, as practised by gipsies--illustrations from life--gipsy job and the cigars--oaths by the dead--universal gipsy custom of never mentioning the names of the dead--burying valuable objects with the dead--gipsies, comteists, hegelians, and jews--the rev. james crabbe. comte, the author of the positivist philosophy, never felt the need of a religion until he had fallen in love; and at the present day his "faith" appears to consist in a worship of the great and wise and good among the dead. i have already spoken of many gipsies reminding me, by their entirely unconscious ungodliness, of thorough hegelians. i may now add, that, like the positivists, they seem to correct their irreligion through the influence of love; and by a strange custom, which is, in spirit and fact, nothing less than adoring the departed and offering to the dead a singular sacrifice. he who has no house finds a home in family and friends, whence it results that the gipsy, despite his ferocious quarrels in the clan, and his sharp practice even with near relations, is--all things considered--perhaps the most devoted to kith and kin of any one in the world. his very name--rom, a husband--indicates it. his children, as almost every writer on him, from grellmann down to the present day, has observed, are more thoroughly indulged and spoiled than any non-gipsy can conceive; and despite all the apparent contradictions caused by the selfishness born of poverty, irritable eastern blood, and the eccentricity of semi-civilisation, i doubt if any man, on the whole, in the world, is more attached to his own. it was only three or four hours ago, as i write, on the fifth day of february , that a gipsy said to me, "it is nine years since my wife died, and i would give all anglaterra to have her again." that the real religion of the gipsies, as i have already observed, consists like that of the comteists, in devotion to the dead, is indicated by a very extraordinary custom, which, notwithstanding the very general decay, of late years, of all their old habits, still prevails universally. this is the refraining from some usage or indulgence in honour of the departed--a sacrifice, as it were, to their _manes_--and i believe that, by inquiring, it will be found to exist among all gipsies in all parts of the world. in england it is shown by observances which are maintained at great personal inconvenience, sometime for years, or during life. thus, there are many gipsies who, because a deceased brother was fond of spirits, have refrained, after his departure, from tasting them, or who have given up their favourite pursuits, for the reason that they were last indulged in, in company with the lost and loved one. as a further illustration, i will give in the original gipsy-language, as i myself took it down rapidly, but literally, the comments of a full-blooded gipsy on this custom--the translation being annexed. i should state that the narrative which precedes his comments was a reply to my question, why he invariably declined my offer of cigars? "no; i never toovs cigaras, kek. i never toovs 'em kenna since my pal's chavo job mullered. and i'll pooker tute how it welled." "it was at the boro wellgooro where the graias prasters. i was kairin the paiass of the koshters, and mandy dicked a rye an' pookered him for a droppi levinor. '_avali_,' he penned, 'i'll del you levinor and a kushto tuvalo too.' 'parraco,' says i, 'rya.' so he del mandy the levinor and a dozen cigaras. i pet em adree my poachy an' jailed apre the purge and latched odoi my pal's chavo, an' he pook'd mandy, 'where you jallin to, kako?' and i penned: 'job, i've lelled some covvas for tute.' 'tacho,' says he--so i del him the cigaras. penned he: 'where did tute latcher 'em?' 'a rye del 'em a mandy.' so he pet em adree his poachy, an' pookered mandy, 'what'll tu lel to pi?' 'a droppi levinor.' so he penned, 'pauli the grais prasters, i'll jal atut the puvius and dick tute.' "eight or nine divvuses pauli, at the k'allis's gav, his pal welled to mandy and pookered mi job sus naflo. and i penned, 'any thing dush?' 'worse nor dovo.' 'what _is_ the covvo?' says yuv, 'mandy kaums tute to jal to my pal--don't spare the gry--mukk her jal!' so he del mi a fino grai, and i kistered eight mee so sig that i thought i'd mored her. an' i pet her dree the stanya, an' i jalled a lay in the puv and' odoi i dicked job. 'thank me duvel!' penned he, 'kako you's welled acai, and if mandy gets opre this bugni (for 'twas the bugni he'd lelled), i'll del tute the kushtiest gry that you'll beat sar the romni chuls.' but he mullered. "and he pens as he was mullerin. 'kako, tute jins the cigarras you del a mandy?' '_avali_,' i says he, 'i've got 'em acai in my poachy.' mandy and my pens was by him, but his romni was avree, adree the boro tan, bikinin covvas, for she'd never lelled the bugni, nor his chavos, so they couldn't well a dickin, for we wouldn't mukk em. and so he mullered. "and when yuv's mullo i pet my wast adree his poachy and there mandy lastered the cigaras. and from dovo chairus, rya, mandy never tooved a cigar. "avali--there's adusta romni chuls that kairs dovo. and when my juvo mullered, mandy never lelled nokengro kekoomi. some chairuses in her jivaben, she'd lel a bitti nokengro avree my mokto, and when i'd pen, 'deari juvo, what do you kair dovo for?' she pooker mandy, 'it's kushti for my sherro.' and so when she mullered mandy never lelled chichi sensus. "some mushis wont haw mass because the pal or pen that mullered was kammaben to it,--some wont pi levinor for panj or ten besh, some wont haw the kammaben matcho that the chavo hawed. some wont haw puvengroes or pi tood, or haw pabos, and saw (sar) for the mullos. "some won't kair wardos or kil the boshomengro--'that's mandy's pooro chavo's gilli'--and some won't kel. 'no, i can't kel, the last time i kelled was with mandy's poor juvo that's been mullo this shtor besh.' "'come pal, let's jal an' have a drappi levinor--the boshomengri's odoi.' 'kek, pal, kekoomi--i never pi'd a drappi levinor since my bibi's jalled.' 'kushto--lel some tuvalo pal?' 'kek--kek--mandy never tooved since minno juvo pelled a lay in the panni, and never jalled avree kekoomi a jivaben.' 'well, let's jal and kair paiass with the koshters--we dui'll play you dui for a pint o' levinor.' 'kek--i never kaired the paiass of the koshters since my dadas mullered--the last chairus i ever played was with him.' "and lena, the juva of my pal's chavo, job, never hawed plums a'ter her rom mullered." (translation).--"no, i never smoke cigars. no; i never smoke them now since my brother's son job died. and i'll tell you how it came. "it was at the great fair where the horses run (_i.e_., the races), i was keeping a cock-shy, and i saw a gentleman, and asked him for a drop of ale. 'yes,' he said, 'i'll give you ale, and a good smoke too.' 'thank you,' says i, 'sir.' so he gave me the ale, and a dozen cigars. i put them in my pocket, and went on the road and found there my brother's son, and he asked me, 'where (are) you going, uncle?' and i said: 'job, i have something for you.' 'good,' says he--so i gave him the cigars. he said: 'where did you find them?' 'a gentleman gave them to me.' so he put them in his pocket, and asked me, 'what'll you take to drink?' 'a drop of ale.' so he said, 'after the horses (have) run i'll go across the field and see you.' "eight or nine days after, at hampton court, { } his 'pal' came to me and told me that job was ill. and i said, 'anything wrong?' 'worse nor that.' 'what _is_ the affair?' said he, 'i want you to go to my pal,--don't spare the horse--let her go!' so he gave me a fine horse, and i rode eight miles so fast that i thought i'd killed her. and i put her in the stable, and i went down into the field, and there i saw job. 'thank god!' said he; 'uncle, you've come here; and if i get over this small-pox (for 'twas the smallpox he'd caught), i'll give you the best horse that you'll beat all the gipsies.' but he died. "and he says as he was dying, 'uncle, you know the cigars you gave me?' 'yes.' says he, 'i've got 'em here in my pocket.' i and my sisters were by him, but his wife was outside in the great tent, selling things, for she never had the smallpox, nor his children, so they couldn't come to see, for we wouldn't let them. and so he died. "and when he was dead, i put my hand in his pocket, and there i found the cigars. and from that time, sir, i never smoked a cigar. "yes! there are plenty of gipsies who do that. and when my wife died, i never took snuff again. sometimes in her life she'd take a bit of snuff out (from) my box; and when i'd say, 'dear wife, what do you do that for?' she'd tell me, 'it's good for my head.' and so when she died i never took any (none) since. "some men won't eat meat because the brother or sister that died was fond of (to) it; some won't drink ale for five or ten years; some won't eat the favourite fish that the child ate. some won't eat potatoes, or drink milk, or eat apples; and all for the dead. "some won't play cards or the fiddle--'that's my poor boy's tune'--and some won't dance--'no, i can't dance, the last time i danced was with my poor wife (or girl) that's been dead this four years.' "'come, brother, let's go and have a drop of ale; the fiddler is there.' 'no, brother, i never drank a drop of ale since my aunt went (died).' 'well, take some tobacco, brother?' 'no, no, i have not smoked since my wife fell in the water and never came out again alive.' 'well, let's go and play at cock-shy, we two'll play you two for a pint o' ale.' 'no, i never played at cock-shy since my father died; the last time i played was with him.' "and lena, the wife of my nephew job, never ate plums after her husband died." this is a strange manner of mourning, but it is more effective than the mere wearing of black, since it is often a long-sustained and trying tribute to the dead. its oriental-indian origin is apparent enough. but among the german gipsies, who, i am firmly convinced, represent in language and customs their english brethren as the latter were three centuries ago, this reverence for the departed assumes an even deeper and more serious character. mr richard liebich (_die zigeuner_, _leipzig_, ), tells us that in his country their most sacred oath is _ap i mulende_!--by the dead!--and with it may be classed the equally patriarchal imprecation, "by my father's hand!" since writing the foregoing sentence a very remarkable confirmation of the existence of this oath among english gipsies, and the sacredness with which it is observed, came under my own observation. an elderly gipsy, during the course of a family difficulty, declared to his sister that he would leave the house. she did not believe he would until he swore by his dead wife--by his "_mullo juvo_." and when he had said this, his sister promptly remarked: "now you have sworn by her, i know you will do it." he narrated this to me the next day, adding that he was going to put a tent up, about a mile away, and live there. i asked him if he ever swore by his dead father, to which he said: "always, until my wife died." this poor man was almost entirely ignorant of what was in the bible, as i found by questioning him; but i doubt whether i know any christian on whom a bible oath would be more binding than was to him his own by the dead. to me there was something deeply moving in the simple earnestness and strangeness of this adjuration. the german, like the older english gipsies, carefully burn the clothes and bed of the deceased, and, indeed, most objects closely connected with them, and what is more extraordinary, evince their respect by carefully avoiding mentioning their names, even when they are borne by other persons or are characteristic of certain things. so that when a gipsy maiden named forella once died, her entire nation, among whom the trout had always been known only by its german designation, forelle, at once changed the name, and, to this day it is called by them _mulo madscho_--the dead fish,--or at times _lolo madscho_--the red fish. this is also the case among the english gipsies. wishing to have the exact words and views of a real rommany on this subject, i made inquiry, and noted down his reply, which was literally as follows:-- "avali; when rommany chals or juvos are mullos, their pals don't kaum to shoon their navs pauli--it kairs 'em too bongo--so they're purabend to waver navs. saw don't kair it--kek--but posh do, kenna. my chavo's nav was horfer or horferus, but the bitti chavis penned him wacker. well, yeck divvus pre the wellgooro o' the graias prasters, my juvo dicked a boro _doll_ adree some hev of a buttika and penned, 'dovo odoi dicks just like moro wacker!' so we penned him _wackerdoll_, but a'ter my juvo mullered i rakkered him wacker again, because wackerdoll pet mandy in cammoben o' my poor juvo." in english: "yes. when gipsy men or women die, their friends don't care to hear their names again--it makes them too sad, so they are changed to other names. all don't do it--no--but half of them do so still. my boy's name was horfer or horferus (orpheus), but the children called him wacker. well, one day at the great fair of the races, my wife saw a large doll in some window of a shop, and said, 'that looks just like our wacker!' so we called him wackerdoll, but after my wife died i called him wacker again, because wacker_doll_ put me in mind of my poor wife." when further interrogated on the same subject, he said: "a'ter my juva mullered, if i dicked a waver rakli with lakis'nav, an' mandy was a rakkerin laki, mandy'd pen ajaw a waver geeri's nav, an rakker her by a waver nav:--dovo's to pen i'd lel some bongonav sar's polly or sukey. an' it was the sar covva with my dades nav--if i dicked a mush with a nav that simmed leskers, mandy'd rakker him by a waver nav. for 'twould kair any mush wafro to shoon the navyas of the mullas a't 'were cammoben to him." or in english, "after my wife died, if i saw another girl with her name, and i was talking to her, i'd _speak_ another woman's name, and call her by another name; that's to say, i'd take some nick-name, such as polly or sukey. and it was the same thing with my father's name--if i saw a man with a name that was the same as his (literally, 'that _samed_ his'), i'd call him by another name. for 'twould make any man grieve (lit. 'bad') to hear the names of the dead that were dear to him." i suppose that there are very few persons, not of gipsy blood, in england, to whom the information will not be new, that there are to be found everywhere among us, people who mourn for their lost friends in this strange and touching manner. another form of respect for the departed among gipsies, is shown by their frequently burying some object of value with the corpse, as is, however, done by most wild races. on questioning the same gipsy last alluded to, he spoke as follows on this subject, i taking down his words:-- "when job mullered and was chivved adree the puv, there was a nevvi kushto-dickin dui chakkas pakkered adree the mullo mokto. dighton penned a mandy the waver divvus, that trin thousand bars was gavvered posh yeck o' the chilcotts. an i've shooned o' some stanleys were buried with sonnakai wongashees apre langis wastos. '_do sar the rommany chals kair adovo_?' kek. some chivs covvas pash the mullos adree the puv, and boot adusta don't." in english: "when job died and was buried, there was a new beautiful pair of shoes put in the coffin (_lit_. corpse-box). dighton told me the other day, that three thousand pounds were hidden with one of the chilcotts. and i have heard of some stanleys who were buried with gold rings on their fingers. '_do all the gipsies do that_?' no! some put things with the dead in the earth, and many do not." mr liebich further declares, that while there is really nothing in it to sustain the belief, this extraordinary reverence and regard for the dead is the only fact at all indicating an idea of the immortality of the soul which he has ever found among the gipsies; but, as he admits, it proves nothing. to me, however, it is grimly grotesque, when i return to the disciples of comte--the positivists--the most highly cultivated scholars of the most refined form of philosophy in its latest stage, and find that their ultimate and practical manifestation of _la religion_, is quite the same as that of those unaffected and natural positivists, the gipsies. with these, as with the others, our fathers find their immortality in our short-lived memories, and if among either, some one moved by deep love--as auguste was by the eyes of clotilda--has yearned for immortality with the dear one, and cursed in agony annihilation, he falls upon the faith founded in ancient india, that only that soul lives for ever which has done so much good on earth, as to leave behind it in humanity, ineffaceable traces of its elevation. verily, the poor gipsies would seem, to a humourist, to have been created by the devil, whose name they almost use for god, a living parody and satanic burlesque of all that human faith, doubt, or wisdom, have ever accomplished in their highest forms. even to the weakest minded and most uninformed manufacturers of "grellmann-diluted" pamphlets, on the gipsies, their parallel to the jews is most apparent. all over the world this black and god-wanting shadow dances behind the solid theism of "the people," affording proof that if the latter can be preserved, even in the wildest wanderings, to illustrate holy writ--so can gipsydom--for no apparent purpose whatever. how often have we heard that the preservation of the jews is a phenomenon without equal? and yet they both live--the sad and sober jew, the gay and tipsy gipsy, shemite and aryan--the one so ridiculously like and unlike the other, that we may almost wonder whether humour does not enter into the divine purpose and have its place in the destiny of man. for my own part, i shall always believe that the heathen mythology shows a superiority to any other, in _one_ conception--that of loki, who into the tremendous upturnings of the universe always inspires a grim grotesqueness; a laughter either diabolic or divine. judaism, which is pre-eminently the principle of religious belief:--the metaphysical emancipation and enlightenment of germany, and the materialistic positivism of france, are then, as i have indicated, nowhere so practically and yet laughably illustrated as by the gipsy. free from all the trammels of faith, and, to the last degree, indifferent and rationalistic, he satisfies the demands of feuerbach; devoted to the positive and to the memory of the dead, he is the ideal of the greatest french philosophy, while as a wanderer on the face of the earth--not neglectful of picking up things _en route_--he is the rather blurred _facsimile_ of the hebrew, the main difference in the latter parallel being that while the jews are god's chosen people, the poor gipsies seem to have been selected as favourites by that darker spirit, whose name they have naively substituted for divinity:--_nomen et omen_. i may add, however, in due fairness, that there are in england some true gipsies of unmixed blood, who--it may be without much reflection--have certainly adopted ideas consonant with a genial faith in immortality, and certain phases of religion. the reader will find in another chapter a curious and beautiful gipsy custom recorded, that of burning an ash fire on christmas-day, in honour of our saviour, because he was born and lived like a gipsy; and one day i was startled by bearing a rom say "miduvel hatch for mandy an' kair me kushto."--my god stand up for me and make me well. "that" he added, in an explanatory tone, "is what you say when you're sick." these instances, however, indicate no deep-seated conviction, though they are certainly curious, and, in their extreme simplicity, affecting. that truly good man, the rev. james crabb, in his touching little book, "the gipsies' advocate," gave numbers of instances of gipsy conversions to religion and of real piety among them, which occurred after their minds and feelings had been changed by his labours; indeed, it would seem as if their lively imaginations and warm hearts render them extremely susceptible to the sufferings of jesus. but this does not in the least affect the extraordinary truth that in their nomadic and natural condition, the gipsies, all the world over, present the spectacle, almost without a parallel, of total indifference to, and ignorance of, religion, and that i have found true old-fashioned specimens of it in england. i would say, in conclusion, that the rev. james crabb, whose unaffected and earnest little book tells its own story, did much good in his own time and way among the poor gipsies; and the fact that he is mentioned to the present day, by them, with respect and love, proves that missionaries are not useless, nor gipsies ungrateful--though it is almost the fashion with too many people to assume both positions as rules without exceptions. chapter v. gipsy letters. a gipsy's letter to his sister.--drabbing horses.--fortune telling.--cock shys.--"hatch 'em pauli, or he'll lel sar the covvas!"--two german gipsy letters. i shall give in this chapter a few curious illustrations of gipsy life and character, as shown in a letter, which is illustrated by two specimens in the german rommany dialect. with regard to the first letter, i might prefix to it, as a motto, old john willett's remark: "what's a man without an imagination?" certainly it would not apply to the gipsy, who has an imagination so lively as to be at times almost ungovernable; considering which i was much surprised that, so far as i know, the whole race has as yet produced only one writer who has distinguished himself in the department of fiction--albeit he who did so was a giant therein--i mean john bunyan. and here i may well be allowed an unintended digression, as to whether bunyan were really a gipsy. in a previous chapter of this work, i, with little thought of bunyan, narrated the fact that an intelligent tinker, and a full gipsy, asked me last summer in london, if i thought that the rommany were of the ten tribes of israel? when john bunyan tells us explicitly that he once asked his father whether he and his relatives were of the race of the israelites--he having then never seen a jew--and when he carefully informs his readers that his descent was of a low and inconsiderable generation, "my father's house being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all the families of the land," there remains no rational doubt whatever that bunyan was indeed a rom of the rommany. "_applico_" of which, as my own special and particular gipsy is wont to say--it is worth noting that the magician shakespeare, who knew everything, showed himself superior to many modern dramatists in being aware that the tinkers of england had, not a peculiar cant, but a special _language_. and now for the letters. one day ward'engro of the k'allis's gav, asked me to write him a letter to his daughter, in rommany. so i began to write from his dictation. but being, like all his race, unused to literary labour, his lively imagination continually led him astray, and as i found amusement in his so doing, it proved to be an easy matter to induce him to wander off into scenes of gipsy life, which, however edifying they might be to my reader, would certainly not have the charm of novelty to the black-eyed lady to whom they were supposed to be addressed. however, as i read over from time to time to my rommany chal what i had written, his delight in actually hearing his own words read from writing, partook of all the pride of successful authorship--it was, my dear sir, like your delight over your first proof sheet. well, this was the letter. a translation will be found following it. the panni gav, _dec_. , . my kamli chavi,--kushti bak! my cammoben to turo mush an' turo dadas an' besto bak. we've had wafri bak, my pen's been naflo this here cooricus, we're doin' very wafro and couldn't lel no wongur. your dui pals are kairin kushto, prasturin 'bout the tem, bickinin covvas. { } your puro kako welled acai to his pen, and hatched trin divvus, and jawed avree like a puro jucko, and never del mandy a poshero. kek adusta nevvi. a rakli acai lelled a hora waver divvus from a waver rakli, and the one who nashered it pens: "del it pauli a mandi and i wont dukker tute! del it apre!" but the waver rakli penned "kek," and so they bitchered for the prastramengro. he lelled the juva to the wardo, and just before she welled odoi, she hatched her wast in her poachy, an' chiv it avree, and the prastramengro hatched it apre. so they bitchered her for shurabun. (here my gipsy suggested that _stardo_ or _staramangro_ might be used for greater elegance, in place of shurabun.) i've got kek gry and can't lel no wongur to kin kek. my kamli chavi, if you could bitch me a few bars it would be cammoben. i rikkers my covvas apre mi dumo kenna. i dicked my kako, waver divvus adree a lot o rommany chals, saw a piin'. there was the juvas a koorin adoi and the mushis a koorin an' there was a boro chingaree, some with kali yakkas an' some with sherros chinned so the ratt jalled alay 'pre the drum. there was dui or trin bar to pessur in the sala for the graias an' mylas that got in pandamam (_pandapenn_). your pal's got a kushti gry that can jal alangus the drum kushto. l--- too's got a baro kushto gry. he jawed to the wellgooro, to the boro gav, with a poggobavescro gry an' a nokengro. you could a mored dovo gry an' kek penn'd a lav tute. i del it some ballovas to hatch his bavol and i bikened it for bar, to a rye that you jins kushto. lotti was at the wellgooro dukkerin the ranis. she lelled some kushti habben, an' her jellico was saw porder, when she dicked her mush and shelled. "havacai! i've got some fine habben!" she penned to a rakli, "pet your wonger adree turo wast an i'll dukker tute." an' she lelled a pash bar from the rani. she penned her: "you kaums a rye a longo duros. he's a kaulo and there's a waver rye, a pauno, that kaums you too, an' you'll soon lel a chinamangree. tute'll rummorben before dui besh, an' be the dye of trin chavis.' there was a gry jallin with a wardo langus the drum, an' i dicked a raklo, an' putsched (_pootched_) him. "how much wongur?" an' he pookered man'y "desh bar;" i penned: "is dovo, noko gry?" "avali." well, a rommany chul del him desh bar for the gry an' bikined it for twelve bar to a boro rye. it was a fino kaulo gry with a boro herree, but had a naflo piro; it was the _nearo_ piro an' was a dellemescro. he del it some hopium drab to hatch adoi, and tooled his solivengro upo the purgis. at the paiass with the koshters a rye welled and wantelo shelled avree: "trin kosters for a horra, eighteen for a shekori!" an' the rye lelled a koshter an' we had pange collos for trin dozenos. the rye kaired paiass kushto and lelled pange cocoanuts, and lelled us to his wardo, and dell'd mandy trin currus of tatty panni, so that i was most matto. he was a kushti rye and his rani was as good as the rye. there was a waver mush a playin, an' mandy penned: "pen the kosh paulier, hatch 'em odoi, don't well adoorer or he'll lel saw the covvos! chiv 'em pauli!" a chi rakkered the ryes an' got fifteen cullos from yeck. and no moro the divvus from your kaum pal, m. translation. the water village, _dec_. , . my dear daughter,--good luck! my love to your husband and your father, and best luck! we've had bad fortune, my sister has been sick this here week, we're doing very badly and could not get any money. your two brothers are doing well, running about the country selling things. your old uncle came to his sister and stayed three days, and went away like an old dog and never gave me a penny. nothing much new. a girl here took a watch the other day from another girl, and the one who lost it said: "give it back to me and i won't hurt you." but the other girl said "no," and so they sent for the constable. he took the girl to the station (or carriage), and just before she got there she put her hand in her pocket and threw it away, and the policeman picked it up. so they sent her to prison. i have no horse, and can't get any money to buy _none_. my dear daughter, if you could send me a few pounds it would be agreeable. i carry my _traps_ on my back now. i saw my uncle the other day among a lot of gipsies, all drinking. there were the women fighting there, and the men fighting, and there was a great _shindy_, some with black eyes, and some with heads cut so that the blood ran down on the road. there were two or three pounds to pay in the morning for the horses and asses that were in the pound. your brother has got a capital horse that can go along the road nicely. l---, too, has a large fine horse. he went to the fair in --- with a broken-winded horse and a glandered. you could have killed that horse and nobody said a word to you. i gave it some lard to stop his breathing, and i sold it for nine pound to a gentleman whom you know well. lotty was at the fair telling fortunes to the ladies. she got some excellent food, and her apron was quite full, when she saw her husband and cried out: "come here! i've got some nice victuals!" she said to a girl: "put you money in your hand and i'll tell you your fortune." and she took half a sovereign from the lady. she told her: "you love a gentleman who is far away. he is dark, and there is another gentleman, a fair-haired man that loves you, and you'll soon get a letter. you'll marry before two years, and be the mother of three children." there was a horse going with a waggon along the road; and i saw a youth, and asked him, "how much money?" (for the horse), and he replied to me, "ten pounds." i said, "is that your horse?" "yes." well, a gipsy gave him ten pounds for the horse, and sold it for twelve pounds to a great gentleman. it was a good black horse, with a (handsome) strong leg (literally large), but it had a bad foot; it was the _near_ foot, and it was a kicker. he gave it some opium medicament to keep quiet (literally to stop there), and held his rein (_i.e_., trotted him so as to show his pace, and conceal his faults) on the road. at the cock-shy a gentleman came, and wantelo halloed out, "three sticks for a penny, eighteen for a sixpence!" and the gentleman took a stick, and we had five shillings for three dozen throws! the gentleman played well, and got five cocoanuts, and took us to his carriage and gave me three glasses of brandy, so that i was almost drunk. he was a good gentleman, and his lady was as good as her husband. there was another man playing; and i said, "set the sticks more back, set 'em there; don't go further or he'll get all the things! set 'em back!" a gipsy girl talked to the gentlemen (_i.e_., persuaded them to play), and got fifteen shillings from one. and no more to-day from your dear brother, m. * * * * * one thing in the foregoing letter is worth noting. every remark or incident occurring in it is literally true--drawn from life--_pur et simple_. it is, indeed, almost the _resume_ of the entire life of many poor gipsies during the summer. and i may add that the language in which it is written, though not the "deep" or grammatical gipsy, in which no english words occur--as for instance in the lord's prayer, as given by mr borrow in his appendix to the gipsies in spain { }--is still really a fair specimen of the rommany of the present day, which is spoken at races by cock-shysters and fortune-tellers. the "water village," from which it is dated, is the generic term among gipsies for all towns by the sea-side. the phrase _kushto_ (or _kushti_), _bak_!--"good luck!" is after "_sarishan_!" or "how are you?" the common greeting among gipsies. the fight is from life and to the life; and the "two or three pounds to pay in the morning for the horses and asses that got impounded," indicates its magnitude. to have a beast in pound in consequence of a frolic, is a common disaster in gipsy life. during the dictation of the foregoing letter, my gipsy paused at the word "broken-winded horse," when i asked him how he could stop the heavy breathing? "with ballovas (or lard and starch)--long enough to sell it." "but how would you sell a glandered horse?" here he described, with great ingenuity, the manner in which he would _tool_ or manage the horse--an art in which gipsies excel all the world over--and which, as mr borrow tells us, they call in spain "_de pacuaro_," which is pure persian. "but that would not stop the running. how would you prevent that?" "i don't know." "then i am a better graiengro than you, for i know a powder, and with a penny's worth of it i could stop the glanders in the worst case, long enough to sell the horse. i once knew an old horse-dealer who paid sixty pounds for a _nokengro_ (a glandered horse) which had been powdered in this way." the gipsy listened to me in great admiration. about a week afterwards i heard he had spoken of me as follows:-- "don't talk about knowing. my rye knows more than anybody. he can cheat any man in england selling him a glandered horse." had this letter been strictly confined to the limits originally intended, it would have spoken only of the sufferings of the family, the want of money, and possibly, the acquisition of a new horse by the brother. in this case it bears a decided family-likeness to the following letter in the german-gipsy dialect, which originally appeared in a book entitled, _beytrag zur rottwellischen grammatik_, _oder worterbuch von der zigeuner spracke_, leipzig , and which was republished by dr a. f. pott in his stupendous work, _die zigeuner in europa und asien_. halle, . german gipsy. miri komli romni,--ertiewium francfurtter wium te gajum apro newoforo. apro drum ne his mange mishdo. mare manush tschingerwenes ketteni. tschiel his te midschach wettra. tschawe wele naswele. dowa ker, kai me gaijam medre gazdias tele; mare ziga t'o terno kalbo nahsle penge. o flachso te hanfa te wulla te schwigarizakri te stifftshakri ho spinderde gotshias nina. lopennawa, wium ke tshorero te wiam hallauter nange denkerdum tschingerwam mangi kasht te mre wastiengri butin, oder hunte di kaw te kinnaw tschommoni pre te bikkewaw pale, te de denkerwaw te ehrnahrwaw man kiacke. me bium kiacke kuremangrender pene aper mande, buten tschingerde buten trinen marde te man, tshimaster apri butin tshidde. o bolloben te rackel tutt andre sawe kolester, kai me wium adre te me tshawa tiro rum shin andro meraben. translation. my dear wife,--before i came to frankfort i went to neustadt. on the way it did not go well with me. our men quarrelled together. it was cold and wet weather. the children were ill. that house into which we had gone burnt down; our kid and the young calf run away. the flax and hemp and wool [which] the sister-in-law and step-daughter spun are also burned. in short, i say i became so poor that we all went naked. i thought of cutting wood and working by hand, or i should go into business and sell something. i think i will make my living so. i was so treated by the soldiers. they fell on us, wounded many, three they killed, and i was taken to prison to work for life. heaven preserve you in all things from that into which i have fallen, and i remain thy husband unto death. * * * * * it is the same sad story in all, wretchedness, poverty, losses, and hunger. in the english letter there was a _chingari_--a shindy; in the german they have a _tshinger_, which is nearly the same word, and means the same. it may be remarked as curious that the word _meraben_ at the end of the letter, meaning death, is used by english gipsies to signify life as well. "dick at the gorgios, the gorgios round mandy; trying to take my meripon, my meripon away." the third letter is also in the german-gipsy dialect, and requires a little explanation. once a man named charles augustus was arrested as a beggar and suspected gipsy, and brought before mr richard liebich, who appears to have been nothing less in the total than the _furstlich reuss- plauenschem criminalrathe und vorstande des furstlichen criminalgerichts zu lobenstein_--in fact, a rather lofty local magistrate. before this terrible title charles appeared, and swore stoutly that he was no more a rommany chal than he was one of the apostles--for be it remembered, reader, that in germany at the present day, the mere fact of being a gipsy is still treated as a crime. suddenly the judge attacked him with the words--"_tu hal rom, me hom, rakker tschatschopenn_!"--"thou art a gipsy, i am a gipsy, speak the truth." and charles, looking up in amazement and seeing the black hair and brown face of the judge, verily believed that he was of the blood of dom. so crossing his arms on his breast in true oriental style, he salaamed deeply, and in a submissive voice said--"_me hom rom_"--"_i am a_ gipsy." the judge did not abuse the confidence gained by his little trick, since he appears to have taken charles under his wing, employed him in small jobs (in america we should say _chores_, but the word would be frightfully significant, if applied to a gipsy), { } and finally dismissed him. and charles replied rommanesquely, by asking for something. his application was as follows:-- german gipsy. "lichtenberg ane desche ochdado, _januar_ . "ladscho baro rai,--me hunde dschinawe duge gole dui trin lawinser mire zelle gowe, har geas mange an demaro foro de demare birengerenser. har weum me stildo gage lean demare birengere mr lowe dele, de har weum biro gage lean jon man dran o stilibin bri, de mangum me mr lowe lender, gai deum dele. jon pendin len wellen geg mander. gai me deum miro lowe lende, naste pennene jon gar wawer. brinscherdo lowe hi an i gissig, o baro godder lolo paro, trin chairingere de jeg dschildo gotter sinagro lowe. man weas mr lowe gar gobe dschanel o baro dewel ani bolebin. miro baaro bargerbin vaschge demare ladschebin bennawe. o baro dewel de pleisserwel de maro ladscho sii i pure sasde tschiwaha demende demaro zelo beero. de hadzin e birengere miro lowe, dale mangawa me len de bidschin jon mire lowe gadder o foro naile abbi bidschebasger wurtum sikk. gai me dschingerdum ab demende, hi gar dschadscho, gai miri romni hass mando, gowe hi dschadscho. obaaro dewel de bleiserwel de mange de menge demaro ladscho sii. miero bargerbin. de me dschawe demaro gandelo waleddo. charles augustin." translation. "lichtenberg, _january_ , . "good great sir,--i must write to you with these two or three words my whole business (_gowe_, english gipsy _covvo_, literally 'thing,') how it happened to me in your town, by your servants (literally 'footmen'). when i was arrested, your servants took my money away, and when i was freed they took me out of prison. i asked my money of them which i had given up. they said they had got none from me. that i gave them my money they cannot deny. the said (literally, known) money is in a purse, a great piece, red (and) old, three kreutzers, and a yellow piece of good-for- nothing money. i did not get my money, as the great god in heaven knows. my great thanks for your goodness, i say. the great god reward your good heart with long healthy life, you and your whole family. and if your servants find my money, i beg they will send it to the town naila, by the post at once. that i cursed you is not true; that my wife was drunk is true. the great god reward your good heart. my thanks. and i remain, your obedient servant, charles augustin." those who attempt to read this letter in the original, should be informed that german gipsy is, as compared to the english or spanish dialects, almost a perfect language; in fact, pott has by incredible industry, actually restored it to its primitive complete form; and its orthography is now settled. against this orthography poor charles augustin sins sadly, and yet it may be doubted whether many english tramps and beggars could write a better letter. the especial gipsy characteristic in this letter is the constant use of the name of god, and the pious profusion of blessings. "she's the _blessing-est_ old woman i ever came across," was very well said of an old rommany dame in england. and yet these well-wishings are not always insincere, and they are earnest enough when uttered in gipsy. chapter vi. gipsy words which have passed into english slang. jockey.--tool.--cove or covey.--hook, hookey, and walker, hocus, hanky- panky, and hocus-pocus.--shindy.--row.--chivvy.--bunged eye.--shavers.-- clichy.--caliban.--a rum 'un.--pal.--trash.--cadger.--cad.--bosh.--bats.-- chee-chee.--the cheese.--chiv fencer.--cooter.--gorger.--dick.--dook.-- tanner.--drum.--gibberish.--ken.--lil.--loure.--loafer.--maunder.--moke.-- parny.--posh.--queer. raclan.--bivvy.--rigs.--moll.--distarabin.--tiny.-- toffer.--tool.--punch.--wardo.--voker (one of mr hotten's gipsy words).-- welcher.--yack.--lushy.--a mull.--pross.--toshers.--up to trap.--barney.-- beebee.--cull, culley.--jomer.--bloke.--duffer.--niggling.--mug.-- bamboozle, slang, and bite.--rules to be observed in determining the etymology of gipsy words. though the language of the gipsies has been kept a great secret for centuries, still a few words have in england oozed out here and there from some unguarded crevice, and become a portion of our tongue. there is, it must be admitted, a great difficulty in tracing, with anything like accuracy, the real origin or identity of such expressions. some of them came into english centuries ago, and during that time great changes have taken place in rommany. at least one-third of the words now used by scottish gipsies are unintelligible to their english brothers. to satisfy myself on this point, i have examined an intelligent english gipsy on the scottish gipsy vocabularies in mr simpson's work, and found it was as i anticipated; a statement which will not appear incredible when it is remembered, that even the rommany of yetholm have a dialect marked and distinct from that of other scotch gipsies. as for england, numbers of the words collected by william marsden, and jacob bryant, in - , dr bright in , and by harriott in , are not known at the present day to any gipsies whom i have met. again, it should be remembered that the pronunciation of rommany differs widely with individuals; thus the word which is given as _cumbo_, a hill, by bryant, i have heard very distinctly pronounced _choomure_. i believe that to mr borrow is due the discovery that the word jockey is of gipsy origin, and derived from _chuckni_, which means a whip. for nothing is more clearly established than that the jockey-whip was the original term in which this word first made its appearance on the turf, and that the _chuckni_ was a peculiar form of whip, very long and heavy, first used by the gipsies. "jockeyism," says mr borrow, "properly means _the management of a whip_, and the word jockey is neither more nor less than the term, slightly modified, by which they designate the formidable whips which they usually carry, and which are at present in general use among horse-traffickers, under the title of jockey-whips." in hungary and germany the word occurs as _tschuckini_ or _chookni_, and _tschupni_. many of my readers are doubtless familiar with the word to tool as applied to dexterously managing the reins and driving horses. 'to tool the horses down the road,' is indeed rather a fine word of its class, being as much used in certain clubs as in stables, and often denotes stylish and gentlemanly driving. and the term is without the slightest modification, either of pronunciation or meaning, directly and simply gipsy, and is used by gipsies in the same way. it has, however, in rommany, as a primitive meaning--to hold, or to take. thus i have heard of a feeble old fellow that "he could not tool himself togetherus"--for which last word, by the way, _kettenus_ might have been more correctly substituted. cove is not an elegant, though a very old, word, but it is well known, and i have no doubt as to its having come from the gipsy. in rommany, all the world over, _cova_ means "a thing," but it is almost indefinite in its applicability. "it is," says pott, "a general helper on all occasions; is used as substantive and adjective, and has a far wider scope than the latin _res_." thus _covo_ may mean "that man;" _covi_, "that woman;" and _covo_ or _cuvvo_, as it very often does in english, "that, there." it sometimes appears in the word _acovat_, or _this_. there is no expression more frequent in a gipsy's mouth, and it is precisely the one which would be probably overheard by "gorgios" and applied to persons. i believe that it first made its appearance in english slang as _covey_, and was then pronounced _cuvvy_, being subsequently abbreviated into cove. quite a little family of words has come into english from the rommany, _hocben_, _huckaben_, _hokkeny_, or _hooker_, all meaning a lie, or to lie, deception and _humbug_. mr borrow shows us that _hocus_, to "bewitch" liquor with an opiate, and _hoax_, are probably rommany from this root, and i have no doubt that the expression, "yes, with a _hook_," meaning "it is false," comes from the same. the well-known "hookey" who corresponds so closely with his untruthful and disreputable pal "walker," is decidedly of the streets--gipsy. in german gipsy we find _chochavav_ and _hochewawa_, and in roumanian gipsy _kokao_--a lie. hanky-panky and hocus-pocus are each one half almost pure hindustani. { } a shindy approaches so nearly in sound to the gipsy word _chingaree_, which means precisely the same thing, that the suggestion is at least worth consideration. and it also greatly resembles _chindi_, which may be translated as "cutting up," and also quarrel. "to cut up shindies" was the first form in which this extraordinary word reached the public. in the original gipsy tongue the word to quarrel is _chinger-av_, meaning also (pott, _zigeuner_, p. ) to cut, hew, and fight, while to cut is _chinav_. "cutting up" is, if the reader reflects, a very unmeaning word as applied to outrageous or noisy pranks; but in gipsy, whether english, german, or oriental, it is perfectly sensible and logical, involving the idea of quarrelling, separating, dividing, cutting, and stabbing. what, indeed, could be more absurd than the expression "cutting up shines," unless we attribute to _shine_ its legitimate gipsy meaning of _a piece cut off_, and its cognate meaning, a noise? i can see but little reason for saying that a man _cut away_ or that he _shinned_ it, for run away, unless we have recourse to gipsy, though i only offer this as a mere suggestion. "applico" to shindy we have the word row, meaning nearly the same thing and as nearly gipsy in every respect as can be. it is in gipsy at the present day in england, correctly, _rov_, or _roven_--to cry--but _v_ and _w_ are so frequently transposed that we may consider them as the same letter. _raw_ or _me rauaw_, "i howl" or "cry," is german gipsy. _rowan_ is given by pott as equivalent to the latin _ululatus_, which constituted a very respectable _row_ as regards mere noise. "rowdy" comes from "row" and both are very good gipsy in their origin. in hindustani _rao mut_ is "don't cry!" chivvy is a common english vulgar word, meaning to goad, drive, vex, hunt, or throw as it were here and there. it is purely gipsy, and seems to have more than one root. _chiv_, _chib_, or _chipe_, in rommany, mean a tongue, inferring scolding, and _chiv_ anything sharp-pointed, as for instance a dagger, or goad or knife. but the old gipsy word _chiv-av_ among its numerous meanings has exactly that of casting, throwing, pitching, and driving. to _chiv_ in english gipsy means as much and more than to _fix_ in america, in fact, it is applied to almost any kind of action. it may be remarked in this connection, that in german or continental gipsy, which represents the english in a great measure as it once was, and which is far more perfect as to grammar, we find different words, which in english have become blended into one. thus, _chib_ or _chiv_, a tongue, and _tschiwawa_ (or _chiv_-ava), to lay, place, lean, sow, sink, set upright, move, harness, cover up, are united in england into _chiv_, which embraces the whole. "_chiv it apre_" may be applied to throwing anything, to covering it up, to lifting it, to setting it, to pushing it, to circulating, and in fact to a very great number of similar verbs. there is, i think, no rational connection between the bung of a barrel and an eye which has been closed by a blow. one might as well get the simile from a knot in a tree or a cork in a flask. but when we reflect on the constant mingling of gipsies with prizefighters, it is almost evident that the word bongo may have been the origin of it. a _bongo yakko_ or _yak_, means a distorted, crooked, or, in fact, a bunged eye. it also means lame, crooked, or sinister, and by a very singular figure of speech, _bongo tem_ or the crooked land is the name for hell. { } shavers, as a quaint nick-name for children, is possibly inexplicable, unless we resort to gipsy, where we find it used as directly as possible. _chavo_ is the rommany word for child all the world over, and the english term _chavies_, in scottish gipsy _shavies_, or shavers, leaves us but little room for doubt. i am not aware to what extent the term "little shavers" is applied to children in england, but in america it is as common as any cant word can be. i do not know the origin of the french word clichy, as applied to the noted prison of that name, but it is perhaps not undeserving the comment that in continental gipsy it means a key and a bolt. i have been struck with the fact that caliban, the monster in "the tempest," by shakespeare, has an appellation which literally signifies blackness in gipsy. in fact, this very word, or cauliban, is given in one of the gipsy vocabularies for "black." kaulopen or kauloben would, however, be more correct. "a regular rum 'un" was the form in which the application of the word "rum" to strange, difficult, or distinguished, was first introduced to the british public. this, i honestly believe (as mr borrow indicates), came from _rum_ or _rom_, a gipsy. it is a peculiar word, and all of its peculiarities might well be assumed by the sporting gipsy, who is always, in his way, a character, gifted with an indescribable self-confidence, as are all "horsey" men characters, "sports" and boxers, which enables them to keep to perfection the german eleventh commandment, "thou shall not let thyself be _bluffed_!"--_i.e_., abashed. pal is a common cant word for brother or friend, and it is purely gipsy, having come directly from that language, without the slightest change. on the continent it is _prala_, or _pral_. in england it sometimes takes the form "_pel_." trash is derived by mr wedgwood (dictionary of english etymology, ) from the old word _trousse_, signifying the clipping of trees. but in old gipsy or in the german gipsy of the present day, as in the turkish rommany, it means so directly "fear, mental weakness and worthlessness," that it may possibly have had a rommany origin. terror in gipsy is _trash_, while thirst is _trush_, and both are to be found in the hindustani. _tras_, which means _thirst_ and _alarm_ or _terror_. it should be observed that in no instance can these gipsy words have been borrowed from english slang. they are all to be found in german gipsy, which is in its turn identical with the rommany language of india--of the nats, bhazeghurs, doms, multanee or banjoree, as i find the primitive wandering gipsies termed by different writers. i am aware that the word cad was applied to the conductor of an omnibus, or to a non-student at universities, before it became a synonym for vulgar fellow, yet i believe that it was abbreviated from cadger, and that this is simply the gipsy word gorgio, which often means a man in the abstract. i have seen this word printed as gorger in english slang. codger, which is common, is applied, as gipsies use the term gorgio, contemptuously, and it sounds still more like it. bosh, signifying nothing, or in fact empty humbug, is generally credited to the turkish language, but i can see no reason for going to the turks for what the gipsies at home already had, in all probability, from the same persian source, or else from the sanskrit. with the gipsies, _bosh_ is a fiddle, music, noise, barking, and very often an idle sound or nonsense. "stop your bosherin," or "your bosh," is what they would term _flickin lav_, or current phrase. "bats," a low term for a pair of boots, especially bad ones, is, i think, from the gipsy and hindustani _pat_, a foot, generally called, however, by the rommany in england, tom pats. "to pad the hoof," and "to stand pad "--the latter phrase meaning to stand upright, or to stand and beg, are probably derived from _pat_. it should be borne in mind that gipsies, in all countries, are in the habit of changing certain letters, so that _p_ and _b_, like _l_ and _n_, or _k_ and _g_ hard, may often be regarded as identical. "chee-chee," "be silent!" or "fie," is termed "anglo-indian," by the author of the slang dictionary, but we need not go to india of the present day for a term which is familiar to every gipsy and "traveller" in england, and which, as mr simson discovered long ago, is an excellent "spell" to discourage the advances of thimble-riggers and similar gentry, at fairs, or in public places. cheese, or "the cheese," meaning that anything is pre-eminent or superior; in fact, "the thing," is supposed by many to be of gipsy origin because gipsies use it, and it is to be found as "chiz" in hindustani, in which language it means a thing. gipsies do not, however, seem to regard it themselves, as _tacho_ or true rommanis, despite this testimony, and i am inclined to think that it partly originated in some wag's perversion of the french word _chose_. in london, a man who sells cutlery in the streets is called a chive fencer, a term evidently derived from the gipsy _chiv_, a sharp-pointed instrument or knife. a knife is also called a _chiv_ by the lowest class all over england. couter or cooter is a common english slang term for a guinea. it was not necessary for the author of the slang dictionary to go to the banks of the danube for the origin of a word which is in the mouths of all english gipsies, and which was brought to england by their ancestors. a sovereign, a pound, in gipsy, is a _bar_. a gorger, meaning a gentleman, or well-dressed man, and in theatrical parlance, a manager, is derived by the author of the slang dictionary--absurdly enough, it must be confessed--from "gorgeous,"--a word with which it has no more in common than with gouges or chisels. a gorger or gorgio--the two are often confounded--is the common gipsy word for one who is not gipsy, and very often means with them a _rye_ or gentleman, and indeed any man whatever. actors sometimes call a fellow- performer a _cully-gorger_. dick, an english slang word for sight, or seeing, is purely gipsy in its origin, and in common use by rommanis over all the world. dook, to tell fortunes, and dooking, fortune-telling, are derived by the writer last cited, correctly enough, from the gipsy _dukkerin_,--a fact which i specify, since it is one of the very rare instances in which he has not blundered when commenting on rommany words, or other persons' works. mr borrow has told us that a tanner or sixpence, sometimes called a downer, owes its pseudonym to the gipsy word _tawno_ or _tano_, meaning "little"--the sixpence being the little coin as compared with a shilling. drum or drom, is the common english gipsy word for a road. in english slang it is applied, not only to highways, but also to houses. if the word gibberish was, as has been asserted, first applied to the language of the gipsies, it may have been derived either from "gip," the nickname for gipsy, with _ish_ or _rish_ appended as in engl-_ish_, i- _rish_, or from the rommany word _jib_ signifying a language. ken, a low term for a house, is possibly of gipsy origin. the common word in every rommany dialect for a house is, however, neither ken nor khan, but _ker_. lil, a book, a letter, has passed from the gipsies to the low "gorgios," though it is not a very common word. in rommany it can be _correctly_ applied only to a letter or a piece of paper, which is written on, though english gipsies call all books by this name, and often speak of a letter as a _chinamangri_. lour or lowr, and loaver, are all vulgar terms for money, and combine two gipsy words, the one _lovo_ or _lovey_, and the other _loure_, to steal. the reason for the combination or confusion is obvious. the author of the slang dictionary, in order to explain this word, goes as usual to the wallachian gipsies, for what he might have learned from the first tinker in the streets of london. i should remark on the word loure, that mr borrow has shown its original identity with _loot_, the hindustani for plunder or booty. i believe that the american word loafer owes something to this gipsy root, as well as to the german _laufer_ (_landlaufer_), and mexican spanish _galeofar_, and for this reason, that when the term first began to be popular in or , i can distinctly remember that it meant to _pilfer_. such, at least, is my earliest recollection, and of hearing school boys ask one another in jest, of their acquisitions or gifts, "where did you loaf that from?" a petty pilferer was a loafer, but in a very short time all of the tribe of loungers in the sun, and disreputable pickers up of unconsidered trifles, now known as bummers, were called loafers. on this point my memory is positive, and i call attention to it, since the word in question has been the subject of much conjecture in america. it is a very curious fact, that while the word _loot_ is unquestionably anglo-indian, and only a recent importation into our english "slanguage," it has always been at the same time english-gipsy, although it never rose to the surface. maunder, to stroll about and beg, has been derived from _mand_, the anglo- saxon for a basket, but is quite as likely to have come from maunder, the gipsy for "to beg." mumper, a beggar, is also from the same source. moke, a donkey, is _said_ to be gipsy, by mr hotten, but gipsies themselves do not use the word, nor does it belong to their usual language. the proper rommany word for an ass is _myla_. parny, a vulgar word for rain, is supposed to have come into england from the "anglo-indian" source, but it is more likely that it was derived from the gipsy _panni_ or water. "brandy pawnee" is undoubtedly an anglo-indian word, but it is used by a very different class of people from those who know the meaning of _parny_. posh, which has found its way into vulgar popularity, as a term for small coins, and sometimes for money in general, is the diminutive of the gipsy word _pashero_ or _poshero_, a half-penny, from _pash_ a half, and _haura_ or _harra_, a penny. queer, meaning across, cross, contradictory, or bad, is "supposed" to be the german word _quer_, introduced by the gipsies. in their own language _atut_ means across or against, though to _curry_ (german and turkish gipsy _kurava_), has some of the slang meaning attributed to _queer_. an english rogue will say, "to shove the queer," meaning to pass counterfeit money, while the gipsy term would be to _chiv wafri lovvo_, or _lovey_. "raglan, a married woman, originally _gipsy_, but now a term with english tramps" (_the slang dictionary_, _london_ ). in gipsy, _raklo_ is a youth or boy, and _rakli_, a girl; arabic, _ragol_, a man. i am informed, on good authority, that these words are known in india, though i cannot find them in dictionaries. they are possibly transposed from _lurka_ a youth and _lurki_ a girl, such transpositions being common among the lowest classes in india. rummy or rumy, as applied to women, is simply the gipsy word _romi_, a contraction of _romni_, a wife; the husband being her _rom_. bivvy for beer, has been derived from the italian _bevere_, but it is probably gipsy, since in the old form of the latter language, biava or piava, means to drink. to _pivit_, is still known among english gipsies. rigs--running one's rigs is said to be gipsy, but the only meaning of _rig_, so far as i am able to ascertain in rommany, is _a side_ or _an edge_. it is, however, possible that one's _side_ may in earlier times have been equivalent to "face, or encounter." to _rikker_ or _rigger_ in gipsy, is to carry anything. moll, a female companion, is probably merely the nickname for mary, but it is worth observing, that _mal_ in old gipsy, or in german gipsy, means an associate, and mahar a wife, in hindustani. stash, to be quiet, to stop, is, i think, a variation of the common gipsy word hatch, which means precisely the same thing, and is derived from the older word _atchava_. sturaban, a prison, is purely gipsy. mr hotten says it is from the gipsy _distarabin_, but there is no such word beginning with _dis_, in the english rommany dialect. in german gipsy a prison is called _stillapenn_. tiny or teeny has been derived from the gipsy _tano_, meaning "little." toffer, a woman who is well dressed in new clean clothes, probably gets the name from the gipsy _tove_, to wash (german gipsy _tovava_). she is, so to speak, freshly washed. to this class belong toff, a dandy; _tofficky_, dressy or gay, and _toft_, a dandy or swell. tool as applied to stealing, picking pockets, and burglary, is, like _tool_, to drive with the reins; derived beyond doubt from the gipsy word _tool_, to take or hold. in all the continental rommany dialects it is _tulliwawa_. punch, it is generally thought, is anglo-indian, derived directly from the hindustani _pantch_ or five, from the five ingredients which enter into its composition, but it may have partially got its name from some sporting gipsy in whose language the word for _five_ is the same as in sanskrit. there have been thousands of "swell" rommany chals who have moved in sporting circles of a higher class than they are to be found in at the present day. "vardo formerly was _old cant_ for a waggon" (_the slang dictionary_). it may be added that it is pure gipsy, and is still known at the present day to every rom in england. in turkish gipsy, _vordon_ means a vehicle, in german gipsy, _wortin_. "can you voker rommany?" is given by mr hotten as meaning "can you speak gipsy,"--but there is no such word in rommany as _voker_. he probably meant "can you _rakker_"--pronounced very often _roker_. continental gipsy _rakkervava_. mr hotten derives it from the latin _vocare_! i do not know the origin of welcher, a betting cheat, but it is worthy of remark that in old gipsy a _walshdo_ or welsher meant a frenchman (from the german walsch) or any foreigner of the latin races. yack, a watch, probably received its name from the gipsy _yak_ an eye, in the old times when watches were called bull's eyes. lushy, to be tipsy, and lush, are attributed for their origin to the name of lushington, a once well-known london brewer, but when we find _losho_ and _loshano_ in a gipsy dialect, meaning jolly, from such a sanskrit root as _lush_; as paspati derives it, there seems to be some ground for supposing the words to be purely rommany. dr johnson said of lush that it was "opposite to pale," and this curiously enough shows its first source, whether as a "slang" word or as indicative of colour, since one of its early sanskrit meanings is _light_ or _radiance_. this identity of the so regarded vulgar and the refined, continually confronts us in studying rommany. "to make a mull of anything," meaning thereby to spoil or confuse it, if it be derived, as is said, from the gipsy, must have come from _mullo_ meaning _dead_, and the sanskrit _mara_. there is, however, no such gipsy word as mull, in the sense of entangling or spoiling. pross is a theatrical slang word, meaning to instruct and train a tyro. as there are several stage words of manifest gipsy origin, i am inclined to derive this from the old gipsy _priss_, to read. in english gipsy _prasser_ or _pross_ means to ridicule or scorn. something of this is implied in the slang word _pross_, since it also means "to sponge upon a comrade," &c., "for drink." toshers are in english low language, "men who steal copper from ship's bottoms." i cannot form any direct connection between this word and any in english gipsy, but it is curious that in turkish gipsy _tasi_ is a cup, and in turkish persian it means, according to paspati, a copper basin used in the baths. it is as characteristic of english gipsy as of any of its cognate dialects, that we often find lurking in it the most remarkable oriental fragments, which cannot be directly traced through the regular line of transmission. up to trap means, in common slang, intelligent. it is worth observing, that in gipsy, _drab_ or _trap_ (which words were pronounced alike by the first gipsies who came from germany to england), is used for medicine or poison, and the employment of the latter is regarded, even at the present, as the greatest rommany secret. indeed, it is only a few days since a gipsy said to me, "if you know _drab_, you're up to everything; for there's nothing goes above that." with _drab_ the gipsy secures game, fish, pigs, and poultry; he quiets kicking horses until they can be sold; and last, not least, kills or catches rats and mice. as with the indians of north america, _medicine_--whether to kill or cure--is to the gipsy the art of arts, and those who affect a knowledge of it are always regarded as the most intelligent. it is, however, remarkable, that the gipsy, though he lives in fields and woods, is, all the world over, far inferior to the american indian as regards a knowledge of the properties of herbs or minerals. one may pick the first fifty plants which he sees in the woods, and show them to the first indian whom he meets, with the absolute certainty that the latter will give him a name for every one, and describe in detail their qualities and their use as remedies. the gipsy seldom has a name for anything of the kind. the country people in america, and even the farmers' boys, have probably inherited by tradition much of this knowledge from the aborigines. barney, a mob or crowd, may be derived from the gipsy _baro_, great or many, which sometimes takes the form of _barno_ or _barni_, and which suggests the hindustani bahrna "to increase, proceed, to gain, to be promoted;" and bharna, "to fill, to satisfy, to be filled, &c."--(brice's "hindustani and english dictionary." london, trubner & co., ). beebee, which the author of the slang dictionary declares means a lady, and is "anglo-indian," is in general use among english gipsies for aunt. it is also a respectful form of address to any middle-aged woman, among friends. cull or cully, meaning a man or boy, in old english cant, is certainly of gipsy origin. _chulai_ signifies man in spanish gipsy (borrow), and _khulai_ a gentleman, according to paspati; in turkish rommany--a distinction which the word _cully_ often preserves in england, even when used in a derogatory sense, as of a dupe. jomer, a sweetheart or female favourite, has probably some connection in derivation with choomer, a kiss, in gipsy. bloke, a common coarse word for a man, may be of gipsy origin; since, as the author of the slang dictionary declares, it may be found in hindustani, as loke. "_lok_, people, a world, region."--("brice's hind. dictionary.") _bala' lok_, a gentleman. a duffer, which is an old english cant term, expressive of contempt for a man, may be derived from the gipsy _adovo_, "that," "that man," or "that fellow there." _adovo_ is frequently pronounced almost like "a duffer," or "_a duvva_." niggling, which means idling, wasting time, doing anything slowly, may be derived from some other indo-european source, but in english gipsy it means to go slowly, "to potter along," and in fact it is the same as the english word. that it is pure old rommany appears from the fact that it is to be found as _niglavava_ in turkish gipsy, meaning "i go," which is also found in _nikliovava_ and _nikavava_, which are in turn probably derived from the hindustani _nikalna_, "to issue, to go forth or out," &c. (brice, hind. dic.) _niggle_ is one of the english gipsy words which are used in the east, but which i have not been able to find in the german rommany, proving that here, as in other countries, certain old forms have been preserved, though they have been lost where the vocabulary is far more copious, and the grammar much more perfect. mug, a face, is derived by mr wedgwood from the italian mocca, a mocking or apish mouth (dictionary of english etymology), but in english gipsy we have not only _mui_, meaning the face, but the _older_ forms from which the english word was probably taken, such as mak'h (paspati), and finally the hindustani _mook_ and the sanskrit _mukha_, mouth or face (shakespeare, hind. dic., p. ). in all cases where a word is so "slangy" as mug, it seems more likely that it should have been derived from rommany than from italian, since it is only within a few years that any considerable number of the words of the latter language was imparted to the lower classes of london. bamboozle, bite, and slang are all declared by the author of the slang dictionary to be gipsy, but, with the exception of the last word, i am unable to verify their rommany origin. bambhorna does indeed mean in hindustani (brice), "to bite or to worry," and bamboo-bakshish to deceive by paying with a whipping, while _swang_, as signifying mimicking, acting, disguise and sham, whether of words or deeds, very curiously conveys the spirit of the word slang. as for _bite_ i almost hesitate to suggest the possibility of a connection between it and _bidorna_, to laugh at. i offer not only these three suggested derivations, but also most of the others, with every reservation. for many of these words, as for instance _bite_, etymologists have already suggested far more plausible and more probable derivations, and if i have found a place for rommany "roots," it is simply because what is the most plausible, and apparently the most probable, is not always the true origin. but as i firmly believe that there is much more gipsy in english, especially in english slang and cant, than the world is aware of, i think it advisable to suggest what i can, leaving to abler philologists the task of testing its value. writers on such subjects err, almost without an exception, in insisting on one accurately defined and singly derived source for every word, when perhaps three or four have combined to form it. the habits of thought and methods of study followed by philologists render them especially open to this charge. they wish to establish every form as symmetrical and mathematical, where nature has been freakish and bizarre. some years ago when i published certain poems in the broken english spoken by germans, an american philologist, named haldemann, demonstrated to his own satisfaction that the language which i had put into hans breitmann's mouth was inaccurate, because i had not reduced it to an uniform dialect, making the same word the same in spelling and pronunciation on all occasions, when the most accurate observation had convinced me, as it must any one, that those who have only partially learned a language continually vary their methods of uttering its words. that some words have come from one source and been aided by another, is continually apparent in english gipsy, as for instance in the word for reins, "guiders," which, until the rommany reached england, was voidas. in this instance the resemblance in sound between the words undoubtedly conduced to an union. gibberish may have come from the gipsy, and at the same time owe something to _gabble_, _jabber_, and the old norse or icelandic _gifra_. _lush_ may owe something to mr lushington, something to the earlier english _lush_, or rosy, and something to the gipsy and sanskrit. it is not at all unlikely that the word _codger_ owes, through _cadger_, a part of its being to _kid_, a basket, as mr halliwell suggests (dictionary of archaic and provincial words, ), and yet come quite as directly from _gorger_ or _gorgio_. "the cheese" probably has the gipsy-hidustani _chiz_ for a father, and the french _chose_ for a mother, while both originally sprung thousands of years ago in the great parting of the aryan nations, to be united after so long a separation in a distant island in the far northern seas. the etymologist who hesitates to adopt this principle of joint sources of derivation, will find abundant instances of something very like it in many english gipsy words themselves, which, as belonging to a language in extreme decay, have been formed directly from different, but somewhat similarly sounding, words, in the parent german or eastern rommany. thus, _schukker_, pretty; _bi-shukker_, slow; _tschukko_, dry, and _tschororanes_, secretly, have in england all united in _shukar_, which expresses all of their meanings. chapter vii. proverbs and chance phrases. an old gipsy proverb--common proverbs in gipsy dress--quaint sayings--characteristic rommany picture-phrases. every race has not only its peculiar proverbs, sayings, and catch-words, but also idiomatic phrases which constitute a characteristic chiaroscuro, if not colour. the gipsies in england have of course borrowed much from the gorgios, but now and then something of their own appears. in illustration of all this, i give the following expressions noted down from gipsy conversation:-- _tacho like my dad_. true like my father. _kushto like my dad_. good like my father. this is a true gipsy proverb, used as a strongly marked indication of approbation or belief. _kushto bak_. good luck! as the genoese of old greeted their friends with the word _guadagna_! or "gain!" indicating as rabelais declares, their sordid character, so the gipsy, whose life is precarious, and who depends upon chance for his daily bread, replies to "sarishan!" (good day!) with "kushto bak!" or "good luck to you!" the arabic "baksheesh" is from the same root as bak, _i.e_., bacht. _when there's a boro bavol_, _huller the tan parl the waver rikk pauli the bor_. when the wind is high, move the tent to the other side of the hedge behind it. that is to say, change sides in an emergency. "_hatch apre! hushti! the prastramengro's wellin! jal the graias avree! prastee_!" "jump up! wide awake there! the policeman's coming! run the horses off! scamper!" this is an alarm in camp, and constitutes a sufficiently graphic picture. the hint to run the horses off indicates a very doubtful title to their possession. _the prastramengro pens me mustn't hatch acai_. the policeman says we mustn't stop here. no phrase is heard more frequently among gipsies, who are continually in trouble with the police as to their right to stop and pitch their tents on commons. _i can hatch apre for pange_ (_panj_) _divvuses_. i can stop here for five days. a common phrase indicating content, and equivalent to, "i would like to sit here for a week." _the graias have taddered at the kas-stoggus_--_we must jal an durer_--_the gorgio's dicked us_! the horses have been pulling at the hay-stack--we must hurry away--the man has seen us! when gipsies have remained over night on a farm, it sometimes happens that their horses and asses--inadvertently of course--find their way to the haystacks or into a good field. _humanum est errare_! _yeck mush can lel a grai ta panni_, _but twenty cant kair him pi_. one man can take a horse to water, but twenty can't make him drink. a well-known proverb. _a chirrico 'dree the mast is worth dui_ '_dree the bor_. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (hedge). _never kin a pong dishler nor lel a romni by momeli dood_. never buy a handkerchief nor choose a wife by candle-light. _always jal by the divvus_. always go by the day. _chin tutes chuckko by tute's kaum_. cut your coat according to your fancy. this is a gipsy variation of an old proverb. _fino ranyas kair fino trushnees_. nice reeds make nice baskets. _he can't tool his kokerus togetherus_ (_kettenus_). he can't hold himself together. spoken of an infirm old man. _too boot of a mush for his kokero_. too much of a man for himself; _i.e_., he thinks too much of himself. _he_'s _too boot of a mush to rakker a pauveri chavo_. he's too proud too speak to a poor man. this was used, not in depreciation of a certain nobleman, whom the gipsy who gave it to me had often seen, but admiringly, as if such _hauteur_ were a commendable quality. _more_ (_koomi_) _covvas the well_. there are more things to come. spoken of food on a table, and equivalent to "don't go yet." _the_ appears to be used in this as in many other instances, instead of _to_ for the sake of euphony. _the jivaben has jawed avree out of his gad_. the life has gone out of his shirt, _i.e_., body. this intimates a long and close connection between the body and the under garment. "avree out of," a phrase in which the gipsy word is immediately followed by its english equivalent, is a common form of expression for the sake of clearness. _i toves my own gad_. i wash my own shirt. a saying indicating celibacy or independence. _mo rakkerfor a pennis when tute can't lel it_. don't ask for a thing when you can't get it. _the wongurs kairs the grasni jal_. money makes the mare go. _it's allers the boro matcho that pet-a-lay 'dree the panni_. it is always the largest fish that falls back into the water. _bengis your see_! _beng in tutes bukko_! the devil in your heart. the devil in your body, or bowels. this is a common form of imprecation among gipsies all over the world. _jawin sar a mush mullerin adree the boro naflo-ker_. going like a man dying in the hospital. _rikker it adree tute's kokero see an' kek'll jin_. keep it a secret in your own heart, and nobody will know it. _del sar mush a sigaben to hair his jivaben_. give every man a chance to make his living. _it's sim to a choomer, kushti for kek till it's pordered atween dui_. it's like a kiss, good for nothing until it is divided between two. _a cloudy sala often purabens to a fino divvus_. a cloudy morning often changes to a fine day. _iuzhiou panni never jalled avree from a chickli tan_. clean water never came out from a dirty place. _sar mush must jal to the cangry, yeck divvus or the waver_. every man must go to the church (_i.e_., be buried) some day or other. _kek mush ever lelled adusta mongur_. no man ever got money enough. _pale the wafri bak jals the kushti bak_. behind bad luck comes good luck. _saw mushis ain't got the sim kammoben as wavers_. all men have not the same tastes. _lel the tacho pirro, an' it's pash kaired_. well begun is half done. _whilst tute's rakkerin the cheiruses jal_. while you are talking the _times_ (hours) fly. _wafri bak in a boro ker_, _sim's adree a bitti her_. there may be adversity in a large house as well as in a small one. _the kushtiest covvas allers jal avree siggest_. the best is soonest gone. _to dick a puro pal is as cammoben as a kushti habben_. to see an old friend is as agreeable as a good meal. _when tuti's pals chinger yeck with a waver_, _don't tute jal adoi_. when your brothers quarrel don't you meddle. _pet up with the rakkerin an' mor pen chichi_. endure the chattering and say nothing. _when a mush dels tute a grai tute man dick 'dree lester's mui_. when a man gives you a horse you must not look in his mouth. _man jal atut the puvius_. do not go across the field. intimating that one should travel in the proper road. _there's a kushti sovaben at the kunsus of a duro drum_. there is a sweet sleep at the end of a long road. _kair the cammodearer_. make the best of it. _rikker dovo adree tute's see_. keep that a secret. _the koomi foki the tacho_. the more the merrier. _the pishom kairs the gudlo_. the bee makes the honey. _id est_, each does his own work. _the pishom lels the gudlo avree the roozhers_. the bee gets honey from flowers. _id est_, seeks it in the right place. _hatch till the dood wells apre_. wait till the moon rises. a very characteristic gipsy saying. _can't pen shukker atut lendy_. you cannot say aught against them. _he's boccalo ajaw to haw his chokkas_. he's hungry enough to eat his shoes. _the puro beng is a fino mush_! the devil is a nice character. _mansha tu pal_! cheer up, brother. be a man! spoken to any one who seems dejected. this corresponds partially to the german gipsy _manuschwari_! which is, however, rather an evil wish and a curse, meaning according to dr liebich (_die zigeuner_) the gallows, dire need, and epilepsy. both in english and german it is, however, derived from manusch, a man. _he's a hunnalo nakin mush_. he is an avaricious man. literally, a spiteful nosed man. _tute can hair a covva ferridearer if you jal shukar_. you can do a thing better if you go about it secretly. _we're lullero adoi we don't jin the jib_. we are dumb where we do not understand the language. _chucked_ (_chivved_) _saw the habben avree_. he threw all the victuals about. a melancholy proverb, meaning that state of irritable intoxication when a man comes home and abuses his family. _a myla that rikkers tute is kushtier to kistur than a grai that chivs you apre_. an ass that carries you is better than a horse that throws you off. _the juva_, _that sikkers her burk will sikker her bull_. "free of her lips, free of her hips." _he sims mandy dree the mui_--_like a puvengro_. he resembles me--like a potato. _yeck hotchewitchi sims a waver as yeck bubby sims the waver_. one hedgehog is as like another as two peas. _he mored men dui_. he killed both of us. a sarcastic expression. _i dicked their stadees an langis sherros_. i saw their hats on their heads. apropos of amazement at some very ordinary thing. _when you've tatti panni and rikker tutes kokero pash matto you can jal apre the wen sar a grai_. when you have brandy (spirits), and keep yourself half drunk, you can go through the winter like a horse. chapter viii. indications of the indian origin of the gipsies. boro duvel, or "great god," an old gipsy term for water--bishnoo or vishnu, the rain-god--the rain, called god's blood by gipsies--the snow, "angel's feathers."--mahadeva--buddha--the simurgh--the pintni or mermaid--the nag or blind-worm--nagari and niggering--the nile--nats and nautches, naubat and nobbet--a puncher--pitch, piller and pivlibeebee--quod--kishmet or destiny--the koran in england--"sass"-- sherengro--sarserin--shali or rice--the shaster in england--the evil eye--sikhs--stan, hindostan, iranistan--the true origin of slang--tat, the essence of being--bahar and bar--the origin of the words rom and romni.--dom and domni--the hindi tem--gipsy and hindustani points of the compass--salaam and shulam--sarisham!--the cups--women's treading on objects--horseflesh--english and foreign gipsies--bohemian and rommany. a learned sclavonian--michael von kogalnitschan--has said of rommany, that he found it interesting to be able to study a hindu dialect in the heart of europe. he is quite right; but as mythology far surpasses any philology in interest, as regards its relations to poetry, how much more wonderful is it to find--to-day in england--traces of the tremendous avatars, whose souls were gods, long ago in india. and though these traces be faint, it is still apparent enough that they really exist. one day an old gipsy, who is said to be more than usually "deep" in rommany, and to have had unusual opportunity for acquiring such knowledge from gipsies older and deeper than himself, sent word to me, to know if "the rye" was aware that boro duvel, or the great god, was an old rommany expression for water? i thought that this was a singular message to come from a tent at battersea, and asked my special gipsy _factotum_, why god should be called water, or water, god? and he replied in the following words: "panni is the boro duvel, and it is bishnoo or vishnoo, because it pells alay from the boro duvel. '_vishnu is the boro duvel then_?'--avali. there can't be no stretch adoi--can there, rya? duvel is duvel all the world over--but by the right _formation_, vishnoo is the duvel's ratt. i've shuned adovo but dusta cheiruses. an' the snow is poris, that jals from the angels' winguses. and what i penned, that bishnoo is the duvel's ratt, is puro rommanis, and jinned by saw our foki." { } now in india, vishnu and indra are the gods of the rain. the learned, who insist that as there ought to be, so there must be, but a single source of derivation for every word, ignoring the fact that a dozen causes may aid in its formation, will at once declare that, as bishnoo or vishnoo is derived from the old gipsy brishni or brschindo, and this from the hindu barish, and the sanscrit varish or prish, there can be "no rational ground" for connecting the english gipsy word with the hindu god. but who can tell what secret undercurrents of dim tradition and vague association may have come down to the present day from the olden time. that rain should be often called god's blood, and water bearing the name of vishnu be termed god, and that this should be regarded as a specially curious bit of gipsy lore, is at any rate remarkable enough. as for the gipsies in question ever having heard of vishnu and other gods (as a friend suggests to me), save in this dim tradition, i can only say, that i doubt whether either of them ever heard even of the apostles; and i satisfied myself that the one who brought the secret had never heard of joseph, was pitiably ignorant of potiphar's wife, and only knew of "mozhus" or moses, that he "once heerd he was on the bulrushes." mahadeva, or mahadev, exists apparently in the mouth of every english gipsy in the phrase "maduveleste!" or, god bless you. this word maduvel is often changed to mi--duvel, and is generally supposed to mean "my god;" but i was once assured, that the _old_ and correct form was ma, meaning great, and that it only meant great in connection with duvel. a curious illustration of a lost word returning by chance to its original source was given one day, when i asked a gipsy if he knew such a word as buddha? he promptly replied, "yes; that a booderi or boodha mush was an _old_ man;" and pointing to a chinese image of buddha, said: "that is a boohda." he meant nothing more than that it represented an aged person, but the coincidence was at least remarkable. budha in hindustani really signifies an old man. the same gipsy, observing on the chimney-piece a quaint image of a chinese griffin--a hideous little goblin with wings--informed me that the gipsy name for it was a seemor or seemorus, and further declared that the same word meant a dolphin. "but a dolphin has no wings," i remarked. "oh, hasn't it?" rejoined the gipsy; "its _fins_ are its wings, if it hadn't wings it could not be a seemor." i think i recognise in this seemor, the simurgh or griffin of persian fable. { } i could learn nothing more than this, that the gipsy had always regarded a dolphin as resembling a large-headed winged monster, which he called a seemor. nag is a snake in hindustani. the english gipsies still retain this primaeval word, but apply it only to the blind-worm. it is, however, remarkable that the nag, or blind-worm, is, in the opinion of the rommany, the most mysterious of creatures. i have been told that "when a nag mullers it's hardus as a kosh, and you can pogger it like a swagler's toov," "when a blind-worm dies it is as hard as a stick, and you can break it like a pipe-stem." they also believe that the nag is gifted, so far as his will goes, with incredible malignity, and say of him-- "if he could dick sim's he can shoon, he wouldn't mukk mush or grai jal an the drum." "if he could see as well as he can hear, he would not allow man or horse to go on the road." the hindi alphabet deva nagari, "the writing of the gods," is commonly called nagari. a common english gipsy word for writing is "niggering." "he niggered sar he could pooker adree a chinamangree." the resemblance between _nagari_ and _nigger_ may, it is true, be merely accidental, but the reader, who will ascertain by examination of the vocabulary the proportion of rommany words unquestionably indian, will admit that the terms have probably a common origin. from sanskrit to english gipsy may be regarded as a descent "from the nile to a street-gutter," but it is amusing at least to find a passable parallel for this simile. _nill_ in gipsy is a rivulet, a river, or a gutter. nala is in hindustani a brook; nali, a kennel: and it has been conjectured that the indian word indicates that of the great river of egypt. all of my readers have heard of the nautch girls, the so-called _bayaderes_ or dancing-girls of india; but very few, i suppose, are aware that their generic name is remotely preserved in several english gipsy words. nachna in hindustani means to dance, while the nats, who are a kind of gipsies, are generally jugglers, dancers, and musicians. a _natua_ is one of these nats, and in english gipsy _nautering_ means going about with music. other attractions may be added, but, as i have heard a gipsy say, "it always takes music to go _a-nauterin_' or _nobbin_'." _naubat_ in the language of the hindu nats signifies "time, turn, and instruments of music sounding at the gate of a great man, at certain intervals." "nobbet," which is a gipsy word well known to all itinerant negro minstrels, means to go about with music to get money. "to nobbet round the tem, bosherin'." it also implies time or turn, as i inferred from what i was told on inquiry. "you can shoon dovo at the wellgooras when yeck rakkers the waver, you jal and nobbet." "you can hear that at the fairs when one says to the other, you go and nobbet," meaning, "it is your turn to play now." _nachna_, to dance (hindustani), appears to be reflected in the english gipsy "nitchering," moving restlessly, fidgeting and dancing about. nobbeting, i was told, "_is_ nauterin'--it's all one, rya!" _paejama_ in india means very loose trousers; and it is worth noting that gipsies call loose leggings, trousers, or "overalls," peajamangris. this may be anglo-indian derived from the gorgios. whether "pea-jacket" belongs in part to this family, i will not attempt to decide. living constantly among the vulgar and uneducated, it is not to be wondered at that the english gipsies should have often given a vulgar english and slangy term to many words originally oriental. i have found that, without exception, there is a disposition among most people to promptly declare that all these words were taken, "of course," from english slang. thus, when i heard a gipsy speak of his fist as a "puncher," i naturally concluded that he did so because he regarded its natural use to be to "punch" heads with. but on asking him why he gave it that name, he promptly replied, "because it takes pange (five) fingers to make a fist." and since _panja_ means in hindustani a hand with the five fingers extended, it is no violent assumption to conclude that even _puncher_ may owe quite as much to hindustani as to english, though i cheerfully admit that it would perhaps never have existed had it not been for english associations. thus a gipsy calls a pedlar a _packer_ or _pack-mush_. now, how much of this word is due to the english word pack or packer, and how much to _paikar_, meaning in hindustani a pedlar? i believe that there has been as much of the one as of the other, and that this doubly-formative influence, or _influence of continuation_, should be seriously considered as regards all rommany words which resemble in sound others of the same meaning, either in hindustani or in english. it should also be observed that the gipsy, while he is to the last degree inaccurate and a blunderer as regards _english_ words (a fact pointed out long ago by the rev. mr crabb), has, however, retained with great persistence hundreds of hindu terms. not being very familiar with peasant english, i have generally found gipsies more intelligible in rommany than in the language of their "stepfather-land," and have often asked my principal informant to tell me in gipsy what i could not comprehend in "anglo-saxon." "to pitch together" does not in english mean to stick together, although _pitch_ sticks, but it does in gipsy; and in hindustani, _pichchi_ means sticking or adhering. i find in all cases of such resemblance that the gipsy word has invariably a closer affinity as regards meaning to the hindu than to the english, and that its tendencies are always rather oriental than anglo-saxon. as an illustration, i may point out _piller_ (english gipsy) to attack, having an affinity in _pilna_ (hindustani), with the same meaning. many readers will at once revert to _pill_, _piller_, and _pillage_--all simply _implying_ attack, but really meaning to _rob_, or robbery. but _piller_ in english gipsy also means, as in hindustani, to assault indecently; and this is almost conclusive as to its eastern origin. it is remarkable that the gipsies in england, or all the world over, have, like the hindus, a distinctly descriptive expression for every degree of relationship. thus a _pivli beebee_ in english gipsy, or _pupheri bahim_ in hindustani, is a father's sister's daughter. this in english, as in french or german, is simply a cousin. _quod_, imprisonment, is an old english cant and gipsy word which mr hotten attempts to derive from a college quadrangle; but when we find that the hindu _quaid_ also means confinement, the probability is that it is to it we owe this singular term. there are many words in which it is evident that the hindu gipsy meaning has been shifted from a cognate subject. thus _putti_, the hub of a wheel in gipsy, means the felly of a wheel in hindustani. _kaizy_, to rub a horse down, or scrape him, in the original tongue signifies "to tie up a horse's head by passing the bridle to his tail," to prevent his kicking while being rubbed or 'scraped. _quasur_, or _kasur_, is in hindustani flame: in english gipsy _kessur_ signifies smoke; but i have heard a gipsy more than once apply the same term to flame and smoke, just as _miraben_ stands for both life and death. very oriental is the word kismet, or destiny, as most of my readers are probably aware. it is also english gipsy, and was explained to me as follows: "a man's _kismut_ is what he's bound to kair--it's the kismut of his see. some men's kismut is better'n wavers, 'cos they've got more better chiv. some men's kismut's to bikin grais, and some to bikin kanis; but saw foki has their kismut, an' they can't pen chichi elsus." in english, "a man's destiny is what he is bound to do--it is the fate of his soul (life). some men's destiny is better than others, because they have more command of language. some are fated to sell horses, and others to sell hens; but all people have their mission, and can do nothing else." _quran_ in the east means the koran, and quran uthara to take an oath. in english gipsy kurran, or kurraben, is also an oath, and it seems strange that such a word from such a source should exist in england. it is, however, more interesting as indicating that the gipsies did not leave india until familiarised with mohammedan rule. "he kaired his kurran pre the duvel's bavol that he would jal 'vree the tem for a besh." "he swore his oath upon god's breath (the bible) that he would leave the country for a year." upon inquiring of the gipsy who uttered this phrase why he called the bible "god's breath," he replied naively, "it's sim to the duvel's jivaben, just the same as his breathus." "it is like god's life, just the same as his breath." it is to be observed that _nearly all the words which gipsies claim as gipsy_, _notwithstanding their resemblance to english_, _are to be found in hindustani_. thus _rutter_, to copulate, certainly resembles the english _rut_, but it is quite as much allied to _rutana_ (hindustani), meaning the same thing. "sass," or sauce, meaning in gipsy, bold, forward impudence, is identical with the same english word, but it agrees very well with the hindu _sahas_, bold, and was perhaps born of the latter term, although it has been brought up by the former. dr a. f. pott remarks of the german gipsy word _schetra_, or violin, that he could nowhere find in rommany a similar instrument with an indian name. surrhingee, or sarunghee, is the common hindu word for a violin; and the english gipsies, on being asked if they knew it, promptly replied that it was "an old word for the neck or head of a fiddle." it is true they also called it sarengro, surhingro, and shorengro, the latter word indicating that it might have been derived from sherro-engro--_i.e_., "head-thing." but after making proper allowance for the gipsy tendency, or rather passion, for perverting words towards possible derivations, it seems very probable that the term is purely hindu. zuhru, or zohru, means in the east venus, or the morning star; and it is pleasant to find a reflection of the rosy goddess in the gipsy _soor_, signifying "early in the morning." i have been told that there is a rommany word much resembling _soor_, meaning the early star, but my informant could not give me its exact sound. _dood of the sala_ is the common name for venus. sunrise is indicated by the eccentric term of "_kam-left the panni_" or sun-left the water. "it wells from the waver tem you jin," said my informant, in explanation. "the sun comes from a foreign country, and first leaves that land, and then leaves the sea, before it gets here." when a gipsy is prowling for hens, or any other little waifs, and wishes to leave a broken trail, so that his tracks may not be identified, he will walk with the feet interlocked--one being placed outside the other--making what in america is very naturally termed a snake-trail. this he calls _sarserin_, and in hindu _sarasana_ means to creep along like a snake. supposing that the hindu word for rice, _shali_, could hardly have been lost, i asked a gipsy if he knew it, and he at once replied, "_shali giv_ is small grain-corn, werry little grainuses indeed." _shalita_ in hindustani is a canvas sack in which a tent is carried. the english gipsy has confused this word with _shelter_, and yet calls a small or "shelter" tent a shelter _gunno_, or bag. "for we rolls up the big tent in the shelter tent, to carry it." a tent cloth or canvas is in gipsy a _shummy_, evidently derived from the hindu shumiyana, a canopy or awning. it is a very curious fact that the english gipsies call the scripture or bible the _shaster_, and i record this with the more pleasure, since it fully establishes mr borrow as the first discoverer of the word in rommany, and vindicates him from the suspicion with which his assertion was received by dr pott. on this subject the latter speaks as follows:-- "eschastra de moyses, l. ii. ; [greek text], m.; sanskrit, castra; hind., shastr, m. hindu religious books, hindu law, scripture, institutes of science (shakespeare). in proportion to the importance of the real existence of this word among the gipsies must be the suspicion with which we regard it, when it depends, as in this instance, only on borrow's assertion, who, in case of need, to supply a non-existing word, may have easily taken one from the sanskrit."--_die zigeuner_, vol. ii. p. . the word _shaster_ was given to me very distinctly by a gipsy, who further volunteered the information, that it not only meant the scriptures, but also any written book whatever, and somewhat marred the dignity of the sublime association of the bible and shaster, by adding that "any feller's bettin'-book on the race-ground was a _shasterni lil_, 'cos it's written." i have never heard of the evil eye among the lower orders of english, but among gipsies a belief in it is as common as among hindus, and both indicate it by the same word, _seer_ or _sihr_. in india _sihr_, it is true, is applied to enchantment or magic in general, but in this case the whole may very well stand for a part. i may add that my own communications on the subject of the _jettatura_, and the proper means of averting it by means of crab's claws, horns, and the usual sign of the fore and little finger, were received by a gipsy auditor with great faith and interest. to show, teach, or learn, is expressed in gipsy by the word _sikker_, _sig_, or _seek_. the reader may not be aware that the sikhs of india derive their name from the same root, as appears from the following extract from dr paspati's _etudes_: "_sikava_, v. prim. cl. conj. part, siklo', montrer, apprendre. sanskrit, s'iks', to learn, to acquire science; siksaka, adj., a learner, a teacher. hindustani, seek'hna, v.a., to learn, to acquire; seek'h, s.f., admonition." i next inquired why they were called seeks, and they told me it was a word borrowed from one of the commandments of their founder, which signifies 'learn thou,' and that it was adopted to distinguish the sect soon after he disappeared. the word, as is well known, has the same import in the hindoovee" ("asiatic researches," vol. i. p. , and vol. ii. p. ). this was a noble word to give a name to a body of followers supposed to be devoted to knowledge and truth. the english gipsy calls a mermaid a _pintni_; in hindu it is _bint ool buhr_, a maid of the sea. bero in gipsy is the sea or a ship, but the rommany had reduced the term to the original _bint_, by which a girl is known all over the east. "ya bint' eeskendereyeh." _stan_ is a word confounded by gipsies with both _stand_, a place at the races or a fair, and _tan_, a stopping-place, from which it was probably derived. but it agrees in sound and meaning with the eastern _stan_, "a place, station," and by application "country," so familiar to the reader in hindustan, iranistan, beloochistan, and many other names. it is curious to find in the gipsy tan not only the root-word of a tent, but also the "alabama," or "here we rest," applied by the world's early travellers to so many places in the morning land. _slang_ does _not_ mean, as mr hotten asserts, the secret language of the gipsies, but is applied by them to acting; to speaking theatrical language, as in a play; to being an acrobat, or taking part in a show. it is a very old gipsy word, and indicates plainly enough the origin of the cant word "slang." using other men's words, and adopting a conventional language, strikes a gipsy as _artificial_; and many men not gipsies express this feeling by speaking of conventional stage language as "theatrical slang." its antiquity and origin appear in the hindu swangi, an actor; swang, mockery, disguise, sham; and swang lena, to imitate. as regards the sound of the words, most english gipsies would call swang "slang" as faithfully as a cockney would exchange _hat_ with '_at_. deepest among deep words in india is _tat_, an element, a principle, the essence of being; but it is almost amusing to hear an english gipsy say "that's the tatto (or tat) of it," meaning thereby "the thing itself," the whole of it. and thus the ultimate point of brahma, and the infinite depth of all transcendental philosophy, may reappear in a cheap, portable, and convenient form, as a declaration that the real meaning of some mysterious transaction was that it amounted to a sixpenny swindle at thimble-rig; for to such base uses have the shaster and the vedas come in england. it is, however, pleasant to find the persian _bahar_, a garden, recalling bahar danush, the garden of knowledge (hindustani, bagh), reappearing in the english gipsy _bar_. "she pirryed adree the bar lellin ruzhers." "she walked in the garden plucking flowers." and it is also like old times and the arabian nights at home, to know that bazaar is a gipsy word, though it be now quite obsolete, and signifies no longer a public street for shops, but an open field. but of all words which identify the gipsies with the east, and which prove their hindu origin, those by which they call themselves rom and romni are most conclusive. in india the dom caste is one of the lowest, whose business it is for the men to remove carcasses, while the domni, or female dom, sings at weddings. everything known of the dom identifies them with gipsies. as for the sound of the word, any one need only ask the first gipsy whom he meets to pronounce the hindu _d_ or the word dom, and he will find it at once converted into _l_ or _r_. there are, it is true, other castes and classes in india, such as nats, the roving banjaree, thugs, &c., all of which have left unmistakable traces on the gipsies, from which i conclude that at some time when these pariahs became too numerous and dangerous there was a general expulsion of them from india. { } i would call particular attention to my suggestion that the corn of india is the true parent of the rom, because all that is known of the former caste indicates an affinity between them. the dom pariahs of india who carry out or touch dead bodies, also eat the bodies of animals that have died a natural death, as do the gipsies of england. the occupation of the domni and romni, dancing and making music at festivals, are strikingly allied. i was reminded of this at the last opera which i witnessed at covent garden, on seeing stage gipsies introduced as part of the fete in "la traviata." a curious indication of the indian origin of the gipsies may be found in the fact that they speak of every foreign country beyond sea as the hindi tem, hindi being in hindustani their own word for indian. nothing was more natural than that the rommany on first coming to england should speak of far-away regions as being the same as the land they had left, and among such ignorant people the second generation could hardly fail to extend the term and make it generic. at present an irishman is a _hindi tem mush_, or hindu; and it is rather curious, by the way, that a few years ago in america everything that was _anti_-irish or native american received the same appellation, in allusion to the exclusive system of castes. although the gipsies have sadly confounded the hindu terms for the "cardinal points," no one can deny that their own are of indian origin. uttar is north in hindustani, and utar is west in rommany. as it was explained to me, i was told that "utar means west and wet too, because the west wind is wet." _shimal_ is also north in hindu; and on asking a gipsy what it meant, he promptly replied, "it's where the snow comes from." _poorub_ is the east in hindustani; in gipsy it is changed to porus, and means the west. this confusion of terms is incidental to every rude race, and it must be constantly borne in mind that it is very common in gipsy. night suggests day, or black white, to the most cultivated mind; but the gipsy confuses the name, and calls yesterday and to-morrow, or light and shadow, by the same word. more than this, he is prone to confuse almost all opposites on all occasions, and wonders that you do not promptly accept and understand what his own people comprehend. this is not the case among the indians of north america, because oratory, involving the accurate use of words, is among them the one great art; nor are the negroes, despite their heedless ignorance, so deficient, since they are at least very fond of elegant expressions and forcible preaching. i am positive and confident that it would be ten times easier to learn a language from the wildest indian on the north american continent than from any real english gipsy, although the latter may be inclined with all his heart and soul to teach, even to the extent of passing his leisure days in "skirmishing" about among the tents picking up old rommany words. now the gipsy has passed his entire life in the busiest scenes of civilisation, and is familiar with all its refined rascalities; yet notwithstanding this, i have found by experience that the most untutored kaw or chippewa, as ignorant of english as i was ignorant of his language, and with no means of intelligence between us save signs, was a genius as regards ability to teach language when compared to most gipsies. everybody has heard of the oriental _salaam_! in english gipsy _shulam_ means a greeting. "shulam to your kokero!" is another form of _sarishan_! the common form of salutation. the hindu _sar i sham_ signifies "early in the evening," from which i infer that the dom or rom was a nocturnal character like the night-cavalier of quevedo, and who sang when night fell, "arouse ye, then, my merry men!" or who said "good- evening!" just as we say (or used to say) "good-day!" { } a very curious point of affinity between the gipsies and hindus may be found in a custom which was described to me by a rom in the following words:-- "when a mush mullers, an' the juvas adree his ker can't _kair habben_ because they feel so naflo 'bout the rom being gone, or the chavi or juvalo mush, or whoever it may be, then their friends for trin divvuses kairs their habben an' bitchers it a lende. an' that's tacho rommanis, an' they wouldn't be dessen rommany chuls that wouldn't kair dovo for mushis in sig an' tukli." "when a man dies, and the women in his house cannot prepare food (literally, make food) as they feel so badly because the man is gone (or the girl, or young man, or whoever it may be), then their friends for three days prepare their food and send it to them. and that is real rommany (custom), and they would not be decent rommany fellows who would not do that for people in sorrow and distress." precisely the same custom prevails in india, where it is characterised by a phrase strikingly identical with the english gipsy term for it. in england it is to _kair habben_, in hindustani (brice, hin. dict.) "karwa khana is the food that is sent for three days from relations to a family in which one of the members has died." the hindu karwana, to make or to cause to do, and kara, to do, are the origin of the english gipsy _kair_ (to make or cook), while from khana, or 'hana, to eat, comes _haw_ and _habben_, or food. the reader who is familiar with the religious observances of india is probably aware of the extraordinary regard in which the cup is held by many sects. in germany, as mr liebich declares, drinking-cups are kept by the gipsies with superstitious regard, the utmost care being taken that they never fall to the ground. "should this happen, the cup is _never_ used again. by touching the ground it becomes sacred, and should no more be used. when a gipsy cares for nothing else, he keeps his drinking-cup under every circumstance." i have not been able to ascertain whether this species of regard for the cup ever existed in england, but i know of many who could not be induced to drink from a white cup or bowl, the reason alleged being the very frivolous and insufficient one, that it reminded them of a blood-basin. it is almost needless to say that this could never have been the origin of the antipathy. no such consideration deters english peasants from using white crockery drinking-vessels. in germany, among the gipsies, if a woman has trodden on any object, or if the skirt of her dress has swept over or touched it, it is either destroyed, or if of value, is disposed of or never used again. i found on inquiry that the same custom still prevails among the old gipsy families in england, and that if the object be a crockery plate or cup, it is at once broken. for this reason, even more than for convenience, real gipsies are accustomed to hang every cooking utensil, and all that pertains to the table, high up in their waggons. it is almost needless to point out how closely these ideas agree with those of many hindus. the gipsy eats every and any thing except horseflesh. among themselves, while talking rommany, they will boast of having eaten _mullo baulors_, or pigs that have died a natural death, and _hotchewitchi_, or hedgehog, as did the belle of a gipsy party to me at walton-on-thames in the summer of . they can give no reason whatever for this inconsistent abstinence. but mr simson in his "history of the gipsies" has adduced a mass of curious facts, indicating a special superstitious regard for the horse among the rommany in scotland, and identifying it with certain customs in india. it would be a curious matter of research could we learn whether the missionaries of the middle ages, who made abstinence from horse-flesh a point of salvation (when preaching in germany and in scandinavia), derived their superstition, in common with the gipsies, from india. there can be no doubt that in seeking for the indian origin of many gipsy words we are often bewildered, and that no field in philology presents such opportunity for pugnacious critics to either attack or defend the validity of the proofs alleged. the very word for "doubtful" or "ambiguous," _dubeni_ or _dub'na_, is of this description. is it derived from the hindu _dhoobd'ha_, which every gipsy would pronounce _doobna_, or from the english _dubious_, which has been made to assume the gipsy- indian termination _na_? of this word i was naively told, "if a juva's bori (girl is big), that's _dub'ni_; and if she's shuvalo (swelled up), _that's_ dubni: for it may pen (say) she's kaired a tikno (is _enceinte_), and it may pen she hasn't." but when we find that the english gipsy also employs the word _dukkeni_ for "doubtful," and compare it with the hindustani _dhokna_ or _dukna_, the true derivation becomes apparent. had dr pott or dr paspati had recourse to the plan which i adopted of reading a copious hindustani dictionary entirely through, word by word, to a patient gipsy, noting down all which he recognised, and his renderings of them, it is very possible that these learned men would in germany and turkey have collected a mass of overwhelming proof as to the indian origin of rommany. at present the dictionary which i intend shall follow this work shows that, so far as the rommany dialects have been published, that of england contains a far greater number of almost unchanged hindu words than any other, a fact to which i would especially call the attention of all who are interested in this curious language. and what is more, i am certain that the supply is far from being exhausted, and that by patient research among old gipsies, the anglo-rommany vocabulary might be increased to possibly five or six thousand words. it is very possible that when they first came from the east to europe the gipsies had a very copious supply of words, for there were men among them of superior intelligence. but in turkey, as in germany, they have not been brought into such close contact with the _gorgios_ as in england: they have not preserved their familiarity with so many ideas, and consequently their vocabulary has diminished. most of the continental gipsies are still wild, black wanderers, unfamiliar with many things for which the english gipsy has at least a name, and to which he has continued to apply old indian words. every one familiar with the subject knows that the english gipsies in america are far more intelligent than their german rommany cousins. a few years ago a large party of the latter appeared at an english racecourse, where they excited much attention, but greatly disgusted the english roms, not as rivals, but simply from their habits. "they couldn't do a thing but beg," said my informant. "they jinned (knew) nothing else: they were the dirtiest gipsies i ever saw; and when the juvas suckled the children, they sikkered their burks (showed their breasts) as i never saw women do before foki." such people would not, as a rule, know so many words as those who looked down on them. the conclusion which i have drawn from studying anglo-rommany, and different works on india, is that the gipsies are the descendants of a vast number of hindus, of the primitive tribes of hindustan, who were expelled or emigrated from that country early in the fourteenth century. i believe they were chiefly of the primitive tribes, because evidence which i have given indicates that they were identical with the two castes of the doms and nats--the latter being, in fact, at the present day, the real gipsies of india. other low castes and outcasts were probably included in the emigration, but i believe that future research will prove that they were all of the old stock. the first pariahs of india may have consisted entirely of those who refused to embrace the religion of their conquerors. it has been coolly asserted by a recent writer that gipsies are not proved to be of hindu origin because "a few" hindu words are to be found in their language. what the proportion of such words really is may be ascertained from the dictionary which will follow this work. but throwing aside all the evidence afforded by language, traditions, manners, and customs, one irrefutable proof still remains in the physical resemblance between gipsies all the world over and the natives of india. even in egypt, the country claimed by the gipsies themselves as their remote great-grandfather-land, the native gipsy is not egyptian in his appearance but hindu. the peculiar brilliancy of the eye and its expression in the indian is common to the gipsy, but not to the egyptian or arab; and every donkey-boy in cairo knows the difference between the _rhagarin_ and the native as to personal appearance. i have seen both hindus in cairo and gipsies, and the resemblance to each other is as marked as their difference from egyptians. a few years ago an article on the rommany language appeared in the "atlantic magazine" (boston, u.s., america), in which the writer declared that gipsy has very little affinity with hindustani, but a great deal with bohemian or chech--in fact, he maintained, if i remember right, that a chech and a rom could understand one another in either of their respective tongues. i once devoted my time for several months to unintermitted study of chech, and consequently do not speak in entire ignorance when i declare that true rommany contains scores of hindu words to one of bohemian. { } chapter ix. miscellanea. gipsies and cats.--"christians."--christians not "hanimals."--green, red, and yellow.--the evil eye.--models and morals.--punji and sponge-cake.--troubles with a gipsy teacher.--pilferin' and bilberin'.--khapana and hopper.--hoppera-glasses.--the little wooden bear.--huckeny ponkee, hanky panky, hocus-pocus, and hokkeny baro.--burning a gipsy witch alive in america.--daniel in the lions' den.--gipsy life in summer.--the gavengroes.--the gipsy's story of pitch- and-toss.--"you didn't fight your stockings off?"--the guileless and venerable gipsy.--the gipsy professor of rommany and the police.--his delicacy of feeling.--the old gipsy and the beautiful italian models.--the admired of the police.--honesty strangely illustrated.--gipsies willing or unwilling to communicate rommany.--romance and eccentricity of gipsy life and manners.--the gipsy grandmother and her family.--a fine frolic interrupted.--the gipsy gentleman from america.--no such language as rommany.--hedgehogs.--the witch element in gipsy life.--jackdaws and dogs.--their uses.--lurchers and poachers.--a gipsy camp.--the ancient henry.--i am mistaken for a magistrate or policeman.--gipsies of three grades.--the slangs.--jim and the twigs.--beer rained from heaven.--fortune-telling.--a golden opportunity to live at my ease.--petulamengro.--i hear of a new york friend.--the professor's legend of the olive-leaf and the dove, "a wery tidy little story."--the story of samson as given by a gipsy.--the great prize-fighter who was hocussed by a fancy girl.--the judgment day.--passing away in sleep or dream to god.--a gipsy on ghosts.--dogs which can kill ghosts.--twisted- legged stealing.--how to keep dogs away from a place.--gipsies avoid unions.--a gipsy advertisement in the "times."--a gipsy poetess and a rommany song. it would be a difficult matter to decide whether the superstitions and odd fancies entertained by the gipsies in england are derived from the english peasantry, were brought from india, or picked up on the way. this must be left for ethnologists more industrious and better informed than myself to decide. in any case, the possible common aryan source will tend to obscure the truth, just as it often does the derivation of rommany words. but nothing can detract from the inexpressibly quaint spirit of gipsy originality in which these odd _credos_ are expressed, or surpass the strangeness of the reasons given for them. if the spirit of the goblin and elfin lingers anywhere on earth, it is among the rommany. one day i questioned a gipsy as to cats, and what his opinion was of black ones, correctly surmising that he would have some peculiar ideas on the subject, and he replied-- "rommanys never lel kaulo matchers adree the ker, 'cause they're mullos, and beng is covvas; and the puro beng, you jin, is kaulo, an' has shtor herros an' dui mushis--an' a sherro. but pauno matchers san kushto, for they're sim to pauno ghosts of ranis." which means in english, "gipsies never have black cats in the house, because they are unearthly creatures, and things of the devil; and the old devil, you know, is black, and has four legs and two arms--and a head. but white cats are good, for they are like the white ghosts of ladies." it is in the extraordinary reason given for liking white cats that the subtle gipsyism of this cat-commentary consists. most people would consider a resemblance to a white ghost rather repulsive. but the gipsy lives by night a strange life, and the reader who peruses carefully the stories which are given in this volume, will perceive in them a familiarity with goblin-land and its denizens which has become rare among "christians." but it may be that i do this droll old gipsy great wrong in thus apparently classing him with the heathen, since he one day manifested clearly enough that he considered he had a right to be regarded as a true believer--the only drawback being this, that he was apparently under the conviction that all human beings were "christians." and the way in which he declared it was as follows: i had given him the hindustani word _janwur_, and asked him if he knew such a term, and he answered-- "do i jin sitch a lav (know such a word) as _janwur_ for a hanimal? avo (yes); it's _jomper_--it's a toadus" (toad). "but do you jin the lav (know the word) for an _animal_?" "didn't i just pooker tute (tell you) it was a jomper? for if a toad's a hanimal, _jomper_ must be the lav for hanimal." "but don't you jin kek lav (know a word) for sar the covvas that have jivaben (all living things)--for jompers, and bitti matchers (mice), and gryas (horses)? you and i are animals." "kek, rya, kek (no, sir, no), we aren't hanimals. _hanimals_ is critters that have something queer about 'em, such as the lions an' helephants at the well-gooroos (fairs), or cows with five legs, or won'ful piebald grais--_them's_ hanimals. but christins aint hanimals. them's _mushis_" (men). to return to cats: it is remarkable that the colour which makes a cat desirable should render a bowl or cup objectionable to a true gipsy, as i have elsewhere observed in commenting on the fact that no old-fashioned rommany will drink, if possible, from white crockery. but they have peculiar fancies as to other colours. till within a few years in great britain, as at the present day in germany, their fondness for green coats amounted to a passion. in germany a gipsy who loses caste for any offence is forbidden for a certain time to wear green, so that _ver non semper viret_ may be truly applied to those among them who bloom too rankly. the great love for red and yellow among the gipsies was long ago pointed out by a german writer as a proof of indian origin, but the truth is, i believe, that all dark people instinctively choose these hues as agreeing with their complexion. a brunette is fond of amber, as a blonde is of light blue; and all true _kaulo_ or dark rommany _chals_ delight in a bright yellow _pongdishler_, or neckerchief, and a red waistcoat. the long red cloak of the old gipsy fortune-teller is, however, truly dear to her heart; she feels as if there were luck in it--that _bak_ which is ever on gipsy lips; for to the wanderers, whose home is the roads, and whose living is precarious, luck becomes a real deity. i have known two old fortune-telling sisters to expend on new red cloaks a sum which seemed to a lady friend very considerable. i have spoken in another chapter of the deeply-seated faith of the english gipsies in the evil eye. subsequent inquiry has convinced me that they believe it to be peculiar to themselves. one said in my presence, "there was a kauli juva that dicked the evil yack ad mandy the sala--my chavo's missis--an' a'ter dovo i shooned that my chavo was naflo. a bongo-yacki mush kairs wafro-luckus. _avali_, the gorgios don't jin it--it's saw rommany." _i.e_., "there was a dark woman that looked the evil eye at me this morning--my son's wife--and after that i heard that my son was ill. a squint-eyed man makes bad-luck. yes, the gorgios don't know it--it's all rommany." the gipsy is of an eminently social turn, always ready when occasion occurs to take part in every conversation, and advance his views. one day my old rom hearing an artist speak of having rejected some uncalled- for advice relative to the employment of a certain model, burst out in a tone of hearty approbation with-- "that's what _i_ say. every man his own juva (every man his own girl), an' every painter his own _morals_." if it was difficult in the beginning for me to accustom the gipsy mind to reply clearly and consistently to questions as to his language, the trouble was tenfold increased when he began to see his way, as he thought, to my object, and to take a real interest in aiding me. for instance, i once asked-- "puro! do you know such a word as _punji_? it's the hindu for capital." (calmly.) "yes, rya; that's a wery good word for capital." "but is it rommany?" (decidedly.) "it'll go first-rateus into rommany." "but can you make it out? prove it!" (fiercely.) "of course i can make it out. _kushto_. suppose a man sells 'punge-cake, would'nt that be his capital? _punje_ must be capital." but this was nothing to what i endured after a vague fancy of the meaning of seeking a derivation of words had dimly dawned on his mind, and he vigorously attempted to aid me. possessed with the crude idea that it was a success whenever two words could be forced into a resemblance of any kind, he constantly endeavoured to anglicise gipsy words--often, alas! an only too easy process, and could never understand why it was i then rejected them. by the former method i ran the risk of obtaining false hindustani gipsy words, though i very much doubt whether i was ever caught by it in a single instance; so strict were the tests which i adopted, the commonest being that of submitting the words to other gipsies, or questioning him on them some days afterwards. by the latter "aid" i risked the loss of rommany words altogether, and undoubtedly did lose a great many. thus with the word _bilber_ (to entice or allure), he would say, in illustration, that the girls _bilbered_ the gentleman into the house to rob him, and then cast me into doubt by suggesting that the word must be all right, "'cause it looked all the same as _pilferin_'." one day i asked him if the hindustani word khapana (pronounced almost hopana) (to make away with) sounded naturally to his ears. "yes, rya; that must be _happer_, _habber_, or _huvver_. to hopper covvas away from the tan (_i.e_., to _hopper_ things from the place), is when you rikker 'em awayus (carry them away, steal them), and gaverit (hide _it_) tally your chuckko (under your coat). an' i can pen you a waver covva (i can tell you another thing) that's _hopper_--them's the glasses that you look through--_hoppera_-glasses." and here in bounding triumph he gave the little wooden bear a drink of ale, as if it had uttered this chunk of solid wisdom, and then treated himself to a good long pull. but the glance of triumph which shot from his black-basilisk eyes, and the joyous smile which followed these feats of philology, were absolutely irresistible. all that remained for me to do was to yield in silence. one day we spoke of _huckeny pokee_, or _huckeny ponkee_, as it is sometimes called. it means in rommany "sleight of hand," and also the adroit substitution of a bundle of lead or stones for another containing money or valuables, as practised by gipsy women. the gipsy woman goes to a house, and after telling the simple-minded and credulous housewife that there is a treasure buried in the cellar, persuades her that as "silver draws silver," she must deposit all her money or jewels in a bag near the place where the treasure lies. this is done, and the rommany _dye_ adroitly making up a parcel resembling the one laid down, steals the latter, leaving the former. mr barrow calls this _hokkeny baro_, the great swindle. i may remark, by the way, that among jugglers and "show-people" sleight of hand is called _hanky panky_. "hocus-pocus" is attributed by several writers to the gipsies, a derivation which gains much force from the fact, which i have never before seen pointed out, that _hoggu bazee_, which sounds very much like it, means in hindustani legerdemain. english gipsies have an extraordinary fancy for adding the termination _us_ in a most irregular manner to words both rommany and english. thus _kettene_ (together) is often changed to _kettenus_, and _side_ to _sidus_. in like manner, _hoggu_ (_hocku_ or _honku_) _bazee_ could not fail to become _hocus bozus_, and the next change, for the sake of rhyme, would be to hocus-po- cus. i told my ancient rambler of an extraordinary case of "huckeny pokee" which had recently occurred in the united states, somewhere in the west, the details of which had been narrated to me by a lady who lived at the time in the place where the event occurred. "a gipsy woman," i said, "came to a farmhouse and played huckeny pokee on a farmer's wife, and got away all the poor woman's money." "did she indeed, rya?" replied my good old friend, with a smile of joy flashing from his eyes, the unearthly rommany light just glinting from their gloom. "yes," i said impressively, as a mother might tell an affecting story to a child. "all the money that that poor woman had, that wicked gipsy woman took away, and utterly ruined her." this was the culminating point; he burst into an irrepressible laugh; he couldn't help it--the thing had been done too well. "but you haven't heard all yet," i added. "there's more covvas to well." "oh, i suppose the rummany chi prastered avree (ran away), and got off with the swag?" "no, she didn't." "then they caught her, and sent her to starabun" (prison). "no," i replied. "and what did they do?" "they burnt her alive!" his jaw fell; a glossy film came over his panther-eyes. for a long time he had spoken to me, had this good and virtuous man, of going to america. suddenly he broke out with this vehement answer-- "i won't go to that country--_s'up mi duvel_! i'll never go to america." it is told of a certain mother, that on showing her darling boy a picture in the bible representing daniel in the lions' den, she said, "and there is good daniel, and there are those naughty lions, who are going to eat him all up." whereupon the dear boy cried out, "o mother, look at that poor little lion in the corner--he won't get any." it is from this point of view that such affairs are naturally regarded by the rommany. there is a strange goblinesque charm in gipsydom--something of nature, and green leaves, and silent nights--but it is ever strangely commingled with the forbidden; and as among the greeks of old with mercury amid the singing of leafy brooks, there is a tinkling of, at least, petty larceny. witness the following, which came forth one day from a gipsy, in my presence, as an entirely voluntary utterance. he meant it for something like poetry--it certainly was suggested by nothing, and as fast as he spoke i wrote it down:-- "it's kushto in tattoben for the rommany chals. then they can jal langs the drum, and hatch their tan acai and odoi pre the tem. we'll lel moro habben acai, and jal andurer by-an'-byus, an' then jal by ratti, so's the gorgios won't dick us. i jins a kushti puv for the graias; we'll hatch 'pre in the sala, before they latcher we've been odoi, an' jal an the drum an' lel moro habben." "it is pleasant for the gipsies in the summer-time. then they can go along the road, and pitch their tent here and there in the land. we'll take our food here, and go further on by-and-by, and then go by night, so that the gorgios won't see us. i know a fine field for the horses; we'll stop there in the morning, before they find we have been there, and go on the road and eat our food." "i suppose that you often have had trouble with the _gavengroes_ (police) when you wished to pitch your tent?" now it was characteristic of this gipsy, as of many others, that when interested by a remark or a question, he would reply by bursting into some picture of travel, drawn from memory. so he answered by saying-- "they hunnelo'd the choro puro mush by pennin' him he mustn't hatch odoi. 'what's tute?' he pens to the prastramengro; 'i'll del you thrin bar to lel your chuckko offus an' koor mandy. you're a ratfully jucko an' a huckaben.'" _english_--they angered the poor old man by telling him he must not stop there. "what are you?" he said to the policeman, "i'll give you three pounds to take your coat off and fight me. you're a bloody dog and a lie" (liar). "i suppose you have often taken your coat off?" "once i lelled it avree an' never chivved it apre ajaw." (_i.e_., "once i took it off and never put it on again.") "how was that?" "yeckorus when i was a tano mush, thirty besh kenna--rummed about pange besh, but with kek chavis--i jalled to the prasters of the graias at brighton. there was the paiass of wussin' the pasheros apre for wongur, an' i got to the pyass, an' first cheirus i lelled a boro bittus--twelve or thirteen bar. then i nashered my wongur, an' penned i wouldn't pyass koomi, an' i'd latch what i had in my poachy. adoi i jalled from the gudli 'dree the toss-ring for a pashora, when i dicked a waver mush, an' he putched mandy, 'what bak?' and i penned pauli, 'kek bak; but i've got a bittus left.' so i wussered with lester an' nashered saw my covvas--my chukko, my gad, an' saw, barrin' my rokamyas. then i jalled kerri with kek but my rokamyas an--i borried a chukko off my pen's chavo. "and when my juva dickt'omandy pash-nango, she pens, 'dovo's tute's heesis?' an' i pookered her i'd been a-koorin'. but she penned, 'why, you haven't got your hovalos an; you didn't koor tute's hovalos avree?' 'no,' i rakkered; 'i taddered em offus. (the mush played me with a dui- sherro poshero.) "but dree the sala, when the mush welled to lel avree the jucko (for i'd nashered dovo ajaw), i felt wafrodearer than when i'd nashered saw the waver covvas. an' my poor juva ruvved ajaw, for she had no chavo. i had in those divvuses as kushti coppas an' heesus as any young gipsy in anglaterra--good chukkos, an' gads, an' pongdishlers. "an' that mush kurried many a geero a'ter mandy, but he never lelled no bak. he'd chore from his own dadas; but he mullered wafro adree east kent." "once when i was a young man, thirty years ago (now)--married about five years, but with no children--i went to the races at brighton. there was tossing halfpence for money, and i took part in the game, and at first (first time) i took a good bit--twelve or thirteen pounds. then i lost my money, and said i would play no more, and would keep what i had in my pocket. then i went from the noise in the toss-ring for half an hour, when i saw another man, and he asked me, 'what luck?' and i replied, 'no luck; but i've a little left yet.' so i tossed with him and lost all my things--my coat, my shirt, and all, except my breeches. then i went home with nothing but my breeches on--i borrowed a coat of my sister's boy. "and when my wife saw me half-naked, she _says_, 'where are your clothes?' and i told her i had been fighting. but she said, 'why, you have not your stockings on; you didn't fight your stockings off!' 'no,' i said; 'i drew them off.' (the man played me with a two-headed halfpenny.) "but in the morning when the man came to take away the dog (for i had lost that too), i felt worse than when i lost all the other things. and my poor wife cried again, for she had no child. i had in those days as fine clothes as any young gipsy in england--good coats, and shirts, and handkerchiefs. "and that man hurt many a man after me, but he never had any luck. he'd steal from his own father; but he died miserably in east kent." it was characteristic of the venerable wanderer who had installed himself as my permanent professor of rommany, that although almost every phrase which he employed to illustrate words expressed some act at variance with law or the rights of property, he was never weary of descanting on the spotlessness, beauty, and integrity of his own life and character. these little essays on his moral perfection were expressed with a touching artlessness and child-like simplicity which would carry conviction to any one whose heart had not been utterly hardened, or whose eye-teeth had not been remarkably well cut, by contact with the world. in his delightful _naivete_ and simple earnestness, in his ready confidence in strangers and freedom from all suspicion--in fact, in his whole deportment, this rommany elder reminded me continually of one--and of one man only--whom i had known of old in america. need i say that i refer to the excellent --- ---? it happened for many days that the professor, being a man of early habits, arrived at our rendezvous an hour in advance of the time appointed. as he resolutely resisted all invitation to occupy the room alone until my arrival, declaring that he had never been guilty of such a breach of etiquette, and as he was, moreover, according to his word, the most courteous man of the world in it, and i did not wish to "contrary" him, he was obliged to pass the time in the street, which he did by planting himself on the front steps or expanding himself on the railings of an elderly and lonely dame, who could not endure that even a mechanic should linger at her door, and was in agony until the milkman and baker had removed their feet from her steps. now, the appearance of the professor (who always affected the old gipsy style), in striped corduroy coat, leather breeches and gaiters, red waistcoat, yellow neck-handkerchief, and a frightfully-dilapidated old white hat, was not, it must be admitted, entirely adapted to the exterior of a highly respectable mansion. "and he had such a vile way of looking, as if he were a-waitin' for some friend to come out o' the 'ouse." it is almost needless to say that this apparition attracted the police from afar off and all about, or that they gathered around him like buzzards near a departed lamb. i was told by a highly intelligent gentleman who witnessed the interviews, that the professor's kindly reception of these public characters--the infantile smile with which he courted their acquaintance, and the good old grandfatherly air with which he listened to their little tales--was indescribably delightful. "in a quarter of an hour any one of them would have lent him a shilling;" and it was soon apparent that the entire force found a charm in his society. the lone lady herself made a sortie against him once; but one glance at the amiable smile, "which was child-like and bland," disarmed her, and it was reported that she subsequently sent him out half-a-pint of beer. it is needless to point out to the reader accustomed to good society that the professor's declining to sit in a room where valuable and small objects abounded, in the absence of the owner, was dictated by the most delicate feeling. not less remarkable than his strict politeness was the mysterious charm which this antique nomad unquestionably exercised on the entire female sex. ladies of the highest respectability and culture, old or young, who had once seen him, invariably referred to him as "that charming old gipsy." nor was his sorcery less potent on those of low degree. never shall i forget one morning when the two prettiest young italian model-girls in all london were poseeing to an artist friend while the professor sat and imparted to me the lore of the rommany. the girls behaved like moral statues till he appeared, and like quicksilver imps and devilettes for the rest of the sitting. something of the wild and weird in the mountain italian life of these ex-contadine seemed to wake like unholy fire, and answer sympathetically to the gipsy wizard-spell. over mountain and sea, and through dark forests with legends of _streghe_ and zingari, these semi-outlaws of society, the neapolitan and rommany, recognised each other intuitively. the handsomest young gentleman in england could not have interested these handsome young sinners as the dark-brown, grey-haired old vagabond did. their eyes stole to him. heaven knows what they talked, for the girls knew no english, but they whispered; they could not write little notes, so they kept passing different objects, to which gipsy and italian promptly attached a meaning. scolding them helped not. it was "a pensive sight." to impress me with a due sense of his honesty and high character, the professor informed me one day that he was personally acquainted, as he verily believed, with every policeman in england. "you see, rya," he remarked, "any man as is so well known couldn't never do nothing wrong now,--could he?" innocent, unconscious, guileless air--and smile! i shall never see its equal. i replied-- "yes; i think i can see you, puro, walking down between two lines of hundreds of policemen--every one pointing after you and saying, 'there goes that good honest --- the honestest man in england!'" "avo, rya," he cried, eagerly turning to me, as if delighted and astonished that i had found out the truth. "that's just what they all pens of me, an' just what i seen 'em a-doin' every time." "you know all the police," i remarked. "do you know any turnkeys?" he reflected an instant, and then replied, artlessly-- "i don't jin many o' them. but i can jist tell you a story. once at wimbledown, when the _kooroo-mengroes_ were _odoi_ (when the troopers were there), i used to get a pound a week carryin' things. one day, when i had well on to two stun on my _dumo_ (back), the chief of police sees me an' says, 'there's that old scoundrel again! that villain gives the police more trouble than any other man in the country!' 'thank you, sir,' says i, wery respectable to him. 'i'm glad to see you're earnin' a 'onest livin' for once,' says he. 'how much do you get for carryin' that there bundle?' 'a sixpence, rya!' says i. 'it's twice as much as you ought to have,' says he; 'an' i'd be glad to carry it myself for the money.' 'all right, sir,' says i, touchin' my hat and goin' off, for he was a wery nice gentleman. rya," he exclaimed, with an air of placid triumph, "do you think the head-police his selfus would a spoke in them wery words to me if he hadn't a thought i was a good man?" "well, let's get to work, old honesty. what is the rommanis for to hide?" "to _gaverit_ is to hide anything, rya. _gaverit_." and to illustrate its application he continued-- "they penned mandy to gaver the gry, but i nashered to keravit, an' the mush who lelled the gry welled alangus an' dicked it." ("they told me to hide the horse, but i forgot to do it, and the man who _owned_ the horse came by and saw it.") it is only a few hours since i heard of a gentleman who took incredible pains to induce the gipsies to teach him their language, but never succeeded. i must confess that i do not understand this. when i have met strange gipsies, it has often greatly grieved me to find that they spoke their ancient tongue very imperfectly, and were ignorant of certain rommany words which i myself, albeit a stranger, knew very well, and would fain teach them. but instead of accepting my instructions in a docile spirit of ignorant humility, i have invariably found that they were eagerly anxious to prove that they were not so ignorant as i assumed, and in vindication of their intelligence proceeded to pour forth dozens of words, of which i must admit many were really new to me, and which i did not fail to remember. the scouting, slippery night-life of the gipsy; his familiarity with deep ravine and lonely wood-path, moonlight and field-lairs; his use of a secret language, and his constant habit of concealing everything from everybody; his private superstitions, and his inordinate love of humbugging and selling friend and foe, tend to produce in him that goblin, elfin, boyish-mischievous, out-of-the-age state of mind which is utterly indescribable to a prosaic modern-souled man, but which is delightfully piquant to others. many a time among gipsies i have felt, i confess with pleasure, all the subtlest spirit of fun combined with picture-memories of hayraddin maugrabin--witch-legends and the "egyptians;" for in their ignorance they are still an unconscious race, and do not know what the world writes about them. they are not attractive from the outside to those who have no love for quaint scholarship, odd humours, and rare fancies. a lady who had been in a camp had nothing to say of them to me save that they were "dirty--dirty, and begged." but i ever think, when i see them, of tieck's elves, and of the strange valley, which was so grim and repulsive from without, but which, once entered, was the gay forecourt of goblin-land. the very fact that they hide as much as they can of their gipsy life and nature from the gorgios would of itself indicate the depths of singularity concealed beneath their apparent life--and this reminds me of incidents in a sunday which i once passed beneath a gipsy roof. i was, _en voyage_, at a little cathedral town, when learning that some gipsies lived in a village eight miles distant, i hired a carriage and rode over to see them. i found my way to a neat cottage, and on entering it discovered that i was truly enough among the rommany. by the fire sat a well-dressed young man; near him was a handsome, very dark young woman, and there presently entered a very old woman,--all gifted with the unmistakable and peculiar expression of real gipsies. the old woman overwhelmed me with compliments and greetings. she is a local celebrity, and is constantly visited by the most respectable ladies and gentlemen. this much i had learned from my coachman. but i kept a steady silence, and sat as serious as odin when he visited the vala, until the address ceased. then i said in rommany-- "mother, you don't know me. i did not come here to listen to fortune- telling." to which came the prompt reply, "i don't know what the gentleman is saying." i answered always in rommany. "you know well enough what i am saying. you needn't be afraid of me--i'm the nicest gentleman you ever saw in all your life, and i can talk rommany as fast as ever you ran away from a policeman." "what language is the gentleman talking?" cried the old dame, but laughing heartily as she spoke. "oh dye--miri dye, don't tute jin a rommany rye? can't tu rakker rommany jib, tachipen and kek fib?" "avo, my rye; i can understand you well enough, but i never saw a gipsy gentleman before." [since i wrote that last line i went out for a walk, and on the other side of walton bridge, which legend says marks the spot where julius caesar crossed, i saw a tent and a waggon by the hedge, and knew by the curling blue smoke that a gipsy was near. so i went over the bridge, and sure enough there on the ground lay a full-grown petulamengro, while his brown _juva_ tended the pot. and when i spoke to her in rommany she could only burst out into amazed laughter as each new sentence struck her ear, and exclaim, "well! well! that ever i should live to hear this! why, the gentleman talks just like one of _us_! '_bien apropos_,' sayde ye ladye."] "dye," quoth i to the old gipsy dame, "don't be afraid. i'm _tacho_. and shut that door if there are any gorgios about, for i don't want them to hear our _rakkerben_. let us take a drop of brandy--life is short, and here's my bottle. i'm not english--i'm a _waver temmeny mush_ (a foreigner). but i'm all right, and you can leave your spoons out. tacho." "the boshno an' kani the rye an' the rani; welled acai 'pre the boro lun pani. rinkeni juva hav acai! del a choomer to the rye!" "_duveleste_!" said the old fortune-teller, "that ever i should live to see a rye like you! a boro rye rakkerin' rommanis! but you must have some tea now, my son--good tea." "i don't pi muttermengri dye ('drink tea,' but an equivoque). it's muttermengri with you and with us of the german jib." "ha! ha! but you must have food. you won't go away like a gorgio without tasting anything?" "i'll eat bread with you, but tea i haven't tasted this five-and-twenty years." "bread you shall have, rya." and saying this, the daughter spread out a clean white napkin, and placed on it excellent bread and butter, with plate and knife. i never tasted better, even in philadelphia. everything in the cottage was scrupulously neat--there was even an approach to style. the furniture and ornaments were superior to those found in common peasant houses. there was a large and beautifully-bound photograph album. i found that the family could read and write--the daughter received and read a note, and one of the sons knew who and what mr robert browning was. but behind it all, when the inner life came out, was the wild rommany and the witch-_aura_--the fierce spirit of social exile from the world in which they lived (the true secret of all the witch-life of old), and the joyous consciousness of a secret tongue and hidden ways. to those who walk in the darkness of the dream, let them go as deep and as windingly as they will, and into the grimmest gloom of goblin-land, there will never be wanting flashes of light, though they be gleams diavoline, corpse-candlelights, elfin sparkles, and the unearthly blue lume of the eyes of silent night-hags wandering slow. in the forgotten grave of the sorcerer burns steadily through long centuries the rosicrucian lamp, and even to him whose eyes are closed, sparkle, on pressure, phosphorescent rings. so there was gipsy laughter; and the ancient _wicca_ and vala flashed out into that sky-rocketty joyousness and catherine-wheel gaiety, which at eighty or ninety, in a woman, vividly reminds one of the sabbat on the brocken, of the ointment, and all things terrible and unearthly and forbidden. i do not suppose that there are many people who can feel or understand that among the fearfully dirty dwellers in tents and caravans, cock-shysters and dealers in dogs of doubtful character, there can be anything strange, and quaint, and deeply tinged with the spirit of which i have spoken. as well might one attempt to persuade the twenty-stone half-illiterate and wholly old-fashioned rural magistrate of the last century that the poor devil of a hen-stealing gipsy dragged before him knew that which would send thrills of joy through the most learned philologist in europe, and cause the great band of scholars to sing for joy. life, to most of us, is nothing without its humour; and to me a whilome german student illustrating his military marauding by phrases from fichte, or my friend pauno the rommany urging me with words to be found in the mahabahrata and hafiz to buy a terrier, is a charming experience. i believe that my imagination has neither been led nor driven, when it has so invariably, in my conversing with gipsy women, recalled faust, and all i have ever read in wierus, bodinus, bekker, mather, or glanvil, of the sorceress and _sortilega_. and certainly on this earth i never met with such a perfect _replica_ of old mother baubo, the mother of all the witches, as i once encountered at a certain race. swarthy, black-eyed, stout, half-centuried, fiercely cunning, and immoderately sensual, her first salutation was expressed in a phrase such as a corinthian soul might be greeted with on entering that portion of the after-world devoted to the fastest of the fair. with her came a tall, lithe, younger sorceress; and verily the giant fat sow for her majesty, and the broom for the attendant, were all that was wanting. to return to the cottage. our mirth and fun grew fast and furious; the family were delighted with my anecdotes of the rommany in other lands--german, bohemian, and spanish,--not to mention the _gili_. and we were just in the gayest centre of it all, "whin,--och, what a pity!--this fine tay-party was suddenly broken up," as patrick o'flanegan remarked when he was dancing with the chairs to the devil's fiddling, and his wife entered. for in rushed a gipsy boy announcing that gorgios (or, as i may say, "wite trash") were near at hand, and evidently bent on entering. that this irruption of the enemy gave a taci-turn to our riotry and revelling will be believed. i tossed the brandy in the cup into the fire; it flashed up, and with it a quick memory of the spilt and blazing witch-brew in "faust." i put the tourist-flask in my pocket, and in a trice had changed my seat and assumed the air of a chance intruder. in they came, two ladies--one decidedly pretty--and three gentlemen, all of the higher class, as they indicated by their manner and language. they were almost immediately followed by a gipsy, the son of my hostess, who had sent for him that he might see me. he was a man of thirty, firmly set, and had a stern hard countenance, in which shone two glittering black eyes, which were serpent-like even among the rommany. nor have i ever seen among his people a face so expressive of self-control allied to wary suspicion. he was neatly dressed, but in a subdued gipsy style, the principal indication being that of a pair of "cords," which, however, any gentleman might have worn--in the field. his english was excellent--in fact, that of an educated man; his sum total that of a very decided "character," and one who, if you wronged him, might be a dangerous one. we entered into conversation, and the rommany rollicking seemed all at once a vapoury thing of the dim past; it was the scene in a witch-revel suddenly shifted to a drawing-room in may fair. we were all, and all at once, so polite and gentle, and so readily acquainted and cosmo-polite--quite beyond the average english standard; and not the least charming part of the whole performance was the skill with which the minor parts were filled up by the gipsies, who with exquisite tact followed our lead, seeming to be at once hosts and guests. i have been at many a play, but never saw anything better acted. but under it all burnt a lurid though hidden flame; and there was a delightful _diablerie_ of concealment kept up among the rommany, which was the more exquisite because i shared in it. reader, do you remember the scene in george borrow's "gipsies in spain," in which the woman blesses the child in spanish, and mutters curses on it meanwhile in zincali? so it was that my dear old hostess blessed the sweet young lady, and "prodigalled" compliments on her; but there was one instant when her eye met mine, and a soft, quick-whispered, wicked rommany phrase, unheard by the ladies, came to my ear, and in the glance and word there was a concentrated anathema. the stern-eyed gipsy conversed well, entertaining his guests with ease. after he had spoken of the excellent behaviour and morals of his tribe--and i believe that they have a very high character in these respects--i put him a question. "can you tell me if there is really such a thing as a gipsy language? one hears such differing accounts, you know." with the amiable smile of one who pitied my credulity, but who was himself superior to all petty deception or vulgar mystery, he replied-- "that is another of the absurd tales which people have invented about gipsies. as if we could have kept such a thing a secret!" "it does, indeed, seem to me," i replied, "that if you _had_, some people who were not gipsies _must_ have learned it." "of course," resumed the gipsy, philosophically, "all people who keep together get to using a few peculiar terms. tailors and shoemakers have their own words. and there are common vagabonds who go up and down talking thieves' slang, and imposing it on people for gipsy. but as for any gipsy tongue, i ought to know it" ("so i should think," i mentally ejaculated, as i contemplated his brazen calmness); "and i don't know three words of it." and we, the gorgios, all smiled approval. at least that humbug was settled; and the rommany tongue was done for--dead and buried--if, indeed, it ever existed. indeed, as i looked in the gipsy's face, i began to realise that a man might be talked out of a belief in his own name, and felt a rudimentary sensation to the effect that the language of the black wanderers was all a dream, and pott's zigeuner the mere tinkling of a pot of brass, paspati a jingling turkish symbol, and all rommany a _praeterea nihil_ without the _vox_. to dissipate the delusion, i inquired of the gipsy-- "you have been in america. did you ever hunt game in the west?" "yes; many a time. on the plains." "of course--buffalo--antelope--jack rabbits. and once" (i said this as if forgetfully)--"i once ate a hedgehog--no, i don't mean a hedgehog, but a porcupine." a meaning glance shot from the gipsy's eye. i uttered a first-class password, and if he had any doubt before as to who the rommany rye might be, there was none now. but with a courteous smile he replied-- "it's quite the same, sir--porcupine or hedgehog. i know perfectly well what you mean." "porcupines," i resumed, "are very common in america. the chippeways call them _hotchewitchi_." this rommany word was a plumper for the gipsy, and the twinkle of his eye--the smallest star of mirth in the darkest night of gravity i ever beheld in my life--was lovely. i had trumped his card at any rate with as solemn gravity as his own; and the gorgios thought our reminiscences of america were very entertaining. "he had more tow upon his distaffe than gervais wot of." but there was one in the party--and i think only one--who had her own private share in the play. that one was the pretty young lady. through all the conversation, i observed from time to time her eyes fixed on my face, as if surmising some unaccountable mystery. i understood it at once. the bread and butter on the table, partly eaten, and the snow-white napkin indicated to a feminine eye that some one not of the household had been entertained, and that i was the guest. perhaps she had seen the old woman's quick glance at me, but it was evident that she felt a secret. what she divined i do not know. should this work ever fall into her hands, she will learn it all, and with it the fact that gipsies can talk double about as well as any human beings on the face of the earth, and enjoy fun with as grave a face as any ojib'wa of them all. the habits of the gipsy are pleasantly illustrated by the fact that the collection of "animated books," which no rommany gentleman's library should be without, generally includes a jackdaw. when the foot of the gorgio is heard near the tent, a loud "_wa-awk_" from the wary bird (sounding very much like an alarm) at once proclaims the fact; and on approaching, the stranger finds the entire party in all probability asleep. sometimes a dog acts as sentinel, but it comes to the same thing. it is said you cannot catch a weasel asleep: i am tempted to add that you can never find a gipsy awake--but it means precisely the same thing. gipsies are very much attached to their dogs, and in return the dogs are very much attached to their masters--so much so that there are numerous instances, perfectly authenticated, of the faithful animals having been in the habit of ranging the country alone, at great distances from the tent, and obtaining hares, rabbits, or other game, which they carefully and secretly brought by night to their owners as a slight testimonial of their regard and gratitude. as the dogs have no moral appreciation of the game laws, save as manifested in gamekeepers, no one can blame them. gipsies almost invariably prefer, as canine manifesters of devotion, lurchers, a kind of dog which of all others can be most easily taught to steal. it is not long since a friend of mine, early one morning between dark and dawn, saw a lurcher crossing the thames with a rabbit in his mouth. landing very quietly, the dog went to a gipsy _tan_, deposited his burden, and at once returned over the river. dogs once trained to such secret hunting become passionately fond of it, and pursue it unweariedly with incredible secrecy and sagacity. even cats learn it, and i have heard of one which is "good for three rabbits a week." dogs, however, bring everything home, while puss feeds herself luxuriously before thinking of her owner. but whether dog or cat, cock or jackdaw, all animals bred among gipsies do unquestionably become themselves rommanised, and grow sharp, and shrewd, and mysterious. a writer in the _daily news_ of october , , speaks of having seen parrots which spoke rommany among the gipsies of epping forest. a gipsy dog is, if we study him, a true character. approach a camp: a black hound, with sleepy eyes, lies by a tent; he does not bark at you or act uncivilly, for that forms no part of his master's life or plans, but wherever you go those eyes are fixed on you. by-and-by he disappears--he is sure to do so if there are no people about the _tan_--and then reappears with some dark descendant of the dom and domni. i have always been under the impression that these dogs step out and mutter a few words in rommany--their deportment is, at any rate, rommanesque to the highest degree, indicating a transition from the barbarous silence of doghood to christianly intelligence. you may persuade yourself that the gipsies do not mind your presence, but rest assured that though he may lie on his side with his back turned, the cunning _jucko_ is carefully noting all you do. the abject and humble behaviour of a poor negro's dog in america was once proverbial: the quaint shrewdness, the droll roguery, the demure devilry of a real gipsy dog are beyond all praise. the most valuable dogs to the gipsies are by no means remarkable for size or beauty, or any of the properties which strike the eye; on the contrary, an ugly, shirking, humble-looking, two-and-sixpenny-countenanced cur, if he have but intellect, is much more their _affaire_. yesterday morning, while sitting among the tents of "ye egypcians," i overheard a knot of men discussing the merits of a degraded-looking doglet, who seemed as if he must have committed suicide, were he only gifted with sense enough to know how idiotic he looked. "would you take seven pounds for him?" asked one. "avo, i would take seven bar; but i wouldn't take six, nor six an' a half neither." the stranger who casts an inquisitive eye, though from afar off, into a gipsy camp, is at once noted; and if he can do this before the wolf--i mean the rom--sees him, he must possess the gift of fern-seed and walk invisible, as was illustrated by the above-mentioned yesterday visit. passing over the bridge, i paused to admire the scene. it was a fresh sunny morning in october, the autumnal tints were beautiful in golden brown or oak red, while here and there the horse-chestnuts spread their saffron robes, waving in the embraces of the breeze like hetairae of the forest. below me ran the silver thames, and above a few silver clouds--the belles of the air--were following its course, as if to watch themselves in the watery winding mirror. and near the reedy island, at the shadowy point always haunted by three swans, whom i suspect of having been there ever since the days of odin-faith, was the usual punt, with its elderly gentlemanly gudgeon-fishers. but far below me, along the dark line of the hedge, was a sight which completed the english character of the scene--a real gipsy camp. caravans, tents, waggons, asses, smouldering fires; while among them the small forms of dark children could be seen frolicking about. one gipsy youth was fishing in the stream from the bank, and beyond him a knot of busy basketmakers were visible. i turned the bridge, adown the bank, and found myself near two young men mending chairs. they greeted me civilly; and when i spoke rommany, they answered me in the same language; but they did not speak it well, nor did they, indeed, claim to be "gipsies" at all, though their complexions had the peculiar hue which indicates some other than saxon admixture of blood. half rommany in their knowledge, and yet not regarded as such, these "travellers" represented a very large class in england, which is as yet but little understood by our writers, whether of fact or fiction. they laughed while telling me anecdotes of gentlemen who had mistaken them for real rommany chals, and finally referred me to "old henry," further down, who "could talk with me." this ancient i found a hundred yards beyond, basketing in the sun at the door of his tent. he greeted me civilly enough, but worked away with his osiers most industriously, while his comrades, less busy, employed themselves vigorously in looking virtuous. one nursed his infant with tender embraces, another began to examine green sticks with a view to converting them into clothes-pegs--in fact i was in a model community of wandering shakers. i regret to say that the instant i uttered a rommany word, and was recognised, this discipline of decorum was immediately relaxed. it was not complimentary to my moral character, but it at least showed confidence. the ancient henry, who bore, as i found, in several respects a strong likeness to the old harry, had heard of me, and after a short conversation confided the little fact, that from the moment in which i had been seen watching them, they were sure i was a _gav-mush_, or police or village authority, come to spy into their ways, and to at least order them to move on. but when they found that i was not as one having authority, but, on the contrary, came talking rommany with the firm intention of imparting to them three pots of beer just at the thirstiest hour of a warm day, a great change came over their faces. a chair was brought to me from a caravan at some distance, and i was told the latest news of the road. "matty's got his slangs," observed henry, as he inserted a _ranya_ or osier-withy into his basket, and deftly twined it like a serpent to right and left, and almost as rapidly. now a _slang_ means, among divers things, a hawker's licence. "i'm glad to hear it," i remarked. there was deep sincerity in this reply, as i had more than once contributed to the fees for the aforesaid _slangs_, which somehow or other were invariably refused to the applicant. at last, however, the slangs came; and his two boys, provided with them (at ten shillings per head), were now, in their sphere of life, in the position of young men who had received an education or been amply established in business, and were gifted with all that could be expected from a doting father. in its way this bit of intelligence meant as much to the basketmaker as, "have you heard that young fitz-grubber has just got the double-first at oxford?" or, "do you know that old cheshire has managed that appointment in india for his boy?--splendid independence, isn't it?" and i was shrewdly suspected by my audience, as the question implied, that i had had a hand in expanding this magnificent opening for the two fortunate young men. "_dick adoi_!" cried one, pointing up the river. "look there at jim!" i looked and saw a young man far off, shirking along the path by the river, close to the hedge. "he thinks you're a _gav-mush_," observed henry; "and he's got some sticks, an' is tryin' to hide them 'cause he daren't throw 'em away. oh, aint he scared?" it was a pleasing spectacle to see the demi-gipsy coming in with his poor little green sticks, worth perhaps a halfpenny, and such as no living farmer in all north america would have grudged a cartload of to anybody. droll as it really seemed, the sight touched me while i laughed. oh, if charity covereth a multitude of sins, what should not poverty do? i care not through which door it comes--nay, be it by the very portal of vice herself--when sad and shivering poverty stands before me in humble form, i can only forgive and forget. and this child-theft was to obtain the means of work after all. and if you ask me why i did not at once proceed to the next magistrate and denounce the criminal, i can only throw myself for excuse on the illustrious example of george the fourth, head of church and state, who once in society saw a pickpocket remove from a gentleman's fob his gold watch, winking at the king as he did so. "of course i couldn't say anything," remarked the good-natured monarch, "for the rascal took me into his confidence." jim walked into camp amid mild chaff, to be greeted in rommany by the suspected policeman, and to accept a glass of the ale, which had rained as it were from heaven into this happy family. these basketmakers were not real gipsies, but _churdi_ or half-bloods, though they spoke with scorn of the two chair-menders, who, working by themselves at the extremity of the tented town (and excluded from a share in the beer), seemed to be a sort of pariahs unto these higher casters. i should mention, _en passant_, that when the beer-bearer of the camp was sent for the three pots, he was told to "go over to bill and borrow his two-gallon jug--and be very careful not to let him find out what it was for." i must confess that i thought this was deeply unjust to the imposed-upon and beerless william; but it was another case of confidence, and he who sits among gipsies by hedgerows green must not be over-particular. _il faut heurler avec les loups_. "ain't it wrong to steal dese here chickens?" asked a negro who was seized with scruples while helping to rob a hen-roost. "dat, cuff, am a great moral question, an' we haint got time to discuss it--so jist hand down anoder pullet." i found that henry had much curious knowledge as to old rommany ways, though he spoke with little respect of the gipsy of the olden time, who, as he declared, thought all he needed in life was to get a row of silver buttons on his coat, a pair of high boots on his feet, and therewith--_basta_! he had evidently met at one time with mr george borrow, as appeared by his accurate description of that gentleman's appearance, though he did not know his name. "ah! he could talk the jib first-rateus," remarked my informant; "and he says to me, 'bless you! you've all of you forgotten the real gipsy language, and don't know anything about it at all.' do you know old frank?" he suddenly inquired. "avo," i replied. "he's the man who has been twice in america." "but d'ye know how rich he is? he's got money in bank. and when a man gets money in bank, _i_ say there is somethin' in it. an' how do you suppose he made that money?" he inquired, with the air of one who is about to "come down with a stunner." "he did it _a-dukkerin_'." { } but he pronounced the word _durkerin_'; and i, detecting at once, as i thought, an affinity with the german "turkewava," paused and stared, lost in thought. my pause was set down to amazement, and the ancient henry repeated-- "fact. by _durkerin_'. i don't wonder you're astonished. tellin' fortunes just like a woman. it isn't every man who could do that. but i suppose you could," he continued, looking at me admiringly. "you know all the ways of the gorgios, an' could talk to ladies, an' are up to high life; ah, you could make no end of money. why don't you do it?" innocent gipsy! was this thy idea of qualification for a seer and a reader of dark lore? what wouldst thou say could i pour into thy brain the contents of the scores of works on "occult nonsense," from agrippa to zadkiel, devoured with keen hunger in the days of my youth? yes, in solemn sadness, out of the whole i have brought no powers of divination; and in it all found nothing so strange as the wondrous tongue in which we spoke. in this mystery called life many ways have been proposed to me of alleviating its expenses; as, for instance, when the old professor earnestly commended that we two should obtain (i trust honestly) a donkey and a _rinkni juva_, who by telling fortunes should entirely contribute to our maintenance, and so wander cost-free, and _kost-frei_ over merrie england. but i threw away the golden opportunity--ruthlessly rejected it--thereby incurring the scorn of all scientific philologists (none of whom, i trow, would have lost such a chance). it was for doing the same thing that matthew arnold immortalised a clerke of oxenforde: though it may be that "since elizabeth" such exploits have lost their prestige, as i knew of two students at the same university who a few years ago went off on a six weeks' lark with two gipsy girls; but who, far from desiring to have the fact chronicled in immortal rhyme, were even much afraid lest it should get into the county newspaper! leaving the basketmakers (among whom i subsequently found a grand-daughter of the celebrated gipsy queen, charlotte stanley), i went up the river, and there, above the bridge, found, as if withdrawn in pride, two other tents, by one of which stood a very pretty little girl of seven or eight years with a younger brother. while talking to the children, their father approached leading a horse. i had never seen him before, but he welcomed me politely in rommany, saying that i had been pointed out to him as the rommany rye, and that his mother, who was proficient in their language, was very desirous of meeting me. he was one of the smiths--a petulengro or petulamengro, or master of the horse- shoe, a name familiar to all readers of lavengro. this man was a full gipsy, but he spoke better english, as well as better rommany, than his neighbours, and had far more refinement of manner. and singularly enough, he appeared to be simpler hearted and more unaffected, with less gipsy trickery, and more of a disposition for honest labour. his brother and uncle were, indeed, hard at work among the masons in a new building not far off, though they lived like true gipsies in a tent. petulamengro, as the name is commonly given at the present day, was evidently very proud of his rommany, and talked little else: but he could not speak it nearly so well nor so fluently as his mother, who was of "the old sort," and who was, i believe, sincerely delighted that her skill was appreciated by me. all gipsies are quite aware that their language is very old and curious, but they very seldom meet with gorgios who are familiar with the fact, and manifest an interest in it. while engaged in conversation with this family, petulamengro asked me if i had ever met in america with mr ---, adding, "he is a brother-in-law of mine." i confess that i was startled, for i had known the gentleman in question very well for many years. he is a man of considerable fortune, and nothing in his appearance indicates in the slightest degree any affinity with the rommany. he is not the only real or partial gipsy whom i know among the wealthy and highly cultivated, and it is with pleasure i declare that i have found them all eminently kind-hearted and hospitable. it may be worth while to state, in this connection, that gipsy blood intermingled with anglo-saxon when educated, generally results in intellectual and physical vigour. the english gipsy has greatly changed from the hindoo in becoming courageous, in fact, his pugnacity and pluck are too frequently carried to a fault. my morning's call had brought me into contact with the three types of the gipsy of the roads. of the half-breeds, and especially of those who have only a very slight trace of the dark blood or _kalo ratt_, there are in great britain many thousands. of the true stock there are now only a few hundreds. but all are "rommany," and all have among themselves an "understanding" which separates them from the "gorgios." it is difficult to define what this understanding is--suffice it to say, that it keeps them all in many respects "peculiar," and gives them a feeling of free-masonry, and of guarding a social secret, long after they leave the roads and become highly reputable members of society. but they have a secret, and no one can know them who has not penetrated it. * * * * * one day i mentioned to my old rommany, what mr borrow has said, that no english gipsy knows the word for a leaf, or _patrin_. he admitted that it was true; but after considering the subject deeply, and dividing the deliberations between his pipe and a little wooden bear on the table--his regular oracle and friend--he suddenly burst forth in the following beautiful illustration of philology by theology:-- "rya, i pens you the purodirus lav for a leaf--an' that's a _holluf_. (don't you jin that the holluf was the firstus leaf? so holluf must be the rommany lav, sense rommanis is the purodirest jib o' saw.) for when the first mush was kaired an' created in the tem adree--and that was the boro duvel himself, i expect--an' annered the tem apre, he was in the bero, an' didn't jin if there was any puvius about, so he bitchered the chillico avree. an' the chillico was a dove, 'cause dove-us is like duvel, an' pash o' the duvel an' duvel's chillico. so the dove mukkered avree an' jalled round the tem till he latchered the puvius; for when he dickered a tan an' lelled a holluf-leaf, he jinned there was a tem, an' hatched the holluf apopli to his duvel. an' when yuv's duvel jinned there was a tem, he kaired bitti tiknos an' foki for the tem--an' i don't jin no more of it. kekoomi. an' that is a wery tidy little story of the leaf, and it sikkers that the holluf was the first leaf. tacho." "sir, i will tell you the oldest word for a leaf--and that is an olive. (don't you know that the olive was the first leaf? so olive must be the rommany word, since rommanis is the oldest language of all.) for when the first man was made and created in the world--and that was the great god himself, i expect--and brought the land out, he was in the ship, and didn't know if there was any earth about him, so he sent the bird out. and the bird was a dove, because _dove_ is like _duvel_ (god), and half god and god's bird. so the dove flew away and went around the world till he found the earth; for when he saw a place and took an olive-leaf, he knew there was a country (land), and took the olive-leaf back to his lord. and when his lord knew there was land, he made little children and people for it--and i don't know anything more about it. and that is a very tidy little story of the leaf, and it shows that the olive was the first leaf." being gratified at my noting down this original narrative from his own lips, my excellent old friend informed me, with cheerfulness not unmingled with the dignified pride characteristic of erudition, and of the possession of deep and darksome lore, that he also knew the story of samson. and thus spake he:-- "samson was a boro mush, wery hunnalo an' tatto at koorin', so that he nashered saw the mushis avree, an' they were atrash o' lester. he was so surrelo that yeckorus when he poggered avree a ker, an' it had a boro sasterni wuder, he just pet it apre his dumo, an' hookered it avree, an' jalled kerri an' bikin'd it. "yeck divvus he lelled some weshni juckals, an' pandered yagni-trushnees to their poris and mukked 'em jal. and they nashered avree like puro bengis, sig in the sala, when sar the mushis were sutto, 'unsa parl the giv puvius, and hotchered sar the giv. "then the krallis bitchered his mushis to lel samson, but he koshered 'em, an' pash mored the tat of 'em; they couldn't kurry him, and he sillered 'em to praster for their miraben. an' 'cause they couldn't serber him a koorin', they kaired it sidd pre the chingerben drum. now samson was a seehiatty mush, wery cammoben to the juvas, so they got a wery rinkeni chi to kutter an' kuzzer him. so yuv welled a laki to a worretty tan, an' she hocussed him with drab till yuv was pilfry o' sutto, an his sherro hungered hooper side a lacker; an' when yuv was selvered, the mushis welled and chinned his ballos apre an' chivved him adree the sturaben. "an' yeck divvus the foki hitchered him avree the sturaben to kair pyass for 'em. and as they were gillerin' and huljerin' him, samson chivved his wasters kettenus the boro chongurs of the sturaben, and bongered his kokerus adree, an sar the ker pet a lay with a boro gudli, an' sar the pooro mushis were mullered an' the ker poggered to bitti cutters." "samson was a great man, very fierce and expert at fighting, so that he drove all men away, and they were afraid of him. he was so strong that once when he broke into a house, and it had a great iron door, he just put it on his back, and carried it away and went home and sold it. "one day he caught some foxes, and tied firebrands to their tails and let them go. and they ran away like old devils, early in the morning, when all the people were asleep, across the field, and burned all the wheat. "then the king sent his men to take samson, but he hurt them, and half killed the whole of them; they could not injure him, and he compelled them to run for life. and because they could not capture him by fighting, they did it otherwise by an opposite way. now samson was a man full of life, very fond of the girls, so they got a very pretty woman to cajole and coax him. and he went with her to a lonely house, and she 'hocussed' him with poison till he was heavy with sleep, and his head drooped by her side; and when he was poisoned, the people came and cut his hair off and threw him into prison. "and one day the people dragged him out of prison to make sport for them. and as they were making fun of him and teasing him, samson threw his hands around the great pillars of the prison, and bowed himself in, and all the house fell down with a great noise, and all the poor men were killed and the house broken to small pieces. "and so he died." "do you know what the judgment day is, puro?" "avo, rya. the judgment day is when you _soves alay_ (go in sleep, or dream away) to the boro duvel." i reflected long on this reply of the untutored rommany. i had often thought that the deepest and most beautiful phrase in all tennyson's poems was that in which the impassioned lover promised his mistress to love her after death, ever on "into the dream beyond." and here i had the same thought as beautifully expressed by an old gipsy, who, he declared, for two months hadn't seen three nights when he wasn't as drunk as four fiddlers. and the same might have been said of carolan, the irish bard, who lived in poetry and died in whisky. the soul sleeping or dreaming away to god suggested an inquiry into the gipsy idea of the nature of spirits. "you believe in _mullos_ (ghosts), puro. can everybody see them, i wonder?" "avo, rya, avo. every mush can dick mullos if it's their cammoben to be dickdus. but 'dusta critters can dick mullos whether the mullos kaum it or kek. there's grais an' mylas can dick mullos by the ratti; an' yeckorus i had a grai that was trasher 'dree a tem langs the rikkorus of a drum, pash a boro park where a mush had been mullered. he prastered a mee pauli, but pash a cheirus he welled apopli to the wardos. a chinned jucko or a wixen can hunt mullos. avali, they chase sperits just the sim as anything 'dree the world--dan'r 'em, koor 'em, chinger 'em--'cause the dogs can't be dukkered by mullos." in english: "yes, sir, yes. every man can see ghosts if it is their will to be seen. but many creatures can see ghosts whether the ghosts wish it or not. there are horses and asses (which) can see ghosts by the night; and once i had a horse that was frightened in a place by the side of a road, near a great park where a man had been murdered. he ran a mile behind, but after a while came back to the waggons. a cut (castrated) dog or a vixen can hunt ghosts. yes, they chase spirits just the same as anything in the world--bite 'em, fight 'em, tear 'em--because dogs cannot be hurt by ghosts." "dogs," i replied, "sometimes hunt men as well as ghosts." "avo; but men can fool the juckals avree, and men too, and mullos can't." "how do they kair it?" "if a choramengro kaums to chore a covva when the snow is apre the puvius, he jals yeck piro, palewavescro. if you chiv tutes piros pal-o- the-waver--your kusto piro kaired bongo, jallin' with it a rikkorus, an' the waver piro straightus--your patteran'll dick as if a bongo-herroed mush had been apre the puvius. (i jinned a mush yeckorus that had a dui chokkas kaired with the dui tachabens kaired bongo, to jal a-chorin' with.) but if you're pallered by juckals, and pet lully dantymengro adree the chokkas, it'll dukker the sunaben of the juckos. "an' if you chiv lully dantymengro where juckos kair panny, a'ter they soom it they won't jal adoi chichi no moreus, an' won't mutter in dovo tan, and you can keep it cleanus." that is, "if a thief wants to steal a thing when the snow is on the ground, he goes with one foot behind the other. if you put your feet one behind the other--your right foot twisted, going with it to one side, and the other foot straight--your trail will look as if a crooked-legged man had been on the ground. (i knew a man once that had a pair of shoes made with the two heels reversed, to go a-thieving with.) but if you are followed by dogs, and put red pepper in your shoes, it will spoil the scent of the dogs. "and if you throw red pepper where dogs make water, they will not go there any more after they smell it, and you can keep it clean." "well," i replied, "i see that a great many things can be learned from the gipsies. tell me, now, when you wanted a night's lodging did you ever go to a union?" "kek, rya; the tramps that jal langs the drum an' mang at the unions are kek rommany chals. the rommany never kair dovo--they'd sooner besh in the bavol puv firstus. we'd putch the farming rye for mukkaben to hatch the ratti adree the granja,but we'd sooner suv under the bor in the bishnoo than jal adree the chuvveny-ker. the rommany chals aint sim to tramps, for they've got a different drum into 'em." in english: "no, sir; the tramps that go along the road and beg at the unions are not gipsies. the rommany never do that--they'd sooner stay in the open field (literally, air-field). we would ask the farmer for leave to stop the night in the barn, but we'd sooner sleep under the hedge in the rain than go in the poorhouse. gipsies are not like tramps, for they have a different _way_." the reader who will reflect on the extreme misery and suffering incident upon sleeping in the open air, or in a very scanty tent, during the winter in england, and in cold rains, will appreciate the amount of manly pride necessary to sustain the gipsies in thus avoiding the union. that the wandering rommany can live at all is indeed wonderful, since not only are all other human beings less exposed to suffering than many of them, but even foxes and rabbits are better protected in their holes from storms and frost. the indians of north america have, without exception, better tents; in fact, one of the last gipsy _tans_ which i visited was merely a bit of ragged canvas, so small that it could only cover the upper portion of the bodies of the man and his wife who slept in it. where and how they packed their two children i cannot understand. the impunity with which any fact might be published in english rommany, with the certainty that hardly a soul in england not of the blood could understand it, is curiously illustrated by an incident which came within my knowledge. the reader is probably aware that there appear occasionally in the "agony" column of the _times_ (or in that devoted to "personal" advertisements) certain sentences apparently written in some very strange foreign tongue, but which the better informed are aware are made by transposing letters according to the rules of cryptography or secret writing. now it is estimated that there are in great britain at least one thousand lovers of occult lore and quaint curiosa, decipherers of rebuses and adorers of anagrams, who, when one of these delightful puzzles appears in the _times_, set themselves down and know no rest until it is unpuzzled and made clear, being stimulated in the pursuit by the delightful consciousness that they are exploring the path of somebody's secret, which somebody would be very sorry to have made known. such an advertisement appeared one day, and a friend of mine, who had a genius for that sort of thing, sat himself down early one saturday morning to decipher it. first of all he ascertained which letter occurred most frequently in the advertisement, for this must be the letter _e_ according to rules made and provided by the great edgar a. poe, the american poet-cryptographer. but to reveal the secret in full, i may as well say, dear reader, that you must take printers' type in their cases, _and follow the proportions according to the size of the boxes_. by doing this you cannot fail to unrip the seam of any of these transmutations. but, alas! this cock would not fight--it was a dead bird in the pit. my friend at once apprehended that he had to deal with an old hand--one of those aggravating fellows who are up to cryp--a man who can write a sentence, and be capable of leaving the letter _e_ entirely out. for there _are_ people who will do this. so he went to work afresh upon now hypotheses, and pleasantly the hours fled by. quires of paper were exhausted; he worked all day and all the evening with no result. that it was not in a foreign language my friend was well assured. "for well hee knows the latine and the dutche; of fraunce and toscanie he hath a touche." russian is familiar to him, and arabic would not have been an unknown quantity. so he began again with the next day, and had been breaking the sabbath until four o'clock in the afternoon, when i entered, and the mystic advertisement was submitted to me. i glanced at it, and at once read it into english, though as i read the smile at my friend's lost labour vanished in a sense of sympathy for what the writer must have suffered. it was as follows, omitting names:-- "mandy jins of --- ---. patsa mandy, te bitcha lav ki tu shan. opray minno lav, mandy'l kek pukka til tute muks a mandi. tute's di's see se welni poggado. shom atrash tuti dad'l jal divio. yov'l fordel sor. for miduvel's kom, muk lesti shoon choomani." in english: "i know of ---. trust me, and send word where you are. on my word, i will not tell till you give me leave. your mother's heart is wellnigh broken. i am afraid your father will go mad. he will forgive all. for god's sake, let him know something." this was sad enough, and the language in which it was written is good english rommany. i would only state in addition, that i found that in the very house in which i was living, and at the same time, a lady had spent three days in vainly endeavouring to ascertain the meaning of these sentences. it is possible that many gipsies, be they of high or low degree, in society or out of it, may not be pleased at my publishing a book of their language, and revealing so much of what they fondly cherish as a secret. they need be under no apprehension, since i doubt very much whether, even with its aid, a dozen persons living will seriously undertake to study it--and of this dozen there is not one who will not be a philologist; and such students are generally aware that there are copious vocabularies of all the other gipsy dialects of europe easy to obtain from any bookseller. had my friend used the works of pott or paspati, ascoli or grellman, he would have found it an easy thing to translate this advertisement. the truth simply is, that for _scholars_ there is not a single secret or hidden word in english gipsy or in any other rommany dialect, and none except scholars will take pains to acquire it. any man who wished to learn sufficient gipsy to maintain a conversation, and thereby learn all the language, could easily have done so half a century ago from the vocabularies published by bright and other writers. a secret which has been for fifty years published in very practical detail in fifty books, is indeed a _secret de ponchinelle_. i have been asked scores of times, "have the gipsies an alphabet of their own? have they grammars of their language, dictionaries, or books?" of course my answer was in the negative. i have heard of vocabularies in use among crypto-rommanies, or those who having risen from the roads live a secret life, so to speak, but i have never seen one. but they have songs; and one day i was told that in my neighbourhood there lived a young gipsy woman who was a poetess and made rommany ballads. "she can't write," said my informant; "but her husband's a _gorgio_, and he can. if you want them, i'll get you some." the offer was of course accepted, and the gipsy dame, flattered by the request, sent me the following. the lyric is without rhyme, but, as sung, not without rhythm. "gilli of a rummany juva. "die at the gargers (gorgios), the gargers round mandy! trying to lel my meripon, my meripon (meripen) away. i will care (kair) up to my chungs (chongs), up to my chungs in rat, all for my happy racler (raklo). my mush is lelled to sturribon (staripen), to sturribon, to sturribon; mymush is lelled to sturribon, to the tan where mandy gins (jins)." translation. "look at the gorgios, the gorgios around me! trying to take my life away. "i will wade up to my knees in blood, all for my happy boy. "my husband is taken to prison, to prison, to prison; my husband is taken to prison, to the place of which i know." chapter x. gipsies in egypt. difficulty of obtaining information.--the khedive on the gipsies.--mr edward elias.--mahomet introduces me to the gipsies.--they call themselves tataren.--the rhagarin or gipsies at boulac.--cophts.--herr seetzen on egyptian gipsies.--the gipsy with the monkey in cairo.--street- cries of the gipsy women in egypt. captain newbold on the egyptian gipsies. since writing the foregoing pages, and only a day or two after one of the incidents therein described, i went to egypt, passing the winter in cairo and on the nile. while waiting in the city for the friend with whom i was to ascend the mysterious river, it naturally occurred to me, that as i was in the country which many people still believe is the original land of the gipsies, it would be well worth my while to try to meet with some, if any were to be found. it is remarkable, that notwithstanding my inquiries from many gentlemen, both native and foreign, including savans and beys, the only educated person i ever met in egypt who was able to give me any information on the subject of its gipsies was the khedive or viceroy himself, a fact which will not seem strange to those who are aware of the really wonderful extent of his knowledge of the country which he rules. i had been but a few days in cairo when, at an interview with the khedive, mr beardsley, the american consul, by whom i was presented, mentioned to his highness that i was interested in the subject of the gipsies, upon which the khedive said that there were in egypt many people known as "_rhagarin_" (ghagarin), who were probably the same as the "bohemiens" or gipsies of europe. his words were, as nearly as i can remember, as follows:-- "they are wanderers who live in tents, and are regarded with contempt even by the peasantry. their women tell fortunes, tattoo, { } and sell small-wares; the men work in iron (_quincaillerie_). they are all adroit thieves, and noted as such. the men may sometimes be seen going around the country with monkeys; in fact, they appear to be in all respects the same people as the gipsies of europe." this was all that i could learn for several days; for though there were gipsies--or "egypcians"--in egypt, i had almost as much trouble to find them as eilert sundt had to discover their brethren in norway. in speaking of the subject to mr edward elias, a gentleman well known in egypt, he most kindly undertook to secure the aid of the chief of police, who in turn had recourse to the shekh of the gipsies. but the shekh i was told was not himself a gipsy, and there were none of his subjects in cairo. after a few days, three wanderers, supposed to be rommany, were arrested; but on examination they proved to be ignorant of any language except arabic. their occupation was music and dancing "with a stick;" in fact, they were performers in those curious and extremely ancient fescennine farces, or _atellanae_, which are depicted on ancient vases, and are still acted on the roads in egypt as they were in greece before the days of thespis. then i was informed that gipsies were often encamped near the pyramids, but research in this direction was equally fruitless. remembering what his highness had told me, that gipsies went about exhibiting monkeys, i one day, on meeting a man bearing an ape, endeavoured to enter into conversation with him. those who know cairo can imagine with what result! in an instant we were surrounded by fifty natives of the lower class, jabbering, jeering, screaming, and begging--all intent, as it verily seemed, on defeating my object. i gave the monkey-bearer money; instead of thanking me, he simply clamoured for more, while the mob became intolerable, so that i was glad to make my escape. at last i was successful. i had frequently employed as donkey-driver an intelligent and well-behaved man named mahomet, who spoke english well, and who was familiar with the byways of cairo. on asking him if he could show me any rhagarin, he replied that every saturday there was a fair or market held at boulac, where i would be sure to meet with women of the tribe. the men, i was told, seldom ventured into the city, because they were subject to much insult and ill-treatment from the common people. on the day appointed i rode to the market, which was extremely interesting. there were thousands of blue-shirted and red-tarbouched or white-turbaned egyptians, buying or selling, or else merely amusing themselves; dealers in sugar-cane, pipe-pedlars, and vendors of rosaries; jugglers and minstrels. at last we came to a middle-aged woman seated on the ground behind a basket containing beads, glass armlets, and similar trinkets. she was dressed like any arab woman of the lower class, but was not veiled, and on her chin blue lines were tattooed. her features and whole expression were, however, evidently gipsy. i spoke to her in rommany, using such words as would have been intelligible to any of the race in england, germany, or turkey; but she did not understand me, and declared that she could speak nothing but arabic. at my request mahomet explained to her that i had travelled from a distant country in "orobba," where there were many rhagarin who declared that their fathers came from egypt, and that i wished to know if any in the latter country could speak the old language. she replied that the rhagarin of "montesinos" could still speak it, but that her people in egypt had lost the tongue. mahomet declared that montesinos meant mount sinai or syria. i then asked her if the rhagarin had no peculiar name for themselves, and she replied, "yes, we call ourselves tataren." this was at least satisfactory. all over southern germany and in norway the rommany are sailed tataren; and though the word means tartars, and is simply a misapplied term, it indicates a common race. the woman seemed to be very much gratified at the interest i manifested in her people. i gave her a double piastre, and asked for its value in blue-glass armlets. she gave me two pair, and as i turned to depart called me back, and with a good-natured smile handed me four more as a present. this generosity was very gipsy-like, and very unlike the usual behaviour of any common egyptian. while on the nile, i inquired of people in different towns if they had ever seen gipsies where they lived, and was invariably answered in the negative. remembering to have read in some book a statement that the ghawazi or dancing-girls formed a tribe by themselves, and spoke a peculiar language, i asked an american who has lived for many years in egypt if he thought they could be gipsies. he replied that an english lady of title, who had also been for a long time in the country, had formed this opinion. but when i questioned dancing-girls myself, i found them quite ignorant of any language except arabic, and knowing nothing relating to the rommany. two ghawazi whom i saw had, indeed, the peculiarly brilliant eyes and general expression of gipsies. the rest appeared to be egyptian-arab; and i found on inquiry that one of the latter had really been a peasant girl who till within seven months had worked in the fields, while two others were occupied alternately with field-work and dancing. at the market in boulac, mahomet took me to a number of _rhagarin_. they all resembled the one whom i have described, and were all occupied in selling exactly the same class of articles. they all differed slightly, as i thought, from the ordinary egyptians in their appearance, and were decidedly unlike them, in being neither importunate for money nor disagreeable in their manners. but though they were certainly gipsies, none of them would speak rommany, and i doubt very much if they could have done so. bonaventura vulcanius, who in first gave the world a specimen of rommany in his curious book "de literis et lingua getarum" (which specimen, by the way, on account of its rarity, i propose to republish in another work), believed that the gipsies were nubians; and others, following in his track, supposed they were really cophtic christians (pott, "die zigeuner," &c., halle, , p. ). and i must confess that this recurred forcibly to my memory when, at minieh, in egypt, i asked a copht scribe if he were muslim, and he replied, "_la_, _ana gipti_" ("no, i am a copht"), pronouncing the word _gipti_, or copht, so that it might readily be taken for "gipsy." and learning that _romi_ is the cophtic for a man, i was again startled; and when i found _tema_ (tem, land) and other rommany words in ancient egyptian (_vide_ brugsch, "grammaire," &c.), it seemed as if there were still many mysteries to solve in this strange language. other writers long before me attempted to investigate egyptian gipsy, but with no satisfactory result. a german named seetzen ascertained that there were gipsies both in egypt and syria, and wrote ( ) on the subject a ms., which pott ("die zigeuner," &c.) cites largely. of these roms he speaks as follows: "gipsies are to be found in the entire osmanli realm, from the limits of hungary into egypt. the turks call them tschinganih; but the syrians and egyptians, as well as themselves, _nury_, in the plural _el nauar_. it was on the th november when i visited a troop of them, encamped with their black tents in an olive grove, to the west side of naplos. they were for the greater part of a dirty yellow complexion, with black hair, which hung down on the side from where it was parted in a short plait, and their lips are mulatto- like." (seetzen subsequently remarks that their physiognomy is precisely like that of the modern egyptians.) "the women had their under lips coloured dark blue, like female bedouins, and a few eaten-in points around the mouth of like colour. they, and the boys also, wore earrings. they made sieves of horse-hair or of leather, iron nails, and similar small ironware, or mended kettles. they appear to be very poor, and the men go almost naked, unless the cold compels them to put on warmer clothing. the little boys ran about naked. although both christians and mahometans declared that they buried their dead in remote hill corners, or burned them, they denied it, and declared they were good mahometans, and as such buried their dead in mahometan cemeteries." (this corresponds to their custom in great britain in the past generation, and the earnestness which they display at present to secure regular burial like christians.) "but as their instruction is even more neglected than that of the bedouins, their religious information is so limited that one may say of them, they have either no religion at all, or the simplest of all. as to wine, they are less strict than most mahometans. they assured me that in egypt there were many _nury_." the same writer obtained from one of these syrian-egyptian gipsies a not inconsiderable vocabulary of their language, and says: "i find many arabic, turkish, and some greek words in it; it appears to me, however, that they have borrowed from a fourth language, which was perhaps their mother-tongue, but which i cannot name, wanting dictionaries." the words which he gives appear to me to consist of egyptian-arabic, with its usual admixture from other sources, simply made into a gibberish, and sometimes with one word substituted for another to hide the meaning--the whole probably obtained through a dragoman, as is seen, for instance, when he gives the word _nisnaszeha_, a fox, and states that it is of unknown origin. the truth is, _nisnas_ means a monkey, and, like most of seetzen's "nuri" words, is inflected with an _a_ final, as if one should say "monkeyo." i have no doubt the nauar may talk such a jargon; but i should not be astonished, either, if the shekh who for a small pecuniary consideration eagerly aided seetzen to note it down, had "sold" him with what certainly would appear to any egyptian to be the real babble of the nursery. there are a very few rommany words in this vocabulary, but then it should be remembered that there are some arabic words in rommany. the street-cry of the gipsy women in cairo is [arabic text which cannot be reproduced] "_neduqq wanetahir_!" "we tattoo and circumcise!" a phrase which sufficiently indicates their calling. in the "deutscher dragoman" of dr philip wolff, leipzig, , i find the following under the word zigeuner:-- "gipsy--in egypt, gagri" (pronounced more nearly 'rh'agri), "plural _gagar_; in syria, _newari_, plural _nawar_. when they go about with monkeys, they are called _kurudati_, from _kird_, ape. the gipsies of upper egypt call themselves saaideh--_i.e_., people from said, or upper egypt (_vide_ kremer, i. - ). according to von gobineau, they are called in syria kurbati, [arabic text which cannot be reproduced] (_vide_ 'zeitschrift der d. m. g.,' xi. )." more than this of the gipsies in egypt the deponent sayeth not. he has interrogated the oracles, and they were dumb. that there are roms in the land of mizr his eyes have shown, but whether any of them can talk rommany is to him as yet unknown. * * * * * since the foregoing was printed, i have found in the _journal of the royal asiatic society_ (vol. xvi., part , , p. ), an article on the gipsies in egypt, by the late captain newbold, f.r.s., which gives much information on this mysterious subject. the egyptian gipsies, as captain newbold found, are extremely jealous and suspicious of any inquiry into their habits and mode of life, so that he had great difficulty in tracing them to their haunts, and inducing them to unreserved communication. these gipsies are divided into three kinds, the helebis, ghagars (rhagarin), and nuris or nawer. of the rhagars there are sixteen thousand. the helebi are most prosperous of all these, and their women, who are called fehemis, are the only ones who practice fortune-telling and sorcery. the male helebis are chiefly ostensible dealers in horses and cattle, but have a bad character for honesty. some of them are to be found in every official department in egypt, though not known to be gipsies--(a statement which casts much light on the circumstance that neither the chief of police himself nor the shekh of the rhagarin, with all their alleged efforts, could find a single gipsy for me). the helebis look down on the rhagarin, and do not suffer their daughters to intermarry with them, though they themselves marry rhagarin girls. the fehemi, or helebi women, are noted for their chastity; the rhagarin are not. the men of the rhagarin are tinkers and blacksmiths, and sell cheap jewellery or instruments of iron and brass. many of them are athletes, mountebanks, and monkey-exhibitors; the women are rope-dancers and musicians. they are divided into classes, bearing the names of romani, meddahin, ghurradin, barmeki (barmecides), waled abu tenna, beit er rafai, hemmeli, &c. the helebis and rhagarin are distinctly different in their personal appearance from the other inhabitants of egypt, having the eyes and expression peculiar to all gipsies. captain newbold, in fact, assumes that any person "who remains in egypt longer than the ordinary run of travellers, and roams about the streets and environs of the large towns, can hardly fail to notice the strange appearance of certain females, whose features at once distinguish them from the ordinary fellah arabs and cophts of the country." "the nuris or nawers are hereditary thieves, but are now ( ) employed as police and watchmen in the pacha's country estates. in egypt they intermarry with the fellahin or arabs of the soil, from whom, in physical appearance and dress, they can hardly be distinguished. outwardly they profess mohammedanism, and have little intercourse with the helebis and ghagars (or rhagarin)." each of these tribes or classes speak a separate and distinct dialect or jargon. that of the rhagarin most resembles the language spoken by the kurbats, or gipsies of syria. "it seems to me probable," says captain newbold, "that the whole of these tribes had one common origin in india, or the adjacent countries on its western frontier, and that the difference in the jargons they now speak is owing to their sojourn in the various countries through which they have passed. _this is certain_, _that the gipsies are strangers in the land of egypt_." i am not astonished, on examining the specimens of these three dialects given by captain newbold, with the important addition made by mr w. burckhardt barker, that i could not converse with the rhagarin. that of the nawers does not contain a single word which would be recognised as rommany, while those which occur in the other two jargons are, if not positively either few and far between, strangely distorted from the original. a great number are ordinary vulgar arabic. it is very curious that while in england such a remarkably large proportion of hindustani words have been preserved, they have been lost in the east, in countries comparatively near the fatherland--india. i would, in conclusion to this work, remark that numbers of rommany words, which are set down by philologists as belonging to greek, slavonian, and other languages, were originally hindu, and have only changed their form a little because the wanderers found a resemblance to the old word in a new one. i am also satisfied that much may be learned as to the origin of these words from a familiar acquaintance with the vulgar dialects of persia, and such words as are not put down in dictionaries, owing to their provincial character. i have found, on questioning a persian gentleman, that he knew the meaning of many rommany words from their resemblance to vulgar persian, though they were not in the persian dictionary which i used. rommani gudli; or, gipsy stories and fables. the gipsy to whom i was chiefly indebted for the material of this book frequently narrated to me the _gudli_ or small stories current among his people, and being a man of active, though child-like imagination, often invented others of a similar character. sometimes an incident or saying would suggest to me the outline of a narrative, upon which he would eagerly take it up, and readily complete the tale. but if i helped him sometimes to evolve from a hint, a phrase, or a fact, something like a picture, it was always the gipsy who gave it rommany characteristics and conferred colour. it was often very difficult for him to distinctly recall an old story or clearly develop anything of the kind, whether it involved an effort of memory or of the imagination, and here he required aid. i have never in my life met with any man whose mind combined so much simplicity, cunning, and grotesque fancy, with such an entire incapacity to appreciate either humour or "poetry" as expressed in the ordinary language of culture. the metre and rhyme of the simplest ballad made it unintelligible to him, and i was obliged to repeat such poetry several times before he could comprehend it. yet he would, while i was otherwise occupied than with him, address to his favourite wooden image of a little bear on the chimneypiece, grotesque soliloquies which would have delighted a hoffman, or conduct with it dialogues which often startled me. with more education, he would have become a rommany bid- pai; and since india is the fatherland of the fable, he may have derived his peculiar faculty for turning morals and adorning tales legitimately from that source. i may state that those stories, which were made entirely; as a few were; or in part, by my assistant and myself, were afterwards received with approbation by ordinary gipsies as being thoroughly rommany. as to the _language_ of the stories, it is all literally and faithfully that of a gipsy, word by word, written down as he uttered it, when, after we had got a _gudlo_ into shape, he told it finally over, which he invariably did with great eagerness, ending with an improvised moral. gudlo i. how a gipsy saved a child's life by breaking a window. 'pre yeck divvus (or yeckorus) a rommany chal was kairin' pyass with the koshters, an' he wussered a kosh 'pre the hev of a boro ker an' poggered it. welled the prastramengro and penned, "tu must pooker (or pessur) for the glass." but when they jawed adree the ker, they lastered the kosh had mullered a divio juckal that was jawan' to dant the chavo. so the rani del the rommany chal a sonnakai ora an' a fino gry. but yeck koshter that poggers a hev doesn't muller a juckal. translation. on a day (or once) a gipsy was playing at cockshy, and he threw a stick through the window of a great house and broke the glass. came the policeman and said, "you must answer (or pay) for the glass." but when they went into the house, they found the stick had killed a mad dog that was going to bite the child (boy). so the lady gave the gipsy a gold watch and a good horse. but every stick that breaks a window does not kill a dog. gudlo ii. the gipsy story of the bird and the hedgehog. 'pre yeck divvus a hotchewitchi dicked a chillico adree the puv, and the chillico pukkered lesco, "mor jal pauli by the kushto wastus, or the hunters' graias will chiv tute adree the chick, mullo; an' if you jal the waver rikk by the bongo wast, dovo's a rommany tan adoi, and the rommany chals will haw tute." penned the hotchewitchi, "i'd rather jal with the rommany chals, an' be hawed by foki that kaum mandy, than be pirraben apre by chals that dick kaulo apre mandy." it's kushtier for a tacho rom to be mullered by a rommany pal than to be nashered by the gorgios. translation. on a day a hedgehog met a bird in the field, and the bird told him, "do not go around by the right hand, or the hunters' horses will trample you dead in the dirt; and if you go around by the left hand, there's a gipsy tent, and the gipsies will eat you." said the hedgehog, "i'd rather go with the gipsies, and be eaten by folk that like me, than be trampled on by people that despise (literally, look black upon) me." it is better for a real gipsy to be killed by a gipsy brother than to be hung by gorgios. gudlo iii. a story of a fortune-teller. yeckorus a tano gorgio chivved apre a shubo an' jalled to a puri rommany dye to get dukkered. and she pookered lester, "tute'll rummorben a fair man with kauli yakkas." then the raklo delled laki yeck shukkori an' penned, "if this shukkori was as boro as the hockaben tute pukkered mandy, tute might porder sar the bongo tem with rupp." but, hatch a wongish!--maybe in a divvus, maybe in a curricus, maybe a dood, maybe a besh, maybe waver divvus, he rummorbend a rakli by the nav of fair man, and her yakkas were as kaulo as miri juva's. there's always dui rikk to a dukkerben. translation. once a little gorgio put on a woman's gown and went to an old gipsy mother to have his fortune told. and she told him, "you'll marry a fair man with black eyes." then the young man gave her a sixpence and said, "if this sixpence were as big as the lie you told me, you could fill all hell with silver." but, stop a bit! after a while--maybe in a week, maybe a month, maybe in a year, maybe the other day--he married a girl by the name of fair man, and her eyes were as black as my sweetheart's. there are always two sides to a prediction. gudlo iv. how the royston rook deceived the rooks and pigeons. 'pre yeck divvus a royston rookus jalled mongin the kaulo chiriclos, an' they putched (pootschered) him, "where did tute chore tiro pauno chukko?" and yuv pookered, "mandy chored it from a biksherro of a pigeon." then he jalled a-men the pigeons an' penned, "sarishan, pals?" and they putched lesti, "where did tute lel akovo kauli rokamyas te byascros?" and yuv penned, "mandy chored 'em from those wafri mushis the rookuses." pash-ratis pen their kokeros for gorgios mongin gorgios, and for rommany mongin rommany chals. translation. on a day a royston rook { } went among the crows (black birds), and they asked him, "where did you steal your white coat?" and he told (them), "i stole it from a fool of a pigeon." then he went among the pigeons and said, "how are you, brothers?" and they asked him, "where did you get those black trousers and sleeves?" and he said, "i stole 'em from those wretches the rooks." half-breeds call themselves gorgio among gorgios, and gipsy among gipsies. gudlo v. the gipsy's story of the gorgio and the rommany chal. once 'pre a chairus (or chyrus) a gorgio penned to a rommany chal, "why does tute always jal about the tem ajaw? there's no kushtoben in what don't hatch acai." penned the rommany chal, "sikker mandy tute's wongur!" and yuv sikkered him a cutter (cotter?), a bar, a pash-bar, a pash-cutter, a pange-cullo (caulor?) bittus, a pash-krooner (korauna), a dui-cullos bittus, a trin-mushi, a shuckori, a stor'oras, a trin'oras, a dui'oras, a haura, a poshero, a lulli, a pash-lulli. penned the rommany chal, "acovo's sar wafri wongur." "kek," penned the gorgio; "se sar kushto an' kirus. chiv it adree tute's wast and shoon it ringus." "avo," penned the rommany chal. "tute pookered mandy that only wafri covvas keep jallin', te 'covo wongur has jalled sar 'pre the 'tem adusta timei (or timey)." sar mushis aren't all sim ta rukers (rukkers.) some must pirraben, and can't besh't a lay. translation. once upon a time a gorgio said to a gipsy, "why do you always go about the country so? there is 'no good' in what does not rest (literally, stop here)." said the gipsy, "show me your money!" and he showed him a guinea, a sovereign, a half-sovereign, a half-guinea, a five-shilling piece, a half-crown, a two-shilling piece, a shilling, a sixpence, a fourpenny piece, a threepence, a twopence, a penny, a halfpenny, a farthing, a half-farthing. said the gipsy, "this is all bad money." "no," said the other man; "it is all good and sound. toss it in your hand and hear it ring!" "yes," replied the gipsy. "you told me that only bad things _keep going_, and this money has gone all over the country many a time." all men are not like trees. some must travel, and cannot keep still. gudlo vi. how the gipsy bribed the policeman. once apre a chairus a rommany chal chored a rani chillico (or chiriclo), and then jalled atut a prastramengro 'pre the drum. "where did tute chore adovo rani?" putchered the prastramengro. "it's kek rani; it's a pauno rani that i kinned 'dree the gav to del tute." "tacho," penned the prastramengro, "it's the kushtiest pauno rani mandy ever dickdus. ki did tute kin it?" avali, many's the chairus mandy's tippered a trinmushi to a prastramengro ta mukk mandy hatch my tan with the chavvis. translation. once on a time a gipsy stole a turkey, and then met a policeman on the road. "where did you steal that turkey?" asked the policeman. "it's no turkey; it's a goose that i bought in the town to give you." "fact," said the policeman, "it _is_ the finest goose i ever saw. where _did_ you buy it?" yes, many's the time i have given a shilling (three fourpence) to a policeman to let me pitch my tent with the children. { } gudlo vii. how a gipsy lost threepence. yeckorus a choro mush besht a lay ta kair trin horras-worth o' peggi for a masengro. there jessed alang's a rye, who penned, "tool my gry, an' i'll del tute a shukori." while he tooled the gry a rani pookered him, "rikker this trushni to my ker, an' i'll del tute a trin grushi." so he lelled a chavo to tool the gry, and pookered lester, "tute shall get pash the wongur." well, as yuv was rikkinin' the trushnee an' siggerin burry ora bender the drum, he dicked a rye, who penned, "if tute'll jaw to the ker and hatch minni's juckal ta mandy, mi'll del tute a pash-korauna." so he got a waver chavo to rikker the trushnee for pash the wongur, whilst he jalled for the juckal. wellin' alangus, he dicked a barvelo givescro, who penned, "'avacai an' husker mandy to lel my guruvni (_gruvni_) avree the ditch, and i'll del you pange cullos" (caulos). so he lelled it. but at the kunsus of the divvus, sa yuv sus kennin apre sustis wongurs, he penned, "how wafro it is mandy nashered the trinoras i might have lelled for the mass-koshters!" a mush must always pet the giv in the puv before he can chin the harvest. translation. once a poor man sat down to make threepence-worth of skewers { } for a butcher. there came along a gentleman, who said, "hold my horse, and i'll give you a sixpence." while he held the horse a lady said to him, "carry this basket to my house, and i'll give you a shilling." so he got a boy to hold the horse, and said to him, "you shall have half the money." well, as he was carrying the basket and hurrying along fast across the road he saw a gentleman, who said, "if you'll go to the house and bring my dog to me, i will give you half-a-crown." so he got another boy to carry the basket for half the money, while he went for the dog. going along, he saw a rich farmer, who said, "come and help me here to get my cow out of the ditch, and i'll give you five shillings." so he got it. but at the end of the day, when he was counting his money, he said, "what a pity it is i lost the threepence i might have got for the skewers!" (literally, meat-woods.) a man must always put the grain in the ground before he can cut the harvest. gudlo viii. the story of the gipsy's dog. 'pre yeck divvus a choro mush had a juckal that used to chore covvas and hakker them to the ker for his mush--mass, wongur, horas, and rooys. a rye kinned the juckal, an' kaired boot dusta wongur by sikkerin' the juckal at wellgooras. where barvelo mushis can kair wongur tacho, chori mushis have to loure. translation. on a day a poor man had a dog that used to steal things and carry them home for his master--meat, money, watches, and spoons. a gentleman bought the dog, and made a great deal of money by showing him at fairs. where rich men can make money honestly, poor men have to steal. gudlo ix. a story of the prize-fighter and the gentleman. 'pre yeck chairus a cooromengro was to coor, and a rye rakkered him, "will tute mukk your kokero be koored for twenty bar?" penned the cooromengro, "will tute mukk mandy pogger your herry for a hundred bar?" "kek," penned the rye; "for if i did, mandy'd never pirro kushto ajaw." "and if i nashered a kooraben," penned the engro, "mandy'd never praster kekoomi." kammoben is kushtier than wongur. translation. on a time a prize-fighter was to fight, and a gentleman asked him, "will you sell the fight" (_i.e_., let yourself be beaten) "for twenty pounds?" said the prize-fighter, "will you let me break your leg for a hundred pounds?" "no," said the gentleman; "for if i did, i should never walk well again." "and if i lost a fight," said the prize-fighter (literally, master, doer), "i could never 'run' again." credit is better than money. gudlo x. of the gentleman and the old gipsy woman. pre yeck chairus a rommany dye adree the wellgooro rakkered a rye to del laker trin mushi for kushto bak. an' he del it, an' putchered laki, "if i bitcher my wongur a-mukkerin' 'pre the graias, ki'll manni's bak be?" "my fino rye," she penned, "the bak'll be a collos-worth with mandy and my chavvis." bak that's pessured for is saw (sar) adoi. translation. on a time a gipsy mother at the fair asked a gentleman to give her a shilling for luck. and he gave it, and asked her, "if i lose my money a- betting on the horses, where will my luck be?" "my fine gentleman," she said, "the luck will be a shilling's worth with me and my children." luck that is paid for is always somewhere (literally, there). gudlo xi. the gipsy tells of the cat and the hare. yeckorus the matchka jalled to dick her kako's chavo the kanengro. an' there welled a huntingmush, an' the matchka taddied up the choomber, pre durer, pre a rukk, an' odoi she lastered a chillico's nest. but the kanengro prastered alay the choomber, longodurus adree the tem. wafri bak kairs a choro mush ta jal alay, but it mukks a boro mush to chiv his kokero apre. { } translation. once the cat went to see her cousin the hare. and there came a hunter, and the cat scrambled up the hill, further up, up a tree, and there she found a bird's nest. but the hare ran down the hill, far down into the country. bad luck sends a poor man further down, but it causes a great man to rise still more. gudlo xii. of the gipsy woman and the child. pre yeck chairus a chi jalled adree a waver tem, an' she rikkered a gunno pre laki dumo with a baulo adree. a rakli who was ladge of her tikno chored the baulo avree the gunno and chivved the chavi adree. pasch a waver hora the chi shooned the tikno rov (ruvving), and dicked adree the gunno in boro toob, and penned, "if the baulos in akovo tem puraben into chavos, sa do the chavos puraben adree?" translation. once a woman went into a strange land, and she carried a bag on her back with a pig in it. a girl who was ashamed of her child stole the pig from the bag and put the baby in (its place). after an hour the woman heard the child cry, and looked into the bag with great amazement, and said, "if the pigs in this country change into children, into what do the children change?" gudlo xiii. of the girl that was to marry the devil. 'pre yeck divvus a rommany dye dukkered a rakli, and pookered laki that a kaulo rye kaumed her. but when the chi putchered her wongur, the rakli penned, "puri dye, i haven't got a poshero to del tute. but pen mandy the nav of the kaulo rye." then the dye shelled avree, very hunnalo, "beng is the nav of tute's pirryno, and yuv se kaulo adusta." if you chore puri juvas tute'll lel the beng. translation. on a day a gipsy mother told a girl's fortune, and said to her that a dark (black) gentleman loved her. but when the woman demanded her money, the girl said, "old mother, i haven't got a halfpenny to give you. but tell me the name of the dark gentleman." then the mother roared out, very angry, "devil is the name of your sweetheart, and he is black enough." if you cheat old women you will catch the devil. gudlo xiv. of the gipsy who stole the horse. yeckorus a mush chored a gry and jalled him avree adree a waver tem, and the gry and the mush jalled kushti bak kettenus. penned the gry to his mush, "i kaums your covvas to wearus kushtier than mandy's, for there's kek chucknee or mellicus (pusimigree) adree them." "kek," penned the mush pauli; "the trash i lel when mandy jins of the prastramengro an' the bitcherin' mush (krallis mush) is wafrier than any chucknee or busaha, an' they'd kair mandy to praster my miramon (miraben) avree any divvus." translation. once a man stole a horse and ran him away into another country, and the horse and the man became very intimate. said the horse to the man, "i like your things to wear better than i do mine, for there's no whip or spur among them." "no," replied the man; "the fear i have when i think of the policeman and of the judge (sending or "transporting" man, or king's man) is worse than any whip or spur, and they would make me run my life away any day." gudlo xv. the half-blood gipsy, his wife, and the pig. 'pre yeck divvus there was a mush a-piin' ma his rommany chals adree a kitchema, an' pauli a chairus he got pash matto. an' he penned about mullo baulors, that _he_ never hawed kek. kenna-sig his juvo welled adree an' putched him to jal kerri, but yuv pookered her, "kek--i won't jal kenna." then she penned, "well alang, the chavvis got kek habben." so she putchered him ajaw an' ajaw, an' he always rakkered her pauli "kek." so she lelled a mullo baulor ap her dumo and wussered it 'pre the haumescro pre saw the foki, an' penned, "lel the mullo baulor an' rummer it, an' mandy'll dick pauli the chavos." translation. once there was a man drinking with his gipsy fellows in an alehouse, and after a while he got half drunk. and he said of pigs that had died a natural death, _he_ never ate any. by-and-by his wife came in and asked him to go home, but he told her, "no--i won't go now." then she said, "come along, the children have no food." so she entreated him again and again, and he always answered "no." so she took a pig that had died a natural death, from her back and threw it on the table before all the people, and said, "take the dead pig for a wife, and i will look after the children." { } gudlo xvi. the gipsy tells the story of the seven whistlers. my raia, the gudlo of the seven whistlers, you jin, is adree the scriptures--so they pookered mandy. an' the seven whistlers (_efta shellengeri_) is seven spirits of ranis that jal by the ratti, 'pre the bavol, parl the heb, like chillicos. an' it pookers 'dree the bible that the seven whistlers shell wherever they praster atut the bavol. but aduro timeus yeck jalled avree an' got nashered, and kenna there's only shove; but they pens 'em the seven whistlers. an' that sims the story tute pookered mandy of the seven stars. translation. sir, the story of the seven whistlers, you know, is in the scriptures--so they told me. an' the seven whistlers are seven spirits of ladies that go by the night, through the air, over the heaven, like birds. and it tells (us) in the bible that the seven whistlers whistle wherever they fly across the air. but a long time ago one went away and got lost, and now there are only six; but they call them the seven whistlers. and that is like the story you told me of the seven stars. { } gudlo xvii. an old story well known to all gipsies. a rommany rakli yeckorus jalled to a ker a-dukkerin'. a'ter she jalled avree, the rakli of the ker missered a plachta, and pookered the rye that the rommany chi had chored it. so the rye jalled aduro pauli the tem, and latched the rommany chals, and bitchered them to staruben. now this was adree the puro chairus when they used to nasher mushis for any bitti covvo. and some of the rommany chals were nashered, an' some pannied. an' sar the gunnos, an' kavis, and covvas of the rommanis were chivved and pordered kettenus 'pre the bor adree the cangry-puv, an' kek mush tooled 'em. an' trin dood (or munti) pauli, the rakli was kairin' the baulors' habben at the kokero ker, when she latched the plachta they nashered trin dood adovo divvus. so the rakli jalled with the plachta ta laki rye, and penned, "dick what i kaired on those chuvvenny, chori rommany chals that were nashered and pannied for adovo bitti covvo adoi!" and when they jalled to dick at the rommanis' covvas pauli the bor adree the cangry-puv, the gunnos were pordo and chivved adree, chingered saw to cut-engroes, and they latched 'em full o' ruppeny covvos--rooys an' churls of sonnakai, an' oras, curros an' piimangris, that had longed o' the rommany chals that were nashered an' bitschered padel. translation. a gipsy girl once went to a house to tell fortunes. after she went away, the girl of the house missed a pudding-bag (literally, _linen cloth_), and told the master the gipsy girl had stolen it. so the master went far about the country, and found the gipsies, and sent them to prison. now this was in the old time when they used to hang people for any little thing. and some of the gipsies were hung, and some transported (literally, _watered_). and all the bags, and kettles, and things of the gipsies were thrown and piled together behind the hedge in the churchyard, and no man touched them. and three months after, the maid was preparing the pigs' food at the same house, when she found the linen cloth they lost three months (before) that day. so the girl went with the cloth to her master, and said, "see what i did to those poor, poor gipsies that were hung and transported for that trifle (there)!" and when they went to look at the gipsies' things behind the hedge in the churchyard, the bags were full and burst, torn all to rags, and they found them full of silver things--spoons and knives of gold, and watches, cups and teapots, that had belonged to the gipsies that were hung and transported. { a} gudlo xviii. how the gipsy went to church. did mandy ever jal to kangry? avali, dui koppas, and beshed a lay odoi. i was adree the tale tem o' sar, an' a rye putched mandy to well to kangry, an' i welled. and sar the ryas an' ranis dicked at mandy as i jalled adree. { b} so i beshed pukkenus mongin some geeros and dicked upar again the chumure praller my sherro, and there was a deer and a kanengro odoi chinned in the bar, an' kaired kushto. i shooned the rashai a-rakkerin'; and when the shunaben was kerro, i welled avree and jalled alay the drum to the kitchema. i latchered the raias mush adree the kitchema; so we got matto odoi, an' were jallin' kerri alay the drum when we dicked the raias wardo a-wellin'. so we jalled sig 'dusta parl the bor, an' gavered our kokeros odoi adree the puv till the rye had jessed avree. i dicked adovo rye dree the sala, and he putched mandy what i'd kaired the cauliko, pash kangry. i pookered him i'd pii'd dui or trin curros levinor and was pash matto. an' he penned mandy, "my mush was matto sar tute, and i nashered him." i pookered him ajaw, "i hope not, rya, for such a bitti covvo as dovo; an' he aint cammoben to piin' levinor, he's only used to pabengro, that don't kair him matto." but kek, the choro mush had to jal avree. an' that's sar i can rakker tute about my jallin' to kangry. translation. did i ever go to church? yes, twice, and sat down there. i was in the lower land of all (cornwall), and a gentleman asked me to go to church, and i went. and all the ladies and gentlemen looked at me as i went in. so i sat quietly among some men and looked up on the wall above my head, and there were a deer and a rabbit cut in the stone, beautifully done. i heard the clergyman speaking; and when the sermon was ended (literally, made), i came out and went down the road to the alehouse. i found the gentleman's servant in the alehouse; so we got drunk there, and were going home down the road when we saw the gentleman's carriage coming. so we went quickly enough over the hedge, and hid ourselves there in the field until the gentleman was gone. i saw the gentleman in the morning, and he asked me what i had done the day before, after church. i told him i'd drunk two or three cups of ale and was half tipsy. and he said, "my man was drunk as you, and i sent him off." i told him then, "i hope not, sir, for such a little thing as that; and he is not used to drink ale, he's only accustomed to cider, that don't intoxicate him." but no, the poor man had to go away. _and that's all i can tell you about my going to church_. gudlo xix. what the little gipsy girl told her brother. penned the tikni rommani chavi laki pal, "more mor the pishom, 'cause she's a rommani, and kairs her jivaben jallin' parl the tem dukkerin' the ruzhas and lellin' the gudlo avree 'em, sar moro dye dukkers the ranis. an' ma wusser bars at the rookas, 'cause they're kaulos, an' kaulo ratt is rommany ratt. an' maun pogger the bawris, for yuv rikkers his tan pre the dumo, sar moro puro dadas, an' so yuv's rommany." translation. said the little gipsy girl to her brother, "don't kill the bee, because she is a gipsy, and makes her living going about the country telling fortunes to the flowers and taking honey out of them, as our mother tells fortunes to the ladies. and don't throw stones at the rooks, because they are dark, and dark blood is gipsy blood. and don't crush the snail, for he carries his tent on his back, like our old father" (_i.e_., carries his home about, and so he too is rommany). gudlo xx. how charley lee played at pitch-and-toss. i jinned a tano mush yeckorus that nashered sar his wongur 'dree the toss- ring. then he jalled kerri to his dadas' kanyas and lelled pange bar avree. paul' a bitti chairus he dicked his dadas an' pookered lester he'd lelled pange bar avree his gunnas. but yuv's dadas penned, "jal an, kair it ajaw and win some wongur againus!" so he jalled apopli to the toss-ring an' lelled sar his wongur pauli, an' pange bar ferridearer. so he jalled ajaw kerri to the tan, an' dicked his dadas beshtin' alay by the rikk o' the tan, and his dadas penned, "sa did you keravit, my chavo?" "kushto, dadas. i lelled sar my wongur pauli; and here's tute's wongur acai, an' a bar for tute an' shtar bar for mi-kokero." an' that's tacho as ever you tool that pen in tute's waster--an' dovo mush was poor charley lee, that's mullo kenna. translation. i knew a little fellow once that lost all his money in the toss-ring (_i.e_., at pitch-and-toss). then he went home to his father's sacks and took five pounds out. after a little while he saw his father and told him he'd taken five pounds from his bags. but his father said, "go on, spend it and win some more money!" so he went again to the toss-ring and got all his money back, and five pounds more. and going home, he saw his father sitting by the side of the tent, and his father said, "how did you succeed (_i.e_., _do it_), my son?" "very well, father. i got all _my_ money back; and here's _your_ money now, and a pound for you and four pounds for myself." and that's true as ever you hold that pen in your hand--and that man was poor charley lee, that's dead now. gudlo xxi. of the tinker and the kettle. a petulamengro hatched yeck divvus at a givescro ker, where the rani del him mass an' tood. while he was hawin' he dicked a kekavi sar chicklo an' bongo, pashall a boro hev adree, an' he putchered, "del it a mandy an' i'll lel it avree for chichi, 'cause you've been so kushto an' kammoben to mandy." so she del it a lester, an' he jalled avree for trin cooricus, an' he keravit apre, an' kaired it pauno sar rupp. adovo he welled akovo drum pauli, an' jessed to the same ker, an' penned, "dick acai at covi kushti kekavi! i del shove trin mushis for it, an' tu shall lel it for the same wongur, 'cause you've been so kushto a mandy." dovo mush was like boot 'dusta mushis--wery cammoben to his kokero. translation. a tinker stopped one day at a farmer's house, where the lady gave him meat and milk. while he was eating he saw a kettle all rusty and bent, with a great hole in it, and he asked, "give it to me and i will take it away for nothing, because you have been so kind and obliging to me." so she gave it to him, and he went away for three weeks, and he repaired it (the kettle), and made it as bright (white) as silver. then he went that road again, to the same house, and said, "look here at this fine kettle! i gave six shillings for it, and you shall have it for the same money, because you have been so good to me." that man was like a great many men--very benevolent to himself. gudlo xxii. the story of "rommany joter." if a rommany chal gets nashered an' can't latch his drum i' the ratti, he shells avree, "_hup_, _hup_--_rom-ma-ny_, _rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" when the chavvis can't latch the tan, it's the same gudlo, "_rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" joter pens kett'nus. and yeck ratti my dadas, sixty besh kenna, was pirryin' par the weshes to tan, an' he shooned a bitti gudlo like bitti ranis a rakkerin' puro tacho rommanis, and so he jalled from yeck boro rukk to the waver, and paul' a cheirus he dicked a tani rani, and she was shellin' avree for her miraben, "_rom-ma-ny_, _rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" so my dada shokkered ajaw, "_rom-ma-ny chal_, _ak-ai_!" but as he shelled there welled a boro bavol, and the bitti ranis an' sar prastered avree i' the heb like chillicos adree a starmus, and all he shunned was a savvaben and "rom-ma- ny jo-ter!" shukaridir an' shukaridir, pash sar was kerro. an' you can dick by dovo that the kukalos, an' fairies, an' mullos, and chovihans all rakker puro tacho rommanis, 'cause that's the old 'gyptian jib that was penned adree the scripture tem. translation. if a gipsy is lost and cannot find his way in the night, he cries out, "hup, hup--rom-ma-ny, rom-ma-ny jo-ter!" when the children cannot find the tent, it is the same cry, "_rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" joter means together. and one night my father, sixty years ago (literally, _now_), was walking through the woods to his tent, and he heard a little cry like little ladies talking real old gipsy, and so he went from one great tree to the other (_i.e_., concealing himself), and after a while he saw a little lady, and she was crying out as if for her life, "_rom-ma-ny_, _rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" so my father cried again, "_gipsy_, _here_!" but as he hallooed there came a great blast of wind, and the little ladies and all flew away in the sky like birds in a storm, and all he heard was a laughing and "_rom-ma-ny jo-ter_!" softer and softer, till all was done. and you can see by that that the goblins (dwarfs, mannikins), and fairies, and ghosts, and witches, and all talk real old gipsy, because that is the old egyptian language that was talked in the scripture land. gudlo xxiii. of the rich gipsy and the pheasant. yeckorus a rommany chal kaired adusta wongur, and was boot barvelo an' a boro rye. his chuckko was kashno, an' the crafnies 'pre lester chuckko were o' sonnakai, and his graias solivaris an' guiders were sar ruppeny. yeck divvus this here rommany rye was hawin' habben anerjal the krallis's chavo, an' they hatched adree a weshni kanni that was kannelo, but saw the mushis penned it was kushtidearer. "bless mi-duvel!" rakkered the rommany rye shukar to his juvo, "tu and mandy have hawed mullo mass boot 'dusta cheiruses, mi-deari, but never soomed kek so wafro as dovo. it kauns worse than a mullo grai!" boro mushis an' bitti mushis sometimes kaum covvas that waver mushis don't jin. translation. once a gipsy made much money, and was very rich and a great gentleman. his coat was silk, and the buttons on his coat were of gold, and his horse's bridle and reins were all silver. one day this gipsy gentleman was eating (at table) opposite to the king's son, and they brought in a pheasant that smelt badly, but all the people said it was excellent. "bless me, god!" said the gipsy gentleman softly (whispering) to his wife, "you and i have eaten dead meat (meat that died a natural death) many a time, my dear, but never smelt anything so bad as that. it stinks worse than a dead horse!" great men and small men sometimes like (agree in liking things) that which other people do not understand. gudlo xxiv. the gipsy and the "visiting-cards." yeckorus a choro rommany chal dicked a rani hatch taller the wuder of a boro ker an' mukked adovo a bitti lil. then he putched the rakli, when the rani jessed avree, what the lil kaired. adoi the rakli pukkered lesco it was for her rani ta jin kun'd welled a dick her. "avali!" penned the rommany chal; "_that's_ the way the gorgios mukks their patteran! _we_ mukks char apre the drum." the grai mukks his pirro apre the drum, an' the sap kairs his trail adree the puv. translation. once a poor gipsy saw a lady stop before the door of a great house and left there a card (little letter). then he asked the girl, when the lady went away, what the card meant (literally, _did_). then (there) the girl told him it was for her lady to know who had come to see her. "yes!" said the gipsy; "so that is the way the gorgios leave their sign! _we_ leave grass on the road." the horse leaves his track on the road, and the snake makes his trail in the dust. gudlo xxv. the gipsy in the forest. when i was beshin' alay adree the wesh tale the bori rukkas, mandy putched a tikno chillico to latch mandy a bitti moro, but it jalled avree an' i never dicked it kekoomi. adoi i putched a boro chillico to latch mandy a curro o' tatti panni, but it jalled avree paul' the waver. mandy never putchered the rukk parl my sherro for kek, but when the bavol welled it wussered a lay to mandy a hundred ripe kori. translation. when i was sitting down in the forest under the great trees, i asked a little bird to bring (find) me a little bread, but it went away and i never saw it again. then i asked a great bird to bring me a cup of brandy, but it flew away after the other. i never asked the tree over my head for anything, but when the wind came it threw down to me a hundred ripe nuts. gudlo xxvi. the gipsy fiddler and the young lady. yeckorus a tano mush was kellin' kushto pre the boshomengro, an' a kushti dickin rani pookered him, "tute's killaben is as sano as best-tood." and he rakkered ajaw, "tute's mui's gudlo sar pishom, an' i'd cammoben to puraben mi tood for tute's pishom." kushto pash kushto kairs ferridearer. translation. once a young man was playing well upon the violin, and a beautiful lady told him, "your playing is as soft as cream." and he answered, "your mouth (_i.e_., lips or words) is sweet as honey, and i would like to exchange my cream for your honey." good with good makes better. gudlo xxvii. how the gipsy danced a hole through a stone. yeckorus some plochto rommany chals an' juvas were kellin' the pash-divvus by dood tall' a boro ker, and yeck penned the waver, "i'd be cammoben if dovo ker was mandy's." and the rye o' the ker, kun sus dickin' the kellaben, rakkered, "when tute kells a hev muscro the bar you're hatchin' apre, mandy'll del tute the ker." adoi the rom tarried the bar apre, an' dicked it was hollow tale, and sar a curro 'pre the waver rikk. so he lelled dui sastern chokkas and kelled sar the ratti 'pre the bar, kairin' such a gudlo you could shoon him a mee avree; an' adree the sala he had kaired a hev adree the bar as boro as lesters sherro. so the barvelo rye del him the fino ker, and sar the mushis got matto, hallauter kettenus. many a cheirus i've shooned my puri dye pen that a bar with a hev adree it kairs kammoben. translation. once some jolly gipsy men and girls were dancing in the evening by moonlight before a great house, and one said to the other, "i'd be glad if that house was mine." and the gentleman of the house, who was looking at the dancing, said, "when you dance a hole through (in the centre of) the stone you are standing on, i'll give you the house." then the gipsy pulled the stone up, and saw it was hollow underneath, and like a cup on the other side. so he took two iron shoes and danced all night on the stone, making such a noise you could hear him a mile off; and in the morning he had made a hole in the stone as large as his head. so the rich gentleman gave him the fine house, and all the people got drunk, all together. many a time i've heard my old mother say that a stone with a hole in it brings luck. gudlo xxviii. story of the gentleman and the gipsy. yeckorus a boro rye wouldn't mukk a choro, pauvero, chovveny rommany chal hatch odoi 'pre his farm. so the rommany chal jalled on a puv apre the waver rikk o' the drum, anerjal the ryas beshaben. and dovo ratti the ryas ker pelled alay; kek kash of it hatched apre, only the foki that loddered adoi hullered their kokeros avree ma their miraben. and the ryas tikno chavo would a-mullered if a rommany juva had not lelled it avree their pauveri bitti tan. an' dovo's sar _tacho like my dad_, an' to the divvus kenna they pens that puv the rommany puv. translation. once a great gentleman would not let a poor, poor, poor gipsy stay on his farm. so the gipsy went to a field on the other side of the way, opposite the gentleman's residence. and that night the gentleman's house fell down; not a stick of it remained standing, only the people who lodged there carried themselves out (_i.e_., escaped) with their lives. and the gentleman's little babe would have died if a gipsy woman had not taken it into their poor little tent. and that's all _true as my father_, and to this day they call that field the gipsy field. gudlo xxix. how the gipsy went into the water. yeck divvus a prastramengro prastered pauli a rommany chal, an' the chal jalled adree the panni, that was pordo o' boro bittis o' floatin' shill, and there he hatched pall his men with only his sherro avree. "hav avree," shelled a rye that was wafro in his see for the pooro rnush, "an' we'll mukk you jal!" "kek," penned the rom; "i shan't jal." "well avree," penned the rye ajaw, "an' i'll del tute pange bar!" "_kek_," rakkered the rom. "jal avree," shokkered the rye, "an' i'll del tute pange bar an' a nevvi chukko!" "will you del mandy a walin o' tatto panni too?" putched the rommany chal. "avail, avail," penned the rye; "but for duveleste hav' avree the panni!" "kushto," penned the rommany chal, "for cammoben to tute, rya, i'll jal avree!" { } translation. once a policeman chased a gipsy, and the gipsy ran into the river, that was full of great pieces of floating ice, and there he stood up to his neck with only his head out. "come out," cried a gentleman that pitied the poor man, "and we'll let you go!" "no," said the gipsy; "i won't move." "come out," said the gentleman again, "and i'll give you five pounds!" "no," said the gipsy. "come out," cried the gentleman, "and i'll give you five pounds and a new coat!" "will you give me a glass of brandy too?" asked the gipsy. "yes, yes," said the gentleman; "but for god's sake come out of the water!" "well," exclaimed the gipsy, "to oblige you, sir, i'll come out!" gudlo xxx. the gipsy and his two masters. "savo's tute's rye?" putched a ryas mush of a rommany chal. "i've dui ryas," pooked the rommany chal: "duvel's the yeck an' beng's the waver. mandy kairs booti for the beng till i've lelled my yeckora habben, an' pallers mi duvel pauli ajaw." translation. "who is your master?" asked a gentleman's servant of a gipsy. "i've two masters," said the gipsy: "god is the one, and the devil is the other. i work for the devil till i have got my dinner (one-o'clock food), and after that follow the lord." gudlo xxxi. the little gipsy boy at the silversmith's. a bitti chavo jalled adree the boro gav pash his dadas, an' they hatched taller the hev of a ruppenomengro's buddika sar pordo o' kushti-dickin covvas. "o dadas," shelled the tikno chavo, "what a boro choromengro dovo mush must be to a' lelled so boot adusta rooys an' horas!" a tacho covva often dicks sar a hokkeny (huckeny) covva; an dovo's sim of a tacho mush, but a juva often dicks tacho when she isn't. translation. a little boy went to the great village (_i.e_., london) with his father, and they stopped before the window of a silversmith's shop all full of pretty things. "o father," cried the small boy, "what a great thief that man must be to have got so many spoons and watches!" a true thing often looks like a false one; and the same is true (and that's _same_) of a true man, but a girl often looks right when she is not. gudlo xxxii. the gipsy's dream. mandy sutto'd i was pirraben lang o' tute, an' i dicked mandy's pen odoi 'pre the choomber. then i was pirryin' ajaw parl the puvius, an' i welled to the panni paul' the beng's choomber, an' adoi i dicked some ranis, saw nango barrin' a pauno plachta 'pre lengis sherros, adree the panni pash their bukkos. an' i pookered lengis, "mi-ranis, i putch tute's cammoben; i didn't jin tute sus acai." but yeck pre the wavers penned mandy boot kushti cammoben, "chichi, mor dukker your-kokero; we just welled alay acai from the ker to lel a bitti bath." an' she savvy'd sa kushto, but they all jalled avree glan mandy sar the bavol, an' tute was hatchin' pash a maudy sar the cheirus. so it pens, "when you dick ranis sar dovo, you'll muller kushto." well, if it's to be akovo, i kaum it'll be a booti cheirus a-wellin.' tacho! translation. i dreamed i was walking with you, and i saw my sister (a fortune-teller) there upon the hill. then i (found myself) walking again over the field, and i came to the water near the devil's dyke, and there i saw some ladies, quite naked excepting a white cloth on their heads, in the water to the waists. and i said to them, "ladies, i beg your pardon; i did not know you were here." but one among the rest said to me very kindly, "no matter, don't trouble yourself; we just came down here from the house to take a little bath." and she smiled sweetly, but they all vanished before me like the cloud (wind), and you were standing by me all the time. so it means, "_when you see ladies like that, you will die happily_." well, if it's to be that, i hope it will be a long time coming. yes, indeed. gudlo xxxiii. of the girl and her lover. yeckorus, boot hundred beshes the divvus acai, a juva was wellin' to chore a yora. "mukk mandy hatch," penned the yora, "an' i'll sikker tute ki tute can lel a tikno pappni." so the juva lelled the tikno pappni, and it pookered laki, "mukk mandy jal an' i'll sikker tute ki tute can chore a bori kani." then she chored the bori kani, an' it shelled avree, "mukk mandy jal an' i'll sikker tute ki you can loure a rani-chillico." and when she lelled the rani-chillico, it penned, "mukk mandy jal an' i'll sikker tute odoi ki tute can lel a guruvni's tikno." so she lelled the guruvni's tikno, an' it shokkered and ruvved, an' rakkered, "mukk mandy jal an' i'll sikker tute where to lel a fino grai." an' when she loured the grai, it penned laki, "mukk mandy jal an' i'll rikker tute to a kushto-dick barvelo rye who kaums a pirreny." so she lelled the kushto tauno rye, an' she jivved with lester kushto yeck cooricus; but pash dovo he pookered her to jal avree, he didn't kaum her kekoomi. "sa a wafro mush is tute," ruvved the rakli, "to bitcher mandy avree! for tute's cammoben i delled avree a yora, a tikno pappni, a boro kani, a rani-chillico, a guruvni's tikno, an' a fino grai." "is dovo tacho?" putched the raklo. "'pre my mullo dadas!" sovahalled the rakli," i del 'em sar apre for tute, yeck paul the waver, an' kenna tu bitchers mandy avree!" "so 'p mi-duvel!" penned the rye, "if tute nashered sar booti covvas for mandy, i'll rummer tute." so they were rummobend. avali, there's huckeny (hokkeny) tachobens and tacho huckabens. you can sovahall pre the lil adovo. translation. once, many hundred years ago (to-day now), a girl was going to steal an egg. "let me be," said the egg, "and i will show you where you can get a duck." so the girl got the duck, and it said (told) to her, "let me go and i will show you where you can get a goose" (large hen). then she stole the goose, and it cried out, "let me go and i'll show you where you can steal a turkey" (lady-bird). and when she took the turkey, it said, "let me go and i'll show you where you can get a calf." so she got the calf, and it bawled and wept, and cried, "let me go and i'll show you where to get a fine horse." and when she stole the horse, it said to her, "let me go and i'll carry you to a handsome, rich gentleman who wants a sweetheart." so she got the nice young gentleman, and lived with him pleasantly one week; but then he told her to go away, he did not want her any more. "what a bad man you are," wept the girl, "to send me away! for your sake i gave away an egg, a duck, a goose, a turkey, a calf, and a fine horse." "is that true?" asked the youth. "by my dead father!" swore the girl, "i gave them all up for you, one after the other, and now you send me away!" "so help me god!" said the gentleman, "if you lost so many things for me, i'll marry you." so they were married. yes, there are false truths and true lies. you may kiss the book on _that_. gudlo xxxiv. the gipsy tells of will-o'-the-wisp. does mandy jin the lav adree rommanis for a jack-o'-lantern--the dood that prasters, and hatches, an' kells o' the ratti, parl the panni, adree the puvs? _avali_; some pens 'em the momeli mullos, and some the bitti mullos. they're bitti geeros who rikker tute adree the gogemars, an' sikker tute a dood till you're all jalled apre a wafro drum an nashered, an' odoi they chiv their kokeros pauli an' savs at tute. mandy's dicked their doods adusta cheiruses, an' kekoomi; but my pal dicked langis muis pash mungwe yeck ratti. he was jallin' langus an' dicked their doods, and jinned it was the yag of lesters tan. so he pallered 'em, an' they tadered him dukker the drum, parl the bors, weshes, puvius, gogemars, till they lelled him adree the panni, an then savvy'd avree. and odoi he dicked lender pre the waver rikk, ma lesters kokerus yakkis, an' they were bitti mushis, bitti chovihanis, about dui peeras boro. an' my pal was bengis hunnalo, an' sovahalled pal' lengis, "if i lelled you acai, you ratfolly juckos! if i nashered you, i'd chin tutes curros!" an' he jalled to tan ajaw an' pookered mandy saw dovo 'pre dovo rat. "kun sus adovo?" avali, rya; dovo was pash kaulo panni--near blackwater. translation. do i know the word in rommanis for a jack-o'-lantern--the light that runs, and stops, and dances by night, over the water, in the fields? yes; some call them the light ghosts, and some the little ghosts. they're little men who lead you into the waste and swampy places, and show you a light until you have gone astray and are lost, and then they turn themselves around and laugh at you. i have seen their lights many a time, and nothing more; but my brother saw their faces close and opposite to him (directly _vis-a-vis_) one night. he was going along and saw their lights, and thought it was the fire of his tent. so he followed them, and they drew him from the road over hedges, woods, fields, and lonely marshes till they got him in the water, and then laughed out loud. and there he saw them with his own eyes, on the opposite side, and they were little fellows, little goblins, about two feet high. and my brother was devilish angry, and swore at them! "if i had you here, you wretched dogs! if i caught you, i'd cut your throats!" and he went home and told me all that that night. "_where was it_?" yes, sir; that was near blackwater. gudlo xxxv. the gipsy explains why the flounder has his mouth on one side. yeckorus sar the matchis jalled an' suvved kettenescrus 'dree the panni. and yeck penned as yuv was a boro mush, an' the waver rakkered ajaw sa yuv was a borodiro mush, and sar pookered sigan ket'nus how lengis were borodirer mushis. adoi the flounder shelled avree for his meriben "mandy's the krallis of you sar!" an' he shelled so surrelo he kaired his mui bongo, all o' yeck rikkorus. so to akovo divvus acai he's penned the krallis o' the matchis, and rikkers his mui bongo sar o' yeck sidus. mushis shouldn't shell too shunaben apre lengis kokeros. translation. once all the fish came and swam together in the water. and one said that he was a great person, and the other declared that he was a greater person, and (at last) all cried out at once what great characters (men) they all were. then the flounder shouted for his life, "i'm the king of you all!" and he roared so violently he twisted his mouth all to one side. so to this day he is called the king of the fishes, and bears his face crooked all on one side. men should not boast too loudly of themselves. gudlo xxxvi. a gipsy account of the true origin of the fish called old maids or young maids. yeckorus kushti-dickin raklos were suvvin' 'dree the lun panni, and there welled odoi some plochti raklis an' juvas who pooked the tano ryas to hav' avree an' choomer 'em. but the raklos wouldn't well avree, so the ranis rikkered their rivabens avree an' pirried adree the panni paul' lendy. an' the ryas who were kandered alay, suvved andurer 'dree the panni, an' the ranis pallered 'em far avree till they were saw latchered, raklos and raklis. so the tauno ryas were purabened into barini mushi matchis because they were too ladge (latcho) of the ranis that kaumed 'em, and the ranis were kaired adree puri rani matchis and tani rani matchis because they were too tatti an' ruzli. raklos shouldn't be too ladge, nor raklis be too boro of their kokeros. translation. once some handsome youths were swimming in the sea, and there came some wanton women and girls who told the young men to come out and kiss them. but the youths would not come out, so the ladies stripped themselves and ran into the water after them. and the gentles who were driven away swam further into the water, and the ladies followed them far away till all were lost, boys and girls. so the young men were changed into codfish because they were too shy of the girls that loved them, and the ladies were turned into old maids and young maids because they were too wanton and bold. men should not be too modest, nor girls too forward. gudlo xxxvii. how lord coventry leaped the gipsy tent. a true story. i dicked lord coventry at the worcester races. he kistured lester noko grai adree the steeple-chase for the ruppeny--kek,--a sonnakai tank i think it was,--but he nashered. it was dovo tano rye that yeck divvus in his noko park dicked a rommany chal's tan pash the rikk of a bor; and at yeck leap he kistered apre the bor, and jalled right atut an' parl the rommany chal's tan. "ha, kun's acai?" he shelled, as he dicked the tikno kaulos; "a rommany chal's tan!" and from dovo divvus he mukked akovo rom hatch his cammoben 'pre his puv. tacho. ruzlo mushis has boro sees. translation. i saw lord coventry at the worcester races. he rode his own horse in the steeple-chase for the silver--no, it was a gold tankard, i think, but he lost. it was that young gentleman who one day in his own park saw a gipsy tent by the side of a hedge, and took a flying leap over tent, hedge, and all. "ha, what's here?" he cried, as he saw the little brown children; "a gipsy's tent!" and from that day he let that gipsy stay as much as he pleased on his land. bold men have generous hearts. gudlo xxxviii. of mr bartlett's leap. dovo's sim to what they pens of mr bartlett in glo'stershire, who had a fino tem pash glo'ster an' bristol, where he jivved adree a boro ker. kek mush never dicked so booti weshni juckalos or weshni kannis as yuv rikkered odoi. they prastered atut saw the drumyas sim as kanyas. yeck divvus he was kisterin' on a kushto grai, an' he dicked a rommany chal rikkerin' a truss of gib-puss 'pre lester dumo pral a bitti drum, an' kistered 'pre the pooro mush, puss an' sar. i jins that puro mush better 'n i jins tute, for i was a'ter yeck o' his raklis yeckorus; he had kushti-dick raklis, an' he was old knight locke. "puro," pens the rye, "did i kair you trash?" "i mang tute's shunaben, rya," pens locke pauli; "i didn't jin tute sus wellin'!" so puro locke hatched odoi 'pre dovo tem sar his miraben, an' that was a kushti covva for the puro locke. translation. that is like what is told of mr bartlett in gloucestershire, who had a fine place near gloucester and bristol, where he lived in a great house. no man ever saw so many foxes or pheasants as he kept there. they ran across all the paths like hens. one day he was riding on a fine horse, when he saw a gipsy carrying a truss of wheat-straw on his back up a little path, and leaped over the poor man, straw and all. i knew that old man better than i know you, for i was after one of his daughters then; he had beautiful girls, and he was old knight locke. "old fellow," said the gentleman, "did i frighten you?" "i beg your pardon, sir," said locke after him; "i didn't know you were coming!" so old locke stayed on that land all his life, and that was a good thing for old locke. gudlo xxxix. the gipsy, the pig, and the mustard. yeckorus a rommany chal jalled to a boro givescroker sa's the rye sus hawin'. and sikk's the rom wan't a-dickin', the rye all-sido pordered a kell-mallico pash kris, an' del it to the rommany chal. an' sa's the kris dantered adree his gullo, he was pash tassered, an' the panni welled in his yakkas. putched the rye, "kun's tute ruvvin' ajaw for?" an' he rakkered pauli, "the kris lelled mandys bavol ajaw." penned the rye, "i kaum the kris'll del tute kushti bak." "parraco, rya," penned the rom pauli; "i'll kommer it kairs dovo." sikk's the rye bitchered his sherro, the rommany chal loured the krissko-curro ma the ruppeny rooy, an' kek dicked it. the waver divvus anpauli, dovo rom jalled to the ryas baulo- tan, an' dicked odoi a boro rikkeno baulo, an' gillied, "i'll dick acai if i can kair tute ruv a bitti." now, rya, you must jin if you del a baulor kris adree a pabo, he can't shell avree or kair a gudlo for his miraben, an' you can rikker him bissin', or chiv him apre a wardo, an' jal andurer an' kek jin it. an' dovo's what the rommany chal kaired to the baulor, pash the sim kris; an' as he bissered it avree an' pakkered it adree a gunno, he penned shukkar adree the baulor's kan, "calico tute's rye hatched my bavol, an' the divvus i've hatched tute's; an' yeckorus your rye kaumed the kris would del mandy kushti bak, and kenna it _has_ del mengy kushtier bak than ever he jinned. ryes must be sig not to kair pyass an' trickis atop o' choro mushis. translation. once a gipsy went to a great farmhouse as the gentleman sat at table eating. and so soon as the gipsy looked away, the gentleman very quietly filled a cheese-cake with mustard and gave it to the gipsy. when the mustard bit in his throat, he was half choked, and the tears came into his eyes. the gentleman asked him, "what are you weeping for now?" and he replied, "the mustard took my breath away." the gentleman said, "i hope the mustard will give you good luck!" "thank you, sir," answered the gipsy; "i'll take care it does" (that). as soon as the gentleman turned his head, the gipsy stole the mustard-pot with the silver spoon, and no one saw it. the next day after, that gipsy went to the gentleman's pig-pen, and saw there a great fine-looking pig, and sang, "i'll see now if i can make _you_ weep a bit." now, sir, you must know that if you give a pig mustard in an apple, he can't cry out or squeal for his life, and you can carry him away, or throw him on a waggon, and get away, and nobody will know it. and that is what the gipsy did to the pig, with the same mustard; and as he ran it away and put it in a bag, he whispered softly into the pig's ear, "yesterday your master stopped my breath, and to-day i've stopped yours; and once your master hoped the mustard would give me good luck, and now it _has_ given me better luck than he ever imagined." gentlemen must be careful not to make sport of and play tricks on poor men. gudlo xl. explaining the origin of a current gipsy proverb or saying. trin or shtor beshes pauli kenna yeck o' the petulengros dicked a boro mullo baulor adree a bitti drum. an' sig as he latched it, some rommany chals welled alay an' dicked this here rommany chal. so petulengro he shelled avree, "a fino baulor! saw tulloben! jal an the sala an' you shall have pash." and they welled apopli adree the sala and lelled pash sar tacho. and ever sense dovo divvus it's a rakkerben o' the rommany chals, "sar tulloben; jal an the sala an' tute shall lel your pash." translation. three or four years ago one of the smiths found a great dead pig in a lane. and just as he found it, some gipsies came by and saw this rommany. so smith bawled out to them, "a fine pig! all fat! come in the morning and you shall have half." and they returned in the morning and got half, all right. and ever since it has been a saying with the gipsies, "it's _all fat_; come in the morning and get your half." gudlo xli. the gipsy's fish-hook. yeckorus a rye pookered a rommany chal he might jal matchyin' 'dree his panni, and he'd del lester the cammoben for trin mushi, if he'd only matchy with a bongo sivv an' a punsy-ran. so the rom jalled with india- drab kaired apre moro, an' he drabbered saw the matchas adree the panni, and rikkered avree his wardo sar pordo. a boro cheirus pauli dovo, the rye dicked the rommany chal, an' penned, "you choramengro, did tute lel the matchas avree my panni with a hook?" "ayali, rya, with a hook," penned the rom pale, werry sido. "and what kind of a hook?" "rya," rakkered the rom, "it was yeck o' the longi kind, what we pens in amandis jib a hookaben" (_i.e_., huckaben or hoc'aben). when you del a mush cammoben to lel matchyas avree tute's panni, you'd better hatch adoi an' dick how he kairs it. translation. once a gentleman told a gipsy he might fish in his pond, and he would give him permission to do so for a shilling, but that he must only fish with a hook and a fishing-pole (literally, crooked needle). so the gipsy went with india-drab (juice of the berries of _indicus cocculus_) made up with bread, and poisoned all the fish in the pond, and carried away his waggonful. a long time after, the gentleman met the gipsy, and said, "you thief, did you catch the fish in my pond with a hook?" "yes, sir, with a hook," replied the gipsy very quietly. "and what kind of a hook?" "sir," said the gipsy, "it was one of the long kind, what we call in our language a hookaben" (_i.e_., _a lie or trick_). when you give a man leave to fish in your pond, you had better be present and see how he does it. gudlo xlii. the gipsy and the snake. if you more the first sappa you dicks, tute'll more the first enemy you've got. that's what 'em pens, but i don't jin if it's tacho or nettus. and yeckorus there was a werry wafro mush that was allers a-kairin' wafri covvabens. an' yeck divvus he dicked a sap in the wesh, an' he prastered paller it with a bori churi adree lester waster and chinned her sherro apre. an' then he rakkered to his kokerus, "now that i've mored the sap, i'll lel the jivaben of my wenomest enemy." and just as he penned dovo lav he delled his pirro atut the danyas of a rukk, an' pet alay and chivved the churi adree his bukko. an' as he was beshin' alay a-mullerin' 'dree the weshes, he penned to his kokerus, "avali, i dicks kenna that dovo's tacho what they pookers about morin' a sappa; for i never had kek worser ennemis than i've been to mandy's selfus, and what wells of morin' innocen hanimals is kek kushtoben." translation. if you kill the first snake you see, you'll kill the first (principal) enemy you have. that is what they say, but i don't know whether it is true or not. and once there was a very bad man who was always doing bad deeds. and one day he saw a snake in the forest, and ran after it with a great knife in his hand and cut her head off. and then he said to himself, "now that i've killed the snake, i'll take the life of my most vindictive (literally, most venomous) enemy." and just as he spoke that word he struck his foot against the roots of a tree, and fell down and drove the knife into his own body (liver or heart). and as he lay dying in the forests, he said to himself, "yes, i see now that it is true what they told me as to killing a snake; for i never had any worse enemy than i have been to myself, and what comes of killing innocent animals is naught good." gudlo xliii. the story of the gipsy and the bull. yeckorus there was a rommany chal who was a boro koorin' mush, a surrelo mush, a boro-wasteni mush, werry toonery an' hunnalo. an' he penned adusta cheiruses that kek geero an' kek covva 'pre the drumyas couldn't trasher him. but yeck divvus, as yuv was jallin' langs the drum with a waver pal, chunderin' an' hookerin' an' lunterin', an' shorin' his kokero how he could koor the puro bengis' selfus, they shooned a guro a-goorin' an' googerin', an' the first covva they jinned he prastered like divius at 'em, an' these here geeros prastered apre ye rukk, an' the boro koorin' mush that was so flick o' his wasters chury'd first o' saw (sar), an' hatched duri-dirus from the puv pre the limmers. an' he beshed adoi an' dicked ye bullus wusserin' an' chongerin' his trushnees sar aboutus, an' kellin' pre lesters covvas, an' poggerin' to cutengroes saw he lelled for lesters miraben. an' whenever the bavol pudered he was atrash he'd pelt-a-lay 'pre the shinger-ballos of the gooro (guro). an' so they beshed adoi till the sig of the sala, when the mush who dicked a'ter the gruvnis welled a-pirryin' by an' dicked these here chals beshin' like chillicos pre the rukk, an' patched lengis what they were kairin' dovo for. so they pookered him about the bullus, an' he hankered it avree; an' they welled alay an' jalled andurer to the kitchema, for there never was dui mushis in 'covo tem that kaumed a droppi levinor koomi than lender. but pale dovo divvus that trusheni mush never sookered he couldn't be a trashni mush no moreus. tacho. translation. once there was a gipsy who was a great fighting man, a strong man, a great boxer, very bold and fierce. and he said many a time that no man and no thing on the roads could frighten him. but one day, as he was going along the road with another man (his friend), exaggerating and bragging and boasting, and praising himself that he could beat the old devil himself, they heard a bull bellowing and growling, and the first thing they knew he ran like mad at them; and these men hurried up a tree, and the great fighting man that was so handy with his fists climbed first of all, and got (placed) himself furtherest from the ground on the limbs. and he sat there and saw the bull tossing and throwing his baskets all about, and dancing on his things, and breaking to pieces all he had for his living. and whenever the wind blew he was afraid he would fall on the horns of the bull. and so they sat there till daybreak, when the man who looked after the cows came walking by and saw these fellows sitting like birds on the tree, and asked them what they were doing that for. so they told him about the bull, and he drove it away; and they came down and went on to the alehouse, for there never were two men in this country that wanted a drop of beer more than they. but after that day that thirsty man never boasted he could not be a frightened man. true. gudlo xliv. the gipsy and his three sweethearts. yeckorus a tano mush kaired his cammoben ta trin juvas kett'nus an' kek o' the trin jinned yuv sus a pirryin' ye waver dui. an 'covo raklo jivved adree a bitti tan pash the rikkorus side o' the boro lun panni, an' yeck ratti sar the chais welled shikri kett'nus a lester, an' kek o' the geeris jinned the wavers san lullerin adoi. so they jalled sar-sigan kett'nus, an' rakkered, "sarshan!" ta yeck chairus. an' dovo raklo didn't jin what juva kaumed lester ferridirus, or kun yuv kaumed ye ferridirus, so sar the shtor besht-a-lay sum, at the habbenescro, and yuv del len habben an' levinor. yeck hawed booti, but ye waver dui wouldn't haw kek, yeck pii'd, but ye waver dui wouldn't pi chommany, 'cause they were sar hunnali, and sookeri an' kuried. so the raklo penned lengis, yuv sos atrash if yuv lelled a juva 'at couldn't haw, she wouldn't jiv, so he rummored the rakli that hawed her habben. all'ers haw sar the habben foki banders apre a tute, an' tute'll jal sikker men dush an' tukli. translation. once a young man courted three girls together, and none of the three knew he was courting the two others. and that youth lived in a little place near the side of the great salt water, and one night all the girls came at once together to him, and none of the girls knew the others were coming there. so they went all quick together, and said "good evening," (sarishan means really "how are you?") at the same time. and that youth did not know which girl liked him best, or whom he loved best; so all the four sat down together at the table, and he gave them food and beer. one ate plenty, but the other two would eat nothing; one drank, but the other two would not drink something, because they were all angry, and grieved, and worried. so the youth told them he was afraid if he took a wife that could not eat, she would not live, so he married the girl that ate her food. always eat all the food that people give you (literally share out to you), and you will go readily (securely) through sorrow and trouble. gudlo xlv. the gipsies and the smugglers. a true story. yeckorus, most a hundred besh kenna, when mi dadas sus a chavo, yeck ratti a booti rommany chals san millerin kettenescrus pash the boro panni, kun sar-sig the graias ankaired a-wickerin an' ludderin an' nuckerin' an kairin a boro gudli, an' the rommanis shuned a shellin, an' dicked mushis prasterin and lullyin for lenders miraben, sa's seer-dush, avree a boro hev. an' when len san sar jalled lug, the rommany chals welled adoi an' latched adusta bitti barrels o' tatto-panni, an' fino covvas, for dovo mushis were 'mugglers, and the roms lelled sar they mukked pali. an' dovo sus a boro covva for the rommany chals, an' they pii'd sar graias, an' the raklis an' juvas jalled in kushni heezis for booti divvuses. an' dovo sus kerro pash bo-peep--a boro puvius adree bori chumures, pash hastings in sussex. when 'mugglers nasher an' rommany chals latch, there's kek worser cammoben for it. translation. once almost a hundred years now, when my father was a boy, one night many gipsies were going together near the sea, when all at once the horses began whinnying and kicking and neighing, and making a great noise, and the gipsies heard a crying out, and saw men running and rushing as if in alarm, from a great cave. and when they were all gone away together, the gipsies went there and found many little barrels of brandy, and valuables, for those men were smugglers, and the gipsies took all they left behind. and that was a great thing for the gipsies, and they drank like horses, and the girls and women went in silk clothes for many days. and that was done near bo-peep, a great field in the hills, by hastings in sussex. when smugglers lose and gipsies find, nobody is the worse for it. footnotes { a} the reason why gipsy words have been kept unchanged was fully illustrated one day in a gipsy camp in my hearing, when one man declaring of a certain word that it was only _kennick_ or slang, and not "rommanis," added, "it can't be rommanis, because everybody knows it. when a word gets to be known to everybody, it's no longer rommanis." { } lavengro and the rommany rye: london, john murray. { } to these i would add "zelda's fortune," now publishing in the _cornhill magazine_. { } educated chinese often exercise themselves in what they call "handsome talkee," or "talkee leeson" (i.e., reason), by sitting down and uttering, by way of assertion and rejoinder, all the learned and wise sentences which they can recall. in their conversation and on their crockery, before every house and behind every counter, the elegant formula makes its appearance, teaching people not merely _how_ to think, but what should be thought, and when. { } probably from the modern greek [greek text], the sole of the foot, _i.e_., a track. panth, a road, hindustani. { } pott: "die zigeuner in europa and asien," vol. ii, p. . { } two hundred (shel) years growing, two hundred years losing his coat, two hundred years before he dies, and then he loses all his blood and is no longer good. { } the words of the gipsy, as i took them down from his own lips, were as follows:-- "bawris are kushto habben. you can latcher adusta 'pre the bors. when they're pirraben pauli the puvius, or tale the koshters, they're kek kushti habben. the kushtiest are sovven sar the wen. lel'em and tove 'em and chiv 'em adree the kavi, with panny an' a bitti lun. the simmun's kushto for the yellow jaundice." i would remind the reader that in _every instance_ where the original gipsy language is given, it was written down or _noted_ during conversation, and subsequently written out and read to a gipsy, by whom it was corrected. and i again beg the reader to remember, that every rommany phrase is followed by a translation into english. { } dr pott intimates that _scharos_, a globe, may be identical with _sherro_, a head. when we find, however, that in german rommany _tscharo_ means goblet, pitcher, vessel, and in fact cup, it seems as if the gipsy had hit upon the correct derivation. { } "dovos yect o' the covvos that saw foki jins. when you lel a wart 'pre tutes wasters you jal 'pre the drum or 'dree the puvius till you latcher a kaulo bawris--yeck o' the boro kind with kek ker apre him, an' del it apre the caro of a kaulo kosh in the bor, and ear the bawris mullers, yeck divvus pauli the waver for shtar or pange divvuses the wart'll kinner away-us. 'dusta chairusses i've pukkered dovo to gorgios, an' gorgios have kaired it, an' the warts have yuzhered avree their wasters." { } among certain tribes in north america, tobacco is both burned before and smoked "unto" the great spirit. { } this word palindrome, though greek, is intelligible to every gipsy. in both languages it means "back on the road." { } the krallis's gav, king's village, a term also applied to windsor. { } pronounced cuv-vas, like _covers_ without the _r_. { } the lord's prayer in pure english gipsy:-- "moro dad, savo djives oteh drey o charos, te caumen gorgio ta rommanny chal tiro nav, te awel tiro tem, te kairen tiro lav aukko prey puv, sar kairdios oteh drey o charos. dey men todivvus more divvuskoe moro, ta for dey men pazorrhus tukey sar men for-denna len pazhorrus amande; ma muck te petrenna drey caik temptaciones; ley men abri sor doschder. tiro se o tem, mi-duvel, tiro o zoozlu vast, tiro sor koskopen drey sor cheros. avali. tachipen." specimens of old english gipsy, preserving grammatical forms, may be found in bright's hungary (appendix). london, . i call attention to the fact that all the specimens of the language which i give in this book simply represent _the modern and greatly corrupted_ rommany of the roads, which has, however, assumed a peculiar form of its own. { } in gipsy _chores_ would mean swindles. in america it is applied to small jobs. { } vide chapter x. { } this should be _bengo-tem_ or devil land, but the gipsy who gave me the word declared it was _bongo_. { } in english: "water is the great god, and it is bishnoo or vishnoo because it falls from god. _vishnu is then the great god_?" "yes; there can be no forced meaning there, can there, sir? duvel (god) is duvel all the world over; but correctly speaking, vishnu is god's blood--i have heard that many times. and the snow is feathers that fall from the angels' wings. and what i said, that bishnoo is god's blood is old gipsy, and known by all our people." { } "simurgh--a fabulous bird, _a griffin_."--_brice's hindustani dictionary_. { } romi in coptic signifies _a man_. { } since writing the above i have been told that among many hindus "(good) evening" is the common greeting at any time of the day. and more recently still, meeting a gentleman who during twelve years in india had paid especial attention to all the dialects, i greeted him, as an experiment, with "sarisham!" he replied, 'why, that's more elegant than common hindu--it's persian!" "sarisham" is, in fact, still in use in india, as among the gipsies. and as the latter often corrupt it into _sha'shan_, so the vulgar hindus call it "shan!" sarishan means in gipsy, "how are you?" but its affinity with _sarisham_ is evident. { } miklosich ("uber die mundarten de der zigeuner," wien, ) gives, it is true, rommany words of slavonic origin, but many of these are also hindustani. moreover, dr miklosich treats as gipsy words numbers of slavonian words which gipsies in slavonian lands have rommanised, but which are not generally gipsy. { } fortune-telling. { } in egypt, as in syria, every child is more or less marked by tattooing. infants of the first families, even among christians, are thus stamped. { } the royston rook or crow has a greyish-white back, but is with this exception entirely black. { } the peacock and turkey are called lady-birds in rommany, because, as a gipsy told me, "they spread out their clothes, and hold up their heads and look fine, and walk proud, like great ladies." i have heard a swan called a pauno rani chillico--a white lady-bird. { } to make skewers is a common employment among the poorer english gipsies. { } this rhyme and metre (such as they are) were purely accidental with my narrator; but as they occurred _verb. et lit_., i set them down. { } this story is well known to most "travellers." it is also true, the "hero" being a _pash-and-pash_, or half-blood rommany chal, whose name was told to me. { } the reader will find in lord lytton's "harold" mention of an anglo- saxon superstition very similar to that embodied in the story of the seven whistlers. this story is, however, entirely gipsy. { a} this, which is a common story among the english gipsies, and told exactly in the words here given, is implicitly believed in by them. unfortunately, the terrible legends, but too well authenticated, of the persecutions to which their ancestors were subjected, render it very probable that it may have occurred as narrated. when gipsies were hung and transported merely for _being_ gipsies, it is not unlikely that a persecution to death may have originated in even such a trifle as the alleged theft of a dish-clout. { b} although they bear it with remarkable _apparent_ indifference, gipsies are in reality extremely susceptible to being looked at or laughed at. { } this story was told me in a gipsy tent near brighton, and afterwards repeated by one of the auditors while i transcribed it. proofreaders team at pgdp.net +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's notes | | | | typographical transcriptions: | | italics in the original work are transcribed between underscores, | | as in _text_; | | small capitals in the original work have been transcribed in all | | capitals; | | breves and macrons are represented as [)x] and [=x], respectively,| | in which the x can represent any letter; | | the oe-ligature is transcribed as [oe]. | | | | footnotes have been moved to underneath the paragraph they belong | | to, and indented to distinguish them from the main body of the | | text. | | | | the tables have been split or otherwise re-arranged to fit the | | limited width. | | | | more transcriber's notes may be found at the end of this text. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ a history of the gipsies: with specimens of the gipsy language. by walter simson. edited, with preface, introduction, and notes, and a disquisition on the past, present and future of gipsydom, by james simson. "hast thou not noted on the bye way-side, where aged saughs lean o'er the lazy tide, a vagrant crew, far straggled through the glade, with trifles busied, or in slumber laid; their children lolling round them on the grass, or pestering with their sports the patient ass! the wrinkled beldame there you may espy, and ripe young maiden with the glossy eye; men in their prime, and striplings dark and dun, scathed by the storm and freckled with the sun; their swarthy hue and mantle's flowing fold, bespeak the remnant of a race of old. strange are their annals--list! and mark them well-- for thou hast much to hear and i to tell."--hogg. new york: m. doolady, broome street. london: sampson low, son & marston. . entered, according to act of congress, in the year , by james simson, in the clerk's office of the district court of the united states for the southern district of new york. contents.[ ] page editor's preface editor's introduction introduction chapter. i. continental gipsies ii. english gipsies iii. scottish gipsies, down to the year iv. linlithgowshire gipsies v. fife and stirlingshire gipsies vi. tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies vii. border gipsies viii. marriage and divorce ceremonies ix. language x. present condition and number of the gipsies in scotland disquisition on the past, present and future of gipsydom index [ ] the contents of these chapters will be found detailed in the index, forming an epitome of the work, for reference, or studying the subject of the gipsies. ever since entering great britain, about the year , the gipsies have been drawing into their body the blood of the ordinary inhabitants and conforming to their ways; and so prolific has the race been, that there cannot be less than , gipsies of all castes, colours, characters, occupations, degrees of education, culture, and position in life, in the british isles alone, and possibly double that number. there are many of the same race in the united states of america. indeed, there have been gipsies in america from nearly the first day of its settlement; for many of the race were banished to the plantations, often for very trifling offences, and sometimes merely for being by "habit and repute egyptians." but as the gipsy race leaves the tent, and rises to civilization, it hides its nationality from the rest of the world, so great is the prejudice against the name of gipsy. in europe and america together, there cannot be less than , , gipsies in existence. john bunyan, the author of the celebrated _pilgrim's progress_, was one of this singular people, as will be conclusively shown in the present work. the philosophy of the existence of the jews, since the dispersion, will also be discussed and established in it. when the "wonderful story" of the gipsies is told, as it ought to be told, it constitutes a work of interest to many classes of readers, being a subject unique, distinct from, and unknown to, the rest of the human family. in the present work, the race has been treated of so fully and elaborately, in all its aspects, as in a great measure to fill and satisfy the mind, instead of being, as heretofore, little better than a myth to the understanding of the most intelligent person. the history of the gipsies, when thus comprehensively treated, forms a study for the most advanced and cultivated mind, as well as for the youth whose intellectual and literary character is still to be formed; and furnishes, among other things, a system of science not too abstract in its nature, and having for its subject-matter the strongest of human feelings and sympathies. the work also seeks to raise the name of gipsy out of the dust, where it now lies; while it has a very important bearing on the conversion of the jews, the advancement of christianity generally, and the development of historical and moral science. new york, _may st, _. editor's preface. this work should have been introduced to the world long ere now. the proper time to have brought it forward would have been about twenty years ago,[ ] when the subject was nearly altogether new, and when popular feeling, in scotland especially, ran strongly toward the body it treats of, owing to the celebrity of the writings of the great scottish novelist, in which were depicted, with great truthfulness, some real characters of this wayward race. the inducements then to hazard a publication of it were great; for by bringing it out at that time, the author would have enjoyed, in some measure, the sunshine which the fame of that great luminary cast around all who, in any way, illustrated a subject on which he had written. but for sir walter scott's advice--an advice that can only be appreciated by those who are acquainted with the vindictive disposition which the gipsies entertain toward those whom they imagine to have injured them--our author would have published a few magazine articles on the subject, when the tribe would have taken alarm, and an end would have been made to the investigation. the dread of personal danger, there is no doubt, formed a considerable reason for the work being so long withheld from the public: at the same time, our author, being a timid and nervous man, not a little dreaded the spleen of the party opposed to the literary society with which he identified himself, and the idea of being made the subject of one of the slashing criticisms so characteristic of the times. but now he has descended into the tomb, with most of his generation, where the abuse of a reviewer or the ire of a wandering egyptian cannot reach him. [ ] it has been brought down, however, to the present time. since this work was written there has appeared one by mr. borrow, on the _gitanos_ or spanish gipsies. in the year , a society was formed in scotland, under the patronage of the scottish church, for the reformation of the wandering portion of the body in that country, with some eminent men as a committee of management, among whom was a reverend gentleman of learning, piety, and worth, who said that he himself was a gipsy, and whose fine swarthy features strongly marked the stock from which he was descended. there are others in that country of a like origin, ornaments to the same profession, and many in other respectable walks of life, of whom i will speak in my disquisition on the gipsies, at the end of the work. although a few years have elapsed since the principal details of this work were collected, the subject cannot be considered as old. the body in scotland has become more numerous since the downfall of napoleon; but the improved system of internal order that has obtained since that period, has so very much suppressed their acts of depredation and violence toward the community, and their savage outbursts of passion toward those of their own race who had offended them, that much which would have met with only a slight punishment before, or in some instances been passed over, as a mere gipsy scuffle, would now be visited with the utmost penalty the law could inflict. hence the wild spirit, but not the number, of the body has been very much crushed. many of them have betaken themselves to regular callings of industry, or otherwise withdrawn from public observation; but, in respect to race, are as much, at heart, gipsies as before. many of the scottish wandering class have given way before an invasion of swarms of gipsies from ireland. it is almost unnecessary to give a reason why this work has been introduced here, instead of the country in which it was written, and of which, for the most part, it treats. suffice it to say, that, having come to this country, i have been led to bring it out here, where it may receive, sooner or later, more attention from those at a distance from the place and people it treats of, than from those accustomed to see and hear of them daily, to many of whom they appear as mere vagabonds; it being a common feature in the human mind, that that which comes frequently under our observation is but little thought of, while that at a distance, and unknown to us, forms the subject of our investigations and desires.[ ] in taking this view of the subject, the language of dr. bright may be used, when he says: "the condition and circumstances of the gipsy nation throughout the whole of europe, may truly be considered amongst the most curious phenomena in the history of man." and although this work, for the most part, treats of scottish gipsies, it illustrates the history of the people all over europe, and, it may be said, pretty much over the world; and affords materials for reflection on so singular a subject connected with the history of our common family, and so little known to mankind in general. to the american reader generally, the work will illustrate a phase of life and history with which it may be reasonably assumed he is not much conversant; for, although he must have some knowledge of the gipsy race generally, there is no work, that i am aware of, that treats of the body like the present. to all kinds of readers the words of the celebrated christopher north, as quoted in the author's introduction, may be addressed: "few things more sweetly vary civil life than a barbarian, savage tinkler[ ] tale." [ ] "men of letters, while eagerly investigating the customs of otaheite or kamschatka, and losing their tempers in endless disputes about gothic and celtic antiquities, have witnessed, with apathy and contempt, the striking spectacle of a gipsy camp--pitched, perhaps, amidst the mouldering entrenchments of their favourite picts and romans. the rest of the community, familiar from infancy with the general character and appearance of these vagrant hordes, have probably never regarded them with any deeper interest than what springs from the recollected terrors of a nursery tale, or the finer associations of poetical and picturesque description."--_blackwood's magazine._ [ ] _tinkler_ is the name generally applied to the scottish gipsies. the wandering, tented class prefer it to the term gipsy. the settled and better classes detest the word: they would much rather be called gipsies; but the term egyptian is the most agreeable to their feelings. tinkler has a peculiar meaning that can be understood only by a scotchman. in its radical sense it means tinker. the verb tink, according to jamieson's scottish dictionary, means to "rivet, including the idea of the noise made in the operation of riveting; a gipsy word." it is a singular circumstance that, until comparatively lately, little was known of this body in scotland, beyond their mere existence, and the depredations which they committed on their neighbours; no further proof of which need be given than a reference to the letters of sir walter scott and others, in the introduction to the work, and the avidity with which the few articles of our author in blackwood's magazine were read. the higher we may rise in the scale of general information and philosophic culture, the greater the attractions will this moral puzzle have for our contemplation--the phenomenon of a barbarous race of men, free as the air, with little but the cold earth for a bed, and the canopy of heaven for a covering, obtruding itself upon a civilized community, and living so long in the midst of it, without any material impression being made on the habits of the representative part of it; the only instance of the kind in the modern history of the world. in this solitary case, having nothing from which to reason analogously as to the result, observation alone must be had recourse to for the solution of the experiment. it is from this circumstance that the subject, in all its bearings, has been found to have such charms for the curious and learned; being, as it were, a study in history of the most interesting kind. it may be remarked that professor wilson, the christopher north of blackwood, is said to have accompanied some of the tribe in their peregrinations over parts of england and wales. without proceeding to the same length, our author, in his own peculiar way, prosecuted his researches with much indefatigability, assiduity, and patience. he kept an open house for them at all times, and presented such allurements as the skillful trapper of vermin will sometimes use in attracting the whole in a neighbourhood; when if one gipsy entered, many would follow; although he would generally find them so shy in their communications as sometimes to require years of such baiting to ensure them for the elucidation of a single point of their history. in this way he made himself appear, in his associations with them, as very odd, and perhaps not of very sound mind, in the estimation of the wise ones around him. the popular idea of a gipsy, at the present day, is very erroneous as to its extent and meaning. the nomadic gipsies constitute but a portion of the race, and a very small portion of it. a gradual change has come over their outward condition, all over europe, from about the commencement of the first american war, but from what time previous to that, we have no certain data from which to form an opinion. in the whole of great britain they have been very much mixed with the native blood of the country, but nowhere, i believe, so much so as in scotland. there is every reason to suppose that the same mixture has taken place in europe generally, although its effects are not so observable in the southern countries--from the circumstance of the people there being, for the most part, of dark hair and complexion--as in those lying further toward the north. but this circumstance would, to a certain extent, prevent the mixture which has taken place in countries the inhabitants of which have fair hair and complexions. the causes leading to this mixture are various. the persecutions to which the gipsies were exposed, merely for being gipsies, which their appearance would readily indicate, seem to have induced the body to intermarry with our race, so as to disguise theirs. that would be done by receiving and adopting males of our race, whom they would marry to females of theirs, who would bring up the children of such unions as members of their fraternity. they also adopted the practice to give their race stamina, as well as numbers, to contend with the people among whom they lived. the desire of having servants, (for gipsies, generally, have been too proud to do menial work for each other,) led to many children being kidnapped, and reared among them; many of whom, as is customary with oriental people, rose to as high a position in the tribe as any of themselves.[ ] [ ] mr. borrow labours under a very serious mistake when he asserts that "the unfounded idea, that gipsies steal children, to bring them up as gipsies, has been the besetting sin of authors, who have attempted to found works of fiction on the way of life of this most singular people." the only argument which he advances to refute this belief in regard to gipsies, which is universal, is the following: "they have plenty of children of their own, whom they can scarcely support; and they would smile at the idea of encumbering themselves with the children of others." this is rather inconsistent with his own words, when he says, "i have dealt more in facts than in theories, of which i am, in general, no friend." as a matter of fact, children have been stolen and brought up as gipsies, and incorporated with the tribe. then again, it was very necessary to have people of fair complexion among them, to enable them the more easily to carry on their operations upon the community, as well as to contribute to their support during times of persecution. owing to these causes, and the occasional occurrence of white people being, by more legitimate means, received into their body, which would be more often the case in their palmy days, the half, at least, of the scottish gipsies are of fair hair and blue eyes. some would naturally think that these would not be gipsies, but the fact is otherwise; for, owing to the dreadful prejudice which has always attached to the name of gipsy, these white and parti-coloured gipsies, imagining themselves, as it were, banished from society, on account of their descent, cling to their gipsy connection; as the other part of their blood, they imagine, will not own them. they are gipsies, and, with the public, they think that is quite enough. they take a pride in being descended from a race so mysterious, so ancient, so universal, and cherish their language the more from its being the principal badge of membership that entitles them to belong to it. the nearer they approach the whites as regards blood, the more acutely do they feel the antipathy which is entertained for their race, and the more bitter does the propinquity become to them. the more enlightened they become, the stronger becomes their attachment to the sept in the abstract, although they will despise many of its members. the sense of such an ancient descent, and the possession of such an ancient and secret language, in the minds of men of comparatively limited education and indifferent rearing, brought up in humble life, and following various callings, from a tinker upward, and even of men of education and intelligence, occupying the position of lawyers, medical doctors, and clergymen, possess for them a charm that is at once fascinating and enchanting. if men of enlightened minds and high social standing will go to such lengths as they have done, in their endeavours to but look into their language, how much more will they not cling to it, such as it is, in whose hearts it is? gipsies compounded for the most part of white blood, but with gipsy feelings, are, as a general thing, much superior to those who more nearly approach what may be called the original stock; and, singularly enough, speak the language better than the others, if their opportunities have been in any way favourable for its acquisition. the primitive, original state of the gipsies is the tent and tilted cart. but as any country can support only a limited number in that way, and as the increase of the body is very large, it follows that they must cast about to make a living in some other way, however bitter the pill may be which they have to swallow. the nomadic gipsy portion resembles, in that respect, a water trough; for the water which runs into it, there must be a corresponding quantity running over it. the gipsies who leave the tent resemble the youth of our small seaports and villages; for there, society is so limited as to compel such youth to take to the sea or cities, or go abroad, to gain that livelihood which the neighbourhood in which they have been reared denies to them. in the same manner do these gipsies look back to the tent from which they, or their fathers, have sprung. they carry the language, the associations, and the sympathies of their race, and their peculiar feelings toward the community, with them; and, as residents of towns, have generally greater facilities, from others of their race residing near them, for perpetuating their language, than when strolling over the country. the prejudice of their fellow creatures, which clings to the race to which they belong, almost overwhelms some of them at times; but it is only momentary; for such is the independence and elasticity of their nature, that they rise from under it, as self-complacent and proud as ever. they in such cases resort to the _tu quoque_--the _tit for tat_ argument as regards their enemies, and ask, "what is this white race, after all? what were their forefathers a few generations ago? the highlands a nest of marauding thieves, and the borders little better. or society at the present day--what is it but a compound of deceit and hypocrisy? people say that the gipsies steal. true; some of them steal chickens, vegetables, and such things; but what is that compared to the robbery of widows and orphans, the lying and cheating of traders, the swindling, the robberies, the murders, the ignorance, the squalor, and the debaucheries of so many of the white race? what are all these compared to the simple vices of the gipsies? what is the ancestry they boast of, compared, in point of antiquity, to ours? people may despise the gipsies, but they certainly despise all others not of their own race: the veriest beggar gipsy, without shoes to his feet, considers himself better than the queen that sits upon the throne. people say that gipsies are blackguards. well, if some of them are blackguards, they are at least illustrious blackguards as regards descent, and so in fact; for they never rob each other, and far less do they rob or ruin those of their own family." and they conclude that the odium which clings to the race is but a prejudice. still, they will deny that they are gipsies, and will rather almost perish than let any one, not of their own race, know that they speak their language in their own households and among their own kindred. they will even deny or at least hide it from many of their own race. for all these reasons, the most appropriate word to apply to modern gipsyism, and especially british gipsyism, and more especially scottish gipsyism, is to call it a caste, and a kind of masonic society, rather than any particular mode of life. and it is necessary that this distinction should be kept in mind, otherwise the subject will appear contradictory. the most of these gipsies are unknown to the public as gipsies. the feeling in question is, for the most part, on the side of the gipsies themselves; they think that more of them is known than actually is. in that respect a kind of nightmare continually clings to them; while their peculiarly distant, clannish, and odd habits create a kind of separation between them and the other inhabitants, which the gipsy is naturally apt to construe as proceeding from a different cause. frequently, all that is said about them amounts only to a whisper among some of the families in the community in which they live, and which is confidentially passed around among themselves, from a dread of personal consequences. sometimes the native families say among themselves, "why should we make allusion to their kith and kin? they seem decent people, and attend church like ourselves; and it would be cruel to cast up their descent to them, and damage them in the estimation of the world. their cousins, (or second cousins, as it may be,) travel the country in the old tinkler fashion, no doubt; but what has that to do with them?" the estimate of such people never, or hardly ever, goes beyond the simple idea of their being "descended from tinklers;" few have the most distant idea that they are gipsies, and speak the gipsy language among themselves. it is certain that a gipsy can be a good man, as the world goes, nay, a very good man, and glory in being a gipsy, but not to the public. he will adhere to his ancient language, and talk it in his own family; and he has as much right to do so, as, for example, a highlander has to speak gaelic in the lowlands, or when he goes abroad, and teach it to his children. and he takes a greater pride in doing it, for thus he reasons: "what is english, french, gaelic, or any other living language, compared to mine? mine will carry me through every part of the known world: wherever a man is to be found, there is my language spoken. i will find a brother in every part of the world on which i may set my foot; i will be welcomed and passed along wherever i may go. freemasonry indeed! what is masonry compared to the brotherhood of the gipsies? a language--a whole language--is its pass-word. i almost worship the idea of being a member of a society into which i am initiated by my blood and language. i would not be a man if i did not love my kindred, and cherish in my heart that peculiarity of my race (its language) which casts a halo of glory around it, and makes it the wonder of the world!" the feeling alluded to induces some of these gipsies to change their residences or go abroad. i heard of one family in canada, of whom a scotchman spoke somewhat in the following way: "i know them to be gipsies. they remind me of a brood of wild turkeys, hatched under a tame bird; it will take the second or third descent to bring them to resemble, in some of their ways, the ordinary barn-door fowl. they are very restless and queer creatures, and move about as if they were afraid that every one was going to tramp on their corns." but it is in large towns they feel more at home. they then form little communities among themselves; and by closely associating, and sometimes huddling together, they can more easily perpetuate their language, as i have already said, than by straggling, twos or threes, through the country. but their quarrelsome disposition frequently throws an obstacle in the way of such associations. secret as they have been in keeping their language from even being heard by the public while wanderers, they are much more so since they have settled in towns. the origin of the gipsies has given rise, in recent times, to many speculations. the most plausible one, however, seems to be that they are from hindostan; an opinion our author supports so well, that we are almost bound to acquiesce in it. in these controversies regarding the origin of the gipsies, very little regard seems to have been had to what they say of themselves. it is curious that in every part of europe they have been called, and are now called, egyptians. no trace can now be found of any enquiry made as to their origin, if such there was made, when they first appeared in europe. they seem then to have been taken at their word, and to have passed current as egyptians. but in modern times their country has been denied them, owing to a total dissimilarity between their language and any of the dialects of modern egypt. a very intelligent gipsy informed me that his race sprung from a body of men--a cross between the arabs and egyptians--that left egypt in the train of the jews.[ ] in consulting the record of moses, i find it said, in ex. xii. , "and a mixed multitude went up also with them" (the jews, out of egypt). very little is said of this mixed multitude. in lev. xxiv. , mention is made of the son of an israelitish woman, by an egyptian, being stoned to death for blasphemy, which would almost imply that a marriage had taken place previous to leaving egypt. after this occurrence, it is said in num. xi. , "and the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting" for flesh. that would imply that they had not amalgamated with the jews, but were only among them. the scriptures say nothing of what became of this mixed multitude after the jews separated from them (neh. xiii. ), and leave us only to form a conjecture relative to their destiny. [ ] the intelligent reader will not differ with me as to the weight to be attached to the gipsy's remark on this point. we naturally ask, what could have induced this mixed multitude to leave egypt? and the natural reply is, that their motive was the same that led to the exodus of the jews--a desire to escape from slavery. no commentator that i have read gives a plausible reason for the mixed multitude leaving egypt with the jews. scott, besides venturing four suppositions, advances a fifth, that "some left because they were distressed or discontented." but that seems to fall infinitely short of the true reason. adam clark says, "probably they were refugees who came to sojourn in egypt, because of the dearth which had obliged them to emigrate from their own countries." but that dearth occurred centuries before the time of the exodus; so that those refugees, if such there were, who settled in egypt during the famine, could have returned to their own countries generations before the time of that event. scott says, "it is probable some left egypt because it was desolate;" and henry, "because their country was laid waste by the plagues." but the desolation was only partial; for we are told that "he that feared the word of the lord among the servants of pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses;" by which means they escaped destruction from the hail, which affected only those remaining in the field. we are likewise told that, although the barley and flax were smitten by the same hail-storm, the wheat and rye, not being grown up, were left untouched. these two latter (besides fish, roots and vegetables) would form the staples of the food of the egyptians; to say nothing of the immense quantities in the granaries of the country. if the egyptians could not find bread in their own country, how were they to obtain it by accompanying the jews into a land of which they knew nothing, and which had to be conquered before it could be possessed? where were they to procure bread to support them on the journey, if it was not to be had at home? the other reasons given by these commentators for the departure of the mixed multitude from egypt are hardly worth controverting, when we consider the social manners and religious belief of the egyptians. we are told that, for being shepherds, the israelites were an abomination unto the egyptians (gen. xlvi. ); and that the egyptians considered it an abomination to eat bread with a hebrew, (gen. xliii. ,) so supreme was the reign of caste and of nationality at that period in egypt. the sacrifices of the jews were also an abomination to the egyptians (ex. viii. ). the hebrews were likewise influenced by feelings peculiar to themselves, which would render any alliances or even associations between them and their oppressors extremely improbable; but if such there should have been, the issue would be incorporated with the hebrews. there could thus be no personal motive for any of the egyptians to accompany the hebrews; and as little could there be of that which pertains to the religious; for, as a people, they had become so "vain in their imaginations," and had "their foolish hearts so darkened," as to worship almost every created thing--bulls, birds, serpents, leeks, onions and garlic. such a people were almost as well nigh devoid of a motive springing from a sense of elevated religion, as were the beasts, the reptiles and the vegetables which they worshipped. a miracle performed before the eyes of such a people would have no more salutary or lasting influence than would a flash of lightning before the eyes of many a man in every day life; it might prostrate them for a moment, but its effects would be as transitory. like the jews themselves, at a subsequent time, they might credit the miracle to beelzebub, the prince of devils; and, like the gergesenes, rise up in a body and beseech moses and his people to "depart out of their coasts." indeed, after the slaying of the first-born of the egyptians, we are told that "the egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste; for, they said, we be all dead men." considering how hard a matter it was for moses to urge the jews to undertake the exodus; considering their stiff-necked and perverse grumbling at all that befell them; notwithstanding that to them "pertained the fathers, the adoption, the glory and the covenant;" the commands and the bones of joseph; the grievous bondage they were enduring, and the almost daily recourse to which moses had for a miracle to strengthen their faith and resolution to proceed; and we will perceive the impossibility of the "mixed multitude" leaving egypt on any ground of religion. this principle might even be urged further. if we consider the reception which was given to the miracles of christ as "a son over his own house, and therefore worthy of more glory than moses, who was but a servant," we will conclude that the miracles wrought by moses, although personally felt by the egyptians, would have as little lasting effect upon them as had those of the former upon the jews themselves; they would naturally lead to the hebrews being allowed to depart, but would serve no purpose of inducing the egyptians to go with them. for if a veil was mysteriously drawn over the eyes of the jews at the advent of christ, which, in a negative sense, hid the messiah from them (mark iv. , ; matt. xi. , ; and john xii. , ), how much more might it not be said, "he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts," and let the people of israel go, "till they would thrust them out hence altogether;" and particularly so when the object of moses' mission was to redeem the israelites from the bondage of egypt, and spoil and smite the egyptians. the only reasonable conclusion to which we can come, as regards a motive for the "mixed multitude" leaving egypt along with the jews, is, that being slaves like themselves, they took advantage of the opportunity, and slipped out with them.[ ] [ ] since the above was written, i have read hengstenberg on the pentateuch, who supposes that the "mixed multitude" were an inferior order of workmen, employed, like the jews, as slaves, in the building of the pyramids. the jews, on being reduced to a state of bondage, were employed by pharaoh to "build treasure cities, and work in mortar and brick, and do all manner of service in the field," besides being "scattered abroad through all the land of egypt, to gather stubble in place of straw," wherewith to make their tale of bricks. in this way they would come much in contact with the other slaves of the country; and, as "adversity makes strange bed-fellows," they would naturally prove communicative to their fellow-sufferers, and expatiate on the history of their people, from the days of abraham downward, were it only from a feeling of vanity to make themselves appear superior to what they would consider the ordinary dross around them. they would also naturally allude to their future prospects, and the positive promise, or at least general idea, which they had of their god effecting their deliverance, and leading them into a country (gen. . , ) where all the miseries they were then enduring would be forgotten. they would do that more especially after moses had returned from his father-in-law in midian, to bring them out of egypt; for we are told, in ex. iv. - , that the elders of the children of israel were called together and informed of the intended redemption, and that all the people believed. by such means as these would the minds of some of the other slaves of egypt be inflamed at the very idea of freedom being perhaps in immediate prospect for so many of their fellow-bondsmen. thereafter happened the many plagues; the causes of which must have been more or less known to the egyptians generally, from the public manner in which moses would make his demands (ex. x. ); and consequently to their slaves; for many of the slaves would be men of intelligence, as is common in oriental countries. some of these slaves would, in all probability, watch, with fear and trembling, the dreadful drama played out (ex. ix. ). others would, perhaps, give little heed to the various sayings of the hebrews at the time they were uttered; the plagues would, perhaps, have little effect in reminding them of them. as they experienced their effects, they might even feel exasperated toward the hebrews for being the cause of them; still it is more probable that they sympathized with them, as fellow-bondsmen, and murmured against pharaoh for their existence and greater manifestation. but the positive order, nay the entreaty, for the departure of the israelites, and the passage before their eyes of so large a body of slaves to obtain their freedom, would induce many of them to follow them; for they would, in all likelihood, form no higher estimate of the movement than that of merely gaining that liberty which slaves, in all nations, and under all circumstances, do continually sigh after. the character of moses alone was a sufficient guarantee to the slaves of egypt that they might trust themselves to his leadership and protection (not to speak of the miraculous powers which he displayed in his mission); for we are told that, besides being the adopted son of pharaoh's daughter, he was learned in all the wisdom of the egyptians, and mighty in word and deed. having been, according to josephus, a great commander in the armies of egypt, he must have been the means of reducing to bondage many of the slaves, or the parents of the slaves, then living in egypt. at the time of the exodus we are told that he was "very great in the land of egypt, in the sight of pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people" (ex. xi. ). the burying of the "first-born" was not a circumstance likely to prevent a slave gaining his freedom amid the dismay, the moaning, and groaning, and howling throughout the land of egypt. the circumstance was even the more favourable for his escape, owing to the hebrews being allowed to go, till it pleased god again to harden and stir up pharaoh to pursue them (ex. xiv. - and ), in order that his host might be overthrown in the red sea. the jews, while in egypt, seem to have been reduced to a state of serfdom only--crown slaves, not chattels personal; which would give them a certain degree of respect in the eyes of the ordinary slaves of the country, and lead them, owing to the dignity of their descent, to look down with disdain upon the "mixed multitude" which followed them. while it is said that they were "scattered over the land of egypt," we are told, in ex. ix. , that the murrain touched not the cattle of israel; and in the th verse, that "in the land of goshen, where the people of israel were, there was no hail." and moses said to pharaoh, "our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof we must take to serve the lord our god" (ex. x. ). from this we would naturally conclude, that such of the jews only as were capable of work, were scattered over the land of egypt to do the work of pharaoh, while the rest were left in the land of goshen. by both the egyptians and their slaves, the hebrews would be looked upon as a mysterious people, which the former would be glad to send out of the land, owing to the many plagues which they had been the cause of being sent upon them; and while they got quit of them, as they did, there would be no earthly motive for the egyptians to follow them, through a wilderness, into a country of which the hebrews themselves knew nothing. but it would be different with their slaves; they had everything to hope from a change of condition, and would readily avail themselves of the chance to effect it. the very term "mixed multitude" implies slaves; for the hebrew word _hasaphsuph_, as translated by bochartus, means _populi colluvies undecunque collecta_--"the dregs or scum of the people gathered together from all parts." but this interpretation is most likely the literal meaning of a figurative expression, which was intended to describe a body of men such as the slaves of egypt must have been, that is, a mixture that was compounded of men from almost every part of the world known to the egyptians; the two principal ingredients of which must have been what may be called the egyptian and semitic. moses seems to have used the word in question in consequence of the vexation and snare which the mixed multitude proved to him, by bringing upon the camp of his people the plague, inflicted, in consequence of their sins, in the midst of them. at the same time the hebrews were very apt to term "dregs and scum" all who did not proceed from the loins of their father, abraham. but i am inclined to believe that the bulk or nucleus of the mixed multitude would consist of slaves who were located in goshen, or its neighbourhood, when the jews were settled there by pharaoh. these would be a mixture of the shepherd kings and native egyptians, held by the former as slaves, who would naturally fall into the hands of the egyptian monarch during his gradual reconquest of the country; and they would be held by the pure egyptians in as little esteem as the jews themselves, both being, in a measure, of the shepherd race. in this way it may be claimed that the gipsies are even descendants of the shepherd kings. after leaving egypt, the hebrews and the "mixed multitude," in their exuberance of feeling at having gained their freedom, and witnessed the overthrow of their common oppressor in the red sea, would naturally have everything in common, till they regained their powers of reflection, and began to think of their destiny, and the means of supporting so many individuals, in a country in which provisions could hardly be collected for the company of an ordinary caravan. then their difficulties would begin. it was enough for moses to have to guide the hebrews, whose were the promises, without being burdened and harassed by those who followed them. then we may reasonably assume that the mixed multitude began to clamour for flesh, and lead the hebrews to join with them; in return for which a plague was sent upon the people. they were unlikely to submit to be led by the hand of god, and be fed on angels' food, and, like the hebrews, leave their carcasses in the wilderness; for their religious sentiments, if, as slaves of egypt, they had religious sentiments, would be very low indeed, and would lead them to depend upon themselves, and leave the deserts of arabia, for some other country more likely to support them and their children. undoubtedly the two people then separated, as abraham and lot parted when they came out of egypt. how to shake off this mixed multitude must have caused moses many an anxious thought. possibly his father-in-law, jethro, from the knowledge and sagacity which he displayed in forming the government of moses himself, may have assisted him in arriving at the conclusion which he must have so devoutly wished. to take them into the promised land with him was impossible; for the command of god, given in regard to ishmael, the son of abraham, by hagar the egyptian, and which was far more applicable to the mixed multitude, must have rung in his ears: "cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, isaac;" "for in isaac shall thy seed be called." as slaves of egypt they would not return to that country; they would not go north, for that was the heritage of the people of israel, which had to be wrested from the fierce tribes of palestine; they would not go north-east, for there lay the powerful empire of assyria, or the germs out of which it sprung; they could not go south, for the ocean hemmed them in, in that direction; and their only alternative was to proceed east, through arabia petrea, along the gulf of persia, through the persian desert, into northern hindostan, where they formed the gipsy caste, and whence they issued, after the lapse of so many centuries, in possession of the language of hindostan, and spread themselves over the earth. what a strange sensation passes through the mind, when such a subject is contemplated! jews and gipsies having, in a sense, the same origin, and, after such vicissitudes, meeting each other, face to face, under circumstances so greatly alike, in almost every part of the world, upward of years after they parted company. what destiny awaited the jews themselves on escaping from egypt? they had either to subdue and take the place of some other tribe, or be reduced to a state of slavery by it and perhaps others combined; or they might possibly have been befriended by some great empire as tributaries; or failing these three, what remained for them was the destiny that befell the gipsies. on leaving egypt, the gipsies would possess a common language, which would hold them together as a body; as slaves under the society of an egyptian monarchy, they would have few, if any, opinions of a religious nature; and they would have but little idea of the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_. the position in which they would find themselves placed, and the circumstances surrounding them, would necessitate them to rob, steal, or appropriate whatever they found to be necessary to their existence; for whether they turned to the right hand or to the left, they would always find territory previously occupied, and property claimed by some one; so that their presence would always be unwelcome, their persons an intrusion everywhere; and having once started on their weary pilgrimage, as long as they maintained their personal independence, they would never attain, as a body, to any other position than they have done, in popular estimation, for the last four hundred and fifty years in europe. in entering hindostan they would meet with a civilized people, governed by rigid caste, where they would have no alternative but to remain aloof from the other inhabitants. then, as now, that country had many wandering tribes within its borders, and for which it is peculiarly favourable. whatever might have been the amount of civilization which some of the gipsies brought with them from egypt, it could not be otherwise than of that _quasi_ nature which generally characterizes that of slaves, and which would rapidly degenerate into a kind of barbarism, under the change of circumstances in which they found themselves placed. as runaway slaves, they would naturally be shy and suspicious, and be very apt to betake themselves to mountains, forests and swamps, and hold as little intercourse with the people of the country in which they were, as possible. still, having been reared within a settled and civilized state, they would naturally hang around some other one, and nestle within it, if the face of the country, and the character and ways of the people, admitted of it. having been bondsmen, they would naturally become lazy after gaining their freedom, and revel in the wild liberty of nature. they would do almost anything for a living rather than work; and whatever they could lay their hands on would be fairly come by, in their imagination. but to carry out this mode of life, they would naturally have recourse to some ostensible employment, to enable them to travel through the country, and secure the toleration of its inhabitants. here their egyptian origin would come to their assistance; for as slaves of that country, they must have had many among them who would be familiar with horses, and working in metals, for which ancient egypt was famous; not to speak of some of the occult sciences which they would carry with them from that country. in the first generation their new habits and modes of life would become chronic; in the second generation they would become hereditary; and from this strange phenomenon would spring a race that is unique in the history of the human family. what origin could be more worthy of the gipsies? what origin more philosophical? arriving in india a foreign caste, the gipsies would naturally cling to their common origin, and speak their common language, which, in course of ages, would be forgotten, except occasional words, which would be used by them as catch-words. at the present day my gipsy acquaintances inform me that, in great britain, five out of every ten of their words are nothing but common hindostanee. how strange would it be if some of the other words of their language were those used by the people of egypt under the pharaohs. mr. borrow says: "is it not surprising that the language of _petulengro_, (an english gipsy,) is continually coming to my assistance whenever i appear to be at a loss with respect to the derivation of crabbed words. i have made out crabbed words in �schylus by means of his speech; and even in my biblical researches i have derived no slight assistance from it." "broken, corrupted and half in ruins as it is, it was not long before i found that it was an original speech, far more so, indeed, than one or two others of high name and celebrity, which, up to that time, i had been in the habit of regarding with respect and veneration. indeed, many obscure points connected with the vocabulary of these languages, and to which neither classic nor modern lore afforded any clue, i thought i could now clear up by means of this strange, broken tongue, spoken by people who dwell among thickets and furze bushes, in tents as tawny as their faces, and whom the generality of mankind designate, and with much semblance of justice, as thieves and vagabonds." a difficulty somewhat similar to the origin of the gipsies has been started in reference to their language; whether it is a speech distinct from any other surrounding it, or a few slang words or expressions connected together by the usual languages of the countries in which the race is to be found. the slightest consideration will remove the doubt, and lead us to the former conclusion. it is true there must needs be some native words mixed up with it; for what language, in ancient or modern times, has come down free of a mixture with others? if that be the case with languages classified, written, and spoken in a community, with no disturbing element near it to corrupt it, is it to be expected that the speech of a people like the gipsies can be free of similar additions or substitutions, when it possesses none of these advantages for the preservation of its entirety and purity? from the length of time the people have been in europe, and the frequency of intercourse which they have been forced by circumstances, in modern times especially, to have with its natives, it would appear beyond measure surprising that even a word of their language is spoken at all. and this fact adds great weight to sir walter scott's remark, when he says that "their language is a great mystery;" and to that of dr. bright, when he speaks of its existence as being "little short of the miraculous." but when we consider, on strictly philosophical principles, the phenomenon of the perpetuation of the gipsy language, we will find that there is nothing so very wonderful about it after all. the race have always associated closely and exclusively together; and their language has become to them like the worship of a household god--hereditary, and is spoken among themselves under the severest of discipline. it is certain that it is spoken at the present day, by some of the race, nearly as well as the gaelic of many of the immediate descendants of the emigrants in some of the small highland settlements in america, when it has not been learned by book, even to the extent of conversing on any subject of ordinary life, without apparently using english words. but, as is common with people possessing two languages, the gipsies often use them interchangeably in expressing the smallest idea. besides the way mentioned by which the gipsy language has been corrupted, there is another one peculiar to all speeches, and which is, that few tongues are so copious as not to stand in need of foreign words, either to give names to things or wants unknown in the place where the language originated, or greater meaning or elucidation to a thing than it is capable of; and preëminently so in the case of a barbarous people, with few ideas beyond the commonest wants of daily life, entering states so far advanced toward that point of civilization which they have now reached. but the question as to the extent of the gipsy language never can be conclusively settled, until some able philologist has the unrestricted opportunity of daily intercourse with the race; or, as a thing more to be wished than obtained, some gipsy take to suitable learning, and confer a rarity of information upon the reader of history everywhere: for the attempt at getting a single word of the language from the gipsies, is, in almost every case, impracticable. sir walter scott seems to have had an intention of writing an account of the gipsies himself; for, in a letter to murray, as given by lockhart, he writes: "i have been over head and ears in work this summer, or i would have sent the gipsies; indeed i was partly stopped by finding it impossible to procure a few words of their language." for this reason, the words furnished in this work, although few, are yet numerous, when the difficulties in the way of getting them are considered. under the chapter of language will be found some curious anecdotes of the manner in which these were collected. of the production itself little need be said. whatever may be the opinion of the public in regard to it, this may be borne in mind, that the collecting of the materials out of which it is formed was attended with much trouble, and no little expense, but with a singular degree of pleasure, to the author; and that but for the urgent and latest request of him whom, when alive or dead, scotchmen have always delighted to honour, it might never have assumed its present form. it is what it professes to be--a history, in which the subject has been stripped of everything pertaining to fiction or even colouring; so that the reader will see depicted, in their true character, this singular people, in the description of whom, owing to the suspicion and secrecy of their nature, writers generally have indulged in so much that is trifling and even fabulous. such as the work is, it is offered as a contribution toward the filling up of that void in literature to which dr. bright alludes, in the introduction to his travels in hungary, when, in reference to hoyland's survey, and some scattered notices of the gipsies in periodicals, he says: "we may hope at some time to collect, satisfactorily, the history of this extraordinary race." it is likewise intended as a response to the call of a writer in blackwood, in which he says: "_our_ duty is rather to collect and store up the _raw materials_ of literature--to gather into our repository scattered facts, hints and observations--which more elaborate and learned authors may afterwards work up into the dignified tissue of history or science." i deem it proper to remark that, in editing the work, i have taken some liberties with the manuscript. i have, for example, recast the introduction, re-arranged some of the materials, and drawn more fully, in some instances, upon the author's authorities; but i have carefully preserved the facts and sentiments of the original. i may have used some expressions a little familiar and perhaps not over-refined in their nature; but my excuse for that is, that they are illustrative of a subject that allows the use of them. editor's introduction the discovery and history of barbarous races of men, besides affording exquisite gratification to the general mind of civilized society, have always been looked upon as important means toward a right understanding of the history of our species, and the relation in which it stands to natural and revealed theology; and in their prosecution have produced, in latter times, many instances of the most indefatigable disinterestedness and greatest efforts of true courage of which our nature is capable; many, in the person of the traveller, philanthropist and missionary, cheerfully renouncing in their pursuit every comfort of civilized life, braving death itself in every variety of form, and leaving their bones on the distant shore, or far away in the unknown interior of the dreary continent, without a trace of their fate to console those most dearly attached to them. the result of the discoveries hitherto made has invariably confirmed the conclusions of a few superior minds, formed without the assistance drawn from such a source, that under whatever circumstances man is placed, and whatever advantages he may enjoy, there is very little real difference between the characters, intrinsically considered, of the savage and man in what is considered a civilized community. there is this difference between what may be called barbarism, not unfrequently to be met with in a civilized community, springing from the depravity natural to man, and what obtains in a barbarous tribe or nation as such, that, in the former, it forms the exception; the brother, the father, or the son of the person of it often exhibiting the most opposite nature and conduct; while, in the latter, it forms the rule, and what the individual cannot, in a sense, avoid. but, in making this distinction, is there nothing to be found within the former sphere somewhat anomalous to the position thus presented? the subject of the following enquiry forms the exception, and from its being the only instance to be met with in the history of europe, it may be said to merit the greatest consideration of the statesman, the historian, the philosopher, and the christian. it does not appear possible, from the peculiar mould in which the european mind has been cast, for it to have remained in that state of immobility which, from the remotest antiquity, seems to have characterized that of asia; in which continent society has remained torpid and inactive, contented with what it has inherited, without making any effort at change or advancement. this peculiarity of character, in connexion with the influences of the christian religion, seems to have had the effect of bringing about that thorough amalgamation of races and ideas in the various countries of europe in which more than one people happened to occupy the same territory, or come under the jurisdiction of the same government, when no material difference in religion existed. in no country has such an amalgamation been more happily consummated than in our own; if not altogether as to blood, at least as to feeling, the more important thing of the two; the physical differences, in occasional instances, appearing in some localities, on the closest observation of those curious individuals who make such a subject the object of their learned researches. notwithstanding what has been said, how does it happen that in europe, but especially in our own country, there exists, and has for four hundred years existed, a pretty numerous body of men distinct in their feelings from the general population, and some of them in a state of barbarism nearly as great as when they made their appearance amongst us? such a thing would appear to us in no way remarkable in the stationary condition so long prevalent in asia; where, in the case of india, for example, are to be found, inhabiting the same territory, a heterogeneous population, made up of the remnants of many nations; where so many languages are spoken, and religions or superstitions professed, and the people divided into so many castes, which are separated from each other on the most trivial, and, to europeans, ridiculous and generally incomprehensible points; some eating together, and others not; some eating mutton, and others not; some beef and fowls, others vegetables, milk, butter and eggs, but no flesh or fish; those going to sea not associating with those remaining at home; some not following the occupation of others; and all showing the most determined antipathy to associate with each other;--where, from the numerous facilities so essential toward the perpetuation of peculiar modes of life, and the want of the powerful elements of assimilation and amalgamation so prominent in our division of the human race, a people may continue in a stereotyped state of mind and habits for an indefinite length of time. but in a country that is generally looked upon as the bulwark of the reformation, and the stronghold of european civilization, how does it happen that we find a people, resembling in their nature, though not in the degree, the all but fabulous tribe that was lately to be found in the dreary wastes of newfoundland, flying from the approach, and crossing the imagination of the fishermen like a spectre? or like the wild men of the jungle, in some of the oceanic parts of asia, having no homes, roaming during the dry season in the forests, and sleeping under or on the branches of trees, and in the rainy season betaking themselves to caves or sheltering beneath rocks, making their beds of leaves, and living on what they can precariously find, such as roots and wild honey; yet, under the influence of the missionary, many of them now raising crops, building dwellings, erecting schoolhouses, keeping the sabbath, and praising god? but some of the gipsies with us may be said to do few of these things. they live among us, yet are not of us; they come in daily contact with us, yet keep such distance from the community as a wild fowl, that occasionally finds its way into the farm-yard, does in shrinking from the close scrutiny of the husbandman. they cling like bats to ruined houses, caves, and old lime-kilns; and pitch their tents in dry water-courses, quarry-holes, or other sequestered places, by the way-side, or on the open moor, and even on dung-heaps for the warmth to be derived from them during the winter season, and live under the bare boughs of the forest during the summer;--yet amid all this apparent misery, through fair means or foul, they fare well, and lead what some call a happy life; while everything connected with them is most solicitously wrapt up in inscrutable mystery. these gipsies exhibit to the european mind the most inexplicable moral problem on record; in so far as such phenomena are naturally expected to be found among a people whom the rays of civilization have never reached; while, in the case of the gipsies, the first principles of nature would seem to be set at defiance. "and thus 'tis ever; what's within our ken, owl-like, we blink at, and direct our search to fartherest inde, in quest of novelties; whilst here at home, upon our very thresholds, ten thousand objects hurtle into view, of interest wonderful." but to give a fair description of the tented gipsy life, i cannot employ more appropriate language than that of doctor bright, when, in reference to the english gipsies, he says: "i am confident that we are apt to appreciate much too lightly the actual happiness enjoyed by this class of people, who, beneath their ragged tents, in the pure air of the heath, may well excite the envy of many of the poor, though better provided with domestic accommodation, in the unwholesome haunts of the town. at the approach of night, they draw around their humble but often abundant board, and then retiring to their tent, leave a faithful dog to guard its entrance. with the first rays of morning, they again meet the day, pursue their various occupations, or, rolling up their tents and packing all their property on an ass, set forward to seek the delights of some fresh heath, or the protection of some shaded copse. i leave it to those who have visited the habitations of the poor, to draw a comparison between the activity, the free condition, and the pure air enjoyed by the gipsy, and the idleness, the debauchery, and the filth in which the majority of the poorer classes are enveloped."--"no sooner does a stranger approach their fire on the heath, than a certain reserve spreads itself through the little family. the women talk to him in mystic language; they endeavour to amuse him with secrets of futurity; they suspect him to be a spy upon their actions; and he generally departs as little acquainted with their true character as he came. let this, however, wear away; let him gain their confidence, and he will find them conversable, amusing, sensible and shrewd; civil, but without servility; proud of their independence; and able to assign reasons for preferring their present condition to any other in civilized society. he will find them strongly attached to each other, and free from many cares which too often render the married life a source of discontent." in what direction may we look for the causes of such an anomaly in the history of our common civilization? this question, however, will be discussed by and by: in the meantime let us consider the fact itself. in the early part of the fifteenth century there first appeared in europe large hordes of a people of singular complexion and hair, and mode of life--apparently an asiatic race--which, in spite of the sanguinary efforts of the governments of the countries through which they passed, continued to spread over the continent, and have existed in large numbers to this day; many of them in the same condition, and following the same modes of life, now as then; and preserving their language, if not in its original purity, yet without its having lost its character. this circumstance has given rise in recent times to several researches, with no certain result, as to the country which they left on entering europe, and still less as to the place or the circumstances of their origin. the latter is not to be wondered at, when it is considered that, in the instances of even the most polished nations of antiquity, nothing is to be found as to their origin beyond what is contained in the myths and fables of their earliest poets and historians. but considering the traces that have been left of the origin and early history of the people and kingdoms of europe, subsequent to the fall of the roman empire, amid the barbarism and confusion attending their establishment, and, in many respects, the darkness immediately and for a long time following it, we would naturally think that, for an event happening so recently as the fifteenth century, some reliable traces would have been discovered and bequeathed to us on a subject that has baffled the antiquarians of modern times. if, however, there is any doubt as to the country which they left on entering europe, and their place of origin, there remains for us to consider the people generally, and in an especial manner those who have located themselves in scotland; and give an account of their subsequent history in its various aspects, and their present condition. but before doing that, it would be well to take a general but cursory view of the political as well as social condition of europe at the time they made their appearance in it, so as, in some measure, to account for the circumstance of no trace being left of their previous history; form an estimate of the relative position in which they have stood to its general population since; and attempt to realize the feeling with which they have always been regarded by our own people, so as to account for that singular degree of dread and awe which have always been associated with the mention of their name; the foundation of which has been laid in infancy. that which most forcibly strikes the mind of the student, in reading the history of the age in which the gipsies entered europe, is the political turmoil in which nearly the whole of the continent seems to have been embroiled for the greater part of a century. the desperate wars waged by england against what has been termed her natural enemy, for the recovery and retention of her ancient continental possessions, and the struggle of the other for her bare existence; the long and bloody civil wars of england, and the distracted state of france, torn with dissensions within, and menaced at various points from without; the long and fanatical struggle of religion and race, between the spaniards and their invaders, for the possession of the peninsula; the brave stand made by the swiss for that independence so much theirs by nature; the religious wars of the hussites, and the commotions throughout central europe; the perpetual internal feuds of the corrupt and turbulent southern republics; the approaching dissolution of the dissolute byzantine empire; the appalling progress of that terrible power that had emerged from the wilds of asia, subdued the empire, and threatened europe from its vulnerable point; all these seem to have been enough to have engrossed the mental energies of the various countries of europe, and prevented any notice being taken of the appearance of the race in question. but over and above these convulsions, sufficient as they were to exclusively engage the attention of the small amount of cultivated intellect then in the world, there was one that was calculated even to paralyze the clergy, to whom, in that age, fell the business of recording passing events, and which seems to have prevented their even taking notice of important matters in the history of that time. i mean the schism that for so long rent the church into fragments, the greatest schism, indeed, that the world ever saw, when, for so many years, two and even three popes reigned at once, each anathematizing and excommunicating the other, for a schism which, after an infinity of intrigues, was ultimately so happily patched up to the comfort of the church. on the death of urban v, gregory xi became pope, but soon after died, and was succeeded by urban vi; but the cardinals, who were in the french interest, after treating him as pope for a short time, annulled the whole proceedings, on the plea of having been constrained in the election by the turbulence of the roman populace, but really on account of the extraordinary harshness with which he began his reign, and chose one of themselves in his stead, under the name of clement vii. the former remained at rome, and was supported by italy, the empire, england and the north; while clement proceeded to avignon, and was acknowledged by france, spain, scotland, and sicily. urban was respectively succeeded by boniface ix, innocent vi, and gregory xii; and clement, at his death, in , by benedict xiii, the most implacable spirit in prolonging the schism, from whose authority france for a time withdrew, without acknowledging any other head, but afterwards returned, at the same time urging his resignation of the chair. at last the cardinals, disgusted with the unprincipled dissimulation of both, and at their wits' end in devising a way to stay the scandal, and build up the influence of the whole church, then so rapidly sinking in the estimation of the world, amidst such unheard of calamities, deserted both, and summoned a council, which met at pisa, and in which both were deposed, and another, in the person of alexander v, elected to fill the chair. but in place of proving a remedy, the step rendered the schism still more furious. after that, john xxiii, successor to alexander v, was reluctantly prevailed on to call a council, which accordingly met at constance, in , but in which he himself was deposed. martin v being chosen, was succeeded by eugenius iv. but the fathers of basle elected felix v, thus renewing the schism, and dividing the church for some years, from france and the empire observing a neutrality, while england adhered to eugenius, aragon and the smaller states to felix; but the partisans of felix gradually losing their influence, nicholas v, the successor of eugenius, after much cajolery, prevailed on him to resign his claim, and thus restored peace to the world. at that time the kinds of learning taught were, in the greater part of europe, confined to few, being almost entirely monopolised by the clergy and a few laymen; by the former for the dogmatism of the schools and the study of the canon law, and by the latter for civil jurisprudence and medicine. even the sons of nobles were generally wholly illiterate, one of them, only, being educated, to act as the clerk of the family. we are even told of a noble, when a conspiracy was detected, with the name of his son attached to it, saying, "thank god, none of my children were ever taught to write." the great mass of the people, and especially those of the lower classes, were as ignorant of direct educational training as a tribe of semi-barbarians at the present day. many of the nobility, although as scantily educated as the lowest of our own people, and having as much difficulty in inditing an epistle as some of these would now have, would still admirably maintain their position in such a state of society, by the influence which their high birth and breeding, elevated bearing, superiority of character, and possession of domain, gave them; and by the traditionary feudal awe that had sunk so deeply into the feelings of their comparatively, and often absolutely, abject dependents and followers, extending itself, when unaccompanied by overt acts of oppression, to the inhabitants of the smaller towns, where so many restraints surrounded their personal independence, from their precarious modes of living, owing to all so much depending on each other for a subsistence, and the endless jealousies prevailing among them. at the same time all classes, although frequently possessing a sufficiency, if not an abundance, of the rough necessaries of life, enjoyed nothing of the comfort and elegancies of subsequent times. the house of many a noble presented such a plainness in furnishing as a person, in very moderate circumstances, would now be almost ashamed to possess. the circumstances of the middle classes were much more lowly; plain boards and wooden trenchers, few beds but many _shake-downs_, rough stools and no chairs, with wonderfully few apartments relative to the size of the family, and much sleeping on straw-heaps in the _cock-loft_, marked the style of living of a class now deemed very respectable. the huts of the poorest class were as often composed of "sticks and dirt" as any other material, with _plenishing_ to correspond. there was a marked exception to this state of comparative barbarism to be found, however, in some of the cities of italy, and other parts of the mediterranean, the seats of the flourishing republics of the middle ages; arising not only from the affluence which follows in the wake of extended commerce and manufactures, but also from the feelings with which the wreck of a highly polished antiquity inspired a people in whom the seeds of the former civilization had not died out; heightened, as it must have been, by the influence of the once celebrated, but then decaying, splendour which the court of the long line of eastern emperors shed over the countries lying contiguous to it. the inhabitants of the cities of the north, on the other hand, were marked by a degree of substantial wealth and comfort, sense and ease, civility and liberality, which were apt to distinguish a people situated as they were, without the traditions and objects, meeting the eye at every step in the south, of the greatest degree of culture in the polite arts of life unto which a people can attain. but, with the exception of the inhabitants of these cities, and some of those in a few of the cities of western europe, the clergy and some of the laity, the people, as such, were sunk in deep ignorance and superstition, living in a state of which, in our favoured times, we can form no adequate conception. then, life and property were held in little respect, and law trampled upon, even if it existed under more than the shadow of its present form; and no roads existed but such as were for the greater part of the year impassable, and lay through forests, swamps and other uncultivated wastes, the resorts of numerous banditti. then, almost no intercourse existed between the people of one part of a country and another, when all were exceedingly sanguinary and rude. what wonder, then, that, under such circumstances, the race in question should have stolen into europe unobserved, without leaving a trace of the circumstances connected with the movement? the way by which they are supposed to have entered western europe was by transylvania, a supposition which, if not true, is at least most likely. although, when first publicly taken notice of in europe, they were found to move about in large bands, it is unlikely that they would do that while entering, but only after having experienced the degree of toleration and hospitality which the representation of their condition called forth; at least if we judge from the cunning which they have displayed in moving about after their true character became known. asia having been so long their home, where from time immemorial they are supposed to have wandered, they would have no misgiving, from their knowledge of its inhabitants, in passing through any part of it. but in contemplating an entry into europe they must have paused, as one, without any experience of his own or of others, would in entering on the discovery of an unknown continent, and anxiously examined the merchants and travellers visiting europe, on the various particulars of the country most essential to their prospects, and especially as to the characteristics of the people. there seems no reason for thinking that they were expelled from asia against their will; and as little for supposing that they fled rather than submit to a particular creed, if we judge from the great readiness with which, in form, they have submitted to such in europe, when it would serve their purpose. the only conclusion, in regard to their motive or migration, to which we can come, is, that having, in the course of time, gradually found their way to the confines of western asia, and most likely into parts of northern africa, and there heard of the growing riches of modern europe, they, with the restlessness and unsettledness of their race, longed to reach the eldorado of their hopes--a country teeming with what they were in quest of, where they would meet with no rivals of their own race to cross their path. the step must have been long and earnestly debated, possibly for generations, ere it was taken; spies after spies may have surveyed and reported on the country, and the movement been made the subject of many deliberations, till at last the influence, address, or resolution of some chief may have precipitated them upon it, possibly at a time when some accidental or unavoidable cause urged them to it. nor would it be long ere their example was followed by others of the tribe; some from motives of friendship; others from jealousy at the idea of all the imagined advantages being reaped by those going before them; and others from the desire of revenging unsettled injuries, and jealousy combined. after the die had been cast, their first step would be to choose leaders to proceed before the horde, spy out the richness of the land, and organize stations for those to follow; and then continue the migration till all the horde had passed over. considering that the representative part of the gipsies have retained their peculiarities almost uncontaminated, it is in the highest degree probable, it may even be assumed as certain, that this was the manner in which they entered europe: at first stragglers, with systematic relays of stations and couriers, followed up by such small, yet numerous and closely following, companies, as almost to escape the notice of the authorities of the countries through which they passed; a mode of travelling which they still pursue in great britain. but when any special obstacle was to be encountered in their journey--such, for example, as the hostility of the inhabitants of any particular place--they would concentrate their strength, so as to force their way through. their next step would be to arrange among themselves the district of country each tribe was to occupy. after their arrival, they seem to have appeared publicly in large bands, growing emboldened by the generous reception which they met with for some time after their appearance; and they seem to have had the sagacity to know, that if they secured the favour of the great, that of the small would necessarily follow. but if the first appearance of the gipsies in europe had a different complexion from what i have conjectured, there are other causes to which may be attributed the fact of its not being known. among these is to be found the distracted state of the eastern empire in its struggles with the turks, which led to the capture of its capital, and the subversion of the greek rule in the east. the literary and other men of note, scattered over the provinces, likely to chronicle such an event as the appearance of the gipsies, must necessarily have betaken themselves to the capital, as each district submitted to the conquerors, and so lost the opportunity of witnessing the migration, under such circumstances as would have made it observable, assuming that the gipsies travelled in large companies, which, under all the circumstances of the case, was not, on all occasions, likely. the surrounding countries having been the theatre of so many changes in the history of the human family, and the inhabitants having undergone so many changes of masters, leading to so many distinct races, from the intellectual and cultivated greek to the barbarous arab and dusky moor, of so various hues and habits, many of whom would be found in such a city as constantinople, what peculiarity was there about the gipsies to attract the notice of the haughty greek, characterized as he was by all the feelings of disdain which his ancestors displayed in not even naming the jews and early christians? then, if we consider the peculiar turn which the new-born literary pursuits of learned men assumed during that age--how it was exclusively confined to the restoration of the classics, and followed in europe by the influx of the greeks during the troubles of their country, we will find another reason for the manner of the first appearance of the gipsies not being known. nor is it to be expected that any light would be thrown on the subject by the memoirs of any of our own countrymen, visiting the east at a time when so little intercourse existed between the west and that part of the world; nothing perhaps beyond a commercial or maritime adventurer, under the flag of another nation, or one whose whole acquirements consisted in laying lance in rest and mounting the breach in an assault; it being a rare thing even to see an english ship in the mediterranean during the whole of the fifteenth century. that the gipsies were a tribe of hindoo _sudras_, driven, by the cruelty of timour, to leave hindostan, is not for a moment to be entertained; for why should that conqueror have specially troubled himself with the _lowest_ class of hindoos? or why should they, in particular, have left hindostan? it would have been the _ruling_, or at least the _higher_, classes of hindoo society against which timour would have exercised any acts of cruelty; the _lowest_ would be pretty much beneath his notice. not only do we not read of such a people as the hindoos ever having left their country on any such account--for it is contrary to their genius and feelings of caste to do so--but the opinion that the gipsies left india on timour's account rests on no evidence whatever, beyond the simple circumstance that they were first taken notice of in europe _about_ the time of his overrunning india. mr. borrow very justly remarks: "it appears singular that if they left their native land to escape from timour, they should never have mentioned, in the western world, the name of that scourge of the human race, nor detailed the history of their flight and sufferings, which assuredly would have procured them sympathy; the ravages of timour being already but too well known in europe." still, mr. borrow does not venture to give reasons for the trustworthiness or untrustworthiness of a passage in arabschah's life of timour, in which it is said that gipsies were found in samarcand at a time before that conqueror had even directed his thoughts to the invasion of india. the description given of these zingari or gipsies of samarcand is as applicable to the gipsies as possibly can be; for in it it is said, "some were wrestlers, others gladiators, others pugilists. these people were much at variance, so that hostilities and battling were continually arising amongst them. each band had its chief and subordinate officers." how applicable this description is to the scottish gipsies, down to so late a period as the end of last century! if there is little reason for thinking that the gipsies left india owing to the cruelties of timour, there is less for supposing, as mr. borrow supposes, that their being called egyptians originated, not with themselves, but with others; for he says that the tale of their being egyptians "probably originated amongst the priests and learned men of the east of europe, who, startled by the sudden apparition of bands of people foreign in appearance and language, skilled in divination and the occult arts, endeavoured to find in scripture a clue to such a phenomenon; the result of which was that the romas (gipsies) of hindostan were suddenly transformed into egyptian penitents, a title which they have ever since borne in various parts of europe." why should the priests and learned men of the east of europe go to the bible to find the origin of such a people as the gipsies? what did priests and learned men know of the bible at the beginning of the fifteenth century? did every priest, at that time, know there even was such a book as the bible in existence? the priests and learned men of the east of europe were more likely to turn to the eastern nations for the origin of the gipsies, than to egypt, were the mere matter of the skill of the gipsies in divination and the occult arts to lead them to make any enquiry into their history. but what could have induced the priests and learned men to take any such particular interest in the gipsies? when the gipsies entered europe, they would feel under the necessity of saying who they were. having committed themselves to that point, how could they afterwards call themselves by that name which mr. borrow supposes the priests and learned men to have given them? or, i should rather say, how could the priests and learned men think of giving them a name after they themselves had said who they were? and did the priests and learned men invent the idea of the gipsies being pilgrims, or bestow upon their leaders the titles of dukes, earls, lords, counts and knights of little egypt? assuredly not; all these matters must have originated with the gipsies themselves. the truth is, mr. borrow has evidently had no opportunities of learning, or, at least, has not duly appreciated, the real mental acquirements of the early gipsies, an idea of which will be found in the history of the race on their first general arrival in scotland, about a hundred years after they were first taken notice of in europe, during which time they are not supposed to have made any great progress in mental condition. i may venture to say that the prophecy of ezekiel,[ ] in regard to the scattering of the egyptians, does not apply to the gipsies, for this reason, that such of these egyptians as were _carried away captive_ would become lost among other nations, while the "mixed multitude" which left egypt with the jews, travelled east, _their own masters_, and became the origin of the gipsy nation throughout the world. if we could but find traces of an egyptian origin among the gipsies of asia, say central and western asia, the question would be beyond dispute. but that might be a matter of some trouble. i am inclined to believe that the people in india corresponding to the gipsies in europe, will be found among those tented tribes who perform certain services to the british armies; at all events there is such a tribe in india, who are called gipsies by the europeans who come in contact with them. a short time ago, one of these people, who followed the occupation of a camel driver in india, found his way to england, and "pulled up" with some english gipsies, whom he recognized as his own people; at least he found that they had the ways and ceremonies of them. but it would be unreasonable to suppose that such a tribe in india did not follow various occupations. bishop heber, on several occasions, speaks of certain tents of people whom he met in india, as gipsies. but i can conceive nothing more difficult than an attempt to elucidate the history of any of the infinity of sects, castes, or tribes to be met with in india.[ ] what evidently leads mr. borrow and others astray, in the matter of the origin of the gipsies, is, that they conclude that, because the language spoken by the gipsies is apparently, or for the most part, hindostanee, therefore the people speaking it originated in hindostan; as just a conclusion as it would be to maintain that the negroes in liberia originated in england because they speak the english language! [ ] ezek. xxix. ,- , and xxx. , , and .--the scattering of the egyptians, here foretold, is a subject about which very little is known. scott, in commenting on it, says: "history informs us that nebuchadnezzar conquered egypt, and carrying multitudes of prisoners hence, dispersed them in different parts of his dominions: and doubtless great numbers perished, or took shelter in other nations at the same time. but we are not sufficiently informed of the transactions of those ages, to show the exact fulfilment of this part of the prophecy, as has been done in other instances." the bulk of the egyptians were doubtless restored to their country, as promised in ezek. xxix. , , and it is not impossible that the gipsies are the descendants of such as did not return to egypt. the language which they now speak proves nothing to the contrary, as, since the time in question, they have had opportunities to learn and unlearn many languages. [ ] abbé dubois says: "in every country of the peninsula, great numbers of foreign families are to be found, whose ancestors had been obliged to emigrate thither, in times of trouble or famine, from their native land, and to establish themselves amongst strangers. this species of emigration is very common in all the countries of india; but what is most remarkable is, _that in a foreign land, these emigrants preserve, from generation to generation, their own language and national peculiarities_. many instances might be pointed out of such foreign families, settled four or five hundred years in the district they now inhabit, without approximating in the least to the manners, fashions, or even to the language, of the nation where they have been for so many generations naturalized. they still preserve the remembrance of their origin, and keep up the ceremonies and usages of the land where their ancestors were born, without ever receiving any tincture of the particular habits of the countries where they live."--preface xvii. at page , he gives an instance of a wandering tribe in the mysore and telinga country, originally employed in agriculture, who, a hundred and fifty years previously, took up their vagrant and wandering life, in consequence of the severe treatment which the governor of the province was going to inflict upon some of their favourite chiefs. to this kind of life they have grown so much accustomed, that it would be impossible to reclaim them to any fixed or sedentary habits; and they have never entertained a thought of resuming their ancient manners. they sojourn in the open fields, under small tents of bamboo, and wander from place to place as humour dictates. they amount to seven or eight thousand individuals, are divided into tribes, and are under the government of chiefs, and maintain a great respect for the property of others. the leaders of the gipsies, on the arrival of the body in europe, and for a long time afterwards, seem to have been a superior class to those known as gipsies to-day; although, if the more intelligent of the race were observable to the general eye, they would, in many respects, compare most favourably with many of our middle classes. if the leaders of the gipsies, at that time, fell behind some of even the nobility, in the pittance of the education of letters which the latter possessed, they made up for it in that practical sagacity, the acquisition of which is almost unavoidable in the school in which, from infancy, they had been educated--that of providing for the shifts and exigencies of which their lives, as a whole, consisted; besides showing that superior aptitude for many of the things of every-day life, so inseparable from the success to which a special pursuit will lead. a gipsy leader stood, then, somewhat in the position towards a gentleman that a swell does to-day; with this difference, that he was not apt to commit himself by the display of that ignorance which unmasks the swell; an ignorance which the gentleman, in spite of his little learning, no less shared in. if the latter happened to be well educated, the gipsy could still pass muster, from being as well, or rather as ill, informed as many with whom the gentleman associated. the gipsy being alert, capable of playing many characters, often a good musician, an excellent player at games of hazard, famous at tale and repartee, clever at sleight of hand tricks, ready with his weapon, at least in the boast of it, apt at field and athletic sports, suspicious of everything and everybody around him, the whole energies of his mind given to, and his life spent in, circumventing and plundering those around him, while, in appearance, "living in peaceable and catholic manner," and "doing a lawful business," and having that thorough knowledge of men acquired by mixing with all classes, in every part of the country--he became even more than a match for the other, whose life was spent in occasional forays, field sports and revellings, with so little to engage his intellectual nature, from his limited education, the non-existence of books, and the forms of government and social institutions, with those beautifully complicated bearings and interests towards general society which the present age displays. at such a time, conversation must have been confined to the ordinary affairs of common life, the journal of much of which, beyond one's own immediate neighbourhood, would be found in the conversation of the accomplished gipsy, who had the tact of ingratiating himself, in a manner peculiar to himself, with all kinds of society, even sometimes the very best. and it is remarkable that, when the gipsies were persecuted, it was seldom, if ever, at the instance of private individuals, but almost always by those acting under authority. if they were persecuted by a private individual, they would naturally leave for another district, and place themselves, for a time, in the nominal position of a clansman to such barons as would be always ready to receive them. the people at large generally courted their friendship, for the amusement which they afforded them, and the various services which they rendered them, the most important of which was the safety of property which followed from such an acquaintance. that being the case even with people of influence, it may be judged what position the gipsies occupied towards the various classes downwards; the lowest of which they have always despised, and delighted to tyrannize over. in coming among them, the gipsies, from the first, exhibited ways of life and habits so dissimilar to those of the natives, and such tricks of legerdemain so peculiar to eastern nations, and such claims of seeing into the future, as to cause many to believe them in league with the evil one; a conclusion very easily arrived at, in the darkness in which all were wrapped. although the rabble of the gipsies is said to have presented, in point of accoutrements, a most lamentable appearance, that could much more have been said of the same class of the natives, then, and long after, if we judge of a highland "tail," of a little more than a century ago, as described by the author of waverly; or even of the most unwashed of what has been termed the "unwashed multitude" of to-day. in point of adaptability to their respective modes of life, the poorest of the gipsies far excelled the others. to carry out the character of pilgrims, the bulk of the gipsies would go very poorly dressed; it would only be the chiefs who would be well accoutred. but the gipsies that appear to the general eye have fallen much from what they were. the superior class of scottish gipsies, possessing the talents and policy necessary to accommodate themselves to the change of circumstances around them, have adopted the modes of ordinary life to such an extent, and so far given up their wandering habits, as to baffle any chance of discovery by any one unacquainted with their history, and who will not, like a bloodhound, follow them into the retreats in which they and their descendants are now to be found. such gipsies are still a restless race, and nourish that inveterate attachment to their blood and language which is peculiar to all of them. when we consider the change that has come over the face of society during the last hundred years, or even during a much shorter time, we will find many causes that have contributed to that which has come over the gipsy character in its more atrocious aspect. all classes of our own people, from the highest to the lowest, have experienced the change; and nowhere to a greater extent than in the highlands, where, in little more than a hundred years, a greater reformation has been effected, than took almost any other part of the world perhaps three centuries to accomplish; and where the people, as a body, have emerged, from a state of sanguinary barbarism, into the most lawful and the most moral and religious subjects of the british empire. the gipsies have likewise felt the change. even the wildest of them have had the more outrageous features of their character subdued; but it is sometimes as an animal of prey, sans teeth, sans claws, sans everything. officials, in the zeal of their callings, often greatly distress those that go about--compelling them, in their wanderings, to "move on;" and look after them so closely, that when they become obnoxious to the inhabitants, the offence has hardly occurred, ere, to use an expression, they are snapped up before they have had time to squeak. amid such a state of things, it is difficult for gipsies to flourish in their glory; still, such of them as go about in the olden form are deemed very annoying. the dread which has always been entertained toward the gipsies has been carefully fostered by them, and has become the principal means contributing to their toleration. they have always been combined in a brotherhood of sentiment and interest, even when deadly feuds existed among them; an injury toward one being generally taken up by others; and have presented that union of sympathy, and lawless violence toward the community, which show what a few audacious and desperate men, under such circumstances, will sometimes do in a well regulated society. sir walter scott, relative to the original of one of his heroines, says: "she was wont to say that she could bring, from the remotest parts of the island friends, to revenge her quarrel, while she sat motionless in her cottage; and frequently boasted that there was a time when she was of still more considerable importance, when there were at her wedding fifty saddled asses, and unsaddled asses without number." but of their various crimes, none have had such terrors for the grown-up person as those of fire-raising and child-stealing. the gipsy could easily steal into a well guarded but scattered premises, by night, and, in an instant, spread devastation around him, and irretrievable ruin to the rural inhabitant. but that which has, perhaps, contributed most to the feeling in question, has been their habit of child-stealing, the terrors of which have grown up with the people from infancy. this trait in the gipsy character has certainly not been so common, in latter times, as some others; still, it has taken place. as an instance, it may be mentioned that adam smith, the author of the great work called "an enquiry into the causes of the wealth of nations," was actually carried off by the gipsies, when a child, and was some hours in their possession before recovery. it is curious to think what might have been the political state of so many nations, and of great britain in particular, at the present time, if the father of political economy and free-trade, as he is generally called, had had to pass his life in a gipsy encampment, and, like a white transferred to an indian wigwam, under similar circumstances, acquired all their habits, and become more incorrigibly attached to them than the people themselves; tinkering kettles, pots, pans and old metal, in place of separating the ore of a beautiful science from the débris which had been for generations accumulating around it, and working it up into one of the noblest monuments of modern times. when a child will become unruly, the father will often say, in the most serious manner, "mother, that canna be our bairn--the tinklers must have taken ours, and left theirs--are you sure that this is ours? gie him back to the gipsies again, and get our ain." the other children will look as bewildered, while the subject of remark will instantly stop crying, and look around for sympathy; but meeting nothing but suspicion in the faces of all, will instinctively flee to its mother, who as instinctively clasps it to her bosom, quieting its terrors, as a mother only can, with the lullaby, "hush nae, hush nae, dinna fret ye; the black tinkler winna get ye."[ ] [ ] the gipsies frighten their children in the same manner, by saying that they will give them to the _gorgio_. and the result is, that it will remain a "good bairn" for a long time after. this feeling, drawn into the juvenile mind, as food enters into the growth of the body, acts like the influence of the stories of ghosts and hobgoblins, often so inconsiderately told to children, but differs from it in this respect, that what causes it is true, while its effects are always more or less permanent. it has had this effect upon our youth--in connection with the other habits of the people, so outlandish when compared with the ways of our own--that should they happen to go a little distance from home, on such expeditions as boys are given to, and fall in with a gipsy camp, a strange sensation of fear takes possession of them. the camp is generally found to be pitched in some little dell or nook, and so hidden from view as not to be noticed till the stranger is almost precipitated into its midst ere he is aware of it. what with the traditionary feeling toward the gipsies, and the motley assemblage of wild looking men, and perhaps still wilder looking women, ragged little urchins, ferocious looking dogs, prepared for an assault with an instinct drawn from the character of their masters, and the droll appearance of so many _cuddies_ (asses,) startled in their browsing--animals that generally appear singly, but, when driven by gipsies, come in battalions;--the boys, at first rivetted to the spot with terror, will slip away as quietly as possible till a little way off, and then run till they have either arrived at home, or come within the reach of a neighbourhood or people likely to protect them, although, it might be, the gipsies had not even noticed them.[ ] curiosity is so strong in our youth, in such cases, as often to induce them to return to the spot, after being satisfied that the gipsies have decamped for another district. they will then examine the débris of the encampment with a great degree of minuteness, wreaking their vengeance on what is left, by turning up with their feet the refuse of almost everything edible, particularly as regards the bones and feathers of fowl and game, and, if it happened to be near the sea, crab, limpet, and whelk shells, and heaps of tin clippings and horn scrapings. in after life, they will often think of and visit the scenes of such adventures. at other times, our youth, when rambling, will often make a detour of several miles, to avoid falling in with the dreaded gipsies. the report of gipsies being about acts as a salutary check upon the depredatory habits of the youth of our country towns on neighbouring crops; for, as the farmers make up their minds to lose something by the gipsies, at any rate, the wholesome dread they inspire, even in grown-up lads, is such as, by night especially, to scare away the thieves from those villages, whose plunderings are much greater, and more unwillingly submitted to, from the closeness of residence of the offenders; so that the arrival of the gipsies, in some places, is welcomed, at certain times of the year, as the lesser of two evils; and, to that extent, they have been termed the "farmers' friends." and if a little encouragement is given them--such as the matter of "dogs' payment," that is, what they can eat and drink, and a mouthful of something for the _cuddy_, for the first day after their arrival--the farmer can always enlist an admirable police, who will guard his property against others, with a degree of faithfulness that can hardly be surpassed. i heard of a scottish farmer, very lately, getting the gipsies to take up their quarters every year on the corner of a potato or turnip field, with the express purpose of using them, as half constables half scare-crows, against the common rogues of the neighbourhood. "now," said he to the principal gipsy, "i put you in charge of this property. if you want anything for yourselves, come to the barn." whatever might have been the experience of farmers near by, this farmer never missed anything while the gipsies were on his premises. [ ] as children, have we not, at some time, run affrighted from a gipsy?--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._ but a greater degree of awe is inspired by the females than the males of the gipsies. in their periodical wanderings, they will generally, with their fortune-telling, turn the heads of the country girls in matters of matrimony--setting them all agog on husbands; and render them, for the time, of but little use to their employers. in teaching them the "art of love," they will professedly so instruct them as to have as many lovers at once as their hearts can desire. but if a country girl, with her many admirers, has one to get quit of, who is "no' very weel faured, but a clever fellow," or another, who is "no' very bright in the upper story, but strapping enough to become the dish-clout," she will call in the assistance of the strolling gipsy; who, after carefully weighing the circumstances of the case, will sometimes, after ordinary means have failed, collect, unknown to her, a bucket full of everything odious about a dwelling, wait at the back door the return of the rustic adonis, and, ere he is aware, dash it full in his face; then fold her arms akimbo, and quietly remark, "that will cool your ears, and your courting too, my man!" such gipsy women are peculiarly dreaded by the males of our own people, who will much sooner encounter those of the other sex; for, however much some of them may be satisfied, in their cooler moments, that these gipsy women will not attempt what they will sometimes threaten, they generally deem them "unco uncanny," at any time, and will flee when swearing that they will _gut_ or _skin alive_ all who may have anything to say to them. to people unacquainted with the peculiarities of the gipsies, it may appear that this picture is overdrawn. but sir walter scott, who is universally allowed to be a true depicter of scottish life, in every form, says, in reference to the original of meg merrilies, in guy mannering: "i remember to have seen one of her grand-daughters; that is, as dr. johnson had a shadowy recollection of queen anne--a stately lady in black, adorned with diamonds; so my memory is haunted by a solemn remembrance of a woman, of more than female height, dressed in a long, red cloak, who commenced acquaintance by giving me an apple, but whom, nevertheless, i looked on with as much awe as the future doctor could look upon the queen." and he approvingly quotes another writer, as to her daughter, as follows: "every week, she paid my father a visit for her _awmons_, when i was a little boy, and i looked on her with no common degree of awe and terror." the same feeling, somewhat modified, i have heard expressed by germans, spaniards, and italians. in england, the people do not like to trouble the gipsies, owing to their being so "spiteful," as they express it. the feeling in question cannot well be realized by people reared in towns, who have, perhaps, never seen gipsies, or heard much about them; but it is different with youths brought up in the country. when the gipsies, in their peregrinations, will make their appearance at a farmer's house, especially if it is in the pastoral districts, and the farmer be a man of information and reflection, he will often treat them kindly, from the interest with which their singular history inspires him; and others, not unkindly, from other motives. the farmer's sons, who are young and hasty, probably but recently returned from a town, where they have been jeered at for their cowardice in being afraid to meddle with the gipsies, will show a disposition to use them roughly, on the cry arising in the house, that "the tinklers are coming." but the old father, cautious with the teachings of years gone by, will become alarmed at such symptoms, and, before the gipsies have approached the premises, will urge his children to treat them kindly. "be canny now, bairns--be canny; for any sake dinna anger them; gie them a' they want, and something more." with this, a good fat sheep will sometimes be killed, and the band regaled with _kail_, and its accompaniments; or, if they are very _nice gabbit_, it will be served up to them in a roasted form. thereafter, they will retire to the barn, and start in the morning on something better than an empty stomach. and yet it is singular that, if the gipsies are met in the streets of a town, or any considerably frequented place, people will, in passing them, edge off a little to the side, and look at them with a degree of interest, which, on ordinary occasions, the gipsies will but little notice. but if a person of respectable appearance will scrutinize them in an ominous way, they will observe it instantly; and, as a swell-mobsman, on being stared at by a detective, on the mere suspicion of his being such, generally turns the first cross street, and, in turning, anxiously looks after his enemy, who, after calculating the distance, has also turned to watch his movements, so the gipsy will become excited, soon turning round to watch the movements of the object of his dread; a fear that will be heightened if any of his band has been spoken to. and such is the masonic secrecy with which they keep their language, that should they at the time have rested on the road-side, and the stranger assume the most impressive tone, and say: "_sallah, jaw drom_"--(curse you, take the road), the effects upon them are at first bewildering, and followed by a feeling of some dire calamity that is about to befall them. when any of the poorest kind can be prevailed upon to express a candid sentiment, and be asked how they really do get on, they will reply, "it's only day and way we want, ye ken--what a farmer body ne'er can miss; foreby selling a spoon, and tinkering a kettle now and then." in viewing the effects of civilization upon a barbarous race, we are naturally led to confine our reflections to some of the instances in which the civilized race has carried its influence abroad to those beyond its pale, to the exclusion of those instances, from their infrequency of occurrence, in which the barbarous race, of its own accord or otherwise, has come within its circle. there are but two instances, in modern times, in which the latter has happened, and they are well worthy of our notice. the one is, the existence of the gipsies, in the very heart of civilization; the other, that of the africans in the various european settlements in the new world; and between these a short comparison may be instituted, although at the risk of it being deemed a digression. the forcible introduction of barbarous men into the colonies of civilized nations, in spite of the cruelties which many of them have undergone, has greatly improved their condition--their moral and intellectual nature--at the expense of the melancholy fact of it being advanced as a reason of justification for that sad anomaly in the history of our times. the african, it is admitted, was forcibly brought under the influence of the refinement, religion, and morals of the whites, whether as a domestic under the same roof, a field labourer, in the immediate vicinity of the master, or in some other way under his direct control and example. not only was he, as it were, forced to become what he is, but his obedient, light-hearted, and imitative nature, even under many bodily sufferings, instinctively led him to enter immediately into the spirit of a new life, presenting to his barbarous imagination, so destitute of everything above the grossest of animal wants and propensities, those wonderfully incessant and complicated employments of a being, appearing to him as almost a god, when compared with his own savage and unsophisticated nature. the importations comprised negroes of many dialects, which were distributed on arrival in every direction. a large proportion would live singly with the poorer classes of the colonists, as domestics; two or three would be the limited number with many others, and the remainder would be disposed of, in larger or smaller numbers, for the various services necessary in civilized life. single domestics would be under the necessity of learning the language of the master; and, having none speaking their own dialect to commune with, or only occasionally meeting such, momentarily, they would soon forget it. when several of different dialects lived together, they would naturally follow the same course, to communicate with each other. all these circumstances, with the frequent changes of masters and companions, and the general influence which the whites exercised so supremely over them, have had the effect of almost erasing every trace of the language, customs, and superstitions of africa, in parts of the united states of america, in little more than one generation. the same may especially be said of what pertains to the religious; for a race of men, in a state of nature, or but slightly civilized, depending for such instruction on the adjunct of a superior grade, in the person of a priest, would, on being deprived of such, soon lose recollection of what had been taught them. such an instance as to language, and, i understand, to a great extent as to religion, is to be found in st. domingo; french and spanish being spoken in the parts of that island which belonged to these countries respectively. still, such traces are to be found in cuba; but, were importations of africans into that island to cease, the same result would, in course of time, follow. from such causes as those stated, the negroes in the united states have, to a very great extent, nay, as far as their advantages and opportunities have gone, altogether, acquired the ways of civilized life, and adopted the morals and religion of the white race; and their history compares favourably with that of a portion of the gipsy race, which, being unique, and apparently incomprehensible, i will institute a short enquiry into some of the causes of it. while the language and common origin of the gipsies hold them together as a body, their mode of life has taken such a hold on the innate nature of the representative part of them, as to render it difficult to wean them from it. like the north american indians, they have been incapable of being reduced to a state of servitude;[ ] and, in their own peculiar way, have been as much attached to a life of unrestricted freedom of movement. being an oriental people, they have displayed the uniformity of attachment to habit, that has characterized the people of that part of the world. like the maidens of syria, wearing to-day the identical kind of veil with which rebecca covered herself when she met isaac, they have, with few exceptions, adhered to all that originally distinguished them from those among whom they are found. in entering europe, they would meet with few customs which they would willingly adopt in preference to their own. their chiefs, being men of ambition, and fond of a distinguished position in the tribe, would influence the body to remain aloof from the people at large; and society being divided between the nobles and their various grades of dependents, and the restrained inhabitants of towns, with what part of the population could the gipsies have been incorporated? with the lowest classes only, and become little better than serfs--a state to which it was almost impossible for a gipsy to submit. his habits rendered him unfit to till the soil; the close and arbitrary laws of municipalities would debar him from exercising almost any mechanical trade, in a way suitable to his disposition; and, no matter what might have been his natural propensities, he had almost no alternative left him but to wander, peddle, tinker, tell fortunes, and "find things that nobody ever lost." his natural disposition was to rove, and partake of whatever he took a liking to; nothing coming so acceptably and so sweetly to him, as when it required an exercise of ingenuity, and sometimes a degree of danger, in its acquisition, and caused a corresponding chagrin to him from whom it was taken, without affording him any trace of the purloiner. he must also enjoy the sports of the river and lake, the field, hill and forest, and the pleasure of his meal, cooked after his own fashion, in some quiet spot, where he would pitch his tent, and quench his thirst at his favourite springs. then followed the persecution of his race; both by law and society it was declared outcast, although, by a large part of the latter, it was, from selfish motives, tolerated, and, in a measure, courted. the gipsy's mode of life; his predatory habits; his vindictive disposition toward his enemies; his presumptuous bearing toward the lower classes, who had purchased his friendship and protection; his astuteness in doubling upon and escaping his pursuers; his audacity, under various disguises and pretences, in bearding justice, and the triumphant manner in which he would generally escape its toils; his utter destitution of religious opinions, or sentiments; his being a foreigner of such strongly marked appearance, under the legal and social ban of proscription; and the hereditary name which has, in consequence, attached to his race, have created those broad and deep-drawn lines of isolation, fear and antipathy, which, in the popular mind, have separated him from other men. to escape from the dreadful prejudice that is, in consequence, entertained toward his race, the gipsy will, if it be possible, hide the fact of his being a gipsy; and more especially when he enters upon settled life, and mixes with his fellow-men in the world. [ ] there is an exception, however, to this rule in the danubian principalities, to which i will again refer. in the general history of europe, we can find nothing to illustrate that of the gipsies. but if we take a glance at the history of the new world, we will find, in a mild and harmless form, something that bears a slight resemblance to it. in various parts of the eastern division of north america are to be found remnants of tribes of indians, living in the hearts of the settlements, on reserves of lands granted to them for their support; a race bearing somewhat the same resemblance to the european settlers that the gipsies, with their dark complexion, and long, coarse, black hair, seem to have borne to the natives of europe. few of these indians, although in a manner civilized, and professing the christian religion, and possessing houses, schools and churches, have betaken, or, if they support their numbers, will ever betake, themselves to the ways of the other inhabitants. they will engage in many things to make a living, and a bare living; in that respect very much resembling some of the gipsies. they will often leave their home, and build their wigwams whenever and wherever they have a mind, and indulge in the pleasures of hunting and laziness; and often make numerous small wares for sale, with the proceeds of which, and of the timber growing on their lots of land, they will manage to pass their lives in little better than sloth, often accompanied by drunkenness. if it prove otherwise, it is generally from the indian, or rather half or quarter breed, having been wholly or partly reared with whites, or otherwise brought up under their immediate influence; or from the ambition of their chiefs to raise themselves in the estimation of the white race, leading, from the influence which they possess, to some of the lower grades of the tribes following their example. it may be that the "poor indian" has voluntarily exiled himself, in a fit of melancholy, from the wreck of his patrimony, to make a miserable shift for himself elsewhere, as he best may. in this respect the resemblance fails: that the indian in america is aboriginal, the gipsy in europe foreign, to the soil; but both are characterized by a nature that renders them almost impervious to voluntary change. in this they resemble each other: that they are left to live by themselves, and transmit to their descendants their respective languages, and such of their habits as the change in their outward circumstances will permit. but in this they differ: that these indians really do die out, while the gipsies are very prolific, and become invigorated by a mixture of the white blood; under the cover of which they gradually leave the tent, and become scattered over and through society, enter into the various pursuits common to the ordinary natives, and become lost to the observation of the rest of the population. the peculiar feeling that is entertained for what is popularly understood to be a gipsy, differs from that which is displayed toward the negro, in that it attaches to his traditional character and mode of life alone. the general prejudice against the negro is, to a certain extent, natural, and what any one can realize. if the european has a difficulty in appreciating the feeling which is exhibited by americans against the african, in their general intercourse of daily life, few americans can realize the feeling which is entertained toward the tented gipsy. should such a gipsy be permitted to enter the dwelling of a native, the most he will let him come in contact with will be the chair he will give him to sit on, and the dish and spoon out of which he will feed him, all of which can again be cleaned. his guest will never weary his patience, owing to the embodiment of restlessness which characterizes his race; nor will his feelings ever be tried by his asking him for a bed, for what the herb commonly called catnip is to the animal somewhat corresponding to that word, a bundle of straw in an out-house is to the tented gipsy. introduction. the new era which the series of splendid works, called the waverly novels, created in literature, produced, among other effects, that of directing attention to that singular anomaly in civilization--the existence of a race of men scattered over the world, and known, wherever the english language is spoken, as gipsies; a class as distinct, in some respects, from the people among whom they live, as the jews at the present day. the first of the series in which their singular characters, habits, and modes of life were illustrated, was that of guy mannering; proving one of the few happy instances in which a work of fiction has been found to serve the end of specially stirring up the feelings of the human mind, in its various phases, toward a subject with which it has a common sympathy. the peasant and the farmer at once felt attracted by it, from the dread of personal danger which they had always entertained for the race, and the uncertainty under which they had lived, for the safety of their property from fire and robbery, and the desire which they had invariably shown to propitiate them by the payment of a species of blackmail, under the form of kind treatment, and a manner of hospitality when occasion called for it. the work at the same time struck a chord in the religious and humane sentiments of others, and the result, but a very tardily manifested one, was the springing up of associations for their reformation; with comparatively little success, however, for it was found, as a general thing, that while some of the race allowed their children, very indifferently, even precariously, to attend school, yet to cure them of their naturally wandering and other peculiar dispositions, was nearly as hopeless as the converting of the american indians to some of the ways of civilized life. that general class was also interested, which consist of the more or less educated, moral, or refined, to whom anything exciting comes with relish. to the historical student, the subject was fraught with matter for curious investigation, owing to the race having been ignored, for a length of time, as being in no respect different from a class to be found in all countries; and, whatever their origin, as having had their nationality extinguished in that general process which has been found to level every distinction of race in our country. the antiquary and philologist, in their respective pursuits, found also a sphere which they were unlikely to leave unexplored, considering that they are often so untiring in their researches in such matters as sometimes to draw upon themselves a smile from the rest of mankind: and while the latter was thinking that he had exhausted the languages of his native land, and was contemplating others elsewhere, he struck accidentally upon a mine under his feet, and at once turned up a specimen of virgin ore; coming all the more acceptably to him, from those in possession of it keeping it as secret as if their existence depended on its being concealed from others around them. all, indeed, but especially those brought up in rural places, knew from childhood more or less of the gipsies, and dreaded them by day or night, in frequented or in lonely places, knowing well that, if insulted, they would threaten vengeance, if they could not execute it then; which they in no way doubted, with the terror of doomed men. among others, i felt interested in the subject, from having been brought up in the pastoral district of tweed-dale, the resort of many gipsies, who were treated with great favour by the inhabitants, for many reasons, the most important of which were the desire of securing their good-will, for their own benefit, and the use which they were to them in selling them articles in request, and the various mechanical turns which they possessed; and often from the natural generosity of people so circumstanced. my curiosity was excited, and having various sources of information at command, i proceeded to write a few short articles for blackwood's magazine, which were well received, as the following letters from mr. william blackwood will show: "i now send a proof of no. gipsy article. i hope you are pleased, and will return it with your corrections on monday or tuesday. we shall be glad to hear you are going on with the continuation, for i assure you your former article has been as popular as anything almost we ever had in the magazine." again, "your magazine was sent this morning by the coach, but i had not time to write you last night. mr. walter scott is quite delighted with the gipsies." again, "i am this moment favoured with your interesting packet. your gipsies, from the slight glance i have given them, seem to be as amusing as ever." and again, "it was not in my power to get your number sent off. it is a very interesting one. you will be much pleased with mr. scott's little article on buckhaven, in which he pays you some very just compliments."[ ] [ ] the following is the article alluded to: "the following enquiries are addressed to the author of the gipsies in fife, being suggested by the research and industry which he has displayed in collecting memorials of that vagrant race. they relate to a class of persons who, distinguished for honest industry in a laborious and dangerous calling, have only this in common with the egyptian tribes, that they are not originally native of the country which they inhabit, and are supposed still to exhibit traces of a foreign origin. . . . . i mean the colony of fishermen in the village of buckhaven, in fife. . . . . . "i make no apology to your respectable correspondent for engaging him in so troublesome a research. the local antiquary, of all others, ought, in the zeal of his calling, to feel the force of what spencer wrote and burke quoted: 'love esteems no office mean.'--'entire affection scorneth nicer hands.' the curious collector who seeks for ancient reliques among the ruins of ancient rome, often pays for permission to trench or dig over some particular piece of ground, in hopes to discover some remnant of antiquity. sometimes he gets only his labour, and the ridicule of having wasted it, to pay for his pains; sometimes he finds but old bricks and shattered pot-sherds; but sometimes also his toil is rewarded by a valuable medal, cameo, bronze, or statue. and upon the same principle it is, by investigating and comparing popular customs, often trivial and foolish in themselves, that we often arrive at the means of establishing curious and material facts in history." this extract is given for the benefit of the latter part of it, which applies admirably to the present subject; yet falls as much short of it as the interest in the history of an egyptian mummy falls short of that of a living and universally scattered race, that appears a riddle to our comprehension. at the same time i was much encouraged, by the author of guy mannering, to prosecute my enquiries, by receiving several communications from him, and conversing with him at abbotsford, on the subject. i received a letter from sir walter, in which he says: "this letter has been by me many weeks, waiting for a frank, and besides, our mutual friend, mr. laidlaw, under whose charge my agricultural operations are now proceeding in great style, gave me some hope of seeing you in this part of the country. i should like much to have asked you some questions about the gipsies, and particularly that great mystery--their language. i cannot determine, in my own mind, whether it is likely to prove really a corrupt eastern dialect, or whether it has degenerated into mere jargon." about the same time i received the following letter from mr. william laidlaw, the particular friend of sir walter scott, and manager of his estate at abbotsford, as mentioned in the foregoing letter; the author of "lucy's flittin," and a contributor to blackwood: "i was very seriously disappointed at not seeing you when you were in this (part of the) country, and so was no less a person than the mighty minstrel himself. he charged me to let him know whenever you arrived, for he was very anxious to see you. what would it be to you to take the coach, and three days before you, and again see your father and mother, come here on an evening, and call on mr. scott next day? we would then get you full information upon the science of defence in all its departments. quarterstaff is now little practised; but it was a sort of legerdemain way of fighting that i never had _muckle broo of_, although i know somewhat of the method. it was a most unfortunate and stupid trick of the man to blow you up with your kittle acquaintances. i hope they will forgive and forget. i am very much interested about the language (gipsy). mr. scott has repeatedly said, that whatever you hear or see, you should _never let on to naebody_, no doubt excepting himself. be sure and come well provided with specimens of the vocables, as he says he might perhaps have it in his power to assist you in your enquiries." shortly after this, sir walter wrote me as follows: "the inclosed letter has long been written. i only now send it to show that i have not been ungrateful, though late in expressing my thanks. the progress you have been able to make in the gipsy language is most extremely interesting. my acquaintance with most european languages, and with slang words and expressions, enables me to say positively, that the gipsy words you have collected have no reference to either, with the exception of three or four.[ ] i have little doubt, from the sound and appearance, that they are oriental, probably hindostanee. when i go to edinburgh, i shall endeavour to find a copy of grellmann, to compare the language of the german gipsies with that of the scottish tribes. as you have already done so much, i pray you to proceed in your enquiries, but by no means to make anything public, as it might spread a premature alarm, and obstruct your future enquiries. it would be important to get the same words from different individuals; and in order to verify the collection, i would recommend you to set down the names of the persons by whom they were communicated. it would be important to know whether they have a real language, with the usual parts of speech, or whether they have a collection of nouns, combined by our own language. i suspect the former to be the case, from the specimens i have had. i should like much to see the article you proposed for the magazine. i am not squeamish about delicacies, where knowledge is to be sifted out and acquired. i like ebony's[ ] idea of a history of the gipsies very much, and i wish you would undertake it. i gave all my scraps to the magazine at its commencement, but i think myself entitled to say that you are welcome to the use of them, should you choose to incorporate them into such a work. do not be in too great a hurry, but get as many materials as you can."[ ] [ ] i sent him a specimen of forty-six words. [many words used in scotland, in every day life, are evidently derived from the gipsy, owing, doubtless, to the singularity of the people who have used them, or the happy peculiarity of circumstances under which they have been uttered; the original cause of such passing current in a language, no less than that degree of personal authority which sometimes occasions them to be adopted. _randy_, a disreputable word for a bold, scolding, and not over nicely worded woman, is evidently derived from the gipsy _raunie_, the chief of a tribe of viragos; so that the exceptions spoken of are as likely to have been derived from the gipsy as _vice versa_.--ed.] [ ] the name by which mr. blackwood was known in the celebrated chaldee manuscript, published in his magazine. [ ] previous to this, mr. blackwood wrote me as follows: "i received your packet some days ago, and immediately gave it to the editor. he desires me to say that your no. , though very curious, would not answer, from the nature of the details, to be printed in the magazine. in a regular history of the gipsies, they would, of course, find a place." this was what suggested the idea of the present work. and again as follows: "an authentic list of gipsy words, as used in scotland, especially if in such numbers as may afford any reasonable or probable conjecture as to the structure of the language, is a desideratum in scottish literature which would be very acceptable to the philologist, as well as an addition to general history. i am not aware that any such exists, though there is a german publication on the subject, which it would be very necessary to consult.[ ] that the language exists, i have no doubt, though i should rather think the number to which it is known is somewhat exaggerated. i need not point out to you the difference between the _cant_ language, or _slang_, used by thieves or flash men in general, and the peculiar dialect said to be spoken by the gipsies.[ ] the difference ought to be very carefully noticed, to ascertain what sort of language they exactly talk; whether it is an original tongue, having its own mode of construction, or a speech made up of cant expressions, having an english or scotch ground-work, and only patched up so as to be unintelligible to the common hearer. there is nothing else occurs to me by which i can be of service to your enquiry. my own opinion leads me to think that the gipsies have a distinct and proper language, but i do not consider it is extensive enough to form any settled conclusion. if there occur any facts which i can be supposed to know, on which you desire information, i will be willing to give them, in illustration of so curious an enquiry. i have found them, in general, civil and amenable to reason; i must, nevertheless, add that they are vindictive, and that, as the knowledge of their language is the secret which their habits and ignorance make them tenacious of, i think your researches, unless conducted with great prudence, may possibly expose you to personal danger. for the same reason, you ought to complete all the information you can collect, before alarming them by a premature publication, as, after you have published, there will be great obstructions to future communications on the subject." [ ] grellmann. i am not aware that he ever compared the words i sent him with those in this publication, as he wrote he would do, in the previous letter quoted. [ ] throughout the whole of his works there does not appear, i believe, a single word of the proper scottish gipsy; although slang and cant expressions are to be found in considerable numbers. [some of these are of gipsy extraction.--ed.] from what has been said, it will be seen that the following investigation has had quite a different object than a description of the manners and habits of the common vagrants of the country; for no possible entertainment could have been derived from such an undignified undertaking. and yet many of our youth, although otherwise well informed, have never made this distinction; owing, no doubt, to the encreased attention which those in power have, in late years, bestowed on the internal affairs of the country, and the unseen, but no less surely felt, pressure of the advancement of the general mass, and especially of the lower classes of the community, forcing many of these people into positions beyond the observation of those unacquainted with their language and traits of character. when it is, therefore, considered, that the body treated of, is originally an exotic, comprising, i am satisfied, no less than five thousand souls in scotland,[ ] speaking an original and peculiar language, which is mysteriously used among themselves with great secrecy, and differing so widely from the ordinary natives of the soil, it may well claim some little portion of public attention. a further importance attaches to the subject, when it is considered that a proportionate number is to be found in the other divisions of the british isles, and large hordes in all parts of europe, and more or less in every other part of the world; in all places speaking the same language, with only a slight difference in dialect, and manifesting the same peculiarities. in using the language of dr. bright, it may be said, that the circumstance is the most singular phenomenon in the history of man; much more striking, indeed, than that of the jews. for the jews have been favoured with the most splendid antecedents; a common parentage; a common history; a special and exclusive revelation; a deeply rooted religious prejudice, and antipathy; a common persecution; and whatever might appear necessary to preserve their identity in the world, excepting an isolated territorial and political existence.[ ] the gipsies, on the other hand, have had none of these advantages. but it is certain that the leaders of their bands, in addition to their piteous representations, must have had something striking about them, to recommend them to the favourable notice which they seem to have met with, at the hands of some of the sovereigns of europe, when they made their appearance there, and spread over its surface. still, their assumptions might, and in all probability did, rest merely upon an amount of general superiority of character, of a particular kind, without even the first elements of education, which in that age would amount to something; a leading feature of character which their chiefs have ever since maintained; and yet, although everything has been left by them to tradition, the gipsies speak their language much better than the jews. [ ] there cannot be less then , gipsies in scotland. see disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. [ ] the following is a description of the jews, throughout the world, as given by them, in their letters to voltaire: "a jew in london bears as little resemblance to a jew at constantinople, as this last resembles a chinese mandarin! a portuguese jew, of bordeaux, and a german jew, of metz, appear two beings of a different nature! it is, therefore, impossible to speak of the manners of the jews in general, without entering into a very long detail, and into particular distinctions. the jew is a chamelion, that assumes all the colours of the different climates he inhabits, of the different people he frequents, and of the different governments under which he lives." these words are much more applicable to the gipsy tribe, in consequence of their drawing into their body the blood of other people.--ed. gipsies and jews have many things in common. they are both strangers and sojourners, in a sense, wherever they are to be found; "dwelling in tents," the one literally, the other figuratively. they have each undergone many bloody persecutions; the one for his stubborn blindness to the advent of the messiah, the other for being a heathen, and worse than a heathen--for being nothing at all, but linked with the evil one, in all manner of witchcraft and sin. each race has had many crimes brought against it; the gipsy, those of a positive, and the jew, those of a constructive and arbitrary nature. but in these respects they differ: the jew has been known and famed for doing almost anything for money; and the gipsy for the mere gratification of his most innate nature--that of appropriating to himself, when he needs it, that which is claimed by any out of the circle of his consanguinity. the one's soul is given to accumulating, and, if it is in his power, he becomes rich; the other more commonly aims at securing what meets his ordinary wants, and, perhaps, some little thing additional; or, if he prove otherwise, he liberally spends what he acquires. the gipsy is humane to a stranger, when he has been rightly appealed to; but when that circumstance is wanting, he will never hesitate to rob him, unless when he stands indebted to him, or, it may be, his immediate relations, for previous acts of kindness. to indulge his hatred towards an enemy, a jew will oppress him, if he is his debtor, "exacting his bond;" or if he is not his debtor, he will often endeavour to get him to become such, with the same motive; or it may be, if his enemy stands in need of accommodation, he will not supply his wants; at other times, if he is poor, he will ostentatiously make a display of his wealth, to spite him; and, in carrying out his vengeance, will sometimes display the malignity, barring, perhaps, the shedding of blood, of almost every other race combined. in such a case, a gipsy will rob, burn, maltreat, maim, carry off a child, and sometimes murder, but not often the two last at the present day.[ ] the two races are to be found side by side, in countries characterized by almost every degree of climate and stage of civilization, each displaying its peculiar type of feature, but differing in this respect, that the gipsies readily adopt others into their tribe, at such a tender age as to secure an infallible attachment to their race and habits. this circumstance has produced, in many instances, a change in the colour of the hair and eyes of the descendants of those adopted. in some such cases, it requires an intimate knowledge of the body, to detect the peculiarity common to all, and especially in those who have conformed to the ways of the other inhabitants. in this they agree--that they despise and hate, and are despised and hated by, those among whom they live. but in this they differ--that the jew entered europe, as it were, singly and by stealth, pursuing pretty much the avocations he yet follows; but the gipsies, in bands, and openly, although they were forced to betake themselves to places of retreat, and break up into smaller bands. it is true that the jew was driven from his home eighteen centuries ago, and that it is not yet five since the gipsy appeared in europe. we know who the jew is, and something of the providence and circumstances under which he suffers, and what future awaits him; but who is this singular and unfortunate exile, whose origin and cause of banishment none can comprehend--who is this wandering gipsy? [ ] this, i need hardly say, is a description of what may be called a _wild_ gipsy.--ed. after the receipt of the second of sir walter scott's letters, already alluded to, i discontinued the few short articles i had written for blackwood, on the fifeshire gipsies; but i have incorporated the most interesting part of them into the work, forming, however, only a small part of the whole. since it was written, i have seen mr. borrow on the gipsies in spain, and the short report of the rev. mr. baird, to the scottish church society; the latter printed in , and the former in . the _gitanos_ in spain and the _tinklers_ in scotland are, in almost every particular, the same people, while the yetholm gipsy words in mr. baird's report and those collected by me, for the most part, between the years and , are word for word the same. in submitting this work to the public, i deem it necessary to say a word or two as to the authorities upon which the facts contained in it rest. my authorities for those under the heads of fife and linlithgowshire gipsies, were aged and creditable persons, who had been eye-witnesses to the greater part of the transactions; in some cases, the particulars were quite current in their time. the details under the head of gipsies who frequented tweed-dale, ettrick forest, annandale, and the upper ward of lanarkshire, were chiefly derived from the memories of some of my relatives, and other individuals of credit, who had many opportunities of observing the manners of these wanderers, in the south of scotland, the greater number being confirmed by the gipsies, on being interrogated. the particulars under the head of the ceremonies of marriage and divorce, and the sacrifice of horses, were related by gipsies, and confirmed by other undoubted testimony, as will appear in detail. almost every recent occurrence and matter relative to the present condition, employment, and number of the body, is the result of my own personal enquiries and observations, while the whole specimens of the language, and the facts immediately connected therewith, were written down, with my own hand, from the mouths of the gipsies themselves, and confirmed, at intervals, by others. indeed, my chief object has been to produce facts from an original source, in scotland, as far as respects manners, customs, and language, for the purpose of ascertaining the origin of this mysterious race, and the country from which they have migrated; and the result, to my mind, is a complete confirmation of grellmann, hoyland, and bright, that they are from hindostan. in writing the history of any barbarous race, if history it can be called, the field for our observation must necessarily be very limited. this may especially be said of a people like the gipsies; for, having, as a people, neither literature, records, nor education,[ ] all that can be drawn together of their history, from themselves, must be confined to that of the present, or of such time as the freshness of their tradition may suffice to illustrate; unless it be a few precarious notices of them, that may have been elicited from their having come, it may be, in violent contact with their civilized neighbours around them. in attempting such a work, in connection with so singular a people, the difficulties in the way of succeeding in it are extraordinarily great, as the reader may have perceived, from what has already been written, and as the "blowing up," alluded to in mr. laidlaw's letter, will illustrate, and which was as follows: [ ] there are, comparatively speaking, few gipsies in scotland that have not some education, in common with the ordinary natives of the soil; but the same cannot be said of england.--ed. i had obtained some of the gipsy language from a principal family of the tribe, on condition of not publishing names, or place of residence; and, at many miles' distance, i had also obtained some particulars relative to the customs and manners of the race, from a highly respectable farmer, in the south of scotland. at his farm, the family alluded to always took up their quarters, in their periodical journeys through the country. the farmer, without ever thinking of the consequences, told them that i was collecting materials for a publication on the tinklers, in scotland, and that everything relative to their tribe would be given to the world. the aged chief of the family was thrown into the greatest distress, at the idea of the name and residence of himself and family being made public. i received a letter from the family, deeply lamenting that they had ever communicated a word to me relative to their language, and stating that the old man was like to break his heart, at his own imprudence, being in agony at the thought of his language being published to the world. i assured them, however, that they had no cause for fear, as i had never so much as mentioned their names to their friend, the farmer, and that i would strictly adhere to the promise i had given them. this was one of the many instances in which i was obstructed in my labours, for, however cautious i might personally be, others, who became in some way or other acquainted with my object, were, from inconsiderate meddling, the cause of many difficulties being thrown in my way, and the consequent loss of much interesting information. but for this unfortunate circumstance, i am sanguine, from the method i took in managing the gipsies, i would have been able to collect songs, and sentences of their language, and much more information than what has been procured, at whatever value the reader may estimate that; for the gipsies are always more or less in communication with each other, in their various divisions of the country, especially when threatened with anything deemed dangerous, which they circulate among themselves with astonishing celerity. professor wilson, in a poetical notice of blackwood's magazine, writes: "few things more sweetly vary civil life than a barbarian, savage tinkler tale; our friend, who on the gipsies writes in fife, we verily believe promotes our sale." and, in revising his works, in , sir walter scott, in a note to quentin durward, says, relative to the present work: "it is natural to suppose, the band, (gipsy), as it now exists, is much mingled with europeans; but most of these have been brought up from childhood among them, and learned all their practices. . . . when they are in closest contact with the ordinary peasants around them, they still keep their language a mystery. there is little doubt, however, that it is a dialect of the hindostanee, from the specimens produced by grellmann, hoyland, and others who have written on the subject. but the author, (continues sir walter,) has, besides their authority, personal occasion to know, that an individual, out of mere curiosity, and availing himself, with patience and assiduity, of such opportunities as offered, has made himself capable of conversing with any gipsy whom he meets, or can, like the royal hal, drink with any tinker, in his own language.[ ] the astonishment excited among these vagrants, on finding a stranger participant of their mystery, occasions very ludicrous scenes. it is to be hoped this gentleman will publish the knowledge he possesses on so singular a topic. there are prudential reasons for postponing this disclosure at present, for, although much more reconciled to society since they have been less the objects of legal persecution, the gipsies are still a ferocious and vindictive people."[ ] [ ] allowance must be made for the enthusiasm of the novelist. [ ] abbotsford, st dec., . chapter i. continental gipsies. before giving an account of the gipsies in scotland, i shall, by way of introduction, briefly notice the periods of time at which they were observed in the different states on the continent of europe, and point out the different periods at which their governments found it necessary to expel them from their respective territories. i shall also add a few facts illustrative of the manners of the continental tribes, for the purpose of showing that those in scotland, england, and ireland, are all branches of the same stock. i shall, likewise, add a few facts illustrative of the tribe who found their way into england. i am indebted for my information on the early history of the continental gipsies, chiefly to the works of grellmann, hoyland and bright. it appears that none of these wanderers had been seen in christendom before the year .[ ] but, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, this people first attracted notice, and, within a few years after their arrival, had spread themselves over the whole continent. the earliest mention which is made of them, was in the years and , when they were observed in germany. in , they were found in switzerland; in , in italy; in , they are mentioned as being in the neighbourhood of paris; and about the same time, in spain.[ ] [ ] sir thomas brown's vulgar errors. [ ] bright's travels in hungary. they seem to have received various appellations. in france, they were called _bohemians_; in holland, _heydens_--heathens; in some parts of germany, and in sweden and denmark, they were thought to be _tartars_; but over germany, in general, they were called _zigeuners_, a word which means wanderers up and down. in portugal, they received the name of _siganos_; in spain, _gitanos_; and in italy, _cingari_. they were also called in italy, hungary, and germany, _tziganys_; and in transylvania, _cyganis_. among the turks, and other eastern nations, they were denominated _tschingenes_; but the moors and arabians applied to them, perhaps, the most just appellation of any--_charami_, robbers.[ ] [ ] hoyland's historical survey of the gipsies. "when they arrived at paris, th august, , nearly all of them had their ears bored, with one or two silver rings in each, which, they said, were esteemed ornaments in their country. the men were black, their hair curled; the women remarkably black, and all their faces scarred."[ ] dr. hurd, in his account of the different religions of the world, says, that the hair of these men was "frizzled," and that some of the women were witches, and "had hair like a horse's tail." it is, i think, to be inferred from this passage, that the men had designedly curled their hair, and that the hair of the females was long and coarse--not the short, woolly hair of the african. i have, myself, seen english female gipsies with hair as long, coarse, and thick as a black horse's tail. [ ] ibid. "at the time of the first appearance of the gipsies, no certain information seems to have been obtained as to the country from which they came. it is, however, supposed that they entered europe in the south-east, probably through transylvania. at first, they represented themselves as egyptian pilgrims, and, under that character, obtained considerable respect during half a century; being favoured by different potentates with passports, and letters of security. gradually, however, they really became, or were fancied, troublesome, and italy, sweden, denmark and germany, successively attempted their expulsion, in the sixteenth century."[ ] [ ] bright. with the exception of hungary and transylvania, it is believed that every state in europe attempted either their expulsion or extermination; but, notwithstanding the dreadful severity of the numerous laws and edicts promulgated against them, they remained in every part of europe, in defiance of every effort made by their respective governments to get rid of their unwelcome guests. "german writers say that king ferdinand of spain, who esteemed it a good work to expatriate useful and profitable subjects--jews, and even moorish families--could much less be guilty of an impropriety, in laying hands on the mischievous progeny of gipsies. the edict for their extermination was published in the year . but, instead of passing the boundaries, they only slunk into hiding places, and shortly after appeared in as great numbers as before. the emperor, charles v, persecuted them afresh; as did philip ii. since that time, they nestled in again, and were threatened with another storm, but it blew over without taking effect. "in france, francis i passed an edict for their expulsion, and at the assembly of the states of orleans, in , all governors of cities received orders to drive them out with fire and sword. nevertheless, in process of time, they collected again, and encreased to such a degree that, in , a new order came out for their extermination. in the year , they were compelled to retire from the territories of milan and parma; and, at a period somewhat earlier, they were chased beyond the venetian jurisdiction. "they were not allowed the privilege of remaining in denmark, as the code of danish law specifies: 'the tartar gipsies, who wander about everywhere, doing great damage to the people, by their lies, thefts and witchcraft, shall be taken into custody by every magistrate.' sweden was not more favourable, having attacked them at three different times. a very sharp order for their expulsion came out in . the diet of published a second; and that of repeated the foregoing, with additional severity. "they were excluded from the netherlands, under the pain of death, by charles v, and afterwards, by the united states, in . but the greatest number of sentences of exile have been pronounced against them in germany. the beginning was made under maximilian i, at the augsburg diet, in ; and the same business occupied the attention of the diet in , , , and ; and was also again enforced, in the improved police regulations of frankfort, in ."[ ] the germans entertained the notion that the gipsies were spies for the turks. they were not allowed to pass through, remain, or trade within the empire. they were ordered to quit entirely the german dominions, by a certain day, and whoever injured them, after that period, was considered to have committed no crime. [ ] hoyland. "but a general extermination never did happen, for the law banishing them passed in one state before it was thought of in the next, or when a like order had long become obsolete, and sunk into oblivion. these undesirable guests were, therefore, merely compelled to shift their quarters to an adjoining state, where they remained till the government began to clear them away, upon which the fugitives either retired whence they came, or went on progressively to a third place--thus making a continual circle."[ ] [ ] grellmann. that almost the whole of christendom had been so provoked by the conduct of the gipsies as to have attempted their expulsion, or rather their extermination, merely because they were jugglers, fortune-tellers, astrologers, warlocks, witches and impostors, is a thing not for a moment to be supposed. i am inclined to believe that the true cause of the promulgation of the excessively sanguinary laws and edicts, for the extermination of the whole gipsy nation in europe, must be looked for in much more serious crimes than those mentioned; and that these greater offences can be no other than theft and robbery, and living upon the inhabitants of the countries through which they travelled, at free quarters, or what we, in scotland, call sorning.[ ] but, on the other hand, i am convinced that the gipsies have committed few murders on individuals _out_ of their own tribe. as far as our authorities go, the general character of these people seems to have been the same, wherever they have made their appearance on the face of the earth; and the chief and leading feature of that extraordinary character appears to me to have been, in general, an hereditary propensity to theft and robbery, in men, women and children. [ ] dr. hurd says, at page , "our over credulous ancestors vainly imagined that those gipsies or bohemians were so many spies for the turks; and that, in order to expiate the crimes which they had committed in their own country, they were condemned to steal from and rob the christians." [living at free quarters by force, or masterful begging, or "sorning," is surely a trifling, though troublesome, offence for the original condition of a wandering tribe, which has so progressed as, at the present day, to fill some of the first positions in scotland.--ed.] in whatever country we find the gipsies, their manners, habits, and cast of features are uniformly the same. their occupations are in every respect the same. they were, on the continent, horse-dealers, innkeepers, workers in iron, musicians, astrologers, jugglers, and fortune-tellers by palmistry. they are also accused of cheating, lying, and witchcraft, and, in general, charged with being thieves and robbers. they roam up and down the country, without any fixed habitations, living in tents, and hawking small trifles of merchandise for the use of the people among whom they travel. the whole race were great frequenters of fairs. they seldom formed matrimonial alliances out of their own tribe.[ ] it will be seen, in another part of this work, that the language of the continental gipsies is the same as that of those in scotland, england and ireland. as to the religious opinions of the continental gipsies, they appear to have had none at all. it is said they were "worse than heathens." "it is, in reality," says twiss, "almost absurd to talk of the religion of this set of people, whose moral characters are so depraved as to make it evident they believe in nothing capable of being a check to their passions." "indeed," adds hoyland, "it is asserted that no gipsy has any idea of submission to any fixed profession of faith." it appears to me that, to secure to themselves protection from the different governments, they only conformed outwardly to the customs and religion of the country in which they happened to reside at the time. [ ] hoyland. cantemir, according to grellmann, says that the gipsies are dispersed all over moldavia, where every baron has several families subject to him. in wallachia and the sclavonian countries they are quite as numerous. in wallachia and moldavia they are divided into two classes--the princely and boyardish. the former, according to sulzer, amount to many thousands; but that is trifling in comparison with the latter, as there is not a single boyard in wallachia who has not at least three or four of them for slaves; the rich have often some hundreds under their command,[ ] grellmann divides those in transylvania into four classes: st. city gipsies, who are the most civilized of all, and maintain themselves by music, smith-work, selling old clothes, horse-dealing, &c.; d. gold-washers; d. tent gipsies; and th. egyptian gipsies. these last are more filthy, and more addicted to stealing than any of the others. those who are gold-washers, in transylvania and the banat, have no intercourse with others of their nation; nor do they like to be called gipsies. they sift gold sand in summer, and in winter make trays and troughs, which they sell in an honest way. they seldom beg, and more rarely steal. dr. clarke says of the wallachian gipsies, that they are not an idle race; they ought rather to be described as a laborious race; and the majority honestly endeavour to earn a livelihood. [ ] in the narrative of the scottish church mission of enquiry to the jews, in , are to be found the following remarks relative to the gipsies of wallachia: "they are almost all slaves, bought and sold at pleasure. one was lately sold for piastres, but the general price is . perhaps £ is the average price, and the female gipsies are sold much cheaper. the sale is generally carried on by private bargain. the men are the best mechanics in the country; so that smiths and masons are taken from this class. the women are considered the best cooks, and therefore almost every wealthy family has a gipsy cook. their appearance is similar to that of the gipsies in other countries; being all dark, with fine black eyes, and long black hair. they have a language peculiar to themselves, and though they seem to have no system of religion, yet are very superstitious in observing lucky and unlucky days. they are all fond of music, both vocal and instrumental, and excel in it. there is a class of them called the turkish gipsies, who have purchased their freedom from government; but these are few in number, and all from turkey. of these latter, there are twelve families in galatz. the men are employed as horse-dealers, and the women in making bags, sacks, and such articles. in winter, they live in town, almost under ground; but in summer, they pitch their tents in the open air, for, though still within the bounds of the town, they would not live in their winter houses during summer." that these gipsies should be in a state of slavery is, perhaps, a more marked exception to their race than the indians in spanish america were to those found in the territories colonised by the anglo-saxons. the empress maria theresa could make nothing of the gipsies in hungary, where they are said to be almost as little looked after as the wolves of the forest; so that the slavery of the gipsies in wallachia must be of a very nominal or mild nature, or the subjects of it must be far in excess of the demand, if £ is the average price of a good smith or mason, and less for a good female cook. these wallachian gipsies evidently prefer a master whose property they will consider as their own, and whose protection will relieve them from the interference and oppression of others. a slavery that is not absolute or oppressive must gratify the vanity of the owner, and be easily borne by a race that is semi-civilized and despised by others around it. since the conclusion of the russian war, the manumission of the gipsies of the principalities was debated and carried by a majority of something like thirteen against eleven; but i am not aware of its having been put in force. they are said to have been greatly attached to the late sultan--calling him the "good father," for the interest he took in them. as spies, they rendered his generals efficient services, while contending with the russians on the danube.--ed. "bessarabia, all turkey, bulgaria, greece, and romania swarm with gipsies; even in constantinople they are innumerable. in romania, a large tract of mount hæmus, which they inhabit, has acquired from them the name of _tschenghe valken_--gipsy mountain. this district extends from the city of aydos quite to phillippopolis, and contains more gipsies than any other province in the turkish empire. "they were universally to be found in italy, insomuch that even sicily and sardinia were not free. but they were most numerous in the dominions of the church; probably because there was the worst police, with much superstition. by the former, they were left undisturbed; and the latter enticed them to deceive the ignorant, as it afforded them an opportunity of obtaining a plentiful contribution by their fortune-telling and enchanted amulets. there was a general law throughout italy, that no gipsy should remain more than two nights in any one place. by this regulation, it is true, no place retained its guests long; but no sooner was one gone than another came in his room: it was a continual circle, and quite as convenient to them as a perfect toleration would have been. italy rather suffered than benefited by this law; as, by keeping these people in constant motion, they would do more mischief there, than in places where they were permitted to remain stationary. "in poland and lithuania, as well as in courland, there are an amazing number of gipsies. a person may live many years in upper saxony, or in the districts of hanover and brunswick, without seeing a single gipsy. when one happens to stray into a village or town, he occasions as much disturbance as if the black gentleman with his cloven foot appeared; he frightens children from their play, and draws the attention of the older people, till the police get hold of him, and make him again invisible. in some of the provinces of the rhine, a gipsy is a very common sight. some years ago, there were such numbers of them in the duchy of wurtemberg, that they were seen lying about everywhere; but the government ordered departments of soldiers to drive them from their holes and lurking-places throughout the country, and then transported the congregated swarm, in the same manner as they were treated by the duke of deuxponts. in france, before the revolution, there were but few gipsies, for the obvious reason that every gipsy who could be apprehended fell a sacrifice to the police."[ ] [ ] grellmann.--i would suppose that these severe edicts of the french would drive the gipsies to adopt the costume and manners of the other inhabitants. in this way they would disappear from the public eye. the officers of justice would of course direct their attention to what would be understood to be gipsies--that is tented gipsies, or those who professed the ways of gipsies, such as fortune telling. i have met with a french gipsy in the streets of new york, engaged as a dealer in candy.--ed. as regards the gipsies of spain, dr. bright remarks: that the disposition of the gitano is more inclined to a fixed residence than that of the gipsy of other countries, is beyond doubt. the generality are the settled inhabitants of considerable towns, and, although the occupations of some necessarily lead them to a more vagrant life, the proportion is small who do not consider some hovel in a suburb as a home. 'money is in the city--not in the country,' is a saying frequently in their mouths. in the vilest quarters of every large town of the southern provinces, there are gitanos living together, sometimes occupying whole barriers. but seville is, perhaps, the spot in which the largest proportion is found. their principal occupation is the manufacture and sale of articles of iron. their quarters may always be traced by the ring of the hammer and anvil, and many amass considerable wealth. an inferior class have the exclusive trade in second-hand articles, which they sell at the doors of their dwellings, or at benches at the entrance of towns, or by the sides of frequented walks. a still inferior order wander about, mending pots, and selling tongs and other trifling articles. in cadiz, they monopolize the trade of butchering, and frequently amass wealth. others, again, exclusively fill the office of matador of the bull plaza, while the toreros are for the most part of the same race. others are employed as dressers of mules and asses; some as figure-dancers, and many as performers in the theatre. some gain a livelihood by their musical talents. dancing, singing, music and fortune-telling are the only objects of general pursuit for the females. sometimes they dance in the inferior theatres, and sing and dance in the streets. palmistry is one of their most productive avocations. in seville, a few make and sell an inferior kind of mat. besides these, there is a class of gipsies in spain who lead a vagrant life throughout--residing chiefly in the woods and mountains, and known as mountaineers. these rarely visit towns, and live by fraud and pillage. there are also others who wander about the country--such as tinkers, dancers, singers, and jobbers in asses and mules. bishop pocoke, prior to , mentions having met with gipsies in the northern part of syria, where he found them in great numbers, passing for mahommedans, living in tents or caravans, dealing in milch cows, when near towns, manufacturing coarse carpets, and having a much better character than their relations in hungary or england. by the census of the crimea, in , the population was set down at , , of which , were gipsies. bishop heber states that the persian gipsies are of much better caste, and much richer than those of india, russia or england. in india, he says, the gipsies are the same tall, fine-limbed, bony, slender people, with the same large, black, brilliant eyes, lowering forehead, and long hair, curled at the extremities, which are to be met with on a common in england. he mentions, in his journal of travels through bengal, having met with a gipsy camp on the ganges. the women and children followed him, begging, and had no clothes on them, except a coarse kind of veil, thrown back from the shoulders, and a ragged cloth, wrapped round their waists, like a petticoat. one of the women was very pretty, and the forms of all the three were such as a sculptor would have been glad to take as his models. besides those in europe, it is stated by grellmann that the gipsies are also scattered over asia, and are to be found in the centre of africa. in europe alone, he supposes (in ), their number will amount to between seven and eight hundred thousand. so numerous did they become in france, that the king, in , sixteen years before they were expelled from that kingdom, entertained an idea of embodying four thousand of them, to act as pioneers in taking boulogne, then in possession of england. it is impossible to ascertain, at the present day, how many gipsies might be even in a parish; but, taking in the whole world, there must be an immense number in existence. about the time the gipsies first appeared in europe, their chiefs, under the titles of dukes, earls, lords, counts, and knights of little egypt, rode up and down the country on horseback, dressed in gay apparel, and attended by a train of ragged and miserable inferiors, having, also, hawks and hounds in their retinue. it appears to me, that the excessive vanity of these chiefs had induced them, in imitation of the customs of civilized society, to assume these high-sounding european titles of honour. i have not observed, on record, any form of government, laws or customs, by which the internal affairs of the tribe, on the continent, were regulated. on these important points, if i am not mistaken, all the authors, with the exception of grellmann, who have written on the gipsies, are silent. grellmann says of the hungarian gipsies: "they still continue the custom among themselves of dignifying certain persons, whom they make heads over them, and call by the exalted sclavonian title of waywode. to choose their waywode, the gipsies take the opportunity, when a great number of them are assembled in one place, commonly in the open field. the elected person is lifted up three times, amidst the loudest acclamation, and confirmed in his dignity by presents. his wife undergoes the same ceremony. when this solemnity is performed, they separate with great conceit, imagining themselves people of more consequence than electors returning from the choice of an emperor. every one who is of a family descended from a former waywode is eligible; but those who are best clothed, not very poor, of large stature, and about the middle age, have generally the preference. the particular distinguishing mark of dignity is a large whip, hanging over the shoulder. his outward deportment, his walk and air, also plainly show his head to be filled with notions of authority." according to the same authority, the waywode of the gipsies in courland is distinguished from the principals of the hordes in other countries, being not only much respected by his own people, but even by the courland nobility. he is esteemed a man of high rank, and is frequently to be met with at entertainments, and card parties, in the first families, where he is always a welcome guest. his dress is uncommonly rich, in comparison with others of his tribe; generally silk in summer, and constantly velvet in winter. as a specimen of the manners and ferocious disposition of the german gipsies, so late as the year , i shall here transcribe a few extracts from an article published in blackwood's magazine, for january, . this interesting article is partly an abridged translation, or rather the substance, of a german work on the gipsies, entitled "a circumstantial account of the famous egyptian band of thieves, and robbers, and murderers, whose leaders were executed at giessen, by cord, and sword, and wheel, on the th and th november, , &c." it is edited by dr. john benjamin wiessenburch, an assessor of the criminal tribunal by which these malefactors were condemned, and published at frankfort and leipsic, in the year . the translator of this work is sir walter scott, who obligingly offered me the use of his "scraps" on this subject. the following are the details in his own words. "a curious preliminary dissertation records some facts respecting the german gipsies, which are not uninteresting. "from the authorities collected by wiessenburch, it appears that these wanderers first appeared in germany during the reign of sigismund. the exact year has been disputed; but it is generally placed betwixt and . they appeared in various bands, under chiefs, to whom they acknowledged obedience, and who assumed the titles of dukes and earls. these leaders originally affected a certain degree of consequence, travelling well equipped, and on horseback, and bringing hawks and hounds in their retinue. like john faw, 'lord of little egypt,' they sometimes succeeded in imposing upon the germans the belief in their very apocryphal dignity, which they assumed during their lives, and recorded upon their tombs, as appears from three epitaphs, quoted by dr. wiessenburch. one is in a convent at steinbach, and records that on st. sebastians' eve, , 'died the lord pannel, duke of little egypt, and baron of hirschhorn, in the same land.' a monumental inscription at bautmer, records the death of the 'noble earl peter, of lesser egypt, in ;' and a third, at pferz, as late as , announces the death of the 'high-born, lord john, earl of little egypt, to whose soul god be gracious and merciful.' "in describing the state of the german gipsies, in , the author whom we are quoting gives the leading features proper to those in other countries. their disposition to wandering, to idleness, to theft, to polygamy, or rather promiscuous licence, are all commemorated; nor are the women's pretentions to fortune-telling, and their practice of stealing children, omitted. instead of travelling in very large bands, as at their first arrival, they are described as forming small parties, in which the females are far more numerous than the men, and which are each under command of a leader, chosen rather from reputation than by right of birth. the men, unless when engaged in robbery or theft, lead a life of absolute idleness, and are supported by what the women can procure by begging, stealing or telling fortunes. these resources are so scanty that they often suffer the most severe extremities of hunger and cold. some of the gipsies executed at giessen pretended that they had not eaten a morsel of bread for four days before they were apprehended; yet are they so much attached to freedom, and licence of this wandering life, that, notwithstanding its miseries, it has not only been found impossible to reclaim the native gipsies, who claim it by inheritance, but even those who, not born in that state, have associated themselves with their bands, and become so wedded to it, as to prefer it to all others.[ ] [ ] the natives here alluded to were evidently germans, married to gipsy women, or germans brought up from infancy with the gipsies, or mixed gipsies, taking after germans in point of appearance.--ed. "as an exception, wiessenburch mentions some gangs, where the men, as in scotland, exercise the profession of travelling smiths, or tinkers, or deal in pottery, or practise as musicians. finally, he notices that in hungary the gangs assumed their names from the countries which they chiefly traversed, as the band of upper saxony, of brandenburg, and so forth. they resented, to extremity, any attempt on the part of other gipsies to intrude on their province; and such interference often led to battles, in which they shot each other with as little remorse as they would have done to dogs.[ ] by these acts of cruelty to each other, they became gradually familiarized with blood, as well as with arms, to which another cause contributed, in the beginning of the th century. [ ] this is the only continental writer, that i am aware of, who mentions the circumstance of the gipsies having districts to themselves, from which others of their race were excluded. this author also speaks of the german gipsies stealing children. john bunyan admits the same practice in england, when he compares his feelings, as a sinner, to those of a child carried off by gipsies. he gives the gipsy _women_ credit for this practice.--ed. "in former times, these outcasts were not permitted to bear arms in the service of any christian power, but the long wars of louis xiv had abolished this point of delicacy; and both in the french army, and those of the confederates, the stoutest and boldest of the gipsies were occasionally enlisted, by choice or compulsion. these men generally tired soon of the rigour of military discipline, and escaping from their regiments on the first opportunity, went back to their forests, with some knowledge of arms, and habits bolder and more ferocious than those of their predecessors. such deserters soon become leaders among the tribes, whose enterprises became, in proportion, more audacious and desperate. "in germany, as in most other kingdoms of europe, severe laws had been directed against this vagabond people, and the landgraves of hesse had not been behind-hand in such denunciations. they were, on their arrest, branded as vagabonds, punished with stripes, and banished from the circle; and, in case of their return, were put to death without mercy. these measures only served to make them desperate. their bands became more strong and more open in their depredations. they often marched as strong as fifty or a hundred armed men; bade defiance to the ordinary police, and plundered the villages in open day; wounded and slew the peasants, who endeavoured to protect their property; and skirmished, in some instances successfully, with parties of soldiers and militia, dispatched against them. their chiefs, on these occasions, were john la fortune, a determined villain, otherwise named hemperla; another called the great gallant; his brother, antony alexander, called the little gallant; and others, entitled lorries, lampert, gabriel, &c. their ferocity may be judged of from the following instances: "on the th october, , a land-lieutenant, or officer of police, named emerander, set off with two assistants to disperse a band of gipsies who had appeared near hirzenhayn, in the territory of stolberg. he seized on two or three stragglers whom he found in the village, and whom, females as well as males, he seems to have treated with much severity. some, however, escaped to a large band which lay in an adjacent forest, who, under command of the great gallant, hemperla, antony alexander, and others, immediately put themselves in motion to rescue their comrades, and avenge themselves of emerander. the land-lieutenant had the courage to ride out to meet them, with his two attendants, at the passage of a bridge, where he fired his pistol at the advancing gang, and called out 'charge,' as if he had been at the head of a party of cavalry. the gipsies, however, aware, from the report of the fugitives, how weakly the officer was accompanied, continued to advance to the end of the bridge, and ten or twelve, dropping each on one knee, gave fire on emerander, who was then obliged to turn his horse and ride off, leaving his two assistants to the mercy of the banditti. one of these men, called hempel, was instantly beaten down, and suffered, especially at the hands of the gipsy women, much cruel and abominable outrage. after stripping him of every rag of his clothes, they were about to murder the wretch outright; but at the earnest instance of the landlord of the inn, they contented themselves with beating him dreadfully, and imposing on him an oath that he never more would persecute any gipsy, or save any _fleshman_, (dealer in human flesh,) for so they called the officers of justice or police.[ ] [ ] great allowance ought to be made for the conduct of these gipsies. even at the present day, a gipsy, in many parts of germany, is not allowed to enter a town; nor will the inhabitants permit him to live in the street in which they dwell. he has therefore to go somewhere, and live in some way or other. in speaking of the gipsies, people never take these circumstances into account. the gipsies alluded to in the text seem to have been very cruelly treated, in the first place, by the authorities.--ed. "the other assistant of emerander made his escape. but the principal was not so fortunate. when the gipsies had wrought their wicked pleasure on hempel, they compelled the landlord of the little inn to bring them a flagon of brandy, in which they mingled a charge of gunpowder and three pinches of salt; and each, partaking of this singular beverage, took a solemn oath that they would stand by each other until they had cut thongs, as they expressed it, out of the fleshman's hide. the great gallant at the same time distributed to them, out of a little box, billets, which each was directed to swallow, and which were supposed to render them invulnerable. "thus inflamed and encouraged, the whole route, amounting to fifty well armed men, besides women armed with clubs and axes, set off with horrid screams to a neighbouring hamlet, called glazhutte, in which the object of their resentment sought refuge. they took military possession of the streets, posting sentinels to prevent interruption or attack from the alarmed inhabitants. their leaders then presented themselves before the inn, and demanded that emerander should be delivered up to them. when the innkeeper endeavoured to elude their demand, they forced their way into the house, and finding the unhappy object of pursuit concealed in a garret, hemperla and others fired their muskets at him, then tore his clothes from his body, and precipitated him down the staircase, where he was dispatched with many wounds. "meanwhile, the inhabitants of the village began to take to arms; and one of them attempted to ring the alarm-bell, but was prevented by an armed gipsy, stationed for that purpose. at length their bloody work being ended, the gipsies assembled and retreated out of the town, with shouts of triumph, exclaiming that the fleshman was slain, displaying their spoils and hands stained with blood, and headed by the great gallant, riding on the horse of the murdered officer. "i shall select from the volume another instance of this people's cruelty still more detestable, since even vengeance or hostility could not be alleged for its stimulating cause, as in the foregoing narrative. a country clergyman, named heinsius, the pastor of a village called dorsdorff, who had the misfortune to be accounted a man of some wealth, was the subject of this tragedy. "hemperla, already mentioned, with a band of ten gipsies, and a villain named essper george, who had joined himself with them, though not of their nation by birth, beset the house of the unfortunate minister, with a resolution to break in and possess themselves of his money; and if interrupted by the peasants, to fire upon them, and repel force by force. with this desperate intention, they surrounded the parsonage-house at midnight; and their leader, hemperla, having cut a hole through the cover of the sink or gutter, endeavoured to creep into the house through that passage, holding in his hand a lighted torch made of straw. the daughter of the parson chanced, however, to be up, and in the kitchen, at this late hour, by which fortunate circumstance she escaped the fate of her father and mother. when the gipsy saw there was a person in the kitchen, he drew himself back out of the gutter, and ordered his gang to force the door, regarding the noise which accompanied this violence as little as if the place had been situated in a wilderness, instead of a populous hamlet. others of the gang were posted at the windows of the house, to prevent the escape of the inmates. nevertheless, the young woman, already mentioned, let herself down from a window which had escaped their notice, and ran to seek assistance for her parents. "in the meanwhile the gipsies had burst open the outward door of the house, with a beam of wood which chanced to be lying in the court-yard. they next forced the door of the sitting apartment, and were met by the poor clergyman, who prayed them at least to spare his life and that of his wife. but he spoke to men who knew no mercy; hemperla struck him on the breast with a torch; and receiving the blow as a signal for death, the poor man staggered back to the table, and sinking in a chair, leaned his head on his hand, and expected the mortal blow. in this posture hemperla shot him dead with a pistol. the wife of the clergyman endeavoured to fly, on witnessing the murder of her husband, but was dragged back, and slain by a pistol-shot, fired either by essper george, or by a gipsy called christian. by a crime so dreadful those murderers only gained four silver cups, fourteen silver spoons, some trifling articles of apparel, and about twenty-two florins in money. they might have made more important booty, but the sentinel, whom they left on the outside, now intimated to them that the hamlet was alarmed, and that it was time to retire, which they did accordingly, undisturbed and in safety. "the gipsies committed many enormities similar to those above detailed, and arrived at such a pitch of audacity as even to threaten the person of the landgrave himself; an enormity at which dr. wiessenburch, who never introduces the name or titles of that prince without printing them in letters of at least an inch long, expresses becoming horror. this was too much to be endured. strong detachments of troops and militia scoured the country in different directions, and searched the woods and caverns which served the banditti for places of retreat. these measures were for some time attended with little effect. the gipsies had the advantages of a perfect knowledge of the country, and excellent intelligence. they baffled the efforts of the officers detached against them, and, on one or two occasions, even engaged them with advantage. and when some females, unable to follow the retreat of the men, were made prisoners on such an occasion, the leaders caused it to be intimated to the authorities at giessen that if their women were not set at liberty, they would murder and rob on the high roads, and plunder and burn the country. this state of warfare lasted from until , during which period the subjects of the landgrave suffered the utmost hardships, as no man was secure against nocturnal surprise of his property and person. "at length, in the end of , a heavy and continued storm of snow compelled the gipsy hordes to abandon the woods which had long served them as a refuge, and to approach more near to the dwellings of men. as their movements could be traced and observed, the land-lieutenant, krocker, who had been an assistant to the murdered emerander, received intelligence of a band of gipsies having appeared in the district of sohnsassenheim, at a village called fauerbach. being aided by a party of soldiers and volunteers, he had the luck to secure the whole gang, being twelve men and women. among these was the notorious hemperla, who was dragged by the heels from an oven in which he was attempting to conceal himself. others were taken in the same manner, and imprisoned at giessen, with a view to their trial. "numerous acts of theft, and robbery, and murder were laid to the charge of these unfortunate wretches; and, according to the existing laws of the empire, they were interrogated under torture. they were first tormented by means of thumb-screws, which they did not seem greatly to regard; the spanish boots, or 'leg-vices,' were next applied, and seldom failed to extort confession. hemperla alone set both means at defiance, which induced the judges to believe he was possessed of some spell against these agonies. having in vain searched his body for the supposed charm, they caused his hair to be cut off; on which he himself observed that, had they not done so, he could have stood the torture for some time longer. as it was, his resolution gave way, and he made, under the second application of the spanish boots, a full confession, not only of the murders of which he was accused, but of various other crimes. while he was in this agony, the judges had the cruelty to introduce his mother, a noted gipsy woman, called the crone, into the torture-chamber; who shrieked fearfully, and tore her face with her nails, on perceiving the condition of her son, and still more on hearing him acknowledge his guilt. "evidence of the guilt of the other prisoners was also obtained from their confessions, with or without torture, and from the testimony of witnesses examined by the fiscal. sentence was finally passed on them, condemning four gipsies, among whom were hemperla and the little gallant, to be broken on the wheel, nine others to be hanged, and thirteen, of whom the greater part were women, to be beheaded. they underwent their doom with great firmness, upon the th and th november, . "the volume contains . . . . . . . some rude prints, representing the murders committed by the gipsies, and the manner of their execution. there are also two prints representing the portraits of the principal criminals, in which, though the execution be indifferent, the gipsy features may be clearly traced." leaving this view of the character of the continental gipsies, we may take the following as illustrative of one of its brighter aspects. so late as the time of the celebrated baron trenck, it would appear that germany was still infested with prodigiously large bands of gipsies. in a forest near ginnen, to which he had fled, to conceal himself from the pursuit of his persecutors, the baron says: "here we fell in with a gang of gipsies, (or rather banditti,) amounting to four hundred men, who dragged me to their camp. they were mostly french and prussian deserters, and, thinking me their equal, would force me to become one of their band. but venturing to tell my story to their leader, he presented me with a crown, gave us a small portion of bread and meat, and suffered us to depart in peace, after having been four-and-twenty hours in their company."[ ] [ ] life of baron trenck, translated by thomas holcroft, vol. i, page . i shall conclude the notices of the continental gipsies by some extracts from an article published in a french periodical work, for september, , on the gipsies of the pyrenees; who resemble, in many points, the inferior class of our scottish tinklers, about the beginning of the french war, more, perhaps, than those of any other country in europe. "there exists, in the department of the eastern pyrenees, a people distinct from the rest of the inhabitants, of a foreign origin, and without any settled habits. it seems to have fixed its residence there for a considerable time. it changes its situation, multiplies there, and never connects itself by marriage with the other inhabitants. this people are called gitanos, a spanish word which signifies egyptians. there are many gitanos in catalonia, who have similar habits to the above-mentioned, but who are very strictly watched. they have all the vices of those egyptians, or bohemians, who formerly used to wander over the world, telling fortunes, and living at the expense of superstition and credulity. these gitanos, less idle and less wanderers than their predecessors, are afraid of publicly professing the art of fortune-tellers; but their manner of life is scarcely different. "they scatter themselves among villages, and lonesome farms, where they steal fruit, poultry, and often even cattle; in short, everything that is portable. they are almost always abroad, incessantly watching an opportunity to practise their thievery; they hide themselves with much dexterity from the search of the police. their women, in particular, have an uncommon dexterity in pilfering. when they enter a shop, they are watched with the utmost care; but with every precaution they are not free from their rapines. they excel, above all, in hiding the pieces of silver which are given in exchange for gold, which they never fail to offer in payment, and they are so well hidden that they are often obliged to be undressed before restitution can be obtained. "the gitanos affect, externally, a great attachment to the catholic religion; and if one was to judge from the number of reliques they carry about with them, one would believe them exceedingly devout; but all who have well observed them assure us they are as ignorant as hypocritical, and that they practise secretly a religion of their own. it is not rare to see their women, who have been lately brought to bed, have their children baptized several times, in different places, in order to obtain money from persons at their ease, whom they choose for godfathers. everything announces among them that moral degradation which must necessarily attach to a miserable, insulated caste, as strangers to society, which only suffers it through an excess of contempt. "the gitanos are disgustingly filthy, and almost all covered with rags. they have neither tables, chairs, nor beds, but sit and eat on the ground. they are crowded in huts, pell-mell, in straw; and their neglect of the decorum of society, so dangerous to morals, must have the most melancholy consequences on wretched vagabonds, abandoned to themselves. they consequently are accused of giving themselves up to every disorder of the most infamous debauchery, and to respect neither the ties of blood nor the protecting laws of the virtues of families. "they feed on rotten poultry and fish, dogs and stinking cats, which they seek for with avidity; and when this resource fails them, they live on the entrails of animals, or other aliments of the lowest price. they leave their meat but a very few minutes on the fire, and the place where they cook it exhales an infectious smell. "they speak the catalonian dialect, but they have, besides, a language to themselves, unintelligible to the natives of the country, from whom they are very careful to hide the knowledge of it. "the gitanos are tanned like the mulattoes, of a size above mediocrity, well formed, active, robust, supporting all the changes of seasons, and sleeping in the open fields, whenever their interest requires it. their features are irregular, and show them to belong to a transplanted race. they have the mouth very wide, thick lips, and high cheek-bones. "as the distrust they inspire causes them to be carefully watched, it is not always possible for them to live by stealing: they then have recourse to industry, and a trifling trade, which seems to have been abandoned to them; they show animals, and attend the fairs and markets, to sell or exchange mules and asses, which they know how to procure at a cheap rate. they are commonly cast-off animals, which they have the art to dress up, and they are satisfied, in appearance, with a moderate profit, which, however, is always more than is supposed, because they feed these animals at the expense of the farmers. they ramble all night, in order to steal fodder; and whatever precautions may have been taken against them, it is not possible to be always guarded against their address. "happily the gitanos are not murderers. it would, without doubt, be important to examine if it is to the natural goodness of their disposition, to their frugality, and the few wants they feel in their state of half savage, that is to be attributed the sentiment that repels them from great crimes, or if this disposition arises from their habitual state of alarm, or from that want of courage which must be a necessary consequence of the infamy in which they are plunged."[ ] [ ] _annales de statistique, no. iii, page - ._--what the writer of this article says of the aversion which the gipsies have to the shedding of human blood, _not of their own fraternity_, appears to have been universal among the tribe; but, on the other hand, they seem to have had little or no hesitation in putting to death _those of their own tribe_. this writer also says, that the gipsies of the pyrenees have a religion of their own, which they practise _secretly_, without mentioning what this secret religion is. it is probable that his remark is applicable to the sacrifice of horses, as described in chapter viii. chapter ii. english gipsies. the first arrival of the gipsies in england appears to have been about the year ,[ ] but this does not seem to be quite certain. it is probable they may have arrived there at an earlier period. the author from which the fact is derived published his work in , and states, generally, that "this kind of people, about a hundred years ago, began to gather an head, about the southern parts. and this, i am informed and can gather, was their beginning: certain egyptians, banished their country, (belike not for their good condition,) arrived here in england; who, for quaint tricks and devices, not known here at that time among us, were esteemed, and held in great admiration; insomuch that many of our english loiterers joined with them, and in time learned their crafty cozening. [ ] hoyland. "the speech which they used was the right egyptian language, with whom our englishmen conversing at least learned their language. these people, continuing about the country, and practising their cozening art, purchased themselves great credit among the country people, and got much by palmistry and telling of fortunes; insomuch that they pitifully cozened poor country girls both of money, silver spoons, and the best of their apparel, or any goods they could make."[ ] [ ] a quarto work by s. r., published to detect and expose the art of juggling and legerdemain, in . from this author it is collected they had a leader of the name of giles hather, who was termed their king; and a woman of the name of calot was called queen. these, riding through the country on horseback, and in strange attire, had a pretty train after them.[ ] [ ] hoyland. it appears, from this account, that the gipsies had been observed on the continent about a hundred years before they visited england. according to dr. bright, they seemed to have roamed up and down the continent of europe, without molestation, for about half a century, before their true character was perfectly known. if was really the year in which these people first set foot in england, it would seem that the english government had not been so easily nor so long imposed on as the kings of scotland, and the authorities of europe generally. for we find that, within about the space of ten years from this period, they are, by the th chapter of the d henry viii, denominated "an outlandish people, calling themselves egyptians, using no craft nor feat of merchandise, who have come into this realm, and gone from shire to shire, and place to place, in great company; and used great subtlety and crafty means to deceive the people--bearing them in hand that they, by palmistry, could tell men's and women's fortunes; and so, many times, by craft and subtlety, have deceived the people for their money; and also have committed many heinous felonies and robberies." as far back as the year , they had become very troublesome in england, for, on the d june of that year, according to burnet's history of the reformation, "there was privy search made through all sussex for all vagabonds, gipsies, conspirators, prophesiers, players, and such like." the gipsies in england still continued to commit numberless thefts and robberies, in defiance of the existing statutes; so that each succeeding law enacted against them became severer than the one which preceded it. the following is an extract from the th henry viii: "whereas, certain outlandish people, who do not profess any craft or trade whereby to maintain themselves, but go about in great numbers, from place to place, using insidious means to impose on his majesty's subjects, making them believe that they understand the art of foretelling to men and women their good and evil fortunes, by looking in their hands, whereby they frequently defraud people of their money; likewise are guilty of thefts and highway robberies: it is hereby ordered that the said vagrants, commonly called egyptians, in case as thieves and rascals . . . . and on the importation of any such egyptians, he, the importer, shall forfeit forty pounds for every trespass." so much had the conduct of the gipsies exasperated the government of queen elizabeth, that it was enacted, during her reign, that "if any person, being fourteen years, whether natural born subject or stranger, who had been seen in the fellowship of such persons, or disguised like them, and remain with them one month at once, or at several times, it should be felony without benefit of clergy."[ ] it would thus appear that, when the gipsies first arrived in england, they had not kept their language a secret, as is now the case; for some of the englishmen of that period had acquired it by associating with them.[ ] [ ] english acts of parliament. [ ] this does not appear to be necessarily the case. these englishmen may have married gipsies, become gipsies by adoption, and so learned the language, as happens at the present day.--ed. in carrying out the foregoing extraordinary enactments, the public was at the expense of exporting the gipsies to the continent; and it may reasonably be assumed that great numbers of these unhappy people were executed under these sanguinary laws. a few years before the restoration of charles ii, thirteen gipsies were executed "at one suffolk assize." this appears to have been the last instance of inflicting the penalty of death on these unfortunate people in england, merely because they were gipsies.[ ] but although these laws of blood are now repealed, the english gipsies are liable, at the present day, to be proceeded against under the vagrant act; as these statutes declare all those persons "pretending to be gipsies, or wandering in the habit and form of egyptians, shall be deemed rogues and vagabonds." [ ] hoyland. in the reign of queen elizabeth it was thought england contained above , gipsies; and mr. hoyland, in his historical survey of these people, supposes that there are , of the race in britain at the present day. a member of parliament, it is reported, stated, in the house of commons, that there were not less than , gipsies in great britain. i am inclined to believe that the statement of the latter will be nearest the truth; as i am convinced that the greater part of all those persons who traverse england with earthenware, in carts and waggons, are a superior class of gipsies. indeed, a scottish gipsy informed me, that almost all those people are actually gipsies. now mr. hoyland takes none of these potters into his account, when he estimates the gipsy population at only , souls. besides, gipsies have informed me that ireland contains a great many of the tribe; many of whom are now finding their way into scotland.[ ] [ ] the number of the british gipsies mentioned here is greatly understated. see disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. i am inclined to think that the greater part of the english gipsies live more apart from the other inhabitants of the country, reside more in tents, and exhibit a great deal more of their pristine manners, than their brethren do in scotland.[ ] [ ] in no part of the world is the gipsy life more in accordance with the general idea that the gipsy is like cain--a wanderer on the face of the earth--than in england; for there, the covered cart and the little tent are the houses of the gipsy; and he seldom remains more than three days in the same place. so conducive is the climate of england to beauty, that nowhere else is the appearance of the race so prepossessing as in that country. their complexion is dark, but not disagreeably so; their faces are oval, their features regular, their foreheads rather low, and their hands and feet small. the men are taller than the english peasantry, and far more active. they all speak the english language with fluency, and in their gait and demeanour are easy and graceful; in both respects standing in striking contrast with the peasantry, who, in speech, are slow and uncouth, and, in manner, dogged and brutal.--_borrow._--ed. the english gipsies also travel in scotland, with earthenware in carts and waggons. a body of them, to the number of six tents, with sixteen horses, encamped, on one occasion, on the farm of kingledoors, near the source of the tweed. they remained on the ground from saturday night till about ten o'clock on monday morning, before they struck their tents and waggons. at st boswell's fair i once inspected a horde of english gipsies, encamped at the side of a hedge, on the jedburgh road as it enters st. boswell's green. their name was blewett, from the neighbourhood of darlington. the chief possessed two tents, two large carts laden with earthenware, four horses and mules, and five large dogs. he was attended by two old females and ten young children. one of the women was the mother of fourteen, and the other the mother of fifteen, children. this chief and the two females were the most swarthy and barbarous looking people i ever saw. they had, however, two beautiful children with them, about five years of age, with light flaxen hair, and very fair complexions. the old gipsy women said they were twins; but they might have been stolen from different parents, for all that, as there was nothing about them that had the slightest resemblance to any one of the horde that claimed them. apparently much care was taken of them, as they were very cleanly and neatly kept.[ ] [ ] it does not follow, from what our author says about these two children, that they were stolen. i have seen some of the children of english gipsies as fair as any saxon. it sometimes happens that the flaxen hair of a gipsy child will change into raven black before he reaches manhood.--ed. this gipsy potter was a thick-set, stout man, above the middle size. he was dressed in an old dark-blue frock coat, with a profusion of black, greasy hair, which covered the upper part of his broad shoulders. he wore a high-crowned, narrow-brimmed, old hat, with a lock of his black hair hanging down before each ear, in the same manner as the spanish gipsies are described by swinburn. he also wore a pair of old full-topped boots, pressed half way down his legs, and wrinkled about his ankles, like buskins. his visage was remarkably dark and gloomy. he walked up and down the market alone, without speaking to any one, with a peculiar air of independence about him, as he twirled in his hand, in the gipsy manner, by way of amusement, a strong bludgeon, about three feet long, which he held by the centre. i happened to be speaking to a surgeon in the fair, at the time the gipsy passed me, when i observed to him that that strange-looking man was a gipsy; at which the surgeon only laughed, and said he did not believe any such thing. to satisfy him, i followed the gipsy, at a little distance, till he led me straight to his tents at the jedburgh road already mentioned. this gipsy band had none of their wares unpacked, nor were they selling anything in the market. they were cooking a lamb's head and pluck, in a pan suspended from a triangle of rods of iron, while beside it lay an abundance of small potatoes, in a wooden dish. the females wore black gipsy bonnets. the visage of the oldest one was remarkably long, her chin resting on her breast. these three old gipsies were, altogether, so dark, grim, and outlandish-looking, that they had little or no appearance of being natives of britain. on enquiring if they were gipsies, and could speak the language, the oldest female gave me the following answer: "we are potters, and strangers in this land. the people are civil unto us. i say, god bless the people; god bless them all." she spoke these words in a decided, emphatic, and solemn tone, as if she believed herself possessed of the power to curse or bless at pleasure. on turning my back, to leave them, i observed them burst out a laughing; making merry, as i supposed, at the idea of having deceived me as to the tribe to which they belonged. the following anecdote will give some idea of the manner of life of the gipsies in england. a man, whom i knew, happened to lose his way, one dark night, in cambridgeshire. after wandering up and down for some time, he observed a light, at a considerable distance from him, within the skirts of a wood, and, being overjoyed at the discovery, he directed his course toward it; but, before reaching the fire, he was surprised at hearing a man, a little way in advance, call out to him, in a loud voice, "peace or not peace?" the benighted traveller, glad at hearing the sound of a human voice, immediately answered, "peace; i am a poor scotchman, and have lost my way in the dark." "you can come forward then," rejoined the sentinel. when the scotchman advanced, he found a family of gipsies, with only one tent; but, on being conducted further into the wood, he was introduced to a great company of gipsies. they were busily employed in roasting several whole sheep--turning their carcasses before large fires, on long wooden poles, instead of iron spits. the racks on which the spits turned were also made of wood, driven into the ground, cross-ways, like the letter x. the gipsies were exceedingly kind to the stranger, causing him to partake of the victuals which they had prepared for their feast. he remained with them the whole night, eating and drinking, and dancing with his merry entertainers, as if he had been one of themselves. when day dawned, the scotchman counted twelve tents within a short distance of each other. on examining his position, he found himself a long way out of his road; but a party of the gipsies voluntarily offered their services, and went with him for several miles, and, with great kindness, conducted him to the road from which he had wandered. the crimes of some of the english gipsies have greatly exceeded those of the scottish, such as the latter have been. the following details of the history of an english gipsy family are taken from a report on the prisons in northumberland. the writer of this report does not appear to have been aware, however, of the family in question being gipsies, speaking an oriental language, and that, according to the custom of their tribe, a dexterous theft or robbery is one of the most meritorious actions they can perform. "_crime in families. william winters' family._ "william himself, and one of his sons, were hanged together for murder. another son committed an offence for which he was sent to the hulks, and, soon after his release, was concerned in a murder, for which he was hanged. three of the daughters were convicted of various offences, and the mother was a woman of notorious bad character. the family was a terror to the neighbourhood, and, according to report, had been so for generations. the father, with a woman with whom he cohabited, (himself a married man,) was hanged for house-breaking. his first wife was a woman of very bad character, and his second wife was transported. one of the sons, a notorious thief, and two of the daughters, were hanged for murder. mr. blake believes that the only member of the family that turned out well was a girl, who was taken from the father when he was in prison, previous to execution, and brought up apart from her brothers and sisters. the grandfather was once in a lunatic asylum, as a madman. the father had a quarrel with one of his sons, about the sale of some property, and shot him dead. the mother co-habited with another man, and was one morning found dead, with her throat cut. one of the sons, (not already spoken of,) had a bastard child by one of his cousins, herself of weak intellect, and, being under suspicion of having destroyed the child, was arrested. while in prison, however, and before the trial came on, he destroyed himself by cutting his throat." this family, i believe, are the winters noticed by sir walter scott, in blackwood's magazine, as follows: "a gang (of gipsies), of the name of winters, long inhabited the wastes of northumberland, and committed many crimes; among others, a murder upon a poor woman, with singular atrocity, for which one of them was hung in chains near tonpitt, in reedsdale. the mortal reliques having decayed, the lord of the manor has replaced them by a wooden effigy, and still maintains the gibbet. the remnant of this gang came to scotland, about fifteen years ago, and assumed the roxburghshire name of wintirip, as they found their own something odious. they settled at a cottage within about four miles of earlston, and became great plagues to the country, until they were secured, after a tight battle, tried before the circuit court at jedburgh, and banished back to their native country of england. the dalesmen of reedwater showed great reluctance to receive these returned emigrants. after the sunday service at a little chapel near otterbourne, one of the squires rose, and, addressing the congregation, told them they would be accounted no longer reedsdale men, but reedsdale women, if they permitted this marked and atrocious family to enter their district. the people answered that they would not permit them to come that way; and the proscribed family, hearing of the unanimous resolution to oppose their passage, went more southernly, by the heads of the tyne, and i never heard more of them, but i have little doubt they are all hanged."[ ] [ ] it is but just to say that this family of winters is, or at least was, the worst kind of english gipsies. their name is a by-word among the race in england. when they say, "it's a winter morning," they wish to express something very bad. it is difficult to get them to admit that the winters belong to the tribe--ed. chapter iii. scottish gipsies, down to the year . that the gipsies were in scotland in the year is certain, as appears by a letter of james iv, of scotland, to the king of denmark, in favour of anthonius gawino, earl of little egypt, a gipsy chief. but there is a tradition, recorded in crawford's peerage, that a company of gipsies, or saracens, were committing depredations in scotland before the death of james ii, which took place in , being forty-six years after the gipsies were first observed on the continent of europe, and it is, therefore, probable that these wanderers were encamped on scottish ground before the year , above mentioned. as i am not aware of saracens ever having set foot in scotland, england, or ireland, i am disposed to think, if there is any truth in this tradition, it alludes to the gipsies.[ ] the story relates to the estate and family of mclellan of bombie, in galloway, and is as follows: [ ] there is no reason to doubt that these were gipsies. they were evidently a roving band, from some of the continental hordes, that had passed over into scotland, to "prospect" and plunder. they would, very naturally, be called saracens by the natives of scotland, to whom any black people, at that time, would appear as saracens. we may, therefore, assume that the gipsies have been fully four hundred years in scotland. i may mention, however, that mediterranean corsairs occasionally landed and plundered on the british coast, to as late a period as the reign of charles i.--ed. in the reign of james ii, the barony of bombie was again recovered by the mclellans, (as the tradition goes,) after this manner: in the same reign, says our author of small credit, (sir george mckenzie, in his baronage m.s.,) it happened that a company of saracens or gipsies, from ireland,[ ] infested the county of galloway, whereupon the king intimated a proclamation, bearing, that whoever should disperse them, and bring in their captain, dead or alive, should have the barony of bombie for his reward. it chanced that a brave young gentleman, the laird of bombie's son, fortunated to kill the person for which the reward was promised, and he brought his head on the point of his sword to the king, and thereupon he was immediately seized in the barony of bombie; and to perpetuate the memory of that brave and remarkable action, he took for his crest a moor's head, and 'think on' for his motto.[ ] [ ] almost all the scottish gipsies assert that their ancestors came by way of ireland into scotland. [this is extremely likely. on the publication of the edict of ferdinand of spain, in , some of the spanish gipsies would likely pass over to the south of ireland, and thence find their way into scotland, before . anthonius gawino, above referred to, would almost seem to be a spanish name. we may, therefore, very safely assume that the gipsies of scotland are of spanish gipsy descent.--ed.] [ ] crawford's peerage, page . as armorial bearings were generally assumed to commemorate facts and deeds of arms, it is likely that the crest of the mclellans is the head of a _gipsy_ chief. in the reign of james ii, alluded to, we find "away putting of _sorners_, (forcible obtruders,) fancied fools, vagabonds, out-liers, masterful beggars, _bairds_, (strolling rhymers,) and such like runners about," is more than once enforced by acts of parliament.[ ] [ ] glendook's scots' acts of parliament. but the earliest authentic notice which has yet been discovered of the first appearance of the gipsies in scotland, is the letter of james iv, to the king of denmark, in . at this period these vagrants represented themselves as egyptian pilgrims, and so far imposed on our religious and melancholy monarch, as to procure from him a favourable recommendation to his uncle of denmark, in behalf of one of these "earls," and his "lamentable retinue." the following is a translation of this curious epistle: "most illustrious, &c.--anthonius gawino, earl of little egypt, and the other afflicted and lamentable tribe of his retinue, whilst, through a desire of travelling, and, by command of the pope,[ ] (as he says,) pilgriming, over the christian world, according to their custom, had lately arrived on the frontiers of our kingdom, and implored us that we, out of humanity, would allow him to approach our limits without damage, and freely carry about all things, and the company he now has. he easily obtains what the hard fortune wretched men require. thus he has sojourned here, (as we have been informed,) for several months, in peaceable and catholic manner. king and uncle, he now proposes a voyage to denmark to thee. but, being about to cross the ocean, he hath requested our letters, in which we would inform your highness of these, and at the same time commend the calamity of this tribe to your royal munificence. but we believe that the fates, manners, and race of the wandering egyptians are better known to thee than us, because egypt is nearer thy kingdom, and a greater number of such men sojourn in thy kingdom.--most illustrious, &c."[ ] [ ] mr. hoyland makes some very judicious remarks upon the capacity of the gipsies, when they first appeared in europe. he says: "the first of this people who came into europe must have been persons of discernment and discrimination, to have adapted their deceptions so exactly to the genius and habits of the different people they visited, as to ensure success in all countries. the stratagem to which they had recourse, on entering france, evinces consummate artifice of plan, and not a little adroitness and dexterity in the execution. the specious appearance of submission to papal authority, in the penance of wandering seven years, without lying in a bed, contained three distinct objects. they could not have devised an expedient more likely to recommend them to the favour of the ecclesiastics, or better concerted for taking advantage of the superstitious credulity of the people, and, at the same time, for securing to themselves the gratification of their own nomadic propensities. so complete was the deception they practised, that we find they wandered up and down france, under the eye of the magistracy, not for seven years only, but for more than a hundred years, without molestation." mr. hoyland's remarks cover only half of the question, for, being "pilgrims," their chiefs must also assume very high titles, to give them consideration with the rulers of europe--such as dukes, earls, lords, counts and knights. to carry out the character of pilgrims, the body would go very poorly clad; it would only be the chiefs who would be flashily accoutred. it is, therefore, by no means wonderful that the gipsies should have succeeded so well, and so long, in obtaining an entrance, and a toleration, in every country of europe.--ed. [ ] illustrissime, &c.--anthonius gawino, ex parva egypto comes, et cætera ejus comitatus, gens afflicta et miseranda, dum christianam orbem peregrinationes studio. apostolicæ sedis, (ut refert) jussu, suorum more peregrinans, fines nostri regni dudum advenerat, atque in sortis suæ, et miseriarum hujus populi, refugium, nos pro humanitate imploraverat ut nostros limites sibi impune adire, res cunctas, et quam habet societatem libere circumagere liceret. impetrat facile quæ postulat miserorum hominum dura fortuna. ita aliquot menses bene et catholice, (sic accepimus,) hic versatus, ad te, rex et avuncule, in daciam transitum paret. sed oceanum transmissurus nostras literas exoravit; quibus celsitudinem tuam horum certiorum redderemus, simul et calamitatem ejus gentis regiæ tuæ munificentiæ commendaremus. ceterum errabundæ egypti fata, moresque, et genus, eo tibe quam nobis credimus notiora, quo egyptus tuo regno vicinior, et major hujusmodi hominum frequentia tuo diversatur imperio. illustrissime, &c. from to , the th of the reign of james v, we find that the true character of the gipsies had not reached the scottish court; for, in , the king of scotland entered into a league or treaty with "john faw, lord and earl of little egypt;" and a writ passed the privy seal, the same year, in favour of this prince or _rajah_ of the gipsies. as the public edicts in favour of this race are extremely rare, i trust a copy of this curious document, in this place, may not be unacceptable to the reader.[ ] [ ] i have taken the liberty of translating the various extracts from the scottish acts of parliament, quoted in this chapter, as the original language is not very intelligible to english or even scottish readers. for doing this, i may be denounced as a vandal by the ultra scotch, for so treating such "rich old doric," as the language of the period may be termed.--ed. "james, by the grace of god, king of scots: to our sheriffs of edinburgh, principal and within the constabulary of haddington, berwick, roxburgh, &c., &c.; provosts, aldermen, and baillies of our burghs and cities of edinburgh, &c., &c., greeting: forasmuch as it is humbly meant and shown to us, by our loved john faw, lord and earl of little egypt, that whereas he obtained our letter under our great seal, direct you all and sundry our said sheriffs, stewarts, baillies, provosts, aldermen, and baillies of burghs, and to all and sundry others having authority within our realm, to assist him in execution of justice upon his company and folk, conform to the laws of egypt, and in punishing of all them that rebel against him: nevertheless, as we are informed, sebastiane lalow egyptian, one of the said john's company, with his accomplices and partakers under written, that is to say, anteane donea, satona fingo, nona finco, phillip hatseyggaw, towla bailyow, grasta neyn, geleyr bailyow, bernard beige, demeo matskalla (or macskalla), notfaw lawlowr, martyn femine, rebels and conspirators against the said john faw, and have removed them all utterly out of his company, and taken from him divers sums of money, jewels, clothes and other goods, to the quantity of a great sum of money; and on nowise will pass home with him, howbeit he has bidden and remained of long time upon them, and is bound and obliged to bring home with him all them of his company that are alive, and a testimony of them that are dead: and as the said john has the said sebastiane's obligation, made in dunfermline before our master household, that he and his company should remain with him, and on nowise depart from him, as the same bears: in contrary to the tenor of which, the said sebastiane, by sinister and wrong information, false relation, circumvention of us, has purchased our writings, discharging him and the remnant of the persons above written, his accomplices and partakers of the said john's company, and with his goods taken by them from him; causes certain our lieges assist them and their opinions, and to fortify and take their part against the said john, their lord and master; so that he on nowise can apprehend nor get them, to have them home again within their own country, after the tenor of his said bond, to his heavy damage and _skaith_ (hurt), and in great peril of losing his heritage, and expressly against justice: our will is, therefore, and we charge you straightly and command that . . . . . . . . . . ye and every one of you within the bounds of your offices, command and charge all our lieges, that none of them take upon hand to reset, assist, fortify, supply, maintain, defend, or take part with the said sebastiane and his accomplices above written, for no body's nor other way, against the said john faw, their lord and master; but that they and ye, in likewise, take and lay hands upon them wherever they may be apprehended, and bring them to him, to be punished for their demerits, conform to his laws; and help and fortify him to punish and do justice upon them for their trespasses; and to that effect lend him your prisons, stocks, fetters, and all other things necessary thereto, as ye and each of you, and all other our lieges, will answer to us thereupon, and under all highest pain and charge that after may follow: so that the said john have no cause of complaint thereupon in time coming, nor to resort again to us to that effect, notwithstanding any our writings, sinisterly purchased or to be purchased, by the said sebastiane on the contrary: and also charge all our lieges that none of them molest, vex, unquiet, or trouble the said john faw and his company, in doing their lawful business, or otherwise, within our realm, and in their passing, remaining, or away-going forth of the same, under the pain above written: and such-like that ye command and charge all skippers, masters and mariners of all ships within our realm, at all ports and havens where the said john and his company shall happen to resort and come, to receive him and them therein, upon their expenses, for furthering of them forth of our realm to the parts beyond sea, as you and each of them such-like will answer to us thereupon, and under the pain aforesaid. subscribed with our hand, and under our privy seal at falkland, the fifteenth day of february, and of our reign the th year."[ ] [ ] ex. registro secreti sigilli, vol. xiv, fol. . blackwood. appendix to mclaurin's criminal trials. this document may well be termed the most curious and important record of the early history of the gipsy race in europe; and it is well worthy of consideration. the meaning of it is simply this: john faw had evidently been importuned by the scottish court, (at which he appears to have been a man of no small consequence,) to bring his so-called "pilgrimage," which he had undertaken "by command of the pope," to an end, so far, at least, as remaining in scotland was concerned. being pressed upon the point, he evidently, as a last resource, formed a plan with sebastiane lalow, and the other "rebels," to leave him, and carry _off_, (as he said,) his property. to give the action an air of importance, and make it appear as a real rebellion, they brought the question into court. then, john could turn round, and reply to the king: "may it please your majesty! i can't return to my own country. my company and folk have conspired, rebelled, robbed, and left me. i can't lay my hands upon them; i don't even know where to find them. i must take them home with me, or a testimony of them that are dead, under the great peril of losing my heritage, at the hands of my lord, the duke of egypt. however, if your majesty will help me to catch them, i will not be long in taking leave of _your_ kingdom, with all my company. in the meantime, your majesty will be pleased to issue your commands to all the shipowners and mariners in the kingdom, to be ready, _when i gather together my folk_(_!_) to further our passage to egypt, for which i will pay them handsomely." the whole business may be termed a piece of "thimble-rigging," to prolong their stay--that is, enable them to remain permanently--in the country. our author, i think, is quite in error in supposing this to have been a real quarrel among the gipsies. if it had been a real quarrel, the gipsies would soon have settled the question among themselves, by their own laws; it would have been the last thing, under all the circumstances of the case, they would have thought of, to have brought it before the scottish court. the gipsies, according to grellmann, assigned the following reason for prolonging their stay in europe: "they endeavoured to prolong the term (of their pilgrimage) by asserting that their return home was prevented by soldiers, stationed to intercept them; and by wishing to have it believed that new parties of pilgrims were to leave their country every year, otherwise their land would be rendered totally barren." the quarrel between the faas and the baillies, for the _gipsy crown_, in after times, did not, in all probability, arise from this business, but most likely, as the english gipsies believe, from some marriage between these families. the scottish gipsies, like the two roses, have had, and for aught i know to the contrary, may have yet, two rival kings--faa and baillie, with their partisans--although the faas, from the prominent position which they have always occupied in scottish history, have been the only kings known to the scottish public generally. in perusing this work, the reader will be pleased to take the above mentioned document as the starting point of the history of the gipsies in scotland; and consider the gipsies of that time as the progenitors of all those at present in scotland, including the great encrease of the body, by the mixture of the white blood that has been brought within their community. he will also be pleased to divest himself of the childish prejudices, acquired in the nursery and in general literature, against the name of gipsy; and consider that there are people in scotland, occupying some of the highest positions in life, who are gipsies; not indeed gipsies in point of purity of blood, but people who have gipsy blood in their veins, and who hold themselves to be gipsies, in the manner which i have, to a certain extent, explained in the preface, and will more fully illustrate in my disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. this curious league of john faw with the scottish king, who acknowledges the laws and customs of the gipsies within his kingdom, was of very short duration. like that of many other favourites of princes, the credit which the "earl of little egypt" possessed at court was, the succeeding year, completely annihilated, and that with a vengeance, as will appear by the following order in council. the gipsies, quarrelling among themselves, and publicly bringing their matters of dispute before the government, had, perhaps, contributed to produce an enquiry into the real character and conduct of these foreigners; verifying the ancient adage, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. but the immediate cause assigned for the sudden change of mind in the king, so unfortunate for the gipsies, is handed down to us in the following tradition, current in fife: king james v, as he was travelling through part of his dominions, disguised under the character of the gaberlunzie-man, or guid-man of ballangiegh, prosecuting, as was his custom, his low and vague amours, fell in with a band of gipsies, in the midst of their carousals, in a cave, near wemyss, in fifeshire. his majesty heartily joined in their revels, but it was not long before a scuffle ensued, wherein the king was very roughly handled, being in danger of his life.[ ] the gipsies, perceiving at last that he was none of their people, and considering him a spy, treated him with great indignity. among other humiliating insults, they compelled his royal majesty, as an humble servant of a tinkler, to carry their budgets and wallets on his back, for several miles, until he was exhausted; and being unable to proceed a step further, he sank under his load. he was then dismissed with scorn and contempt by the merciless gipsies. being exasperated at their cruel and contemptuous treatment of his sacred person, and having seen a fair specimen of their licentious manner of life, the king caused an order in council immediately to be issued, declaring that, if _three_ gipsies were found together, one of the three was instantly to be seized, and forthwith hanged or shot, by any one of his majesty's subjects that chose to put the order in execution. [ ] the gipsies assert that, on this occasion, the king attempted to take liberties with one of their women: and that one of the male gipsies "came crack over his head with a bottle."--ed. this tradition is noticed by the rev. andrew small, in his antiquities of fife, in the following words. his book came into my hands after i had written down my account of the tradition. "but, surely, this would be the last tinker that ever he would dub (a knight). if we may judge from what happened, one might imagine he, (james v,) would be heartily sick of them, (tinkers,) being taken prisoner by three of them, and compelled to stay with them several days, so that his nobles lost all trace of him, and being also forced, not only to lead their ass, but likewise to assist it in carrying part of the panniers! at length he got an opportunity, when they were bousing in a house at the east end of the village of milnathort, where there is now a new meeting-house built, when he was left on the green with the ass. he contrived to write, some way, on a slip of paper, and gave a boy half-a-crown to run with it to falkland, and give it to his nobles, intimating that the guid-man of ballangiegh was in a state of captivity. after they got it, and knew where he was, they were not long in being with him, although it was fully ten miles they had to ride. whenever he got assistance, he caused two of the tinkers, that were most harsh and severe to him, to be hanged immediately, and let the third one, that was most favourable to him, go free. they were hanged a little south-west of the village, at a place which, from the circumstance, is called the gallow-hill to this day. the two skeletons were lately found after the division of the commonty that recently took place. he also, after this time, made a law, that whenever three tinkers, or gipsies, were found going together, two of them should be hanged, and the third set at liberty."[ ] [ ] small's roman antiquities of fife, pages and . small also records a song composed on james v dubbing a tinker a knight. the following order in council is, perhaps, the one to which this tradition alludes: "act of the lords of council respecting john faw, &c., june , . the which day anent the complaint given by john faw and his brother, and sebastiane lalow, egyptians, to the king's grace, ilk ane plenizeand . . . . upon other and divers faults and injuries; and that it is agreed among them to pass home, and have the same decided before the duke of egypt.[ ] the lords of council, being advised with the points of the said complaints, and understanding perfectly the great thefts and _skaiths_ (hurts) done by the said egyptians upon our sovereign lord's lieges, wherever they come or resort, ordain letters to be directed to the provosts and baillies of edinburgh, st. johnstown (perth), dundee, montrose, aberdeen, st. andrews, elgin, forres, and inverness; and to the sheriffs of edinburgh, fife, perth, forfar, kincardine, aberdeen, elgin and forres, banff, cromarty, inverness, and all other sheriffs, stewarts, provosts and baillies, where it happens the said egyptians to resort.[ ] to command and charge them, by open proclamation, at the market crosses of the head burghs of the sheriffdoms, to depart forth of this realm, with their wives, children, and companies, within xxx days after they be charged thereto, under the pain of death; notwithstanding any other letters or privileges granted to them by the king's grace, because his grace, with the advice of the lords, has discharged the same for the causes aforesaid: with certification that if they be found in this realm, the said xxx days being past, they shall be taken and put to death."[ ] [ ] it would seem that john faw had become frightened at the mishap of one of his folk "coming crack over the king's head with a bottle," and that, to pacify his majesty, he had at once gone before him, and informed him that he had prevailed on his "rebellious subjects" to _pass home_, and have the matter in dispute decided by the _duke of egypt_. this would, so far, satisfy the king; but to make sure of getting rid of his troublesome visitors, he issued his commands to the various authorities to see that they really did leave the country.--ed. [ ] it would appear, from the mention that is made here of the authorities of so many towns and counties, "where it happens the said egyptians to resort," that the race was scattered over all scotland at this time, and that it must have been numerous.--ed. [ ] m. s. act. dom. con. vol , fol. .--_blackwood's magazine._ this sharp order in council seems to have been the first edict banishing the gipsies as a whole people--men, women, and children--from scotland. but the king, whom, according to tradition, they had personally so deeply offended, dying in the following year, ( ) a new reign brought new prospects to the denounced wanderers.[ ] they seem to have had the address to recover their credit with the succeeding government; for, in , the writ which passed the privy seal in , forming a sort of league with "john faw, lord and earl of little egypt," was renewed by hamilton, earl of arran, then regent during the minority of queen mary. mclaurin, in his criminal trials, when speaking of john faw, gravely calls him "this peer." "there is a writ," says he, "of the same tenor in favour of this peer from queen mary, same record, april, ; and april, , he gets remission for the slaughter of ninian small." in blackwood's magazine it is mentioned that "andro faw, captain of the egyptians,[ ] and twelve of his gang specified by name, obtained a remission for the slaughter of ninian small, committed within the town of linton, in the month of march last by past upon suddenly." this appears to be the slaughter to which mclaurin alludes. the following are the names of these thirteen gipsies: "andro faw, captain of the egyptians, george faw, robert faw, and anthony faw, his sons, johnne faw, andrew george nichoah, george sebastiane colyne, george colyne, julie colyne, johnne colyne, james haw, johnne browne, and george browne, egyptians." [ ] it is perfectly evident that the severe decree of james v against the gipsies arose from the personal insult alluded to, owing to the circumstance of its falling to the ground after his death, and the gipsies recovering their position with his successor. apart from what the gipsies themselves say on this subject, the ordinary tradition may be assumed to be well founded. if the gipsies were spoken to on the subject of the insult offered to the king, they would naturally reply, that they did not know, from his having been dressed like a beggar, that it was the king; an excuse which the court, knowing his majesty's vagabond habits, would probably receive. but it is very likely that john faw would declare that the guilty parties were those rebels whom he was desirous to catch, and take home with him to egypt! this gipsy king seems to have been a master of diplomacy.--ed. [ ] the gipsy chiefs were partial to the title of captain; arising, i suppose, from their being leaders of large bands of young men employed in theft and robbery. [in spain, such gipsy chiefs, according to mr. borrow, assumed the name of counts.--ed.] from the edict above mentioned, it is evident that the gipsies in scotland, at that time, were allowed to punish the criminal members of their own tribe, according to their own peculiar laws, customs and usages, without molestation. and it cannot be supposed that the ministers of three or four succeeding monarchs would have suffered their sovereigns to be so much imposed on, as to allow them to put their names to public documents, styling poor and miserable wretches, as we at the present day imagine them to have been, "lords and earls of little egypt." judging from the accounts which tradition has handed down to us, of the gay and fashionable appearance of the principal gipsies, as late as about the beginning of the eighteenth century, as will be seen in my account of the tweed-dale bands, i am disposed to believe that anthonius gawino, in , and john faw, in , would personally, as individuals, that is, as gipsy rajahs,[ ] have a very respectable and imposing appearance in the eyes of the officers of the crown. and besides, john faw appears to have been possessed of "divers sums of money, jewels, clothes and other goods, to the quantity of a great sum of money;" and it would seem that some of the officers of high rank in the household of our kings had fingered the cash of the gipsy pilgrims. if there is any truth in the popular and uniform tradition that, in the seventeenth century, a countess of cassilis was seduced from her duty to her lord, and carried off by a gipsy, of the name of john faa, and his band, it cannot be imagined, that the seducer would be a poor, wretched, beggarly tinkler, such as many of the tribe are at this day. if a handsome person, elegant apparel, a lively disposition, much mirth and glee, and a constant boasting of extraordinary prowess, would in any way contribute to make an impression on the heart of the frail countess, these qualities, i am disposed to think, would not be wanting in the "gipsy laddie." and, moreover, john faw bore, on paper at least, as high a title as her husband, lord cassilis, from whom she absconded. it is said the individual who seduced the fair lady was a sir john faw, of dunbar, her former sweetheart, and not a gipsy; but tradition gives no account of a sir john faw, of dunbar.[ ] the falls, merchants, at dunbar, were descended from the gipsy faas of yetholm. [ ] _rajah_--the scottish gipsy word for a chief, governor, or prince. [ ] the author, (mr. finlay,) who claims a sir john faw, of dunbar, to have been the person who carried off the countess of cassilis, gives no authority, as a writer in blackwood says, in support of his assertion. nor does he account for a person of that name being any other than a gipsy. indeed, this is but an instance of the ignorance and prejudice of people generally in regard to the gipsies. the tradition of the hero being a gipsy, i have met with among the english gipsies, who even gave me the name of the lady. john faw, in all probability the king of the gipsies, who carried off the countess, might reasonably be assumed to have been, in point of education, on a par with her, who, in that respect, would not, in all probability, rise above the most humble scotch cow-milker at the present day, whatever her personal bearing might have been.--ed. it is pretty clear that the gipsies remained in scotland, with little molestation, from till --the year in which james vi took the government into his own hands, being a period of about seventy-three years, during which time these wanderers roamed up and down the kingdom, without receiving any check of consequence, excepting the short period--probably about one year--in which the severe order of james v remained in force, and which, in all probability, expired with the king.[ ] [ ] during these seventy-three years of peace, the gipsies in scotland must have multiplied prodigiously, and, in all probability, drawn much of the native blood into their body. not being, at that time, a proscribed race, but, on the contrary, honoured by leagues and covenants with the king himself, the ignorant public generally would have few of those objections to intermarry with them, which they have had in subsequent times. the thieving habits of the gipsies would prove no bar to such connections, as the scottish people were accustomed to thieving of all kinds.--ed. the civil and religious contests in which the nation had been long engaged, particularly during the reign of queen mary, produced numerous swarms of banditti, who committed outrages in every part of the country. the slighter depredations of the gipsy bands, in the midst of the fierce and bloody quarrels of the different factions that generally prevailed throughout the kingdom, would attract but little attention, and the gipsies would thereby escape the punishment which their actions merited. but the government being more firmly established, by the union of the different parties who distracted the country, and the king assuming the supreme authority, which all acknowledged, vigorous measures were adopted for suppressing the excess of strolling vagabonds of every description. in the very year the king was placed at the head of affairs, a law was passed, "for punishment of strong and idle beggars, and relief of the poor and impotent." against the gipsies this sweeping statute is particularly directed, for they are named, and some of their practices pointed out, in the following passage: "and that it may be known what manner of persons are meant to be strong and idle beggars and vagabonds, and worthy of the punishment before specified, it is declared that all idle persons going about the country of this realm, using subtle, crafty and unlawful plays--as jugglery, fast-and-loose, and such others, the idle people calling themselves egyptians, or any other that fancy themselves to have knowledge of prophecy, charming, or other abused sciences, whereby they persuade the people that they can tell their weirds, deaths, and fortunes, and such other fantastical imaginations."[ ] and the following is the mode prescribed for punishing the gipsies, and the other offenders associated with them in this act of parliament: "that such as make themselves fools and are _bairds_, (strolling rhymers,) or other such like runners about, being apprehended, shall be put in the king's ward, or irons, so long as they have any goods of their own to live on, and if they have not whereupon to live of their own, that their ears be nailed to the tron or other tree, and cut off, and (themselves) banished the country; and if thereafter they be found again, that they be hanged."[ ] [ ] in this act of parliament are denounced, along with the gipsies, "all minstrels, songsters, and tale-tellers, not avowed by special licence of some of the lords of parliament or great barons, or by the high burghs and cities, for their common minstrels." "all _vagabond scholars_(_!_) of the universities of st andrews, glasgow, and aberdeen, not licenced by the rector and dean of faculty to _ask alms_." it would seem, from this last extract, that the scottish universities granted diplomas to their students to beg! the gipsies were associated or classed with good company at this time. but beggar students, or student-beggars, were common in other parts of europe during that age.--ed. [ ] glendook's scots acts, james vi, th par. cap. -- th oct. . this statute was ratified and confirmed in the th parliament of james vi, cap. , th june, , wherein the incorrigible gipsies are again referred to: "and for the better trial of common _sorners_ (forcible obtruders,) vagabonds, and masterful beggars, fancied fools, and counterfeit egyptians, and to the effect that they may be still preserved till they be compelled to settle at some certain dwelling, or be expelled forth of the country, &c." the next law in which the gipsies are mentioned, with other vagabonds, was passed in the th parliament of the same reign, th december, , entitled, "strong beggars, vagabonds, and egyptians should be punished." the statute itself reads as follows: "our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify and approve the acts of parliament made before, against strong and idle beggars, vagabonds, and egyptians," with this addition: "that strong beggars and their children be employed in common works, and their service mentioned in the said act of parliament, in the year of god, , to be prorogate in during their life times, &c."[ ] [ ] by the above, and subsequent statutes, in the reign of james vi, "coal and salt-masters might apprehend, and put to labour, all vagabonds and sturdy beggars." the truth is, these kidnapped individuals and their children were made slaves of to these masters. the colliers were emancipated only within these fifty years. it has been stated to me that some of the colliers in the lothians are of gipsy extraction. [our author might have said _gipsies_; for being "of gipsy extraction," and "gipsies," are expressions quite synonymous, notwithstanding the application by the public of the latter term to the more original kind of gipsies only.--ed.] all the foregoing laws were again ratified and enforced by another act, in the same reign, th november, . the following extract will serve to give some explanation how these statutes were neglected, and seldom put in force: "and how the said acts have received little or no effect or execution, by the oversight and negligence of the persons who were nominated justices and commissioners, for putting of the said acts to full and due execution, so that the strong and idle beggars, being for the most part thieves, _bairds_, (strolling rhymers,) and counterfeit _limmers_, (scoundrels,) living most insolently and ungodly, without marriage or baptism, are suffered to _vaig_ and wander throughout the whole country."[ ] "but," says baron hume, "all ordinary means having proved insufficient to restrain so numerous and so sturdy a crew, the privy council at length, in june, , were induced to venture on the more effectual expedient, (recommended by the example of some other realm,) of at once ordering the whole race to leave the kingdom by a certain day, and never to return under the pain of death.[ ] a few years after, this proclamation was converted into perpetual law, by statute , cap. , with this farther convenient, but very severe, provision toward the more effectual execution of the order, that it should be lawful to condemn and execute them to the death, upon proof made of the single fact 'that they are called, known, repute and holden egyptians'!" as this is the only statute exclusively relating to, and denouncing, the gipsies, i shall give it at length. [ ] if fletcher of saltoun be correct, when he states that, in his time, which was about the end of the th century, there were two hundred thousand people, (about one-fifth of the whole population,) begging from door to door in scotland, it would be a task of no little difficulty, for those in power, to put in force the laws against the gipsies, and vagabonds generally. the editor of dr. pennicuick's history of tweed-dale, thinks fletcher's is an over-charged picture. some are of opinion that, when he made his statement, he included the greater part of the inhabitants of the scottish border, and also those in the north of scotland; for, he said, the highlands "was an inexhaustible source of beggars," and wished these banditti transplanted to the low country, and to people the highlands from hence. [ ] the records in which this order is contained are lost. " . act anent the egyptians. our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify, approve, and perpetually confirm the act of secret council, made in the month of june or thereby, years, and proclamation following thereupon, commanding the vagabonds, _sorners_ (forcible obtruders), and common thieves, commonly called egyptians, to pass forth of this kingdom, and remain perpetually forth thereof, and never to return within the same, under pain of death; and that the same have force and execution after the first day of august next to come. after the which time, if any of the said vagabonds, called egyptians, as well women as men, shall be found within this kingdom, or any part thereof, it shall be lawful to all his majesty's good subjects, or any one of them, to cause take, apprehend, imprison, and execute to death the said egyptians, either men or women, as common, notorious, and condemned thieves, by one assize only to be tried, that they are called, known, repute and holden egyptians: in the which cause, whosoever of the assize happen to _clenge_ (exculpate) any of the aforesaid egyptians pannelled, as said is, shall be pursued, handled and censured as committers of wilful error: and whoever shall, any time thereafter, reset, receive, supply, or entertain any of the said egyptians, either men or women, shall lose their escheat, and be warded at the judge's will: and that the sheriffs and magistrates, in whose bounds they shall publicly and avowedly resort and remain, be called before the lords of his highness' secret council, and severely censured and punished for their negligence in execution of this act: discharging all letters, protections, and warrants whatsoever, purchased by the said egyptians, or any of them, from his majesty or lords of secret council, for their remaining within this realm, as surreptitiously and deceitfully obtained by their knowledge: annulling also all warrants purchased, or hereafter to be purchased, by any subject of whatsoever rank within this kingdom, for their reset, entertaining, or doing any manner of favour to the said egyptians, at any time after the said first day of august next to come, for now and ever."[ ] in a subsequent enactment, in , appointing justices of the peace and constables, the destruction of the proscribed egyptians is particularly enjoined, in defining the different duties of the magistrates and their peace officers.[ ] [ ] glendook's scots act. [ ] ib. but so little respected was the authority of the government, that in , three years after the passing of the gipsy act, his majesty was under the humiliating necessity of entering into a contract with the clan scott, and their friends, by which the clan bound themselves "to give up all bands of friendship, kindness, oversight, maintenance or assurance, if any we have, with common thieves and broken clans, &c." it is certain there would be many bonds of the same nature with other turbulent clans throughout the kingdom. that scotchmen of respectability and influence protected the gipsies, and afforded them shelter on their lands, after the promulgation of the cruel statute of , is manifest from the following passages, which i extract from blackwood's magazine, for ; the conductor of which seems to have been careful in examining the public records for the documents quoted by him; having been guided in his researches, i believe, by sir walter scott. "in february, , we find a remission under the privy seal, granted to william auchterlony, of cayrine, for resetting of john faw and his followers.[ ] on the th july, , the sheriff of forfar is severely reprimanded for delaying to execute some gipsies, who had been taken within his jurisdiction, and for troubling the council with petitions in their behalf. in november following appears a proclamation against egyptians and their resetters. in december, , we find another proclamation against resetters of them; in april, , another proclamation of the same kind, and in july, , a commission against resetters, all with very severe penalties. the nature of these acts will be better understood from the following extract from that of the th july, , which also very well explains the way in which the gipsies contrived to maintain their footing in the country, in defiance of all the efforts of the legislature to extirpate them." "it is of truth that the thieves and _limmers_ (scoundrels), aforesaid, having for some short space after the said act of parliament, ( ,) . . . dispersed themselves in certain secret and obscure places of the country . . . they were not known to wander abroad in troops and companies, according to their accustomed manner, yet, shortly thereafter, finding that the said act of parliament was neglected, and that no enquiry nor . . . was made for them, they began to take new breath and courage, and . . . unite themselves in infamous companies and societies, under . . . commanders, and continually since then have remained within the country, committing as well open and avowed _rieffis_ (robberies) in all parts . . . murders, . . . _pleine stouthe_ (common theft) and pickery, where they may not be mastered; and they do shamefully and mischievously abuse the simple and ignorant people, by telling fortunes, and using charms, and a number of juggling tricks and falseties, unworthy to be heard of in a country subject to religion, law, and justice; and they are encouraged to remain within the country, and to continue in their thievish and juggling tricks and falseties, not only through default of the execution of the said act of parliament, but, what is worse, that great numbers of his majesty's subjects, of whom some outwardly pretend to be famous and unspotted gentlemen, have given and give open and avowed protection, reset, supply and maintainance, upon their grounds and lands, to the said vagabonds, _sorners_, (forcible obtruders,) and condemned thieves and _limmers_, (scoundrels,) and suffer them to remain days, weeks, and months together thereupon, without controulment, and with connivance and oversight, &c." "so they do leave a foul, infamous, and ignominious spot upon them, their houses, and posterity, that they are patrons to thieves and _limmers_, (scoundrels,)" &c.[ ] [ ] the nature of this crime in scotch law is fully explained in the following extract from the original, which also appears curious in other respects. the pardon is granted "pro receptione, supportatione, et detentione supra terra suas de belmadie, et infra eius habitationis domium, aliaq. edificia eiusdem, _joannis fall_, _ethiopis_, _lie egiptian_, eiusq. uxoris, puerorum, servorum et associatorum; necnon pro ministrando ipsis cibum, potum, pecunias, hospicium, aliaq. necessaria, quocunq. tempore vel occasione preterita, contra acta nostri parliamenti vel secreti concilii, vel contra quecunq. leges, alia acta, aut constitutiones huius nostri regni scotiæ in contrarium facta." regist. secreti sigilli vol. lxxxiii, fol. , _blackwood's magazine_.--ed. [ ] the same state of things existed in spain. charles ii. passed a law on the th june, , the th article of which, as given by mr. borrow, enacts: "and because we understand that the continuance of those who are called gitanos has depended on the favour, protection, and assistance which they have experienced from persons of _different stations_, we do ordain that whosoever against whom shall be proved the fact of having, since the day of the publication hereof, favoured, received, or assisted the said gitanos, in any manner whatever, whether _within their houses_ or without, _provided he is a noble_, shall be subjected to the fine of _six thousand ducats_, . . . . and _if a plebeian_, to a _punishment of ten years in the galleys_." such an enactment would surely prove that the gipsies in spain were _greatly_ favoured by the spanish people generally, even two centuries after they entered the country. the causes to which may be attributed this toleration, even encouragement, of the gipsies, are various. among these may be mentioned a fear of consequences to person and property, tinkering, trafficking and amusement, and corruption on the part of those in power. but in the character of the gipsies itself may be found a general cause for their escaping the effects of the laws passed against them, viz., _wheedling_. the term gitano has been variously modified in the spanish language, thus: gitano. _gipsy_, _flatterer_; gitanillo, _a little gipsy_; gitanismo, _the gipsy tribe_; gitanesco, _gipsy-like_; gitanear, _to flatter_, _entice_; gitaneria, _wheedling_, _flattery_; gitanamento, _in a sly, winning manner_; gitanada, _blandishment_, _wheedling_, _flattery_.--ed. from their first arrival in the country till , the gipsies, as already mentioned, appear to have been treated as a separate people, observing their own laws and customs. in the year , such was the state of society in scotland, that laws were passed by james vi, compelling all the baronial proprietors of lands, chiefs and captains of clans, on the borders and highlands of scotland, to find pledges and securities for the peaceable conduct of their retainers, tenants, clansmen, and other inhabitants of their respective estates and districts.[ ] in the same parliament another act was passed, allowing vagabonds and broken and unpledged men to produce pledges and securities for their good conduct. the gipsies, under these statutes, would remain unmolested, as they would readily find protection by becoming, nominally, clansmen, and assuming the surnames, of those chieftains and noblemen who were willing and able to afford them protection.[ ] indeed, the act allowing vagabonds to find sureties would include the gipsy bands, for, about this period, they seem to have been only classed with our own native vagabonds, moss-troopers, border and highland thieves, broken clans and masterless men. it appears by the act of , that the gipsies had even purchased their protection from the government. the inhabitants of scotland being at this period still divided into clans, would greatly facilitate the escape of the gipsies from the laws passed against them. the clans on the borders and highlands were in a state of almost constant warfare with one another; and frequently several of the clans were united in opposition to the regular government of the country, to whose mandates they paid little or no regard. the gipsies had no settled residence, but roamed from place to place over the whole country; and when they found themselves in danger in one place, they had no more to do but remove into the district inhabited by a hostile clan, where they would immediately find protection. besides, the borderers and highlanders, themselves plunderers and thieves, would not be very active in apprehending their brother thieves, the gipsies. even, according to holinshed, "the poison of theft and robbery pervaded almost all classes of the scottish community about this period." [ ] there were clans on the borders, and clans in the highlands, who appear to have had chiefs and captains over them. there were baronial proprietors connected with the borders, and connected with the highlands, named in a roll, who were likewise ordered to find pledges.--_glendook's scots acts._ [ ] it sometimes happened, when an internal quarrel took place in a clan, portions of the tribe left their chief, and united themselves to another, whose name they assumed and dropped their original one. the excessive severity of the sanguinary statute of , and the unrelenting manner in which it was often carried into effect, were calculated to produce a great outward change on the scottish gipsies. like stags selected from a herd of deer, and doomed to be hunted down by dogs, these wanderers were now singled out, and separated from the community, as objects to whom no mercy was to be shown.[ ] the word egyptian would never be allowed to escape their lips; not a syllable of their peculiar speech would be uttered, unless in the midst of their own tribe. it is also highly probable that every part of their dress by which their fraternity could be recognized, would be carefully discontinued. to deceive the public, they would also conform _externally_ to some of the religious rites, ceremonies, observances, and other customs of the natives of scotland. i am further inclined to think that it would be about this period, and chiefly in consequence of these bloody enactments, the gipsies would, in general, assume the ordinary christian and surnames common at that time in scotland. and their usual sagacity pointed out to them the advantages arising from taking the cognomens of the most powerful families in the kingdom, whose influence would afford them ample protection, as adopted members of their respective clans. in support of my opinion of the origin of the surnames of the gipsies of the present day, we find that the most prevailing names among them are those of the most influential of our noble families of scotland; such as stewart, gordon, douglas, graham, ruthven, hamilton, drummond, kennedy, cunningham, montgomery, kerr, campbell, maxwell, johnstone, ogilvie, mcdonald, robertson, grant, baillie, shaw, burnet, brown, keith, &c.[ ] if, even at the present day, you enquire at the gipsies respecting their descent, the greater part of them will tell you that they are sprung from a bastard son of this or that noble family, or other person of rank and influence, of their own surname.[ ] this pretended connexion with families of high rank and power has saved some of the tribe from the gallows even in our own time. the names, however, of the two principal families, faw, (now faa,) and bailyow, (now baillie,) appear not to have been changed since the date of the order in council or league with james v, in the year , as both of these names are inserted in that document. [ ] the reader will see that the gipsies, at this time, were not greater "vagabonds" than great numbers of native scotch, if as great. but, being strangers in the country, sojourners according to their own account, the king would naturally enough banish them, as they seem always to have been saying that they were about leaving for "their own country." their living in tents, a mode of life so different from that of the natives, would, of itself, make them obnoxious to the king personally.--ed. [ ] the english gipsies say that native names were assumed by their race in consequence of the proscription to which it was subjected. german gipsies, on arrival in america, change, at least modify, their names. there are many of them who go under the names of smith, miller, and waggoner. jews frequently bear names common to the natives of the countries in which they are to be found, and sometimes, at the present day, assume christian ones. i knew two german jews, of the name of cohen, who settled in scotland. one of them, who was a priest, retained the original name; but the other, who was a watchmaker, assumed the name of cowan, which, singularly enough, the priest said, was a corruption of cohen.--ed. [ ] it is stated by paget, in his travels in hungary, that the gipsies in that country have a profound regard for aristocracy; and that they invariably follow that class in the matter of religious opinions. grellmann says as much in regard to the gipsy's desire of getting hold of a distinguished old coat to put on his person.--ed. baron hume, on the criminal law of scotland, gives the following account of some of the trials and executions of the gipsies: "the statute ( ) annuls at the same time all protection and warrants purchased by the egyptians from his majesty's privy council, for their remaining within the realm; as also all privileges purchased by any person to reset, entertain, or do them any favour. it appears, indeed, from a paper in the appendix to mclaurin's cases, that even the king's servants and great officers had not kept their hands entirely pure of this sort of treaty with the egyptian chiefs, from whom some supply of money might in this way be occasionally obtained. "the first gipsies that were brought to trial on the statute, were four persons of the name of faa, who, on the st july, , were sentenced to be hanged. they had pleaded upon a special license from the privy council, to abide within the country; but this appearing to be clogged with a condition of finding surety for their appearance when called on, and their surety being actually at the horn, for failure to present themselves, they were held to have infringed the terms of their protection. "the next trial was on the th and th july, , in the case of other two faas and a baillie, (which seem to have been noted names among the gipsies;) and here was started that plea which has since been repeated in almost every case, but has always been overruled, viz: that the act and proclamation were temporary ordinances, and applicable only to such egyptians as were in the country at their date. these pannels, upon conviction, were ordered by the privy council to find caution to the extent of , merks, to leave scotland and never to return; and having failed to comply with this injunction, they were in consequence condemned to die. "in january, , follows a still more severe example; no fewer than eight men, among whom captain john faa and other five of the name of faa, being convicted, were doomed to death on the statute. some days after, there were brought to trial helen faa, relict of captain faa, lucretia faa, and other women to the number of eleven; all of whom were in like manner convicted, and condemned to be drowned! but, in the end, their doom was commuted for banishment, (under pain of death,) to them and all their race. the sentence was, however, executed on the male convicts; and it appears that the terror of their fate had been of material service; as, for the space of more than years from that time, there is no trial of an egyptian." but notwithstanding this statement of baron hume, of the gipsy trials having ceased for half a century, we find, twelve years after , the date of the above trials, the following order of the privy council: "anent some egyptians. at edinburgh, th november, . forasmuch as sir arthur douglas of quhittinghame having lately taken and apprehended some of the vagabond and counterfeit thieves and _limmers_, (scoundrels,) called the egyptians, he presented and delivered them to the sheriff principal of the sheriffdom of edinburgh, within the constabulary of haddington, where they have remained this month or thereby: and whereas the keeping of them longer, within the said tolbooth, is troublesome and burdensome to the town of haddington, and fosters the said thieves in an opinion of impunity, to the encouraging of the rest of that infamous _byke_ (hive) of lawless _limmers_ (scoundrels) to continue in their thievish trade: therefore the lords of secret council ordain the sheriff of haddington, or his deputies, to pronounce doom and sentence of death against so many of these counterfeit thieves as are men, and against so many of the women as want children; ordaining the men to be hanged, and the women to be drowned; and that such of the women as have children, to be scourged through the burgh of haddington, and burned in the cheek; and ordain and command the provost and baillies of haddington to cause this doom be executed upon the said persons accordingly."[ ] [ ] blackwood's magazine. "towards the end of that century," continues baron hume, "the nuisance seems to have again become troublesome. on the th of december, , john baillie and six men more of the same name, along with the wife of one of them, were indicted as egyptians, and also for sundry special misdeeds; and being convicted, (all but the woman,) they were ordered for execution. but in this case it is to be remarked, that the court had so far departed from the rigour of the statute as not to sustain a relevancy on the habit and repute of being an egyptian of itself, but only 'along with one or other of the facts of picking and little thieving;' thus requiring some proof of actual guilt in aid of the fame. in the next trial, which was that of william baillie, june th, , a still further indulgence was introduced; for the interlocutor required a proof, not of _one_ only, but of _several_, of the facts of 'picking or little thieving, or of several acts of beating and striking with invasive weapons.' he was only convicted as an egyptian, and of _one_ act of striking with an invasive weapon, and he escaped in consequence with his life. "this lenient course of dealing with the gipsies was not taken, however, from any opinion of it as a necessary thing, nor was there any purpose of prescribing it as a rule for other times, or for further cases of the kind where such an indulgence might seem improper, as appears from the interlocutor of relevancy in the case of john kerr, and helen yorkston, and william baillie and other seven; in both of which the simple fame and character of being an egyptian is again found _separatum_ relevant to infer the pain of death, ( th and th august, .) kerr and yorkston had a verdict in their favour; baillie and two of his associates were condemned to die; but as far as concerns baillie, (for the others were executed,) his doom was afterwards mitigated into transportation, under pain of death in case of return. "as early as the month of august, , the same man, (as i understand it,) was again indicted, not only for being found in britain, but for continuing his former practices and course of life. notwithstanding this aggravation, the interlocutor is again framed on the indulgent plan, and only infers the pain of death, from the fame and character of being an egyptian, joined with various acts of violence and sorning, to the number of three, that are stated in the libel. though convicted nearly to the extent of the interlocutor, he again escaped with transportation.[ ] [ ] this, and part of the preceding paragraph, will be quoted again, under the chapter of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies. "nor have i observed that the court, in any later case, have thought it necessary to proceed upon the repute alone, unavouched by evidence of, at least, one act of theft or violence; so that, upon the whole, according to the practice of later times, this sort of charge seems to be reduced nearly to the level of the charge of being habit and repute a thief at common law." it is noticed by baron hume that the faas and the baillies were noted names among the gipsies. indeed, the trials referred to by him are all of persons bearing these two surnames, except two individuals only. the truth is, the faas and the baillies were the two principal families among the gipsies; giving, according to their customs, kings and queens to their countrymen in scotland. they would be more bold, daring, and presumptuous in their conduct than the most part of their followers; and, being leaders of the banditti, government, in all probability, would fix upon them as the most proper objects for destruction, as the best and easiest method of overawing and dispersing the whole tribe in the country, by cutting off their chiefs. as i have already mentioned, these two principal clans of faw and bailyow appear to be the only gipsy families in scotland who have retained the original surnames of their ancestors, at least of those whose names are inserted in the treaty with james v, in . it will be seen, under the head tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies, that tradition has represented william baillie, who was tried in and , as a bastard son of the ancient family of lamington, (his mother being a gipsy). it appears to me that the gipsy policy of joining themselves to some family of rank was, in baillie's case, of very important service, not only to himself but to the whole tribe in scotland.[ ] the extraordinary lenity shown to him by the court, after such repeated aggravation, cannot be accounted for in any other way than that great interest had been used in his behalf, in some quarter or other; and that, by creating a merciful precedent in his case, it was afterwards followed in the trial of all others of the race in scotland. [ ] from the time of arrival of the gipsies in the country, in , till , the date of the first trials of the tribe, as given by baron hume, a period of years had elapsed; during which time there had doubtless been five generations of gipsies added to the population, as scottish subjects; to put whom to death, on the mere ground of being egyptians, was contrary to every principle of natural justice. the cruelty exercised upon them was quite in keeping with that of reducing to slavery the individuals, and their descendants, who constituted the colliers, coal-bearers, and salters referred to in the following interesting note, to be found in "my schools and schoolmasters," of hugh miller. "the act for manumitting our scotch colliers was passed in the year , forty-nine years prior to the date of my acquaintance with the class of niddry. but though it was only such colliers of the village as were in their fiftieth year when i knew them, (with, of course, all the older ones,) who had been born slaves, even its men of thirty had actually, though not nominally, come into the world in a state of bondage, in consequence of certain penalties attached to the emancipation act, of which the poor ignorant workers under ground were both too improvident and too little ingenious to keep clear. they were set free, however, by a second act passed in . the language of both these acts, regarded as british ones of the latter half of the last century, and as bearing reference to british subjects living within the limits of the island, strikes with startling effect. 'whereas,' says the preamble of the older act--that of --'by the statute law of scotland, as explained by the judges of the courts of law there, many colliers, and coal-bearers, and salters, are in a state of _slavery or bondage_, bound to the collieries or salt works, where they work _for life, transferable with the collieries or salt works_; and whereas, the emancipation,' &c., &c. a passage in the preamble of the act of is scarcely less striking: it declares that, notwithstanding the former act, 'many colliers and coal-bearers _still continue in a state of bondage_' in scotland. the history of our scotch colliers would be found a curious and instructive one. their slavery seems not to have been derived from the ancient time of general serfship, but to have originated in comparatively modern acts of the scottish parliament, and in decisions of the court of session--in acts of parliament in which the poor ignorant subterranean men of the country were, of course, wholly unrepresented, and in decisions of a court in which no agent of theirs ever made appearance in their behalf." what is here said of a history of scotch colliers being "curious and instructive," is applicable in an infinitely greater degree to that of the gipsies.--ed. chapter iv. linlithgowshire gipsies.[ ] [ ] this and the following three chapters are illustrative of the gipsies, in their wild state, previous to their gradual settlement and civilization, and are applicable to the same class in every part of the world. chapter vi, on the gipsies of tweed-dale and clydesdale, might have been taken the first in order, as descriptive of the tribe in its more primitive condition, but i have allowed it to remain where it stands. a description of the habits peculiar to the race will be found, more or less, in all of these chapters, where they can be consulted, for the better identification of the facts given.--ed. the gipsies who frequented the banks of the forth, and the counties northward, appear to have been more daring than those who visited some other parts of scotland. within these sixty years, a large horde, of very desperate character, resided on the banks of the avon, near the burgh of linlithgow. at first, they quartered higher up on the stirling side of the stream, at a place called walkmilton; but latterly they took up their abode in some old houses, on the linlithgow side of the river, at or near the bridge of linlithgow. these gipsies displayed much sagacity in carrying on their trade, by selecting the neighbourhood of falkirk and linlithgow for their headquarters, as this was, perhaps, the most advantageous position in all scotland that a gipsy band could occupy. the district was of itself very populous, and a very considerable trade and bustle then existed at the port of bo'ness, in the vicinity. all the intercourse between edinburgh and glasgow passed a few miles to the south of their quarters. the traffic, by carts, between glasgow and the west of scotland, and the shipping at carron-shore, elphingston-pow and airth, on the forth, before the canal was cut, was immense; all which traffic, as well as that between fife and the western districts, passed a few miles north of their position. the road for travellers and cattle from the highlands, by way of stirling, crossed the above-mentioned roads, and led, through falkirk and linlithgow, to edinburgh, the eastern and southern counties of scotland, and england. the principal surnames of this gipsy band were mcdonald, jamieson, wilson, gordon and lundie. frequently the number that would assemble together would amount to upwards of thirty souls, and it was often observed that a great many females and children were seen loitering about their common place of residence. no protection was given by them to our native vagrants, nor were any of our common plunderers, vagabonds, or outlaws suffered to remain among them. when at home, or traversing the country, the trade and occupation of this band were exactly the same as those of their friends in other parts of scotland, viz: making wool-cards, cast-iron soles for ploughs, smoothing-irons, horn spoons, and repairing articles in the tinker line. the old females told fortunes, while the women in general assisted their husbands in their work, by blowing the bellows, scraping and polishing the spoons with glass and charred wood, and otherwise completing their articles for sale. many of the males dealt in horses, with which they frequented fairs--that great resort of the gipsies; and these wanderers, in general, were considered excellent judges of horses. numbers of them were fiddlers and pipers, and the tribe often amused themselves with feasting and dancing.[ ] [ ] it appears that, at this period, james wilson, town-piper, and john livingston, hangman, of linlithgow, were both gipsies. [formerly the gipsies were exclusively employed in hungary and transylvania as hangmen and executioners. _grellmann._--ed.] like their race generally, these gipsies were extremely civil and obliging to their immediate neighbours, and those who lived nearest to their quarters, and had the most intercourse with them, in the ordinary affairs of life, were the least afraid of them.[ ] but the farmers and others at a distance, who frequented the markets at falkirk, and other fairs in the neighbourhood, were always a plentiful harvest for the plundering tinklers. their plunderings on such occasions spread a general alarm over the country. but that good humour, mirth, and jocund disposition, peculiar to many of the males of the gipsies, seldom failed to gain the good-will of those who deigned to converse with them with familiarity, or treated them with kindness. they even formed strong attachments to certain individuals of the community, and afforded them protection on all occasions, giving them tokens to present to others of their fraternity, while travelling under night. notwithstanding the good disposition which they always showed under these circumstances, the fiery tinklers often fell out among themselves, on dividing, at home, the booty which they had collected at fairs, and excited feelings of horror in the minds of their astonished neighbours, when they beheld the hurricanes of wrath and fury exhibited by both sexes, and all ages, in the heat of their battles. [ ] this trait in the character of the scottish gipsies is well illustrated in the following anecdote, which appeared in blackwood's magazine. it was obtained by an individual who frequently heard the clergyman in question relate it. "the late mr. leek, minister of yetholm, happened to be riding home one evening from a visit in northumberland, when, finding himself likely to be benighted, for sake of a near cut, he struck into a wild, solitary track, or drove-road, across the fells, by a place called the staw. in one of the derne places through which this path led him, there stood an old deserted shepherd's house, which, of course, was reputed to be haunted. the minister, though little apt to be alarmed by such reports, was, however, somewhat startled on observing, as he approached close to the cottage, a 'grim visage' staring out past a _window claith_, or sort of curtain, which had been fastened up to supply the place of a door, and also several 'dusky figures,' skulking among the bourtree-bushes that had once sheltered the shepherd's garden. without leaving him any time for speculation, however, the knight of the curtain bolted forth upon him, and, seizing his horse by the bridle, demanded his money. mr. leek, though it was now dark, at once recognised the gruff voice, and the great, black, burly head of his next-door neighbour, _gleid neckit will_, the gipsy chief. 'dear me, william,' said the minister, in his usual quiet manner,'can this be you? ye're surely no serious wi' me? ye wadna sae far wrang your character for a good neighbour, for the bit trifle i ha'e to gi'e, william?'--'lord saif us, mr. leek!' said will, quitting the rein, and lifting his hat, with great respect, 'whae wad hae thought o' meeting you out owre here away? ye needna gripe for ony siller to me--i wadna touch a plack o' your gear, nor a hair o' your head, for a' the gowd o' tividale. i ken ye'll no do us an ill turn for this mistak--and i'll e'en see ye safe through the eirie staw--it's no reckoned a very _canny bit_, mair ways nor ane; but i wat ye'll no be feared for the _dead_, and i'll tak care o' the _living_.' will accordingly gave his reverend friend a safe convoy through the haunted pass, and, notwithstanding this ugly mistake, continued ever after an inoffensive and obliging neighbour to the minister, who, on his part, observed a prudent and inviolable secrecy on the subject of this rencounter, during the life time of _gleid nickit will_." i understand this anecdote to apply to old will faa, mentioned in the border gipsies, under chapter vii.--ed. the children of these gipsies attended the principal school at linlithgow, and not an individual at the school dared to cast the slightest reflection on, or speak a disrespectful word of, either them or their parents, although their robberies were everywhere notorious, yet always conducted in so artful a manner that no direct evidence could ever be obtained of them. such was the fear that the audacious conduct of these gipsies inspired, that the magistrates of the royal burgh of linlithgow stood in awe of them, and were deterred from discharging their magisterial duties, when any matter relative to their conduct came before their honours. the truth is, the magistrates would not interfere with them at all, but stood nearly on the same terms with them that a tribe of american indians, who worshipped the devil--not from any respect which they had for his satanic majesty, but from being in constant dread of his diabolical machinations. not a justice of the peace gave the horde the least annoyance, but, on the contrary, allowed them to remain in peaceable possession of some old, uninhabited houses, to which they had no right whatever. instead of endeavouring to repress the unlawful proceedings of the daring tinklers, numbers of the most respectable individuals in linlithgowshire deigned to play at golf and other games with the principal members of the body. the proficiency which the gipsies displayed on such occasions was always a source of interest to the patrons and admirers of such games. at throwing the sledge-hammer, casting the putting-stone, and all other athletic exercises, not one was a match for these powerful tinklers. they were also remarkably dexterous at handling the cudgel, at which they were constantly practising themselves. the honourable magistrates, indeed, frequently admitted the presumptuous tinklers to share a social bowl with them at their entertainments and dinner parties. yet these friends and companions of the magistrates and gentlemen of linlithgowshire were no other than the occasional tenants of kilns, or temporary occupiers of the ground floor of some ruinous, half-roofed houses, without furniture, saving a few blankets and some straw, to prevent their persons from resting upon the cold earth. but, nevertheless, these gipsies made themselves of considerable importance, and possessed an influence over the minds of the community to an extent hardly to be credited at the present day. it was well known that the provost of linlithgow, who was much exposed by riding at all times through the country, in the way of his business as a brewer, had himself received from the gipsies assurance that he would not be molested by the band, and that he was, therefore, at all times, and on all occasions, perfectly safe from being plundered. having in this manner rendered the local authorities entirely passive, or rather neutral, from fear and interest, the audacious gipsies prosecuted their system of plunder and robbery to an alarming extent. notwithstanding the fear which these gipsies inspired in the mind of the community, there were yet individuals of courage who would brave them, if circumstances rendered a meeting with them unavoidable. none, indeed, would dream of wantonly molesting them, but, if brought to the pinch, some would not shrink from encountering them, when acting under the influences of those feelings which call forth the latent courage of even the most timid and considerate of people. such a rencounter resulted in the death of the chief of the linlithgow band, of the name of mcdonald, to whom the others of the tribe gave the title of captain. in a dark night, a gentleman of the name of h----, an officer in the army, and a man of courage, while travelling on the high road, from the eastward to stirlingshire, to visit, as was said, his sweetheart, had occasion to stop, for refreshment, at a public-house near the bridge of linlithgow. the landlord advised him to go no further that night, owing to the road being "foul," meaning that the tinklers had been seen lurking in the direction in which he was travelling. foul or not foul, he would proceed; his particular engagement with the lady making him reluctant to break his promise, and turn back. he called for a gill of brandy, which he shared with the landlord, and deliberately loaded, in his presence, a brace of pistols which he carried about his person. his courage rose with the occasion, and he declared that whoever dared to molest him should not go unpunished. he then mounted his horse and rode forward. on arriving at a place called sandy-ford-burn, a man, in the dark, sprang out from the side of the road, and, laying hold of the bridle of his horse, demanded his money. the horseman being on the alert, and quite prepared for such a demand, with his spirits, moreover, elevated by his dram of brandy, instantly replied by firing one of his pistols at the robber, who fell to the ground. he, however, held fast the bridle reins in his convulsive death grasp, and the horse, being urged forward, dragged him a short distance along the ground. hardly had the shot been fired, ere a voice, close by, was heard to exclaim, "there goes our captain," while a confused cry of vengeance was uttered on all sides, against him by whom he had fallen. but the rider, clapping his spurs to his horse, instantly galloped forward, yet made a narrow escape, for several shots were fired at him, which were heard by the landlord of the public-house which he had just left. the gipsies, in this awkward predicament, carried the body of their chieftain home, and gave out to their neighbours, the country people, the following morning, (sunday,) that he had died very suddenly of iliac passion. his lyke-wake was kept up in their usual manner, and great feastings and drinkings were held by them while his body lay uninterred. after several days of carousing, the remains of the robber were buried in the church-yard of linlithgow.[ ] his funeral was very respectable, having been attended by the magistrates of linlithgow, and a number of the most genteel persons in the neighbourhood. the real cause of the sudden death of the tinkler began to spread abroad, a short time after the burial, but no enquiry was made into the matter. the individual who had done the public a service, by taking off the chief of the banditti, mentioned the circumstance afterwards to his friends, and was afraid of the band for some time thereafter; although it was improbable that, in the dark, they were able to make out, or afterwards ascertain, the person who had made himself so obnoxious to them. [ ] some of the gipsies only put a paper cap on the head, and paper round the feet, of their dead; leaving all the body bare, excepting that they place upon the breast, opposite the heart, a circle made of red and blue ribbons, in form something like the shape of the variegated cockade, worn in the hats of newly-enlisted recruits in the army. [in england it was customary with the gipsies, at one time, to burn the dead, but now they only burn the clothes, and some of the effects of the deceased.--ed.] notwithstanding this prompt and well-merited chastisement which the gipsies received, in their leader being shot dead in his attempt at highway robbery, in the immediate vicinity of their ordinary place of rendezvous, they continued their depredations in their usual manner, but generally took care, as is their custom, to give no molestation to their nearest neighbours. the deceased captain was succeeded, in the chieftainship of the tribe, by his son, alexander mcdonald, who also assumed the title of captain. this man trod in the footsteps of his father in every respect, and exercised his hereditary profession of theft and robbery, with an activity and audacity unequalled by any among his tribe in that part of scotland. the very name of mcdonald and his gang appalled the boldest hearts of those who ventured to travel under night with money in their pockets, in certain parts of the country. his band appears to have been very numerous, as among them some held the subordinate rank of lieutenants, as if they had been organized like a regular military company. james jamieson, his brother-in-law, was also styled captain in this notorious band of gipsies, who were connected with similar bands in england and ireland. mcdonald and his brother-in-law, jamieson, were considered remarkably stout, handsome, and fine-looking men. by constant training at all kinds of athletic exercises, they brought themselves to perform feats of bodily strength and agility which were almost incredible. they were often elegantly dressed in the finest clothes of the first fashion, with linen to correspond. at the same time they were perfect chameleons in respect to their appearance and apparel. mcdonald was frequently observed in three or four different dresses in one market-day. at one time of the day, he was seen completely attired in the best of tartan, assuming the appearance and manners of a highland gentleman in full costume. at another time, he appeared ruffled at hands and breast, booted and spurred, on horseback, as if he had been a man of some consideration. he would again be seen in a ragged coat, with a budget and wallet on his back--a common travelling tinkler. both of these men often dealt in horses, and were themselves frequently mounted on the best of animals. the arabians and tartars are scarcely more partial to horses than the gipsies. the pranks and tricks played by mcdonald were numerous, and many a story is yet remembered of his extraordinary exploits. he took great pains in training and learning some of his horses various evolutions and tricks. he had, at one time, a piebald horse so efficiently trained, and so completely under his management, that it, in some respects, assisted him in his depredations. by certain signals and motions, he could, when he found it necessary, make it clap close to the ground, like a hare in its furrow. it would crouch down in a hollow piece of ground, in a ditch, or at the side of a hedge, so as to hide itself, when mcdonald's situation was like to expose him to detection. with the assistance of one of these well trained-horses, this man, on one occasion, saved his wife, ann jamieson, from prison, and perhaps from the gallows. ann was apprehended near dunfermline for some of her unlawful practices. as the officers of the law were conducting her to prison, mcdonald rode up to the party, and requested permission to speak with their prisoner, which was readily granted, as, from mcdonald's appearance, the officers supposed he had something to say to the woman. he then drew her aside, under the pretence of conversing with her in private, when, in an instant, ann, with his assistance, sprang upon the horse, behind him, and bade good-bye to the messengers, who were amazed at the sudden and unexpected escape of their prisoner. ann was a little, handsome woman, and was considered one of the most expert of the scottish gipsies at conducting a plundering at a fair; and was, on that account, much respected by her tribe. mcdonald and jamieson, like others of the superior classes of gipsies, gave tokens of protection to their particular friends of the community generally. the butchers of linlithgow, when they went to the country, with money to buy cattle, frequently procured these assurances from the gipsies. the shoemakers did likewise, when they had to go to distant markets with their shoes. linlithgow appears even to have been under the special protection of these banditti. mr. george hart, and mr. william baird, two of the most respectable merchants of bo'ness, who had been peddlers in their early years, scrupled not to say that, when travelling through the country, they were seldom without tokens from the gipsies. but if the gipsies were kind to those who kept on good terms with them, they, on the other hand, vindictively tormented their enemies. they would steal sheep, and put the blood and parts of the animal about the premises of those they hated, that they might be suspected of the theft, searched and affronted by the enquiries made about the stolen property. when mcdonald and jamieson attacked individuals on the highway, or elsewhere, and were satisfied that they had little or no money, they were just as ready to supply their wants as to rob them. the idea of plundering the wealthy, and giving the booty to the poor, gives the gipsies great satisfaction. the standard by which this people's conduct can be measured, must be sought for among the robber tribes of tartary, afghanistan, or arabia. many of our scottish gipsies have, indeed, been as ready to give a purse as take one; and it cannot be said that they have lacked in the display of a certain degree of honour peculiar to themselves, as the following well-authenticated fact will illustrate.[ ] [ ] instances have occurred in which an afghan has received a stranger with all the rights of hospitality, and afterwards, meeting him in the open country, has robbed him. the same person, it is supposed, who would plunder a cloak from a traveller who had one, would give a cloak to one who had none.--_hugh murray's asia, vol. , page ._ a gentleman, whose name is not mentioned, while travelling, under night, between falkirk and linlithgow, fell in, on the road, with a man whom he did not know. during the conversation which ensued, he mentioned to the stranger that he was afraid of being attacked, for many a one, he observed, had been robbed on that road. he then urged that they should return, as the safest plan for them both. the stranger, however, replied that he had often travelled the road, yet had never been troubled by any one. after some further conversation, he put his hand into his pocket, and gave the traveller a knife, with which he was desired to proceed without fear.[ ] the traveller now perfectly understood the relation that existed between them, and continued his journey with confidence; but he had not proceeded far ere he was accosted by a foot-pad, to whom he produced the knife. the pad looked at it carefully, said nothing, but passed on, without giving the traveller the slightest annoyance. it is needless to say that the mysterious stranger was no other than the notorious captain mcdonald. the traveller, by his fears and the nature of his conversation, had plainly informed mcdonald of his being possessed of money--a considerable quantity of which he had, indeed, with him--and had the love of booty been the gipsy's sole and constant object, how easily could he, in this instance, have possessed himself of it. but the stronger had put himself, in a measure, under the protection of the robber, who disdained to take advantage of the confidence reposed in him. [ ] a pen-knife, a snuff-box, and a ring are some of the gipsy pass-ports. it is what is marked upon them that protects the bearer from being disturbed by others of the tribe. another instance of a gipsy's honour, generosity, or caprice, or by whatever word the act may be expressed, occurred between mcdonald and a farmer of the name of campbell, and exhibits a singular cast of character, which has not been uncommon among the scottish gipsies. on this occasion, it would appear, the gipsy had been influenced rather by a desire of enjoying the extraordinary surprise of the simple countryman, than of obtaining booty. the occurrence will also give some idea of the part which the cautious chiefs take in plundering at a fair. the particulars are derived from a mr. david mcritchie, of whom i shall again make mention. while campbell was on his way to a market in perth, he fell in with captain mcdonald. being unacquainted with the character of his fellow-traveller, the unsuspecting man told him, among other things, that he had just as much money in his pocket as would purchase one horse, for his four-horse plough, having other three at home. mcdonald heard all this with patience till he came to a solitary part of the road, when, all at once, he turned upon the astonished farmer, and demanded his money. the poor man, having no alternative, immediately produced his purse. but in parting, the robber desired him to call next day at a certain house in perth, where he would find a person who might be of some service to him. campbell promised to do as desired, and called at the house appointed, and great was his surprise, when, on being ushered into a room, he found himself face to face with the late robber, sitting with a large bowl of smoking toddy before him. the gipsy, in a frank and hearty manner, invited his visitor to sit down and share his toddy with him; a request which he readily complied with, although bewildered with the idea of the probable fate of his purse, and the result of his personal adventure. he had scarcely got time, however, to swallow one glass, before he was relieved of his suspense, by the gipsy returning him every farthing of the money he had robbed him of the day before. being now pleased with his good fortune, and the gipsy pressing him to drink, campbell was in no hurry to be gone, his spirits having become elevated with his good cheer, and the confidence with which his host's conduct had inspired him. but his suspicions returned upon him, as he saw pocket-book after pocket-book brought in to his entertainer, during the time he was enjoying his hospitality. the gipsy chief was, in fact, but following a very important branch of his calling, and was, on that day, doing a considerable business, having a number of youths ferreting for him in the market, and coming in and going out constantly. but this crafty gipsy, and his brother-in-law, jamieson, were at last apprehended for house-breaking and robbery. their trials took place at edinburgh, on the th and th of august, , and "the fame of being egyptians" made part of the charge against them in the indictment; a charge well founded, as both of them spoke the "right egyptian language." it was the last instance, i believe, that the fact of their being "called, known, repute, and holden egyptians," made part of the indictment against any of the tribe in scotland, under the sanguinary statute of james vi, chap. , passed in . so cunning are the gipsies, however, in committing crimes, that, in this instance, the criminals, it was understood, would have escaped justice, for want of sufficient proof, had not one of their own band, of the name of jamieson, a youth of about twenty-two years of age, turned king's evidence against his associates. the two unhappy men were then found guilty by the jury, and condemned to die. they were ordered to be executed at linlithgow bridge, near the very spot where their band had their principal rendezvous, with the apparent object of daunting their incorrigible race. immediately after the trial, a report was spread, and generally believed, that the gipsies would attempt a rescue of the criminals on the way to execution, or even from under the gallows itself; and it was particularly mentioned that thirty stout and desperate members of the race had undertaken to set their chieftains free. every precaution was therefore taken, by the authorities, to prevent any such attempt being made. a large proportion of the gentlemen and farmers of the shire of linlithgow were requested, with what arms they could procure, to attend, on foot or horseback, the execution of the desperate tinklers. indeed, every third man of all the fencible men of the county was called upon to appear on the occasion; while a company of pensioners, with a commissioned officer at their head, and a strong body of the military, completed the force deemed necessary for the due execution of justice. besides guarding against the possibility of a rescue on the part of the gipsies, it was generally understood that the steps taken by the authorities, in bringing together so large a body of men, had in view the object of exhibiting to the people the ignominious death of two men who had not only been allowed to remain among them, but, in many instances, countenanced by some of the most respectable inhabitants of the county; and that not only in out-door amusements, but even in some of the special hospitalities of daily life, while in fact they were nothing but the leaders of a band of notorious thieves and robbers. these precautions being completed, the condemned gipsies were bound hand and foot, and conveyed, by the sheriff of edinburgh and a company of the military, to the boat-house bridge, on the river almond--the boundary of the two counties--and there handed over to the sheriff of linlithgow; under whose guard they were carried to the jail of the town of linlithgow, and securely bound in irons, to wait their execution on the morrow.[ ] as night approached, fires were kindled at the door of the prison, and guards posted in the avenues leading to the building, while all the entrances to the town were guarded, and all ingress and egress prohibited, as if the burgh had been in a state of siege. so strictly were these orders put in force, that many of the inhabitants of bo'ness, who had gone to linlithgow, to view the bustle occasioned by the assemblage of so great a number of armed men, were forced to remain in the town over night; so alarmed were the authorities for the onset of the resolute gipsies. it was soon perceived, by some sagacious individuals, that the fires would do more harm than good, as the light would show the prison, expose the sentinels, and guide the gipsy bands. they were accordingly extinguished, and the guards placed in such positions as would enable them, with the most advantage, to repel any attack that might be attempted: yet the enemy that caused all this alarm and precaution was nowhere visible. [ ] "this morning, a little after nine o'clock, mcdonald and jamieson were transported from the tolbooth here, (edinburgh,) escorted by a party of the military, and attended by the sheriff-depute on horseback, with the officers of court, armed with broad-swords, amidst an innumerable crowd of spectators. they were securely pinioned to a cart, and are to be received by the sheriff-depute of linlithgow, on the confines of this county, whither they are to be conveyed, in order to their execution to-morrow, near linlithgow-bridge, pursuant to their sentence."--_ruddiman's weekly magazine_, vol , page . on the following morning, mcdonald's wife requested permission to visit her husband before being led to execution, with what particular object can only be conjectured; a favour which was readily granted her, in the company of a magistrate. on beholding the object of her affection, she became overwhelmed with grief; she threw her arms around his neck, and embraced him most tenderly; and after giving vent to her sorrow in sobs and tears, she tore herself from him, and, turning to the magistrate, exclaimed, with a bursting heart, "is he not a pretty man? what a pity it is to hang him!" arrangements were then made to carry the prisoners to the place of execution, at the bridge of linlithgow, which lay about a mile from the town. the armed force was drawn up at the town-cross, and those who carried muskets were ordered to load them with ball cartridge, and hold themselves ready, at the word of command, upon the least appearance of an attempt at rescue, to fire upon the aggressors. the whole scene presented such an alarming and war-like appearance, that the people of the town and surrounding country compared it to the bustle and military parade which took place, twenty-five years before, when the rebel army made its appearance in the neighbourhood. the judicious arrangements adopted by the officers of the crown had the desired effect; for not the slightest symptom of disturbance, not even a movement, was observed among the gipsies, either on the night before, or on the morning of the execution. the formidable armed bands, ready to overwhelm the presumptuous gipsies, clearly showed them that they had not the shadow of a chance for carrying out their intended rescue. all was peace and silence throughout the immense crowd surrounding the gallows, patiently waiting the appearance of the criminals. in due time the condemned made their appearance, in a cart, accompanied by charles and james jamieson, two youths, sitting beside their father and uncle, busily eating rolls, and, to all appearance, totally indifferent to the fate of their relatives, and the awful circumstances surrounding them. on ascending the platform, jamieson's demeanour was suitable to the circumstances in which he found himself placed; but mcdonald appeared quite unconcerned. he was observed frequently to turn a quid of tobacco in his mouth, and squirt the juice of it around him; it was even evident, from his manner, that he expected to be delivered from the gallows by his tribe; and more especially as he had been frequently heard to say that the hemp was not grown that would hang him. he then began to look frequently and wistfully around him for the expected aid, yet none made its appearance; and his heart began to sink within him. indeed, the overwhelming force then surrounding him rendered a deliverance impossible. every hope having failed him, and seeing his end at hand, mcdonald resigned himself, with great firmness, to his fate, and exclaimed: "i have neither friends on my right hand nor on my left; i see i now must die." jamieson, who appeared from the first never to indulge in vain expectations of being rescued, exclaimed to his fellow-sufferer: "sandie, sandie! it is all over with us, and i told you so long ago." mcdonald then turned to the executioner, whose name was john livingston, and dropping into his hand something, supposed to be money, undauntedly said to him: "now, john, don't bungle your job." both of the unhappy men were then launched into eternity. ever afterwards, the inhabitants of linlithgow pestered the hangman, by calling to him: "now, john, don't bungle your job. what was it the tinkler gave you, john?"[ ] [ ] "on friday last, about three o'clock, mcdonald and jamieson were hanged, at the end of linlithgow bridge. the latter appeared very penitent, but the former very little affected, and, as the saying is, _died hard_."--_ruddiman's weekly magazine_, vol. , page . mcdonald's wife had stood by, a quiet spectator, among the promiscuous crowd, of the melancholy scene displayed before her. but when she had witnessed the closing act of an eventful life--the heroism and fortitude which all she held as dear displayed in his last moments--and enjoyed the satisfaction which it had given her, nature, which the odium of her fellow-creatures, not of her blood, could not destroy, burst forth with genuine expression. the silence attending the awful tragedy was abruptly broken by the lamentable yells and heart-rending screams which she gave vent to, as she beheld her husband turned off the scaffold. two gentlemen, who were present, informed me that she foamed at the mouth, and tore her hair out of her head, and was so completely frantic with grief and rage, that the spectators were afraid to go near her. on the bodies being taken down from the scaffold, an attempt was made to restore them to life, by opening a vein, but without effect. it is said they were buried in the moor near linlithgow, by the gipsies, and that the magistrates of the town ordered them to be taken up, and interred in the east end of the church-yard of linlithgow. however that may be, the bodies were buried in the church-yard of linlithgow; but the populace, delivered from the terror with which these daring gipsies inspired them, treated with ignominy the remains of those whom they dared scarcely look in the face when alive. they dug them out of the place of christian sepulture, and interred them in a solitary field in the neighbourhood. a clump of trees, i believe, marks the spot, and the gloomy pine now waves, in the winds of heaven, over the silent and peaceful graves of the restless and lawless gipsies. mcdonald, it would appear, was married, first of all, to a daughter of a gipsy of the name of eppie lundie, with whom he lived unhappy, and was divorced from her over a horse sacrificed for the occasion, a ceremony which i will describe in another chapter.[ ] he was more fortunate in his second matrimonial alliance, for, in ann jamieson, he found a wife after his own heart in every way. previous to his own execution, she had witnessed the violent deaths of at least six of her own nearest relatives. but, if anything could have influenced, in the slightest degree, a reformation in her own character, it would have been the melancholy scene attending his miserable end; yet, we find it had not the slightest effect upon her after career, for she continued, to the last, to follow the practices of her race, as an anecdote told of her will show. [ ] this eppie lundie lived to the advanced age of a hundred years, and was a terror wherever she travelled. without the least hesitation or scruple, she frequently stripped defenceless individuals of their wearing apparel, leaving them sometimes naked in the open fields. at the north queensferry was a very respectable inn, kept by a mr. mcritchie, which was much frequented and patronized by the gipsies. on such occasions they did not visit the house in whole families or hordes, fluttering in rags, but as well-dressed individuals, arriving from different directions, as if by chance. in this house they were always treated with consideration and kindness, for other reasons than that of the liberal custom which they brought to it, and, as a natural consequence, the landlord and his family became great favourites with them. one of the members of the family, david mcritchie, my informant, happened one day to purchase a horse, at a fair in dunfermline, but in feeling for his pocket-book, to pay for the animal, he found, to his surprise and grief, that book and money were gone. the person from whom he bought the horse commenced at once to abuse him as an impostor, for he not only would not believe his tale, but would not trust him for a moment. under these distressing circumstances, he sought out ann jamieson, or annie mcdonald, after her husband's name, for he knew well enough where his money had gone to, and the sovereign influence which ann exercised over her tribe. being well acquainted with her, from having often met her in his father's house, he went up to her, and putting his hand gently on her shoulder, in a kind and familiar manner, and with a long face, told her of his misfortune, and begged her friendly assistance to help him out of the difficulty, laying much stress on the horse-dealer charging him with an attempt to impose on him. "some o' my laddies will hae seen it, davie; i'll enquire," was her immediate reply. she then took him to a public-house, called for brandy, saw him seated, and desired him to drink. taking the marks of the pocket-book, she entered the fair, and, after various doublings and windings among the crowd, proceeded to her temporary depot of stolen goods. in about half an hour she returned, with the book and all its contents. the cash, bills, and papers which it contained, were in the same parts of the book in which the owner had placed them. this affair was transacted in as cool and business-like a manner as if annie and her "laddies" had been following any of the honest callings in ordinary life. indeed, no example, however severe, no punishment, however awful, seems to have had any beneficial effect upon the minds of these gipsies, or their friends who frequented the surrounding parts of the country, for they continued to follow the ways of their race, in spite of the sanguinary laws of the country. a continuation of their history, up to a period, is little better than a melancholy narrative of a series of imprisonments, banishments, and executions. ann jamieson's two nephews, charles and james jamieson, who rode alongside of their father and uncle to the place of their execution, eating rolls, as if nothing unusual was about to befall them, and who had witnessed their miserable end, in , were themselves executed in for robbing the kinross mail. it was their intention to have committed the deed upon the highway, for, the night before the robbery, their mother, euphan graham, to prevent detection, insisted upon the post-boy being put to death, to which bloody proposition her sons would not consent. it was then agreed that they should secure their prize in the stable yard of an inn in the town, where the post-boy usually stopped. the two highwaymen were traced to a small house near stirling, in which they made a desperate resistance. one of them attempted to ascend the chimney, to effect his escape; but, failing in that, they attacked the officers, and tore at them with their teeth, after having struck furiously at them with a knife. but they were overpowered, and secured in irons. two females were in their company at the time, on whom some of the money was found, most artfully concealed about their persons. so illiterate were these two men that, in crossing the forth at kincardine, they presented a twenty-pound note, to be changed, instead of a twenty-shilling one. according to baron hume, the trial of these two gipsies took place on the th december, . they were assisted in the robbery by other members of their band, including women and children. their mother was said to have been transported for the part which she took in the affair; while another member of the gang was below the age at which criminals can be tried and punished in this country. the two brothers, before they committed the crime, measured themselves in a room in kinross, kept by a mary barclay, and marked their heights on the wall. the one stood six feet two inches, and the other five feet four inches.[ ] [ ] perhaps the author intended to say, six feet two inches, and six feet four inches. still, it might have been as stated in the ms.; for with gipsies of mixed blood, the individual, if he takes after the gipsy, is apt to be short and thick-set. the mixture of the two people produces a strong race of men.--ed. chapter v. fife and stirlingshire gipsies. in this account of the gipsies in fife, the horde which at one period resided at the village of lochgellie are frequently referred to. but it is proper to premise that this noted band were not the only gipsies in fife. this populous county contained, at one time, a great number of nomadic gipsies. the falkland hills and the falkland fairs were greatly frequented by them;[ ] and, not far from st. andrews, some of the tribe had, within these fifty years, a small farm, containing about twenty acres of waste land, on which they had a small foundry, which the country people, on that account, called "little carron." as my materials for this chapter are chiefly derived from the lochgellie band, and their immediate connexions in other districts not far from fife, their manners and customs are, on that account, brought more under review. [ ] in oliver and boyd's scottish tourist, ( ), page , occurs the following passage: "a singular set of vagrants existed long in falkland, called _scrapies_, who had no other visible means of existence than a horse or a cow. their ostensible employment was the carriage of commodities to the adjoining villages, and in the intervals of work they turned out their cattle to graze on the lomond hill. their excursions at night were long and mysterious, for the pretended object of procuring coals, but they roamed with their little carts through the country-side, securing whatever they could lift, and plundering fields in autumn. whenever any enquiry was addressed to a falkland _scrapie_ as to the support of his horse, the ready answer was, 'ou, he gangs up the (lomond) hill, ye ken.' this is now prevented; the lomond is enclosed, and the _scrapies_ now manage their affairs on the road-sides." the people mentioned in this extract are doubtless those to whom our author alludes. the reader will notice some resemblance between them and the tribe in the pyrenees, as described at page .--ed. the village of lochgellie was, at one time, a favourite resort of the gipsies. the grounds in its immediate vicinity are exactly of that character upon which they seem to have fixed their permanent, or rather winter's residence, in a great many parts of scotland. by the statistical account of the parish of auchterderran, lochgellie was almost inaccessible for nearly six months in the year. the bleak and heathy morasses, and rushy wastes, with which the village is surrounded, have a gloomy and melancholy aspect. the scenery and face of the adjoining country are very similar to those in the neighbourhood of biggar, in lanarkshire, and middleton, in midlothian, which were also, at that time, gipsy stations. a little to the south of the spot where the linlithgow band, at one period, had their quarters, the country becomes moory, bleak, and barren. the village of kirk-yetholm, at present full of gipsies, is also situated upon the confines of a wild, pastoral tract, among the cheviot hills.[ ] the gipsies, in general, appear to have located themselves upon grounds of a flattish character, between the cultivated and uncultivated districts; having, on one side, a fertile and populous country, and, on the other, a heathy, boggy, and barren waste, into which they could retire in times of danger.[ ] [ ] yetholm lies in a valley which, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, seems completely sequestered from the rest of the world--alike inaccessible from without, and not to be left from within. the valley has, however, more than one outlet.--_chambers' gazetteer of scotland._--ed. [ ] in hungary, their houses, which are always small, and poor in appearance, are commonly situated in the outskirts of the village, and, if possible, in the neighbourhood of some thicket or rough land.--_bright._--ed. in the statistical account of auchterderran, just alluded to, is to be found the following notice of the lochgellie gipsies: "there are a few persons called _tinkers_ and _horners_, half resident and half itinerant, who are feared and suspected by the community. two of them were banished within these six years." this horde, at one time, consisted of four or five families of the names of graham, brown, robertson, &c. the jamiesons and wilsons were also often seen at lochgellie; but such were the numbers that were coming and going about the village, that it was difficult to say who were residenters, and who were not. some of them had fens from the proprietor of the estate of lochgellie. they were dreaded for their depredations, and were well known to the country people, all over the shires of fife, kinross, perth, forfar, kincardine and aberdeen, by the name of the "lochgellie band." the chiefs of this band were the grahams, at the head of which was old charles graham, an uncommonly stout and fine-looking man. he was banished the kingdom for his many crimes. charlie had been often in courts of justice, and on one occasion, when he appeared for some crime or other, the judge, in a surly manner, demanded of him, what had brought him there?--"the auld thing again, my lord, but nae proof," was the tinkler's immediate reply. ann brown, one of his wives, and the chief female of the band, was also sentenced to banishment for fourteen years; seven of which, however, she spent in the prison of aberdeen. she remained altogether nine years at botany bay, married a gipsy abroad, returned to scotland, with more than a hundred pounds in cash, and now sells earthenware at st. andrews.[ ] being asked why she left botany bay, while making so much money there, she said, "it was to let them see i could come back again." [ ] this woman is most probably dead, and the same may be said of some of the other characters mentioned in this and other chapters.--ed. young charlie graham, son and successor, as chief, to old charlie, was hanged at perth, about thirty years ago, for horse-stealing. the anecdotes which are told of this singular man are numerous. when he was apprehended, a number of people assembled to look at him, as an object of wonder; it being considered a thing almost impossible to take him. his dog had discovered to the messengers the place of his concealment, having barked at them as they came near the spot. his feelings became irritated at the curiosity of the people, and he called out in great bitterness to the officers: "let me free, and gie me a stick three feet lang, and i'll clear the knowe o' them." his feet and hands were so handsome and small, in proportion to the other parts of his athletic body, that neither irons nor hand-cuffs could be kept on his ankles or wrists; without injury to his person the gyves and manacles always slipped over his joints. he had a prepossessing countenance, an elegant figure, and much generosity of heart; and, notwithstanding all his tricks, was an extraordinary favourite with the public. among the many tricks he played, it is related that he once, unobserved, in a grass park, converted a young colt into a gelding. he allowed the animal to remain for some time in the possession of the owner, and then stole it. he was immediately detected, and apprehended; but as the owner swore positively to the description of his horse, and charlie's being a gelding, he got off clear. the man was amazed when he discovered the trick that had been played upon him, but when, where, and by whom done, he was entirely ignorant. graham sold the animal to a third person, again stole it, and replaced it in the park of the original owner. he seemed to take great delight in stealing in this ingenious manner, trying how dexterously he could carry off the property of the astonished natives. he sometimes stole from wealthy individuals, and gave the booty to the indigent, although they were not gipsies; and so accustomed were the people, in some places, to his bloodless robberies, that some only put their spurs to their horses, calling out, as they passed him: "ah ha, charlie lad, ye hae missed your mark to-night!" a widow, with a large family, at whose house he had frequently been quartered, was in great distress for want of money to pay her rent. graham lent her the amount required; but as the factor was returning home with it in his pocket, charlie robbed him, and, without loss of time, returned to the woman, and gave her a full discharge for the sum she had just borrowed from him. he was asked, immediately before his execution, if he had ever performed any good action during his life, to recommend him to the mercy of his offended god. that of giving the widow and fatherless the money of which he immediately afterwards robbed the factor, was the only instance he adduced in his favour; thinking that thereby he had performed a virtuous deed. in the morning of the day on which he was to suffer, he sent a messenger to one of the magistrates, requesting a razor to take off his beard; at the same time, in a calm manner, desiring the person to tell the magistrate that, "unless his beard was shaven, he could appear before neither god nor man." a short time before he was taken out to the gallows, he was observed reclining very pensively and thoughtfully on a seat. all at once he started up, exclaiming, in a mournful tone of voice, "oh, can ony o' ye read, sirs; will some o' ye read a psalm to me?" at the same time regretting much that he had not been taught to read. the fifty-first psalm was accordingly read to him, by a gentleman present, which soothed his feelings exceedingly, and gave him much ease and comfort. he was greatly agitated after ascending the platform--his knees knocking against each other; but just before he was cast off, his inveterate gipsy feelings returned upon him with redoubled violence. he kicked from his feet both of his shoes, in sight of the spectators--to set at nought, as was supposed, some prophecy that he would die with them on; and addressed the assembled crowd in the following words: "i am this day to be married to the gallows-tree, by suffering in the manner of many of my ancestors; and i am extremely glad to see such a number of respectable people at my wedding." a number of the band attended his execution, and, when his body was returned to them, they all kissed it with great affection, and held the usual lyke-wake over it. his sweetheart, or widow, i am uncertain which, of the name of wilson, his own cousin, put his corpse into hot lime, then buried it, and sat on his grave, in a state of intoxication, till it was rendered unfit for the use of the medical gentlemen; it having been reported that he was to be taken out of his grave for the purpose of dissection. this man boasted greatly, while under sentence of death, of never having spilled human blood by committing murder. hugh graham, brother to charlie, above-mentioned, was stabbed with a knife by his own cousin, john young, in aberdeenshire. these powerful gipsies never fell in with each other but a wrestling bout took place. young generally came off victorious, but graham, although worsted, would neither quit young nor acknowledge his inferiority of strength. young frequently desired graham to keep out of his way, as his obstinate disposition would prove fatal to one of them some time or other. they, however, met again, when a desperate struggle ensued. graham was the aggressor; he drew his knife to stab young, who wrested it out of his hand, and stabbing him in the upper part of the stomach, close to the breast, laid his opponent dead at his feet.[ ] in this battle the gipsy females, in their usual manner, took a conspicuous part, by assisting the combatants on either side. [ ] young was chased for nearly thirty miles, by highlanders, on foot, and general gordon of cairnfield, and others, on horseback; and, as he was frequently in view, the affair much resembled a fox-hunt. the hounds were most of them game-keepers--an active race of men; and so exhausted were they, before the gipsy was caught, that they were seen lying by the springs, lapping water with their tongues, like dogs.--_blackwood's magazine._--ed. jenny graham, sister of these grahams, was kept by a gentleman as his mistress; but, although treated with affection, such was her attachment to her old wandering way of life, that she left her protector and his wealth, and rejoined her erratic associates in the gang. she was a remarkably handsome and good-looking woman, and, while she traversed the country, she frequently rode upon an ass, which was saddled and bridled. on these occasions, she was sometimes dressed in a blue riding-habit and a black beaver hat. it was generally supposed that the stolen articles of value belonging to the family were committed to the care of jenny. margaret graham, another sister, is still living, and is a woman of uncommon bodily strength; so much so, that she is considered to be a good deal stronger than the generality of men. she was married to william davidson, a gipsy, at wemyss. they have a large family, and sell earthenware through the country. john young, who stabbed his cousin, hugh graham, was one of seven sons, and though above five feet ten inches in height, his mother used to call him "the dwarf o' a' my bairns." he was condemned and hanged at aberdeen for the murder. he wrote a good hand, and the country-people were far from being displeased with his society, while he was employed in repairing their pots and pans in the way of his calling. sarah graham, his mother, was of the highest tinkler mettle. she lost a forefinger in a gipsy fray. peter young, another son of sarah's, was also hanged at edinburgh, after breaking a number of prisons in which he was confined. he is spoken of as a singular man. such was his generosity of character, that he always exerted himself to the utmost to set his fellow-prisoners free, although they happened not to be in the same apartment of the prison. the life of this man was published about the time of his execution. when any one asked old john young where his sons were, his reply was, "they are all hanged." they were seven in number, and it was certainly a fearful end of a whole family. the following is an extract of a letter addressed to mr. blackwood, from aberdeen, relative to peter young: "it is said, in your far-famed magazine, that peter young, brother to john young, the gipsy, likewise suffered at _aberdeen_. it is true that he received sentence to die there, but the prison and all the irons the persons were able to load him with, somehow or other, were found insufficient to prevent him from making his escape. after he had repeatedly broken loose, and had been as often retaken, the magistrates at last resolved that he should be effectually secured; and, for that purpose, ordered a great iron chain to be provided, and peter to be fast bound in it. as the jailer was making everything, as he thought, most secure, peter, with a sigh, gazed on him, and said, 'ay, ay, i winna come out now till i come out at the door;' making him believe that he would not be able to make his escape again, nor come out till the day fixed for his execution. but the great iron chain, bolts and bars, were all alike unable to withstand his skill and strength: he came out, within a few nights, at the 'door,' along with such of his fellow-prisoners as were inclined to avail themselves of the 'catch;' but he was afterwards taken, and conveyed to edinburgh, and there made to suffer the penalty which his crimes deserved.--d. c."[ ] [ ] our author says that the life of peter young was published. the following particulars, quoted in an account of the gipsies, in the sixteenth volume of chambers' miscellany, are probably taken from that source: "peter was captain of a band well known in the north of scotland, where his exploits are told to this day. possessed of great strength of body, and very uncommon abilities, he was a fine specimen of his race, though he retained all their lawless propensities. he was proud, passionate, revengeful, a great poacher, and an absolute despot, although a tolerably just one, over his gang, maintaining his authority with an oak stick, the principal sufferers from which were his numerous wives."--"he esteemed himself to be a very honourable man, and the keepers of the different public-houses in the country seem to have thought that, to a certain extent, he was so. he never asked for trust as long as he had a half-penny in his pocket. at the different inns which he used to frequent, he was seldom or never denied anything. if he pledged his word that he would pay his bill the next time he came that way, he punctually performed his promise." "peter's work was that of a very miscellaneous nature. it comprehended the profession of a blacksmith, in all its varieties, a tin-smith, and brazier. his original business was to mend pots, pans, kettles, &c., of every description, and this he did with great neatness and ingenuity. having an uncommon turn for mechanics, he at last cleaned and repaired clocks and watches. he could also engrave on wood or metal; so also could his brother john; but where they learned any of these arts i never heard. peter was very handy about all sorts of carpenter work, and occasionally amused himself, when the fancy seized him, in executing some pieces of curious cabinet work that required neatness of hand. he was particularly famous in making fishing-rods, and in the art of fishing he was surpassed by few." immediately before _one_ of the days fixed for his execution, he seized the jailer, and, upon the threat of instant death, compelled him to lay on his back, as one dead, till he had set at liberty every one in the prison, himself being the last to leave the building. after travelling twenty-four miles, he went to sleep in the snow, and was apprehended by a company of sportsmen, whose dogs had made a dead set at him. on being taken to the gallows, one of the crowd cried: "peter, deny you are the man!"--which he did, declaring that his name was john anderson, and wondered what the people wanted with him. and there being none present who could identify him, although he was well known in aberdeen, he managed to get off clear.--ed. charles brown, one of the principal members of the lochgellie band, was killed in a desperate fight at raploch, near stirling. a number of gipsy boys, belonging to several gangs in the south, obtained a considerable quantity of plunder, at a fair in perth, and had, in the division of the spoil, somehow or another, imposed on the lochgellie tribe, and their associates. charles graham, already mentioned, and charles brown, went south in pursuit of the young depredators, for the purpose of compelling them to give up their ill-gotten booty to those to whom, by the gipsy regulations, it of right belonged. after an arduous chase, the boys were overtaken near stirling, when a furious battle immediately commenced. both parties were armed with bludgeons. after having fought for a considerable time, with equal success on both sides, graham, from some unknown cause, fled, leaving his near relation, brown, to contend alone with the youths, in the best way he could. the boys now became the assailants, and began to press hard upon brown, who defended himself long and manfully with his bludgeon, displaying much art in the use of his weapon, in warding off the lighter blows of his opponents, which came in upon him from all quarters. at length he was forced to give way, although very few of the blows reached his person. on retreating, with his front to his assailants, his foot struck upon an old feal dyke, when he fell to the ground. the enraged youths now sprang in upon him, like tigers, and, without showing him the least mercy, dispatched him on the spot, by literally beating out his brains with their bludgeons. brown's coat was brought home to lochgellie, by some of his wife's friends, with the collar and shoulders besmeared all over with blood and brains, with quantities of his hair sticking in the gore. it was preserved for some time in this shocking condition by his wife, and exhibited as a proof that her husband had not fled, as well as to arouse the clan to vengeance. my informant, a man about fifty years of age, with others, saw this dreadful relique of brown, in the very state in which it is now described. alexander brown, another member of the lochgellie band, happened, on one occasion, to be in need of butcher meat, for his tribe. he had observed, grazing in a field, in the county of linlithgow, a bullock that had, by some accident, lost about three-fourths of its tail. he procured a tail of a skin of the same colour as that of the animal, and, in an ingenious manner, made it fast to the remaining part of its tail. disguised in this way, he drove off his booty; but after shipping the beast at the queens-ferry, on his way to the north, a servant, who had been dispatched in quest of the depredator, overtook him as he was stepping into the boat. an altercation immediately commenced about the ox. the countryman said he could swear to the identity of the animal in brown's possession, were it not for its long tail; and was proceeding to examine it narrowly, to satisfy himself on that particular, when the ready-witted gipsy, ever fertile in expedients to extricate himself from difficulties, took his knife out of his pocket, and, in view of all present, cut off the tail above the juncture, drawing blood instantly; and, throwing it into the sea, called out to the pursuer, with some warmth: "swear to the ox now, and be ---- to ye." the countryman said not another word, but returned home, while the tinkler proceeded on his journey with his prize.[ ] [ ] besides getting themselves out of scrapes in such an adroit manner, the scotch gipsies have been known to serve a friend, when innocently placed in a position of danger. it happened once that billy marshall, the gipsy chief in gallowayshire, attacked and robbed the laird of bargally, and in the tussle lost his cap. a respectable farmer, passing by, some time afterwards, picked up the cap, and put it on his head. the laird, with his mind confused by the robbery and the darkness combined, accused the farmer of the crime; and it would have gone hard with him at the trial, had not billy come to his rescue. he seized the cap, in the open court, and, putting it on his head, addressed the laird: "look at me, sir, and tell me, by the oath you have sworn, am not i the man that robbed you?"--"by heaven! you are the very man."--"you see what sort of memory this gentleman has," exclaimed the gipsy; "he swears to the bonnet, whatever features are under it. if you, yourself, my lord, will put it on your head, he will be willing to swear that your lordship was the person who robbed him." the farmer was unanimously acquitted. notwithstanding billy's courage in "taking care of the _living_," an anecdote is related of his having been frightened almost out of his wits, under very ludicrous circumstances. he and his gang had long held possession of a cavern in gallowayshire, where they usually deposited their plunder, and sometimes resided, secure from the officers of the law. two highland pipers, strangers to the country, happened to enter it, to rest themselves during the night. they perceived, at once, the character of its absent inhabitants; and they were not long within it, before they were alarmed by the voices of a numerous band advancing to its entrance. the pipers, expecting nothing but death from the ruthless gipsies, had the presence of mind to strike up a pibroch, with tremendous fury; at the terrific reception of which--the yelling of the bag-pipes issuing from the bowels of the earth--billy and his gang precipitately fled, as before a blast from the infernal regions, and never afterwards dared to visit their favourite haunt. the pipers, as might naturally be expected, carried off, in the morning, the spoils of the redoubted gipsies.--_sir walter scott._--ed. but this gipsy was not always so fortunate as he was on this occasion. being once apprehended near dumblane, it was the intention of the messengers to carry him direct to perth, but they were under the necessity of lodging him in the nearest prison for the night. brown was no sooner in custody than he began to meditate his escape. he requested, as a favour, that the officers would sit up all night with him, in a public-house, instead of a prison, promising them as much meat and drink, for their indulgence and trouble, as they should desire. his request having been granted, four or five officers were placed in and about the room in which he was confined, as a guard on his person, being aware of the desperate character they had to deal with. he took care to ply them well with the bottle; and early next morning, before setting out, he desired one of them to put up the window a little, to cool the apartment. after walking several times across the room, the gipsy, all at once, threw himself out of the window, which was a considerable height from the ground. the hue and cry was at his heels in an instant; and as some of the messengers were gaining on him, he boldly faced about, drew forth, from below his coat, a dagger, which he brandished in the air, and threatened death to the first who should approach him. he was, on this occasion, suffered to make his escape, as none had the courage to advance upon him. when in full dress, brown wore a hat richly ornamented and trimmed with beautiful gold lace, which was then fashionable among the first ranks in scotland, particularly among the officers of the army. his coat was made of superfine cloth, of a light green colour, long in the tails, and having one row of buttons at the breast. his shirt, of the finest quality, was ruffled at hands and breast, with a black stock and buckle round the neck. he also wore a pair of handsome boots, with silver-plated spurs, all in the fashion of the day. below his garments he carried a large knife, and in the shaft or butt-end of his large whip, a small spear, or dagger, was concealed. his brother-in-law, wilson, was frequently dressed in a similar garb, and both rode the best horses in the country. having the appearance of gentlemen in their habits, and assuming the manners of such, which they imitated to a wonderful degree, few persons took these men for gipsies. like many of their race, they are represented as having been very handsome, tall, and stout-made men, with agreeable and manly countenances. among the numerous thefts and robberies which they committed in their day, they were never known to have taken a sixpence from people of an inferior class, but, on the contrary, rather to have assisted the poor classes in their pecuniary matters, with a generous liberality, not at all to be looked for from men of their singular habits and manner of life. the following particulars are descriptive of the manner and style in which some of the gipsies of rank, at one time, traversed this country. within these forty-five years, mr. mcritchie, already alluded to, happened to be in a smithy, in the neighbourhood of carlisle, getting the shoes of his riding-horse roughened on a frosty day, to enable him to proceed on his journey, when a gentleman called for a like purpose. the animal on which he was mounted was a handsome blood-horse, which was saddled and bridled in a superior manner. he was himself dressed in superfine clothes, with a riding-whip in his hand; was booted and spurred, with saddle-bags behind him; and had, altogether, man and horse, the equipment and appearance of a smart english mercantile traveller, riding in the way of his business. there being several horses in the smithy, he, in a haughty and consequential manner, enquired of the smith, very particularly, whose turn it was first: indicating a strong desire to be first served, although he was the last that had entered the smithy. this bold assurance made my acquaintance take a steady look at the intrusive stranger, whom he surveyed from head to foot. and what was his astonishment when he found the mighty gentleman to be no other than sandie brown, the tinkler's son, from the neighbourhood of crieff; whom he had often seen strolling through the country in a troop of gipsies, and frequently in his father's house, at the north queensferry. he could scarcely believe his eyes, so to prevent any disagreeable mistake, politely asked the "gentleman" if his name was not brown; observing that he thought he had seen him somewhere before. the surprised tinkler hesitated considerably at the unexpected question, and, after having put some queries on his part, answered that "he would not deny himself--his name was really brown." he had, in all likelihood, been travelling under a borrowed name, a practice very common with the gipsies. when he found himself detected, yet seeing no danger to be apprehended from the accidental meeting, he very shrewdly showed great marks of kindness to his acquaintance. being now quite free from embarrassment, he, in a short time, began to display, as is the gipsy custom, extraordinary feats of bodily strength, by twisting with his hands strong pieces of iron; taking bets regarding his power in these practices, with those who would wager with him. before parting with my friend, brown very kindly insisted upon treating him with a bottle of any kind of liquor he would choose to drink. at some sequestered station of his tribe, on his way home, the equestrian tinkler would unmask himself--dispose of his horse, pack up his fine clothes, and assume his ragged coat, leathern apron, and budget--before he would venture among the people of the country, who were acquainted with his real character. here we see a haughty, overbearing, highway robber, clothed in excellent apparel, and mounted on a good steed, metamorphose himself, in an instant, into a poor, wandering, beggarly, and pitiful gipsy. this alexander brown, and his brother-in-law, wilson, carried on conjointly a considerable trade in horse-stealing between scotland and england. the horses which were stolen in the south were brought to scotland, and sold there; those stolen in scotland were, on the other hand, disposed of in the south by english gipsies. the crime of horse-stealing has brought a great many of these wanderers to an untimely end on the gallows. brown was at last hanged at edinburgh, to expiate the many crimes he had, from time to time, committed. it is said that his brother-in-law, wilson, was hanged along with him on the same day, having been also guilty of a number of crimes. brown was taken in a wood in rannach, having been surprised and overpowered by a party of highlanders, raised for the purpose of apprehending him, and dispersing his band, who lay in the wood in which he was captured. he thought to evade them by clapping close to the ground, like a wild animal. upon being seized, a furious scuffle ensued; and during the violent tossing and struggling which took place, while they were securing this sturdy wanderer, he took hold of the bare thigh of one of the highlanders, and bit it most cruelly. martha, the mother of brown, and the mother-in-law of wilson, was apprehended in the act of stealing a pair of sheets while attending their execution. charles, by some called william, a brother of alexander brown, was run down by a party of the military and some messengers, near dundee. he was carried to perth, where he was tried, condemned and executed, to atone for the numerous crimes of which he was guilty. he was conveyed to perth by water, in consequence of it being reported that the gipsies of fife, with the grahams and ogilvies at their head, were in motion to rescue him. he, also, was a man of great personal strength; and regretting, after being handcuffed, having allowed himself to be so easily taken, he, in wrath, drove the messengers before him with his feet, as if they had been children. while in the apartment of the prison called the condemned cell, or the cage, he freed himself from his irons, and by some means set on fire the damp straw on which he lay, with the design of making his escape in the confusion. surprised at the building being on fire, and suspecting brown to have been the cause of it, and that he was free from his chains, ramping like a lion in his den, no one, in the hurry, could be found with resolution enough to venture near him, till a sergeant of the forty-second regiment volunteered his services. before he would face the tinkler, however, he requested authority from the magistrates to defend himself with his broad-sword, and, in case the prisoner became desperate, to cut him down. this permission being obtained, the sergeant drew his sword, and, assisted by the jailer's daughter, unbarred the doors, till he came to the cage, whence the prison was being filled with smoke. as he advanced to the door, he asked with a loud voice, "who is there?" "the devil," vociferated the gipsy, through fire and smoke. "i am also a devil, and of the black-watch," thundered back the intrepid highlander. the resolute reply of the soldier sounded like a death knell to the artful tinkler--he knew his man--it daunted him completely; for, after some threats from the sergeant, he quietly allowed himself to be again loaded with irons, and thoroughly secured in his cell, whence he did not stir till the day of his execution. lizzy brown, by some called snippy, a member of the same family, was a tall, stout woman, with features far from being disagreeable. she lost her nose in a battle, fought in the shire of angus. in this rencounter, the gipsies fought among themselves with highland dirks, exhibiting all the fury of hostile tribes of bedouin arabs of the desert. when this woman found that her nose was struck off, by the sweep of a dirk, she put her hand to the wound, and, as if little had befallen her, called out, in the heat of the scuffle, to those nearest her: "but, in the middle o' the meantime, where is my nose?" poor lizzy's tall figure was conspicuous among the tribe, owing to the want of that ornamental part of her face. the grahams of lochgellie, the wilsons of raploch, near stirling, and the jamiesons, noticed under the head of linlithgowshire gipsies, were all, by the female side, immediately descended from old charles stewart, a gipsy chief, at one period of no small consequence, among these hordes.[ ] when i enquired if the robertsons, who lived, at one time, at menstry, were related to the lochgellie band, the answer which i received was: "the tinklers are a' sib"--meaning that they are all connected with one another by the ties of blood, and considered as one family. this is a most powerful bond of union among these desperate clans, which almost bids defiance to the breaking up of their strongly cemented society. old charles stewart was described to me as a stout, good-looking man, with a fair complexion; and i was informed that he lived to a great age. he affirmed, wherever he went, that he was a descendant of the royal stewarts of scotland. his descendants still assert that they are sprung from the royal race of scotland. in support of this pretension, stewart, in the year , at a wedding, in the parish of corstorphine, actually wore a large cocked hat, decorated with a beautiful plume of white feathers, in imitation of the white cockade of the pretender. on this occasion, he wore a short coat, philabeg and purse, and tartan hose. he sometimes wore a piece of brass, as a star, on his left breast, with a cudgel in his hand. such ridiculous attire corresponds exactly with the taste and ideas of a gipsy.[ ] these pretensions of stewart are exactly of a piece with the usual gipsy policy of making the people believe that they are descended from families of rank and influence in the country. at the same time, it cannot be denied that some of our scottish kings, especially james v, the "gaberlunzie-man,"[ ] were far from being scrupulous or fastidious in their vague amours. as old charles stewart was, on one occasion, crossing the forth, at queensferry, chained to his son-in-law, wilson, in charge of messengers, he, with considerable shame in his countenance, observed david mcritchie, whose father, as already mentioned, kept a first-rate inn at the north-side, and in which the tinkler had frequently regaled himself with his merry companions. stewart called mcritchie to him, and, taking five shillings out of his pocket, said to him, "hae, davie, there's five shillings to drink my health, man; i'll laugh at them a'." he did laugh at them all, for nothing could be proved against him and he was immediately set at liberty. it was, as charles graham said--"the auld thing again, but nae proof."[ ] [ ] it is interesting to notice that the three criminals who gave occasion to the porteous mob, in , were named stewart, wilson and robertson. they were doubtless gipsies of the above mentioned clans. their crimes and modes of escape were quite in keeping with the character of the gipsies.--ed. [ ] grellmann, in giving an account of the attire of the poorer kind of hungarian gipsies, says: we are not to suppose however that they are indifferent about dress; on the contrary, they love fine clothes to an extravagant degree. whenever an opportunity offers of acquiring a good coat, either by gift, purchase, or theft, the gipsy immediately bestirs himself to become master of it. possessed of the prize, he puts it on directly, without considering in the least whether it suits the rest of his apparel. if his dirty shirt had holes in it as big as a barn door, or his breeches so out of condition that any one might, at the first glance, perceive their antiquity; were he unprovided with shoes and stockings, or a covering for his head; none of these defects would prevent his strutting about in a laced coat, feeling himself of still greater consequence in case it happened to be a red one. they are particularly fond of clothes which have been worn by people of distinction, and will hardly ever deign to put on a boor's coat. they will rather go half naked, or wrap themselves up in a sack, than condescend to wear a foreign garb. green is a favourite colour with the gipsies, but scarlet is held in great esteem among them. it is the same with the hungarian female gipsies. in spain, they hang all sorts of trumpery in their ears, and baubles around their necks. mr. borrow says of the spanish gipsies, that there is nothing in the dress of either sex differing from that of the other inhabitants. the same may be said of the scottish tribes, and even of those in england.--ed. [ ] _gaberlunzie-man_--the beggar-man with the ragged apparel. [ ] the unabashed hardihood of the gipsies, in the face of suspicion, or even of open conviction, is not less characteristic than the facility with which they commit crimes, or their address in concealing them. a gipsy of note, (known by the title of the "earl of hell") was, about twenty years ago, tried for a theft of a considerable sum of money at a dalkeith market. the proof seemed to the judge fully sufficient, but the jury rendered a verdict of "not proven." on dismissing the prisoner from the bar, the judge informed him, in his own characteristic language, "that he had rubbit shouthers wi' the gallows that morning;" and warned him not again to appear there with a similar body of proof against him as it seemed scarcely possible he should meet with another jury who would construe it as favourably. his counsel tendered him a similar advice. the gipsy, however, replied, to the great entertainment of all around, "that he was proven an innocent man, and that naebody had ony right to use siccan language to him."--_blackwood's magazine._--ed. another very singular gipsy, of the name of jamie robertson, a near relation of the lochgellie tribe, resided at menstry, at the foot of the ochil hills. james was an excellent musician, and was in great request at fairs and country weddings. although characterized by a dissoluteness of manners, and professed roguery, this man, when trusted, was strictly honest. a decent man in the neighbourhood, of the name of robert gray, many a time lent him sums of money, to purchase large ox horns and other articles, in the east of fife, which he always repaid on the very day he promised, with the greatest correctness and civility. the following anecdote will show the zeal with which he would resent an insult which he conceived to be offered to his friend: in one of his excursions through fife, he happened to be lying on the ground, basking himself in the sun, while baiting his ass, on the roadside, when a countryman, an entire stranger to him, came past, singing, in lightness of heart, the song of "auld robin gray," which, unfortunately for the man, robertson had never heard before. on the unconscious stranger coming to the words "auld robin gray was a kind man to me," the hot-blooded gipsy started to his feet, and, with a volley of oaths, felled him with his bludgeon to the ground; repeating his blows in the most violent manner, and telling him, "auld robin gray was a kind man to him indeed, but it was not for him to make a song on robin for that." in short, he nearly put the innocent man to death, in the heat of his passion, for satirizing, as he thought, his friend in a scurrilous song. it was an invariable custom with robertson, whenever he passed robert gray's house, even were it at the dead hour of night, to draw out his "bread winner," and give him a few of his best airs, in gratitude for his kindness. robertson's wife, a daughter of martha, whose son and son-in-law, brown and wilson, were executed, as already mentioned, was sentenced to transportation to botany bay; but, owing to her advanced years, it was not thought worth the expense and trouble of sending her over seas, and she was set at liberty. her grandson, joyce robertson, would also have been transported, if not hanged, but for the assistance of some of his clan rescuing him from stirling jail. so coolly and deliberately did he go about his operations, in breaking out of the prison, that he took along with him his oatmeal bag, and a favourite bird, in a cage, with which he had amused himself during his solitary confinement. the following anecdote of this audacious gipsy, which was told to me by an inhabitant of stirling, who was well acquainted with the parties, is, i believe, unequalled in the history of robberies: while robertson was lying in jail, an old man, for what purpose is not mentioned, went to the prison window, to speak to him through the iron stauncheons. joyce, putting forth his hand, took hold of the unsuspecting man by the breast of his coat, and drew him close up to the iron bars of the window; then thrusting out his other hand, and pointing a glittering knife at his heart, threatened him with instant death, if he did not deliver him the money he had on him. the poor man, completely intimidated, handed into the prison all the money he had; but had it returned, on the jailer being informed of the extraordinary transaction.[ ] after escaping from confinement, this gipsy stole a watch from a house at alva, but had hardly got it into his possession before he was discovered, and had the inhabitants of the village in pursuit of him. a man, of the name of dawson, met him in his flight, and, astonished at seeing the crowd at his heels, enquired, impatiently, what was the matter. "they are all running after me, and you will soon run too," replied the tinkler, without shortening his step. he took to tullibody plantations, but was apprehended, and had the watch taken from him. [ ] the "game" of such a gipsy may be fitly compared to that of a sparrow-hawk. this bird has been known, while held in the hand, after being wounded, to seize, when presented to it, a sparrow with each claw, and a third with its beak.--ed. i will notice another principal gipsy, closely connected by blood with the fife bands, and of that rank that entitled him to issue tokens to the members of his tribe. the name of this chief was charles wilson, and his place of residence, at one time, was raploch, close by stirling castle, where he possessed some heritable property in houses. he was a stout, athletic, good-looking man, fully six feet in stature, and of a fair complexion; and was, in general, handsomely dressed, frequently displaying a gold watch, with many seals attached to its chain. in his appearance he was respectable, very polite in his manners, and had, altogether, little or nothing about him which, at first sight, or to the general public, indicated him to be a gipsy. but, nevertheless, i was assured by one of the tribe, who was well acquainted with him, that he spoke the language, and observed all the customs, and followed the practices of the gipsies. he was a pretty extensive horse-dealer, having at times in his possession numbers of the best bred horses in the country. he most commonly bought and sold hunters, and such as were suitable for cavalry; and for some of his horses he received upwards of a hundred guineas apiece. in his dealings he always paid cash for his purchases, but accepted bills from his customers of respectability. many a one purchased horses of him; and he was taken notice of by many respectable people in the neighbourhood; but the community in general looked upon him, and his people, with suspicion and fear, and were by no means fond of quarrelling with any of his vindictive fraternity. when any of his customers required a horse from him, and told him that the matter was left wholly to himself, as regards price, but to provide an animal suitable for the purpose required, no man in scotland would act with greater honour than charles wilson. he would then fit his employer completely, and charge for the horse exactly what the price should be. to this manner of dealing he was very averse, and endeavoured to avoid it as much as possible. it is said he was never known to deceive any one in his transactions, when entire confidence was placed in him. but, on the other hand, when any tried to make a bargain with him, without any reference to himself, but trusting wholly to their own judgment, he would take three prices for his horses, if he could obtain them, and cheat them, if it was in his power. it is said his people stole horses in ireland, and sent them to him, to dispose of in scotland. on one occasion his gang stole and sold in edinburgh, stirling and dumbarton a grey stallion, three different times in one week. wilson himself was almost always mounted on a blood-horse of the highest mettle. at one time, charles wilson travelled the country with a horse and cart, vending articles which his gang plundered from shops in glasgow and other places. he had an associate who kept a regular shop, and when wilson happened to be questioned about his merchandise, he always had fictitious bills of particulars, invoices and receipts, ready to show that the goods were lawfully purchased from his merchant, who was no other than his friend and associate. as charles was chief of his tribe, he received the title of captain, to distinguish him from the meaner sort of his race. like others of his rank among the gipsies, he generally had a numerous gang of youths in fairs, plundering for him in all directions, among the heedless and unthinking crowd. but he always managed matters with such art and address that, however much he might be suspected, no evidence could ever be found to show that he acted a part in such transactions. it was well understood, however, that charlie, as he was commonly called, divided the contents of many a purse with his band; all the plundered articles being in fact brought to him for distribution. this chief, as i have already mentioned, issued tokens to the members of his own tribe; a part of the polity of the gipsies which will be fully described in the following chapter. but, besides these regular gipsy tokens, he, like many of his nation, gave tokens of protection to his particular friends of the community at large. the following is one instance, among many, of this curious practice among the gipsies. i received the particulars from the individual himself who obtained the token or passport from wilson. my informant, mr. buchanan, a retired officer of the excise, chanced, in his youth, to be in a fair at skirling, in peebles-shire, when an acquaintance of his, of the name of john smith, of carnwath mill, received, in a tent, fifty pounds for horses which he had sold in the market. wilson, who was acquainted with both parties, was in the tent at the time, and saw the latter receive the money. on leaving the tent, smith mentioned to his friend that he was afraid of being robbed in going home, as wilson knew he had money in his possession. mr. buchanan, being well acquainted with wilson, went to him in the fair, and told him the plain facts; that smith and himself were to travel with money on their persons, and that they were apprehensive of being robbed of it, on their way home. the gipsy, after hesitating for a moment, gave buchanan a pen-knife, which he was to show to the first person who should offer to molest them; at the same time enjoining him to keep the affair quite private. after my informant and his friend had travelled a considerable distance on their way home, they observed, at a little distance before them, a number of tinklers--men and women--fighting together on the side of the road. one of the females came forward to the travellers, and urged them vehemently to assist her husband, who, she said, was like to be murdered by others who had fallen upon him on the highway. my friend knew quite well that all the fighting was a farce, got up for the purpose of robbing him and his companion, the moment they interfered with the combatants in their feigned quarrel. instead of giving the woman the assistance she asked, he privately and very quietly, as if he wished nobody to see it, showed her wilson's knife in his hand, when she immediately exclaimed, "you are our friends," and called, at the same moment, to those engaged in the scuffle, in words to the same effect. both the travellers now passed on, but, on looking behind them, they observed that the squabble had entirely ceased. the pen-knife was returned to wilson the day following. i may give, in this place, another instance of these tokens being granted by the gipsies to their particular favourites of the community. the particulars were given to me by the individual with whom the incident occurred; and the gipsy mentioned i have myself seen and spoken to: a---- a----, a small farmer, who resided in the west of fife, happened to be at one of the falkland fairs, where, in the evening, he fell in with old andrew steedman, a gipsy horse-dealer from lochgellie, with whom he was well acquainted. they entered a public-house in falkland to have a dram together, before leaving the fair, and after some conversation had passed, on various subjects, steedman observed to his acquaintance that it would be late in the night before he could reach his home, and that he might be exposed to some danger on the road; but he would give him his snuff-box, to present and offer a snuff to the first person who should offer to molest him. my informant, possessed of the gipsy's snuff-box, mounted his horse, and left his acquaintance and falkland behind for his home. he had not proceeded far on his journey, before a man in the dark seized the bridle of his horse, and ordered him to stop; without, however, enforcing his command to surrender in that determined tone and manner common to highwaymen with those they intend to rob. the farmer at once recognized the robber to be no other than young charles graham, one of the lochgellie tinklers, whom he personally knew. instead of delivering him his purse, he held out to him the snuff-box, as if nothing had happened, and, offering him a pinch, asked him if he was going to lochgellie to-night. a sort of parley now ensued, the farmer feeling confident in the strength of his protection, and graham confounded at being recognized by an acquaintance whom he was about to rob, and who, moreover, was in possession of a gipsy token. at first a dry conversation ensued, similar to that between persons unacquainted with each other when they happen to meet; but graham, recovering his self-possession, soon became very frank and kind, and insisted on the farmer accompanying him to a public-house on the road-side, where he would treat him to a dram. the farmer, a stout, athletic man, and no coward, complied with the gipsy's invitation without hesitation. while drinking their liquor, graham took up the snuff-box, and examined it all over very attentively, by the light of the candle, and returned it, without making a single remark, relative either to the untoward occurrence or the snuff-box itself. the farmer was equally silent as to what had taken place; but he could not help noticing the particular manner in which the gipsy examined the token. they drank a hearty dram together, and parted the best of friends; the farmer for his home, and graham, as he supposed, for the highway, to exercise his calling. graham, about this period, resided in a house belonging to steedman, in lochgellie. instances occurred of individuals, who happened to be plundered, applying to charles wilson for his assistance to recover their property. the particulars of the following case are in the words of a friend who gave me the anecdote: "a boy, having received his hard-earned fee, at the end of a term, set out for stirling to purchase some clothes for himself. on the road he was accosted by two men, who conversed with and accompanied him to stirling. the lad proceeded accordingly to fit himself in a shop with a new suit, but, to his utter disappointment and grief, his small penny-fee was gone. the merchant questioned him about the road he had come, and whether he had been in company with any one on the way or otherwise. upon the appearance of his companions being described, the shop-keeper suspected they might have picked his pocket unobserved. as a last resource, the boy was advised to call upon charlie wilson, and relate to him the particulars of his misfortune; which he accordingly did. charles heard his story to the end, and desired him to call next day, when he might be able to give him some information relative to his loss. the young lad kept the appointment, and, to his great joy, the tinkler chief paid him down every farthing of his lost money; but at the same time told him to ask no questions." this gipsy chief died within these thirty-five years in his own house, on the castle-hill at stirling, whither he had removed from raploch. it is stated that, for a considerable time before his death, he relinquished his former practices, and died in full communion with the church.[ ] he was, about the latter end of his life, reduced to considerable poverty, and was under the necessity of betaking himself to his original occupation of making horn spoons for a subsistence. in the days of his prosperity, charles was considered a very kind-hearted and generous man to the poor; and it seldom happened that poverty and distress were not relieved by him, when application was made to him by the needy. although many of the more original kind of gipsies have a respectable appearance, and may possess a little money, during the prime of life, yet the most of them, in their old age, are in a condition of poverty and misery. [ ] in the "monthly visitor" for february, , will be found an account of the conversion of one of this gipsy clan, of the name of jeanie wilson. the tract is very appropriately headed, "a lily among thorns."--ed. charles wilson had a family of very handsome daughters, one of whom was considered a perfect beauty. she did not travel the country, like the rest of her family, but remained at home, and acted as her father's housekeeper; and, when any of the tribe visited him, they always addressed her by the title of "my lady," (_raunie_,) and otherwise treated her with great respect. this beautiful girl was, about the year , kept as a mistress by an adjutant of a scotch regiment of fencible cavalry. she was frequently seen as handsomely and fashionably attired as the first females in stirling; and some of the troopers were not displeased to see their adjutant's mistress equal in appearance to the highest dames in the town. but wilson's daughters were all frequently dressed in a very superior manner, and could not have been taken for gipsies. to suit their purposes of deception, in practising their pilfering habits, the female gipsies, as well as the males, often changed their wearing apparel. some of them have been seen in four different dresses in one fair day, varying from the appearance of a sturdy female beggar to that of a young, flirting wench, fantastically dressed, and throwing herself, a perfect lure, in the way of the hearty, ranting, half-intoxicated, and merry young farmers, for the sole purpose of stripping them of their money.[ ] the following is given as an instance of this sort of female deception:--on a fair-day, in the town of kinross, a brae-laird,[ ] in the same county, fell in with a gipsy harpy of the above character, of the name of wilson, one of charles' daughters, it was understood. she had a fine person, an agreeable and prepossessing countenance, was handsomely dressed, and was, altogether, what one would pronounce a pretty girl. her charms made a very sudden and deep impression on the susceptible laird; and as it was an easy matter, in those times, to make up acquaintance at these large and promiscuous gatherings, the enamoured rustic soon found means to introduce himself to the stranger lady. he treated her in a gallant manner, and engaged to pay his respects to her at her place of residence. it happened, however, that a number of tinklers were, that very evening, apprehended in the fair, for picking pockets, and a great many purses were found in their custody. proclamation was made by the authorities, that all those who had lost their money should appear at a place named, and identify their property. the brae-laird, among others, missed his pocket-book and purse, and accordingly went to enquire after them. his purse was produced to him; but greatly was he ashamed and mortified when the thief was also shown to him, lying in prison--the very person of his handsome and beautiful sweetheart, now metamorphosed into a common tinkler wench. whether he now provoked the ire of his dulcinea, by harsh treatment, is not mentioned; but the woman sent, as it were, a dagger to his heart, by calling out before all present: "ay, laird, ye're no sae kind to me noo, lad, as when ye treated me wi' wine in the forenoon." the man, confounded at his exposure, was glad to get out of her presence, and, rather than bear the cutting taunts of the gipsy, fled from the place of investigation, leaving his money behind him.[ ] [ ] an old woman, whom i found occupying the house of charles wilson, at raploch, in , informed me that she had seen his wife in _five_ different dresses, in one market-day. she was, at the time, a servant in a _blacksmith's_ family in stirling, who were _great friends_ of charles wilson; and every time mrs. wilson came into the smith's house, from her plundering in the market, this servant girl, then nine years old, _cleaned her shoes_ for a fresh expedition in the crowd. when suspected, or even detected, in their practices, these female gipsies, by such change of dress and character, easily escaped apprehension by the authorities. [ ] there are a number of small landed proprietors in the hilly parts of kinross-shire; hence the appellation of brae-laird. [ ] it is interesting to notice such rencounters between these pretty, genteel-looking gipsies and the ordinary natives. the denouement, in this instance, might have been a marriage, and the plantation of a colony of gipsies among the braes of kinross-shire. the same might have happened in the case of the other lady wilson, with the adjutant at stirling, or with one of his acquaintances.--ed. it is almost needless to mention that the stirlingshire gipsies contributed their full proportion to the list of victims to the offended laws of the country. although charles wilson, the chieftain of the horde, dexterously eluded justice himself, two of his brothers were executed within the memory of people still living. another of his relatives, of the name of gordon, also underwent the last penalty of the law, at glasgow, where an acquaintance of mine saw him hanged. wilson had a son who carried a box of jewelry through the country, and was suspected of having been concerned in robbing a bank, at, i believe, dunkeld. some of the descendants of this stirlingshire tribe still roam up and down the kingdom, nearly in the old gipsy manner; and several of them have their residence, when not on the tramp, in the town of stirling. the great distinguishing feature in the character of the gipsies is an incurable propensity for theft and robbery, and taking openly and forcibly (sorning) whatever answers their purpose. a gipsy, of about twenty-one years of age, stated to me that his forefathers considered it quite lawful, among themselves, to take from others, not of their own fraternity, any article they stood in need of. casting his eyes around the inside of my house, he said: "for instance, were they to enter this room, they would carry off anything that could be of service to them, such as clothes, money, victuals, &c.:" "but," added he, "all this proceeded from ignorance; they are now quite changed in their manners." another gipsy, a man of about sixty years of age, informed me that the tribe have a complete and thorough hatred of the whole community, excepting those who shelter them, or treat them with kindness; and that a dexterous theft or robbery, committed on any of the natives among whom they travel, is looked upon as one of the most meritorious actions which a gipsy can possibly perform. but the gipsies are by no means the only nation in the world that have considered theft reputable. in sparta, under the celebrated law-giver lycurgus, theft was also reputable. in hugh murray's account of an embassy from portugal to the emperor of abyssinia, in , we find the following curious passage relative to thieves in that part of the world: "as the embassy left the palace, a band of thieves carried off a number of valuable articles, while a servant who attempted to defend them was wounded in the leg. the ambassadors, enquiring the mode of obtaining redress for this outrage, were assured that these thieves formed a regular part of the court establishment, and that officers were appointed who levied a proportion of the articles stolen, for behoof his imperial majesty."[ ] in another part of africa, there is a horde of moors who go by the name of the tribe of thieves. this wandering, vagabond horde do not blush at adopting this odious denomination. their chief is called chief of the tribe of thieves.[ ] in hugh murray's asia, we have the following passage relative to the professed thieves in india. [ ] vol. ii., page . [ ] golbery's travels, translated by francis blagden. vol. i, page . "nothing tends more to call in question the mildness of the hindoo disposition than the vast scale of the practice of decoity. this term, though essentially synonymous with robbery, suggests, however, very different ideas. with us, robbers are daring and desperate outlaws, who hide themselves in the obscure corners of great cities, shunned and detested by all society. in india, they are regular and reputable persons, who have not only houses and families, but often landed property, and have much influence in the villages where they reside. this profession, like all others, is hereditary; and a father has been heard, from the gallows, carefully admonishing his son not to be deterred, by his fate, from following the calling of his ancestors. they are very devout, and have placed themselves under the patronage of the goddess kali, revered in bengal above all other deities, and who is supposed to look with peculiar favour on achievements such as theirs. they are even recognized by the old hindoo laws, which contain enactments for the protection of stolen goods, upon a due share being given to the magistrate. they seldom, however, commit depredations in their own village, or even in that immediately adjoining, but seek a distant one, where they have no tie to the inhabitants. they are formed into bands, with military organization, so that when a chief dies, there is always another ready to succeed him. they calculate that they have ten chances to one of never being brought to justice." the old hindoo law alluded to in the above passage is, i presume, the following enactment in the gentoo code, translated by nathaniel brassey halhed, page : "the mode of shares among robbers is this: if any thieves, by the command of the magistrate, and with his assistance, have committed depredations upon, and brought any booty from, another province, the magistrate shall receive a share of one-sixth of the whole; if they receive no command or assistance from the magistrate, they shall give the magistrate, in that case, one-tenth of his share; and of the remainder, their chief shall receive four shares: and whosoever among them is perfect master of his occupation, shall receive three shares; also whichever of them is remarkably strong and stout, shall receive two shares; and the rest shall receive each one share. if any one of the community of thieves happens to be taken, and should be released from the cutchery, (court of justice), upon payment of a sum of money, all the thieves shall make good that sum by equal shares."--"in the gentoo code containing this law, there are many severe enactments against theft and robbery of every description; but these laws refer to domestic disturbers of their own countrymen, or violators of the first principles of society. the law which regulates these shares of robbers, refers only to such bold and hardy adventurers as sally forth to levy contributions in a foreign province." now our gipsies are, in one point, exactly on a level with the adventurers here mentioned. they look upon themselves as being in a foreign land, and consider it fair game to rob, plunder, and cheat all and every one of the "strangers" among whom they travel. i am disposed to believe that there were also rules among the gipsy bands for dividing their booty, something like the old hindoo law alluded to.[ ] [ ] what is said here is, of course, applicable to a class, only, of the gipsies. our author need not have gone so very far away from home, for instances of theft and robbery being, under certain circumstances, deemed honourable. both were, at one time, followed in scotland, when all practised "the good old rule, the simple plan, that they should take who have the power, and they should keep who can." see disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. we find the following curious particulars mentioned of a tribe among the mountains in india, who are supposed to be the aborigines of hindostan. they are called kookies or lunctas. "next to personal valour, the accomplishment most esteemed in a warrior is superior address in stealing; and if a thief can convey, undiscovered, to his own house, his neighbour's property, it cannot afterwards be reclaimed; nor, if detected in the act, is he otherwise punished than by exposure to the ridicule of the porah, and being obliged to restore what he may have laid hold of." "it is a great recommendation in obtaining a wife, when a kookie can say that his house is full of stolen articles."[ ] there are several other tribes in the world among whom theft and robbery are considered meritorious actions. it appears that among the coords "no one is allowed to marry a wife till he has committed some great act of robbery or murder." in an account of kamtschatka, it is mentioned that "among all these barbarous nations, excepting the kamtschadales, theft is reputable, provided they do not steal in their own tribe, or if done with such art as to prevent discovery: on the other hand, it is punished very severely if discovered; not for the theft, but for the want of address in the art of stealing. a tschukotskoe girl cannot be married before she has shown her dexterity in this way."[ ] [ ] asiatic researches, vol. vii., pages and . [ ] dr. james grieve's translation of a russian account of kamtschatka, page . halhed, in apologizing for the hindoo magistrate participating in the plunder of banditti, which applies equally well to the gipsies, remarks that, "unjust as this behaviour may appear in the eye of equity, it bears the most genuine stamp of antiquity, and corresponds entirely with the manners of the early grecians, at or before the period of the trojan war, and of the western nations before their emersion from barbarism; a practice still kept up among the piratic states of barbary, to its fullest extent by sea, and probably among many hordes of tartars and arabian banditti by land." it is proper to mention that the gipsies seldom or never steal from one another; at least, i never could find out an instance of a theft having been committed by a gipsy on one of his own tribe. it will be seen, from the following details, that the sanguinary laws which have been, from time to time, promulgated all over europe against the gipsies, were not enacted to put down fanciful crimes, as an author of the present day seems, in his travels, to insinuate. to plunder the community with more safety to their persons, the gipsies appear to have had a system of theft peculiar to themselves. those of lochgellie trained all their children to theft. indeed, this has been the general practice with the tribe all over scotland. several individuals have mentioned to me that the lochgellie band were exercised in the art of thieving under the most rigid discipline. they had various ways of making themselves expert thieves. they frequently practised themselves by picking the pockets of each other. sometimes a pair of breeches were made fast to the end of a string, suspended from a high part of the tent, kiln, or outhouse in which they happened to be encamped. the children were set at work to try if they could, by sleight of hand, abstract money from the pockets of the breeches hanging in this position, without moving them. sometimes they used bells in this discipline. the children who were most expert in abstracting the money in this manner, were rewarded with applause and presents; while, on the other hand, those who proved awkward, by ringing the bell, or moving the breeches, were severely chastised. after the youths were considered perfect in this branch of their profession, a purse, or other small object, was laid down in an exposed part of the tent or camp, in view of all the family. while the ordinary business of the gipsies was going forward, the children again commenced their operations, by exerting their ingenuity and exercising their patience, in trying to carry off the purse without being perceived by any one present. if they were detected, they were again beaten; but if they succeeded unnoticed, they were caressed and liberally rewarded. as far as my information goes, this systematic training of the gipsy youth was performed by the chief female of the bands. these women seem to have had great authority over their children. ann brown, of the lochgellie tribe, could, by a single stamp of her foot, cause the children to crouch to the ground, like trembling dogs under the lash of an angry master. the gipsies, from these constant trainings, became exceedingly dexterous at picking pockets. the following instance of their extraordinary address in these practices, will show the effects of their careful training, as well as exhibit the natural ingenuity which they will display in compassing their ends. a principal male gipsy, of a very respectable appearance, whose name it is unnecessary to mention, happened, on a market day, to be drinking in a public-house, with several farmers with whom he was well acquainted. the party observed, from the window, a countryman purchase something at a stand in the market, and, after paying for it, thrust his purse into his watch-pocket, in the band of his breeches. one of the company remarked that it would be a very difficult matter to rob the cautious man of his purse, without being detected. the gipsy immediately offered to bet two bottles of wine that he would rob the man of his purse, in the open and public market, without being perceived by him. the bet was taken, and the gipsy proceeded about the difficult and delicate business. going up to the unsuspecting man, he requested, as a particular favour, if he would ease the stock about his neck, which buckled behind--an article of dress at that time in fashion. the countryman most readily agreed to oblige the stranger gentleman--as he supposed him to be. the gipsy, now stooping down, to allow his stock to be adjusted, placed his head against the countryman's stomach, and, pressing it forward a little, he reached down one hand, under the pretence of adjusting his shoe, while the other was employed in extracting the farmer's purse. the purse was immediately brought into the company, and the cautious, unsuspecting countryman did not know of his loss, till he was sent for, and had his property returned to him. the gipsy youth, trained from infancy to plunder, in the manner described, were formed into companies or bands, with a captain at their head. these captains were generally the grown-up sons of the old chieftains, who, having been themselves leaders in their youth, endeavoured, in their old age, to support, outwardly, a pretty fair character, although under considerable suspicion. the captains were generally well dressed, and could not be taken for gipsies. the youths varied in age from ten to thirty years. they travelled to fairs singly, or at least never above two together, while their captains almost always rode on horse-back, but never in company with any of their men.[ ] the band consisted of a great number of individuals, and in a fair several of these companies would be present; each company acting independent of the others, for behoof of its own members and chief. each chief, on such occasions, had his own headquarters, to which his men repaired with their booty, as fast as they obtained it. some of the chiefs, handsomely dressed, pretended to be busily employed in buying and selling horses, but were always ready to attend to the operations of their tribe, employed in plundering in the market. the purses were brought to the horse-dealer by the members of his band, who, to prevent being discovered, pretended to be buying horses from him, while communicating with him relative to their peculiar vocation. when a detection was likely to take place, the chief mounted a good horse, and rode off to a distant part of the country, previously made known to his men, with the whole of the booty in his custody. to this place the band, when all was quiet, repaired, and received their share of the plunder. they could communicate information to one another by signs, to say nothing of their language, which frequently enabled them to get the start of their pursuers. like the fox, the dog, and the _corbie_, they frequently concealed their stolen articles in the earth. parties of them would frequently commence sham fights in markets, to facilitate the picking of the pockets of the people, while crowded together to witness the scuffles. [ ] an old gipsy told me that he had seen one of the principal chiefs, dressed like a gentleman, travelling in a post-chaise, for the purpose of attending fairs. [vidocq, of the french secret police, thus writes of the hungarian gipsies, visiting the west of europe: raising my eyes towards a crowd in front of a menagerie, i perceived one of the _false jockeys_ taking the purse of a fat glazier, whom we saw the next moment seeking for it in his pocket; the _bohemian_ then entered a jeweller's shop, where were already two of the _pretended zealand peasants_, and my companion assured me that he would not come out until he had pilfered some of the jewels that were shown to him. in every part of the fair where there was a crowd, i met some of the lodgers of the duchess, (the inn kept by a gipsy woman in which he had spent the previous night.)--ed.] many of the male gipsies used a piece of strong leather, like a sailmaker's palm, having a short piece of sharp steel, like the point of a surgeon's lancet, where the sailmaker has his thimble. the long sleeves of their coats concealed the instrument, and when they wished to cut a purse out of an arm-pocket, they stretched out the arm, and ran it flatly and gently along the cloth of the coat, opposite the pocket of the individual they wished to plunder. the female gipsies wore, upon their forefingers, rings of a peculiar construction, yet nothing unusual in their appearance, excepting their very large size. on closing the hand, the pressure upon a spring sent forth, through an aperture or slit in the ring, a piece of sharp steel, something like the manner in which a bee thrusts out and withdraws its sting. with these ingenious instruments the female gipsies cut the outside of the pockets of their victims, exactly as a glazier runs his diamond over a sheet of glass. the opening once made by the back of the forefinger, the hand, following, was easily introduced into the pocket. in the midst of a crowded fair, the dexterous gipsies, with their nimble fingers, armed with these invisible instruments, cut the pocket-books and purses of the honest farmers, as if they had been robbed by magic. so skillful were the wife and one of the sisters of charles wilson, in the art of thieving, that although the loss of the pocket-book was, in some instances, immediately discovered, nothing was ever found upon their persons by which their guilt could be established. no instrument appeared in their possession with which the clothes of the plundered individuals could have been cut, as no one dreamt that the rings on their fingers contained tools so admirably adapted for such purposes. the gipsy chiefs in scotland appear, at one time, to have received a share of the plundered articles in the same manner as those of the same rank received from their inferiors in hungary. grellmann says: "whenever a complaint is made that any of their people have been guilty of theft, the waywode (chief) not only orders a general search to be made in every tent or hut, and returns the stolen goods to the owner, if they can be found; but he punishes the thief, in presence of the complainant, with his whip. he does not, however, punish the aggressor from any regard to justice, but rather to quiet the plaintiff, and at the same time to make his people more wary in their thefts, as well as more dexterous in concealing their prey. these very materially concern him, since, by every discovery that is made, his income suffers, as the whole profit of his office arises from his share of the articles that are stolen. every time any one brings in a booty, he is obliged to give information to the arch-gipsy of his successful enterprise, then render a just account of what and how much he has stolen, in order that the proper division may be made. this is the situation in which a gipsy looks on himself as bound to give a fair and true detail, though, in every other instance, he does not hesitate to perjure himself." a shrewd and active magistrate, in the west of fife, knew our scottish gipsy depredators so well, that he caused them all to be apprehended as they entered the fairs held in the town in which he resided; and when the market, which lasted for several days, was over, the gipsies were released from prison, with empty pockets and hungry bellies--most effectually baffled in their designs. great numbers of these gipsy plunderers, at one time, crossed the forth at the queensferry, for the purpose of stealing and robbing at the fairs in the north of scotland. they all travelled singly or in pairs. very few persons knew whence they came, or with whom they were connected. they were, in general, well dressed, and could not have been taken for gipsies. every one put up at a public-house, at north queensferry, kept by a mr. mcritchie, already mentioned, an inn well known in the neighbourhood for its good fare, and much frequented by all classes of society. in this house, on the morning after a fair in dunfermline, when _their business_ was all over, and themselves not alarmed by detection, or other scaring incidents, no fewer than fourteen of these plunderers have frequently been seen sitting at breakfast, with captain gordon, their commander, at their head. the landlord's son informed me that they ate and drank of the best in the house, and paid most handsomely for everything they called for. i believe they were among the best customers the landlord had. gipsies, however, are by no means habitual drinkers, or tiplers; but when they do sit down, it is, in the phraseology of the sea, a complete _blow-out_. about this public-house, these gipsies were perfectly inoffensive, and remarkably civil to all connected with it. they troubled or stole from none of the people about the inn, nor from those who lodged in the house, while they were within doors, or in the immediate neighbourhood. anything could have been trusted with them on these occasions. at these meetings, the landlord's son frequently heard them talking in the gipsy language. gordon, at times, paid the reckoning for the whole, and transacted any other business with the landlord; but, when the gipsy company was intermixed with females, which was commonly the case, each individual paid his own share of the bill incurred. it was sometimes the practice with the young bands to leave their reckoning to be paid by their chiefs, who were not present, but who, perhaps next day, came riding up, and paid the expenses incurred by their men. i am informed that two chiefs, of the names of wilson and brown, often paid the expenses of their bands in this way. when any of these principal gipsies happened to remain in the public-house all night, they behaved very genteelly. they paid the chamber-maid, boots, and waiter with more liberality than was the custom with mercantile travellers generally. captain gordon, just mentioned, assumed very considerable consequence at this place. frequently he hired boats and visited the islands in the forth, and adjacent coasts, like a gentleman of pleasure. on one occasion he paid no less than a guinea, with brandy and eatables _ad libitum_, to be rowed over to inch-colm, a distance of four miles. the female gipsies from the south, on visiting their friends at lochgellie, in the depth of winter, often hired horses at the north queensferry, and rode, with no small pomp and pride, to the village. sometimes two females would ride upon one horse. a very decent old man, of the name of thomas chalmers, a small farmer, informed me that he himself had rode to lochgellie, with a female gipsy behind him, accompanied by other two, mounted on another of his horses, riding with much spirit and glee by his side. chalmers said that these women not only paid more than the common hire, but treated the owners of the horses with as much meat and drink as they could take. the male gipsies also hired horses at this ferry, with which they rode to markets in the north. the young gipsies, male and female, of whom i have spoken, appear to have been the flower of the different bands, collected and employed in a general plundering at the fairs in the north. so well did they pay their way at the village and passage alluded to, that the boatmen gave them the kindly name of "our frien's." these wanderers were all known at the village by the name of "gillie wheesels," or "killie wheesh," which, in the west of fife, signified "the lads that take the purses." old thomas chalmers informed me that he had frequently seen these sharks of boatmen shake these gipsy thieves heartily by the hand, and, with a significant smile on their harsh, weather-beaten countenances, wish them a good market, as they landed them on the north side of the forth, on their way to picking pockets at fairs. as an incident in the lives of these gipsies, i will give the following, which was witnessed by chalmers: a gillie of a gipsy horse-couper stole a black colt, in the east of fife, and carried it direct to a fair in perth, where he exchanged it for a white horse, belonging to a highlander wearing a green kilt. the highlander, however, had not long put the colt into the stable, before word was brought to him that it was gone. suspecting the gipsy of the theft, the sturdy gael proceeded in search of him, and receiving positive information of the fact, he pursued him, like a staunch hound on the warm foot of reynard, till he overtook him in a house on the north side of kinross. the gipsy was taking some refreshment in the same room with chalmers, when the highlander, in a storm of broken english, burst into their presence. the astute and polished gipsy instantly sprang to his feet, and, throwing his arms around the foaming celt, embraced and hugged him in the eastern manner, overpowering him with expressions of joy at seeing him again. this quite exasperated the mountaineer: almost suffocated with rage, he shook the gipsy from his person, with the utmost disdain, and demanded the colt he had stolen from him. notwithstanding the deceitful embraces and forced entreaties of the gipsy, he was, with the assistance of a messenger, at the back of the highlander, safely lodged in the jail of cupar. considering the great aptitude which the gipsies have always shown for working in metals, it is not surprising that they should have resorted to coining, among their many expedients for circumventing and plundering the "strangers" among whom they sojourn. the following instance will illustrate the singular audacity which they can display in this branch of their profession: as an honest countryman, of much simplicity of character, of the name of w---- o----, was journeying along the public road, a travelling tinkler, whom he did not know, chanced to come up to him. after walking and conversing for some time, the courteous gipsy, on arriving at a public-house, invited him to step in, and have a "tasting." they accordingly entered the house, and had no sooner finished one half _mutchken_, than the liberal wanderer called for another; but when the reckoning came to be thought of, the countryman was surprised when his friend the tinkler declared that he had not a coin in his possession. unfortunately, the honest man happened also to be without a farthing in his pocket, and how they were to get out of the house, without paying the landlord, whom neither of them knew, puzzled him not a little. while meditating over their dilemma, the gipsy, with his eyes rolling about in every direction, as is their wont, espied a pewter basin under a bed in the room. this was all he required. bolting the door of the apartment, he opened his budget, and, taking out a pair of large shears, cut a piece from the side of the basin, and, putting it into his crucible on the fire, in no time, with his coining instruments, threw off several half-crowns, resembling good, sterling money. if the simple countryman was troubled at not being able to pay his reckoning, he was now terrified at being locked up with a man busily engaged in coining base money from an article stolen in the very apartment in which he was confined. he expected, every moment, some one to burst the door open, and apprehend them, while the tinkler had all his coining apparatus about him. his companion, however, was not in the least disturbed, but deliberately finished his coin in a superior manner, and cutting the remainder of the basin into pieces, packed it into his wallet. unlocking the door, he rang the bell, and tendered one of his half-crowns to his host, to pay his score, which was accepted without a suspicion. the tinkler then offered his fellow-traveller part of his remaining coin; but the unsophisticated man, far from touching one of them, was only too glad to rid himself of so dangerous an acquaintance. the gipsy, on his part, marched off, with his spirits elevated with liquor, and his pockets replenished with money, smiling at the simplicity and terror of the countryman. however numerous the crimes which the gipsies have committed, or the murders they have perpetrated in their own tribe, yet, in justice to them, i must say that only two instances have come to my knowledge of their having put to death natives of scotland who were not of their own fraternity. one of these instances was that of a man of the name of adam thomson, whom they murdered because he had encroached, it was said, upon one of their supposed privileges--that of gathering rags through the country. amongst other acts of cruelty, they placed the poor man on a fire, in his own house. two gipsies were tried for the murder, but whether they were both executed, i do not know. the following particulars connected with this deed will show how exactly the gipsies know the different routes and halting-places of each band, as they travel through the country. indeed, i have been informed that the track which each horde is to take, the different stages, and the number of days they are to remain at each place, are all marked out and fixed upon in the spring, before they leave their winter residence. one of the gipsies concerned in the murder of thomson lay in prison, in one of the towns in the south of scotland, for nearly twelve months, without having had any communication with his tribe. there was not sufficient evidence against him to justify his being brought to trial; nor would he give any information regarding the transaction. at last he changed his mind, and told the authorities they would find the murderer at a certain spot in the highlands, on a certain day and hour of that day; but if he could not be found there, they were to proceed to another place, at twenty miles' distance, where they would be sure to find him. the murderer was found at the place, and on the day, mentioned by the gipsy. but, on entering the house, the constables could not discover him, although they knew he had been within its walls a few minutes before they approached it. a fire having been kindled in the house, a noise was heard in the chimney, which attracted the notice of the constables; and, on examination, they found the object of their search; the heat and smoke having caused him to become restless in his place of concealment. he was secured, and some of the country-people were called upon to assist in carrying him to edinburgh. the prisoner was bound into a cart with ropes, to prevent him making his escape; the party in charge of him being aware of the desperate character of the man. nothing particular occurred on the road, until after they had passed the town of linlithgow, when, to their astonishment, they found a woman in the pangs of labour, in the open field. she called upon them either to bring her a midwife, or take her to one; a claim that could not be resisted. she was accordingly put into the cart, beside the prisoner, and driven with all speed to a place where a midwife could be procured. on arriving opposite a dell, full of trees and bushes, about the west-end of kirkliston, the guards were confounded at seeing their prisoner, all at once, spring out of the cart, and, darting into the cover, vanish in an instant. pursuit was immediately given, and, in the excitement, the unfortunate woman was left to her fate. in searching for the gipsy, they met a gentleman shooting in the neighbourhood, who had observed a man hide himself among the bushes. on going to the spot, they found the criminal, lying like a fox in his hole. the sportsman, presenting his gun, threatened to blow out his brains, if he did not come out, and deliver himself up to the constables. on returning with him to the cart, his captors, to their astonishment, found that the woman in labour had also vanished. it is needless to add that she was a gipsy, who had feigned being in travail, and, while in the cart, had cut the ropes with which the prisoner was bound, to enable him to make his escape. the female gipsies have had recourse to many expedients in their impositions on the public. the following is an instance, of a singular nature, that took place a good many years ago. when it is considered that the gipsies, in their native country,[ ] would not be encumbered with much wearing-apparel, but would go about in a state little short of nudity, the extreme indecency of such an action will appear somewhat lessened. the inhabitants of winchburgh and neighbourhood were one day greatly astonished at beholding a female, with a child in her arms, walking along the road, as naked as when she was born. she stated to the country-people that she had just been plundered, and stripped of every article of her wearing-apparel, by a band of tinklers, to whom she pointed, lying in a field hard by. she submitted her piteous condition to the humanity of the inhabitants, and craved any sort of garment to cover her nakedness. the state in which she was found left not the slightest doubt on the minds of the spectators as to the truth of her representations. almost every female in the neighbourhood ran with some description of clothing to the unfortunate woman; so that, in a short time, she was not only comfortably clad, but had many articles of dress to spare. shortly after, she left the town, and proceeded on her journey. but some one, observing her motions more closely than the rest, was astonished at seeing her go straight to the very tinklers who, she said, had stripped her. her appearance among her band convulsed them all with laughter, at the dexterous trick she had played upon the simple inhabitants. [ ] it is pretty certain that the gipsies came from a warm country, for they have no words for frost or snow, as will be seen in my enquiry into the history of their language. the following anecdote, related to me of one of the well-attired female gipsies, belonging to the stirling horde, will illustrate the gratitude which the scottish gipsies have, on all occasions, shown to those who have rendered them acts of kindness and attention: a person, belonging to stirling, had rendered himself obnoxious to the gipsies, by giving information relative to one of the gang, of the name of hamilton, whom he had observed picking a man's pocket of forty pounds in a fair at doune. hamilton was apprehended immediately after committing the theft, but none of the money was found upon him. the informer, however, was marked out for destruction by the band, for his officious conduct; and they only waited a convenient opportunity to put their resolution into execution. some time afterwards, the proscribed individual had occasion to go to a market at no great distance from stirling, and while on his way to it, he observed, on the road before him, a female, in the attire of a lady, riding on horseback. on coming to a pond at the road-side, the horse suddenly made for the water, and threw down its head to drink. not being prepared for the movement, the rider was thrown from her seat, with considerable violence, to the ground. the proscribed individual, observing the accident, ran forward to her assistance; but, being only slightly stunned, she was, with his help, safely placed in her seat again. she now thanked him for his kind and timely assistance, and informed him of the conspiracy that had been formed against him. she said it was particularly fortunate for him that such an accident had befallen her under the circumstances; for, in consequence of the information he had given about the pocket-picking at doune, he was to have been way-laid and murdered; that very night having been fixed upon for carrying the resolution into effect. but, as he had shown her this kindness, she would endeavour to procure, from her people, a pardon for him, for the past. she then directed him to follow slowly, while she would proceed on, at a quick pace, and overtake some of her people, to whom she would relate her accident, and the circumstances attending it. she then informed him that if she waved her _hand_, upon his coming in sight of herself and her people, he was to retrace his steps homeward, there being then no mercy for him; but if she waved her _handkerchief_, he might advance without fear. to his heart-felt delight, on coming near the party, the signal of peace was given, when he immediately hastened forward to the spot. the band, who had been in deliberation upon his fate, informed him that the lady's intercession had prevailed with them to spare his life; and that now he might consider himself safe, provided he would take an oath, there and then, never again to give evidence against any of their people, or speak to any one about their practices, should he discover them. the person in question deemed it prudent, under all the circumstances of the case, to take the oath; after which, nothing to his hurt, in either purse or person, ever followed.[ ] the lady, thus equipped, and possessed of so much influence, was the chief female of the gipsy band, to whom all the booty obtained at the fair was brought, at the house where she put up at for the day. it would seem that she was determined to save her friend at all events; for, had her band not complied with her wishes, the waving of her hand--the signal for him to make his escape--would have defeated their intentions for that time. [ ] such interference with the gipsies causes them much greater offence than if the informer was a principal in the transaction. to such people, their advice has always been: "follow your nose, and let sleeping dogs lie." the following anecdote will illustrate the way in which they have revenged themselves, under circumstances different from the above: old will, of phaup, at the head of ettrick, was wont to shelter them for many years. they asked nothing but house-room, and grass for their horses; and, though they sometimes remained for several days, he could have left every chest and press about the house open, with the certainty that nothing would be missing; for, he said, "he aye ken'd fu' weel that the toad wad keep his ain hole clean." but it happened that he found one of the gang, through the trick of a neighbouring farmer, feeding six horses on the best piece of grass on his farm, which he was keeping for winter fodder. a desperate combat followed, and the gipsy was thrashed to his heart's content, and hunted out of the neighbourhood. a warfare of five years' duration ensued between will and the gipsies. they nearly ruined him, and, at the end of that period, he was glad to make up matters with his old friends, and shelter them as formerly. he said he could have held his own with them, had it not been for their warlockry; for nothing could he keep from them--they once found his purse, though he had made his wife bury it in the garden.--_blackwood's magazine._ it is the afterclap that keeps the people off the gipsies, and secures for them a sort of toleration wherever they go.--ed. when occurrences of so grave and imposing a nature as the above are taken into consideration, the fear and awe with which the gipsies have inspired the community are not to be wondered at. the gipsies at lochgellie had a dance peculiar to themselves, during the performance of which they sung a song, in the gipsy language, which they called a "croon." a gipsy informed me that it was exactly like the one old charles stewart, and other gipsies, used to perform, and which i will describe. at the wedding near corstorphine, which charles stewart attended, as already mentioned, there were five or six female gipsies in his train. on such occasions he did not allow males to accompany him. at some distance from the people at the wedding, but within hearing of the music, the females formed themselves into a ring, with charles in the centre. here, in the midst of the circle, he danced and capered in the most antic and ludicrous manner, sweeping his cudgel around his body in all directions, and moving with much grace and agility. sometimes he danced round the outside of the circle. the females danced and courtesied to him, as he faced about and bowed to them. when they happened to go wrong, he put them to rights by a movement of his cudgel; for it was by the cudgel that all the turns and figures of the dance were regulated. a twirl dismissed the females; a cut recalled them; a sweep made them squat on the ground; a twist again called them up, in an instant, to the dance. in short, stewart distinctly spoke to his female dancers by means of his cudgel, commanding them to do whatever he pleased, without opening his mouth to one of them. george drummond, a gipsy chief of an inferior gang in fife, danced with his seraglio of females, amounting sometimes to half a dozen, in the same manner as stewart, without the slightest variation, excepting that his gestures were, on some occasions, extremely lascivious. he threw himself into almost every attitude in which the human body can be placed, while his cudgel was flying about his person with great violence. all the movements of the dance were regulated by the measures of an indecent song, at the chorus of which the circular movements of drummond's cudgel ceased; when one of the females faced about to him, and joined him with her voice, the gestures of both being exceedingly obscene. drummond's appearance, while dancing, has been described to me, by a gentleman who has often seen him performing, as exactly like what is called a "jumping-jack"--that is, a human figure, cut out of wood or paste-board, with which children often amuse themselves, by regulating its ludicrous movements by means of strings attached to various parts of it. dr. clark, in his account of his travels through russia, gives a description of a gipsy dance in moscow, which is, in all respects, very similar to that performed by stewart and drummond. these travels came into my hands some time after i had taken notes of the scottish gipsy dance. napkins appear to have been used by the russian gipsies, where sticks were employed by our scottish tribes. no mention, however, is made, by dr. clark, whether the females, in the dance at moscow, were guided by signs with the napkins, in the manner in which stewart and drummond, by their cudgels, directed their women in their dances. the eyes of the females were constantly fixed upon stewart's cudgel. dr. clark is of opinion that the national dance in russia, called the _barina_, is derived from the gipsies; and thinks it probable that our common hornpipe is taken from these wanderers.[ ] [ ] if i am not mistaken, col. todd is of opinion that the gipsies originally came from cabool, in afghanistan. i will here give a description of an afghan dance, very like the gipsy dance in scotland. "the western afghans are fond of a particular dance called _attum_, or _ghoomboor_, in which from fourteen to twenty people move, in strange attitudes, with shouting, clapping of hands, and snapping of fingers, in a circle, round a single person, who plays on an instrument in the centre."--_fraser's library._ george drummond was, in rank, quite inferior to the lochgellie band, who called him a "beggar tinkler," and seemed to despise him. he always travelled with a number of females in his company. these he married after the custom of the gipsies, and divorced some of them over the body of a horse, sacrificed for the occasion; a description of both of which ceremonies will be given in another chapter. he chastised his women with his cudgel, without mercy, causing the blood to flow at every blow, and frequently knocked them senseless to the ground; while he would call out to them, "what the deevil are ye fighting at--can ye no' 'gree? i'm sure there's no' sae mony o' ye!" although, perhaps, four would be engaged in the scuffle. such was this man's impudence and audacity, that he sometimes carried off the flesh out of the kail-pots of the farmers; and so terrified were some of the inhabitants of fife, at some of the gipsy women who followed him, that, the moment they entered their doors, salt was thrown into the fire, to set at defiance the witchcraft which they believed they possessed. one female, called dancing tibby, was, in particular, an object of apprehension and suspicion. in drummond's journeys through the country, when he came at night to a farmer's premises, where he intended to lodge, and found his place occupied by others of his gang, he, without hesitation, turned them out of their quarters, and took possession of their warm beds himself; letting them shift for themselves as they best might. this man lived till he was ninety years of age, and was, from his youth, impressed with a belief that he would die in the house in which he was born; although he had travelled a great part of the continent, and, while in the army, had been in various engagements. he fell sick when at some distance from the place of his nativity, but he hired a conveyance, and drove with haste to die on his favourite spot. to this house he was allowed admittance, where he closed his earthly career, in about forty-eight hours after his arrival. like others of his tribe, drummond, at times, gave tokens of protection to some of his particular friends, outside of the circle of his own fraternity. james robertson, a gipsy closely related to the lochgellie band, of whom i have already made mention, frequently danced, with his wife and numerous sisters, in a particular fashion, changing and regulating the figures of the dance by means of a bonnet; being, i believe, the same dance which i have attempted to describe as performed by others of the tribe in scotland. when his wife and sisters got intoxicated, which was often the case, it was a wild and extravagant scene to behold those light-footed damsels, with loose and flowing hair, dancing, with great spirit, on the grass, in the open field, while james was, with all his "might and main," like the devil playing to the witches, in "tam o' shanter," keeping the bacchanalians in fierce and animated music. when like to flag in his exertions to please them with his fiddle, they have been heard calling loudly to him, like maggy lawder to rob the ranter, "play up, jamie robertson; if ever we do weel, it will be a wonder;" being totally regardless of all sense of decorum and decency. the gipsies in fife followed the same occupations, in all respects, as those in other parts of scotland, and were also dexterous at all athletic exercises. they were exceedingly fond of cock-fighting, and, when the season came round for that amusement, many a good cock was missing from the farm-yards. the lochgellie band considered begging a disgrace to their tribe. at times they were handsomely dressed, wearing silver buckles in their shoes, gold rings on their fingers, and gold and silver brooches in the bosoms of their ruffled shirts. they killed, at martinmass, fat cattle for their winter's provisions, and lived on the best victuals the country could produce. it is, i believe, the common practice, among inferior scotch traders, for those who receive money to treat the payer, or return a trifle of the payment, called a luck-penny: but, in opposition to this practice, the lochgellie gipsies always treated those to whom they paid money for what they purchased of them. they occasionally attended the church, and sometimes got their children baptized; but when the clergyman refused them that privilege, they baptized them themselves. at their baptisms, they had great feastings and drinkings. their favourite beverage, on such occasions, was oatmeal and whiskey, mixed. when intoxicated, they were sometimes very fond of arguing and expostulating with clergymen on points of morality. with regard to the internal government of the lochgellie gipsies, i can only find that they held consultations among themselves, relative to their affairs, and that the females had votes as well as the males, but that old charles graham had the casting vote; while, in his absence, his wife, ann brown, managed their concerns. there is a strict division of property among the gipsies; community of goods having no place among them. the heads of each family, although travelling in one band, manufacture and vend their own articles of merchandise, for the support of their own families. the following particulars are illustrative of this fact among the gipsies:--a farmer in fife, who would never allow them to kindle fires in his out-houses, had a band of them, of about twenty-five persons, quartered one night on his farm. next morning, the chief female borrowed from the family a large copper caldron, used for the purposes of the dairy, with which she had requested permission to cook the breakfast of the horde upon the kitchen fire. this having been granted, each family produced a small linen bag, (not the beggar's wallet,) made of coarse materials, containing oatmeal; of which at least four were brought into the apartment. the female who prepared the repast went regularly over the bags, taking out the meal in proportion to the members of the families to which they respectively belonged, and repeated her visits in this manner till the porridge was ready to be served up. i shall conclude my account of the gipsies in fife by mentioning the curious fact that, within these sixty years, a gentleman of considerable landed property, between the forth and the tay, abandoned his relatives, and travelled over the kingdom in the society of the gipsies. he married one of the tribe, of the name of ogilvie, who had two daughters to him. sometimes he quartered, it is said, upon his own estate, disguised, of course, among the gang, to the great annoyance of his relatives, who were horrified at the idea of his becoming a tinkler, and alarmed at the claims which he occasionally made upon the estate. his daughters travel the country, at the present day, as common gipsies. chapter vi. tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies. the county of peebles, or tweed-dale, appears to have been more frequented by the gipsies than, perhaps, any other part of scotland. so far back as the time of henry lord darnley, when the gipsies were countenanced by the government, we find, according to buchanan, that this county was a favourite resort of banditti; so much so, that when darnley took up his residence in peebles, for the purpose of shunning the company of his wife, queen mary, he "found the place so cold, so infested with thieves, and so destitute of provisions, that he was driven from it, to avoid being fleeced and starved by rogues and beggars." in the poems of dr. pennecuik, as well as in his history of peebles-shire, published in the year , the gipsy bands are frequently taken notice of. but, notwithstanding the attachment which the tribe had for the romantic glens of tweed-dale, no evidence exists of their ever having had a permanent habitation within the shire. they appear to have resorted to that pastoral district during only the months of spring, summer and autumn. their partiality for this part of scotland may be attributed to three reasons. the first reason is, tweed-dale was part of the district in which, if not the first, at least the second, gipsy family in scotland claimed, at one time, a right to travel, as its own peculiar privilege. the chief of this family was called baillie, who claimed kindred, in the bastard line, to one of the most ancient families in the kingdom, of the name of baillie, once balliol.[ ] in consequence of this alleged connexion, this gipsy family also claimed, as its right, to travel in the upper ward of lanarkshire, adjoining tweed-dale, in which district the scottish family alluded to possessed estates; and one of the principal places of the gipsy rendezvous was an old ruin, among the hills, in the upper part of the parish of lamington, or rather wanel in those days. [ ] this claim appears doubtful, for there were gipsies of the name of baillie (bailyow) as far back as , as already mentioned. however, the particulars of the laird's intrigue with the beautiful gipsy girl, are imprinted on the minds of the gipsies of that name at the present day. the second reason is, that the surface of tweed-dale is much adapted to the wandering disposition of the gipsies. it is mountainous, but everywhere intersected by foot-paths and bridle-roads, affording an easy passage to the gipsies, on foot or horseback. on its many hills are plenty of game; and its infinite number of beautiful streams, including about thirty-five miles of the highest part of the tweed, abound with trout of the finest quality. the gipsies, being fond of game, and much addicted to poaching and fishing, flocked to tweed-dale and the adjoining upland districts of a similar character, comprehending some of the most remote and least frequented parts in the south of scotland. all these districts being covered with vast flocks of sheep, many of which were frequently dying of various diseases, the gipsies never wanted a plentiful supply of that sort of food from the families of the store-masters.[ ] [ ] the gipsies were not spared of _braxy_, of which they were fond. i have known natives of tweed-dale and ettrick forest, who preferred _braxy_ to the best meat _killed by the hand of man_. it has a particular _sharp_ relish, which made them so fond of it. [braxy is the flesh of sheep which have died of a certain disease. when the gipsies are taunted with eating what some call carrion, they very wittily reply: "the flesh of a beast which god kills must be better than that of one killed by the hand of man." such flesh, "killed by the hand of god," is often killed in this manner: they will administer to swine a drug affecting the brain only, which will cause speedy death; when they will call and obtain the carcass, without suspicion, and feast on the flesh, which has been in no way injured.--_borrow._ they will also stuff wool down a sheep's throat, and direct the farmer's attention to it when near its last gasp, and obtain the carcass after being skinned.--ed.] and the third reason is, that, in the pastoral districts in the upper parts of the shires of peebles, selkirk, dumfries, and lanark, including all that mountainous tract of land in which the rivers tweed, annan and clyde have their sources, the gipsies were, in a great measure, secure from the officers of the law, and enjoyed their favourite amusements without molestation or hindrance. before, and long after, the year , the male branches of the baillies traversed scotland, mounted on the best horses to be found in the country; themselves dressed in long coats, made of the finest scarlet and green cloth, ruffled at hands and breast, booted and spurred; with cocked hats on their heads, pistols in their belts, and broad-swords by their sides: and at the heels of their horses followed greyhounds, and other dogs of the chase, for their amusement. some of them assumed the manners and characters of gentlemen, which they supported with wonderful art and propriety. the females attended fairs in the attire of ladies, riding on ponies, with side-saddles, in the best style. on these occasions, the children were left in charge of their servants, perhaps in an old out-house or hut, in some wild, sequestered glen, in tweed-dale or clydesdale. the greater part of the tenantry were kind to the gipsies, and many encouraged them to frequent their premises. tweed-dale being the favourite resort of the principal horde, they generally abstained from injuring the property of the greater part of the inhabitants. indeed, i have been informed, by eye-witnesses, that several of the farmers in tweed-dale and clydesdale, at so late a period as about the year , accepted of entertainments from the principal gipsies, dining with them in the open fields, or in some old, unoccupied out-house, or kiln. their repast, on such occasions, was composed of the best viands the country could produce. on one occasion, a band dined on the green-sward, near douglass-mill, when the gipsies drank their wine, after dinner, as if they had been the best in the land. some of the landed proprietors, however, introduced clauses in their leases prohibiting their tenants from harbouring the gipsies; and the laird of dolphington is mentioned as one. the tribe, on hearing of the restriction, expressed great indignation at the laird's conduct in adopting so effectual a method of banishing them from the district. but so strong were the attachments which some of the gipsies displayed towards the inhabitants, that the chief of the ruthvens actually wept like a child, whenever the misfortunes of the ancient family of murray, of philliphaugh, were mentioned to him. in giving an account of the gipsies who frequented tweed-dale, and the country adjacent, i have thought it proper to mention particularly the family of baillie; for this family produced kings and queens, or, in their language, _baurie rajahs_ and _baurie raunies_, to the scottish gipsies. at one period they seem to have exercised a sort of sovereign authority in the tribe, over almost the whole of scotland; and, according to the ordinary practice of writing history of a great deal more importance, they should, as the chief family of a tribe, be particularly noticed. the quarrels of the gipsies frequently broke out in an instant, and almost without a visible cause. a farmer's wife, with whom i was acquainted, was one day sitting in the midst of a band of them, at work in an old out-house, enquiring the news of the country of them, when, in an instant, a shower of horns and hammers, open knives, files, and fiery peats, were flying through the house, at one another's heads. the good-wife took to her heels immediately, to get out of the fray. some of their conflicts were terrible in the extreme. dr. pennecuik, in his history of peebles-shire, already referred to, gives an account of a sanguinary struggle that took place on his estate of romanno, in tweed-dale. the following are the particulars in his own words: "upon the st of october, , there happened at romanno, on the very spot where now the dove-cot is built, a remarkable polymachy betwixt two clans of gipsies, the fawes and the shawes, who had come from haddington fair, and were going to harestanes, to meet two other clans of these rogues, the baillies and browns, with a resolution to fight them. they fell out, at romanno, among themselves, about dividing the spoil they had got at haddington, and fought it manfully. of the fawes, there were four brethren and a brother's son; of the shawes, the father with three sons; and several women on both sides. old sandie fawe, a bold and proper fellow,[ ] with his wife, then with child, were both killed dead upon the place; and his brother george very dangerously wounded. in february, , old robin shawe, the gipsy, and his three sons, were hanged at the grass-market, for the above-mentioned murder, committed at romanno; and john fawe was hanged, the wednesday following, for another murder. sir archibald primrose was justice general at the time, and sir george mckenzie king's advocate." contrasting the obstinate ferocity of the gipsy with the harmless and innocent nature of the dove, dr. pennecuik erected on the spot a dove-cot; and, to commemorate the battle, placed upon the lintel of the door the following inscription: "a. d. . the field of gipsie blood, which here you see, a shelter for the harmless dove shall be." [ ] it is interesting to notice that the doctor calls this gipsy a "bold and proper fellow." he was, in all probability, a fine specimen of physical manhood.--ed. this gipsy battle is also noticed by lord fountainhall, in the following extract from his ms., now in the advocate's library:--"sixth february, .--four egyptians, of the name of shaw, were this day hanged--the father and three sons--for the slaughter committed by them on the faws, (another tribe of these vagabonds, worse than the mendicants validi, mentioned in the code,) in a drunken squabble, made by them in a rendezvous they had at romanno, with a design to unite their forces against the clans of browns and bailezies (baillies), that were come over from ireland,[ ] to chase them back again, that they might not share in their labours; but, in their ramble, they discovered and committed the foresaid murder; and sundry of them, of both sides, were apprehended."--"the four being thrown into a hole dug for them in the greyfriars churchyard, with their clothes on, the next morning the body of the youngest of the three sons, (who was scarce sixteen,) was missed. some thought that, being last thrown over the ladder, and first cut down, and in full vigour, and not much earth placed upon him, and lying uppermost, and so not so ready to smother, the fermentation of the blood, and heat of the bodies under him, might cause him to rebound, and throw off the earth, and recover ere the morning, and steal away. which, if true, he deserved his life, though the magistrates deserved a reprimand. but others, more probably, thought his body was stolen away by some chirurgeon, or his servant, to make an anatomical dissection on." [ ] the scottish gipsies, as i have already said, have a tradition that their ancestors came into scotland by way of ireland. [the allusion to that circumstance by the gipsies, on this occasion, was evidently to throw dust into the eyes of the scottish authorities, by whom the whole tribe in scotland were proscribed.--ed.] about a century after this conflict, we find the nature of the gipsies still unchanged. the following details of one of their general engagements will serve as a specimen of the obstinate and desperate manner in which, to a late period, they fought among themselves. the battle took place at the bridge of hawick, in the spring of the year , or . the particulars are derived from the late mr. robert laidlaw, tenant of fanash, a gentleman of respectability, who was an eye-witness to the scene of action. it was understood that this battle originated in some encroachments of the one tribe upon the district assigned to the other; a principal source of quarrels among these wanderers. and it was agreed to, by the contending parties, that they were to fight out their dispute the first time they should meet, which, as just said, happened at hawick. on the one side, in this battle, was the celebrated alexander kennedy, a handsome and athletic man, and head of his tribe. next to him, in consideration, was little wull ruthven, kennedy's father-in-law. this man was known, all over the country, by the extraordinary title of the earl of hell;[ ] and, although he was above five feet ten inches in height, he got the appellation of little wull, to distinguish him from muckle william ruthven, who was a man of uncommon stature and personal strength.[ ] the earl's son was also in the fray. these were the chief men in kennedy's band. jean ruthven, kennedy's wife, was also present; with a great number of inferior members of the clan, males as well as females, of all ages, down to mere children. the opposite band consisted of old rob tait, the chieftain of his horde, jacob tait, young rob tait, and three of old rob tait's sons-in-law. these individuals, with jean gordon, old tait's wife, and a numerous train, of youths of both sexes and various ages, composed the adherents of old robert tait. these adverse tribes were all closely connected with one another by the ties of blood. the kennedys and ruthvens were from the ancient burgh of lochmaben. [ ] this seems a favourite title among the tinklers. one, of the name of young, bears it at the present time. but the gipsies are not singular in these terrible titles. in the late burmese war, we find his burmese majesty creating one of his generals "king of hell, prince of darkness."--see _constable's miscellany_. [ ] a friend, in writing me, says: "i still think i see him, (muckle wull,) bruising the charred peat over the flame of his furnace, with hands equal to two pair of hands of the modern day; while his withered and hairy shackle-bones were more like the postern joints of a sorrel cart-horse than anything else." the whole of the gipsies in the field, females as well as males, were armed with bludgeons, excepting some of the taits, who carried cutlasses, and pieces of iron hoops, notched and serrated on either side, like a saw, and fixed to the end of sticks. the boldest of the tribe were in front of their respective bands, with their children and the other members of their clan in the rear, forming a long train behind them. in this order both parties boldly advanced, with their weapons uplifted above their heads. both sides fought with extraordinary fury and obstinacy. sometimes the one band gave way, and sometimes the other; but both, again and again, returned to the combat with fresh ardour. not a word was spoken during the struggle; nothing was heard but the rattling of the cudgels and the strokes of the cutlasses. after a long and doubtful contest, jean ruthven, big with child at the time, at last received, among many other blows, a dreadful wound with a cutlass. she was cut to the bone, above and below the breast, particularly on one side. it was said the slashes were so large and deep that one of her breasts was nearly severed from her body, and that the motions of her lungs, while she breathed, were observed through the aperture between her ribs. but, notwithstanding her dreadful condition, she would neither quit the field nor yield, but continued to assist her husband as long as she was able. her father, the earl of hell, was also shockingly wounded; the flesh being literally cut from the bone of one of his legs, and, in the words of my informant, "hanging down over his ankles, like beef steaks." the earl left the field to get his wounds dressed; but observing his daughter, kennedy's wife, so dangerously wounded, he lost heart, and, with others of his party, fled, leaving kennedy alone, to defend himself against the whole of the clan of tait. having now all the taits, young and old, male and female, to contend with, kennedy, like an experienced warrior, took advantage of the local situation of the place. posting himself on the narrow bridge of hawick, he defended himself in the defile, with his bludgeon, against the whole of his infuriated enemies. his handsome person, his undaunted bravery, his extraordinary dexterity in handling his weapon, and his desperate situation, (for it was evident to all that the taits thirsted for his blood, and were determined to despatch him on the spot,) excited a general and lively interest in his favour, among the inhabitants of the town, who were present, and had witnessed the conflict with amazement and horror. in one dash to the front, and with one powerful sweep of his cudgel, he disarmed two of the taits, and cutting a third to the skull, felled him to the ground. he sometimes daringly advanced upon his assailants, and drove the whole band before him, pell-mell. when he broke one cudgel on his enemies, by his powerful arm, the town's people were ready to hand him another. still, the vindictive taits rallied, and renewed the charge with unabated vigour; and every one present expected that kennedy would fall a sacrifice to their desperate fury. a party of messengers and constables at last arrived to his relief, when the taits were all apprehended, and imprisoned; but, as none of the gipsies were actually slain in the fray, they were soon set at liberty.[ ] [ ] this gipsy battle is alluded to by sir walter scott, in a postscript to a letter to captain adam ferguson, th april, . "by the by, old kennedy the tinker swam for his life at jedburgh, and was only, by the sophisticated and timed evidence of a seceding doctor, who differed from all his brethren, saved from a well-deserved gibbet. he goes to botanize for fourteen years. pray tell this to the duke (of buccleuch,) for he was an old soldier of the duke, and the duke's old soldier. six of his brethren were, i am told, in the court, and kith and kin without end. i am sorry so many of the clan are left. the cause of the quarrel with the murdered man, was an old feud between two gipsy clans, the kennedys and irvings, which, about forty years since, gave rise to a desperate quarrel and battle at hawick-green, in which the grandfather of both kennedy and the man whom he murdered were engaged."--_lockhart's life of sir walter scott._ alexander kennedy was tried for murdering irving, at yarrowford. [this gipsy fray at hawick is known among the english gipsies as "the battle of the bridge."--ed.] in this battle, it was said that every gipsy, except alexander kennedy, the brave chief, was severely wounded; and that the ground on which they fought was wet with blood. jean gordon, however, stole, unobserved, from her band, and, taking a circuitous road, came behind kennedy, and struck him on the head with her cudgel. what astonished the inhabitants of hawick the most of all, was the fierce and stubborn disposition of the gipsy females. it was remarked that, when they were knocked down senseless to the ground, they rose again, with redoubled vigour and energy, to the combat. this unconquerable obstinacy and courage of their females is held in high estimation by the tribe. i once heard a gipsy sing a song, which celebrated one of their battles; and, in it, the brave and determined manner in which the girls bore the blows of the cudgel over their heads was particularly applauded. the battle at hawick was not decisive to either party. the hostile bands, a short time afterwards, came in contact, in ettrick forest, at a place, on the water of teema, called deephope. they did not, however, engage here; but the females on both sides, at some distance from one another, with a stream between them, scolded and cursed, and, clapping their hands, urged the males again to fight. the men, however, more cautious, only observed a sullen and gloomy silence at this meeting. probably both parties, from experience, were unwilling to renew the fight, being aware of the consequences which would follow, should they again close in battle. the two clans then separated, each taking different roads, but both keeping possession of the disputed district. in the course of a few days, they again met in eskdale moor, when a second desperate conflict ensued. the taits were here completely routed, and driven from the district, in which they had attempted to travel by force. the country-people were horrified at the sight of the wounded tinklers, after these sanguinary engagements. several of them, lame and exhausted, in consequence of the severity of their numerous wounds, were, by the assistance of their tribe, carried through the country on the backs of asses; so much were they cut up in their persons. some of them, it was said, were slain outright, and never more heard of. jean ruthven, however, who was so dreadfully slashed, recovered from her wounds, to the surprise of all who had seen her mangled body, which was sewed in different parts by her clan. these battles were talked of for thirty miles around the country. i have heard old people speak of them, with fear and wonder at the fierce, unyielding disposition of the willful and vindictive tinklers.[ ] [ ] grellmann, on the hungarian gipsies, says: "they are loquacious and quarrelsome in the highest degree. in the public markets, and before ale-houses, where they are surrounded by spectators, they bawl, spit at each other, catch up sticks and cudgels, vapour and brandish them over their heads, throw dust and dirt; now run from each other, then back again, with furious gestures and threats. the women scream, drag their husbands by force from the scene of action; these break from them again, and return to it. the children, too, howl piteously." but i am at a loss to understand the object of such an affray, as given by this author, on any other theory than that of collecting crowds, in the places mentioned, to enable them the more easily to pick pockets. for grellmann adds: "after a short time, without any persons interfering, when they have cried and make a noise till they are tired, and without either party having received any personal injury, the affair terminates, and they separate with as much ostentation as if they had performed the most heroic feat."--ed. we have already seen that the female gipsies are nearly as expert at handling the cudgel, and fully as fierce and unyielding in their quarrels and conflicts, as the males of their race. the following particulars relative to a gipsy scuffle, derived from an eye-witness, will illustrate how a gipsy woman, of the name of rebecca keith, displayed no little dexterity in the effective use which she made of her bludgeon. two gangs of gipsies, of different tribes, had taken up their quarters, on a saturday, the one at the town of dumblane, the other at a farm-steading on the estate of cromlix, in the neighbourhood. on the sunday following, the dumblane horde paid a visit to the others, at their country quarters. the place set apart for their accommodation was an old kiln, of which they had possession, where they were feasted with abundance of savoury viands, and regaled with mountain dew, in copious libations, of quality fit for a prince. the country squad were of the keith fraternity, and their queen, or head personage, at the time, was rebecca keith, past the middle age, but of gigantic stature, and great muscular power. in the course of their carousal, a quarrel ensued between the two gangs, and a fierce battle followed. the keiths were the weaker party, but becca, as she was called by the country people, performed prodigies of valour, against fearful odds, with only the aid of her strong, hard-worn shoe, which she wielded with the dexterity and effect of an experienced cudgelist. she appeared, however, unable much longer to contend against her too numerous opponents. being a great favourite with all, especially with the inmates of the farm which was the scene of encounter, two young boys--the informant and the herd-callant--who witnessed the engagement, and whose sympathy was altogether on the side of the valourous becca, exchanged a hurried and whispering remark to each other that, "if she had the _soople_ of a flail, they thought she would do gude wark." no sooner said than done. the herd-boy went off at once to the barn, cut the thongs asunder, and returned, in a twinkling, with the soople below his jacket, concealing it from view, with the cunning of a thief. edging up to becca, and uncovering the end of the weapon, it was seized upon by her with avidity. she flourished it in the air, and plied it with such effect, about the ears of her adversaries, that they were speedily driven off the field, with "sarks full of sore bones." in this furious manner would the friendly meetings of the gipsies frequently terminate.[ ] [ ] it is astonishing how trifling a circumstance will sometimes set such gipsies by the ears. in england, they will frequently "cast up" the history of their respective families on such occasions. "what was your father, i would like to know? he hadn't even an ass to carry his traps, and was a rogue at that, you ---- gipsy. _my_ father was an honest man." "_honest_ man?"--"yes, honest man, and that's more than you can say of your kin." the other, having more of "the blood," will taunt his acquaintance with some such expression as "gorgio like," (like the white.)--"and what are you, you black trash? will blood put money in your pocket? blood, indeed! i'm a better gipsy than you are, in spite of the black devil that every one sees in your face!" then the fray commences. when gipsies take up their quarters on the premises of country people, a very effectual way of sometimes getting rid of them is to stir up discord among them. for when it comes to "hammers and tongs," "tongs and hammers," they will scatter, uttering howls of vengeance, on some more appropriate occasion, against their most intimate friends, who have just incurred their wrath, yet who will be seen "cheek by jowl" with them, perhaps, the next day, or even before the sun has gone down upon them; so easily are they sometimes irritated, and so easily reconciled.--ed. so formidable were the numbers of the nomadic gipsies, at one time, and so alarming their desperate and sanguinary battles, in the upper parts of tweed-dale and clydesdale, that the fencible men in their neighbourhood, (the _country-side_ was the expression,) had sometimes to turn out to quell and disperse them. a clergyman was, on one occasion, under the necessity of dismissing his congregation, in the middle of divine service, that they might quell one of these furious gipsy tumults, in the immediate vicinity of the church.[ ] [ ] a writer in blackwood's magazine mentions that the gipsies, late in the seventeenth century, broke into the house of pennicuik, when the greater part of the family were at church. sir john clerk, the proprietor, barricaded himself in his own apartment, where he sustained a sort of siege--firing from the windows upon the robbers, who fired upon him in return. one of them, while straying through the house in quest of booty, happened to ascend the stairs of a very narrow turret, but, slipping his foot, caught hold of the rope of the alarm bell, the ringing of which startled the congregation assembled in the parish church. they instantly came to the rescue of the laird, and succeeded, it is said, in apprehending some of the gipsies, who were executed. there is a written account of this daring assault kept in the records of the family.--ed. about the year , the mother of the baillies received some personal injury, or rather insult, at a fair at biggar, from a gardener of the name of john cree. the insult was instantly resented by the gipsies; but cree was luckily protected by his friends. in contempt and defiance of the whole multitude in the market, four of the baillies--matthew, james, william, and john--all brothers, appeared on horse-back, dressed in scarlet, and armed with broad-swords, and, parading through the crowd, threatened to be avenged of the gardener, and those who had assisted him. burning with revenge, they threw off their coats, rolled up the sleeves of their shirts to the shoulder, like butchers when at work, and, with their naked and brawny arms, and glittering swords in their clenched hands, furiously rode up and down the fair, threatening death to all who should oppose them. their bare arms, naked weapons, and resolute looks, showed that they were prepared to slaughter their enemies without mercy. no one dared to interfere with them, till the minister of the parish appeased their rage, and persuaded them to deliver up their swords. it was found absolutely necessary, however, to keep a watch upon the gardener's house, for six months after the occurrence, to protect him and his family from the vengeance of the vindictive gipsies. to bring into view and illustrate the character and practices of our scottish gipsies, i will transcribe the following details, in the original words, from a ms. which i received from the late mr. blackwood, as a contribution towards a history of the gipsies. mr. blackwood did not say who the writer of the paper was, but some one mentioned to me that he was a clergyman. i am satisfied that the statements it contains are true, and that the william baillie therein mentioned was, in his day and generation, well known, over the greater part of scotland, as chief of his tribe within the kingdom. he was the grandfather of the four gipsies who, as just mentioned, set at defiance the whole multitude at biggar fair. it will be seen, by this ms., that while the principal gipsies, with their subordinates, were plundering the public, in all directions, they sometimes performed acts of gratitude and great kindness to their favourites of the community among whom they travelled. in it will also be exhibited the cool and business-like manner in which they delivered back stolen purses, when circumstances rendered such restoration necessary. "there was formerly a gang of gipsies, or pick-pockets, who used to frequent the fairs in dumfries-shire, headed by a william baillie, or will baillie, as the country-people were accustomed to call him, of whom the old men used to tell many stories. "before any considerable fair, if the gang were at a distance from the place where it was to be held, whoever of them were appointed to go, went singly, or, at most, never above two travelled together. a day or so after, mr. baillie himself followed, mounted like a nobleman; and, as journeys, in those days, were almost all performed on horseback, he sometimes rode, for many miles, with gentlemen of the first respectability in the country. and, as he could discourse readily and fluently on almost any topic, he was often taken to be some country gentleman of property, as his dress and manners seemed to indicate. "once, in a very crowded fair at dumfries, an honest farmer, from the parish of hatton, in annandale, had his pocket picked of a considerable sum, in gold, with which he was going to buy cattle. on discovering his loss, he immediately went and got a purse like the one he had lost, into which he put a good number of small stones, and, going into a crowded part of the fair, he kept a watchful eye on his pocket, and, in a little while, he caught a fellow in the very act of picking it. the farmer, who was a stout, athletic man, did not wish to make any noise, as he knew a more ready way of recovering his money; but whispered to the fellow, while he still kept fast hold of him, to come out of the throng a little, as he wanted to speak to him. there he told him that he had lost his money, and that, if he would get it to him again, he would let him go; if not, he would have him put in jail immediately. the pick-pocket desired him to come along with him, and he would see what could be done, the farmer still keeping close to him, lest he should escape. they entered an obscure house, in an unfrequented close, where they found mr. baillie sitting. the farmer told his tale, concluding with a promise that, as the loss of the money would hurt him very much, he would, if he could get it back again, make no more ado about it. on which, mr. baillie went to a concealment in the wall, and brought out the very purse the farmer had lost, with the contents untouched, which he returned to the farmer, who received it with much gratitude. "the farmer, after doing his business in the fair, got a little intoxicated in the evening; on which he thought he would call on mr. baillie, and give him a treat, for his kindness in restoring his purse; but on entering the house, the woman who kept it, a poor widow, fell on him and abused him sadly, asking him what he had done to cause mr. stewart, by which name she knew mr. baillie, to leave her house; and saying she had lost the best friend that ever she had, for always when he stayed a day or two in her house, (which he used to do twice a year,) he gave her as much as paid her half-year's rent; but after he, (the farmer,) called that day, mr. stewart, she said, left her house, telling her he could not stay with her any longer; but before he went, she said, he had given her what was to pay her half-year's rent, a resource, she lamented, she would lose in future. about two years afterwards, the farmer again had the curiosity to call on her, and ask her if her lodger had ever returned. she said he never had, but that, ever since, a stranger had called regularly, and given her money to pay her rent. "in the parish of kirkmichael, about eight miles from dumfries, lived a widow who occupied a small farm. as she had a number of young children, and no man to assist her, she fell behind in paying her rent, and at last got a summons of removal. she had a kiln that stood at a considerable distance from the other houses, which was much frequented by baillie's people, when they came that way; and she gave them, at all times, peaceable possession, as she had no person to contend with them, or put them away, and she herself did not wish to differ with them. they, on the other hand, never molested anything she had. one evening, a number of them arrived rather late, and went into the kiln, as usual; after which, one came into the house, to ask a few peats, to make a fire. she gave the peats, saying she believed they would soon have to shift their quarters, as she herself was warned to flit, and she did not know if the next tenant would allow them such quiet possession, and she did not know what would become of herself and her helpless family. nothing more was said, but, after having put her children to bed, as she was sitting by the fire, in a disconsolate manner, she heard a gentle tap at the door. on opening it, a genteel, well-dressed man entered, who told her he just wished to speak with her for a few minutes, and, sitting down, said he had heard she was warned to remove, and asked how much she was behind. she told him exactly. on which, rising hastily, he slipt a purse into her hand, and went out before she could say a single word. "the widow, however, kept the farm, paid off all old debts, and brought up her family decently; but still, it grieved her that she did not know who was her benefactor. she never told any person till about ten years afterwards, when she told a friend who came to see her, when she was rather poorly in health. after hearing the story, he asked her what sort of a man he was who gave her the money. she said their interview was so short, and it was so long past, that she could recollect little of him, but only remembered well that he had the scar of a cut across his nose. on which, her friend immediately exclaimed, 'then will baillie was the man.' "before the year , the roads were bad through all the country. carts were not then in use, and all the merchants' goods were conveyed in packs, on horseback. among others, the farmers on the water of ae, in dumfries-shire, were almost all pack-carriers. as there was little improvement of land then, they had little to do at home, and so they made their rents mostly by carrying. among others, there was an uncle of my father, whose name was robert mcvitie, who used to be a great carrier. this man, once, in returning from edinburgh, stopt at broughton, and in coming out of the stable, he met a man, who asked him if he knew him. robert, after looking at him for a little, said: 'i think you are mr. baillie.' he said, i am, and asked if robert could lend him two guineas, and it should be faithfully repaid. as there were few people who wished to differ with baillie, robert told him he was welcome to two guineas, or more if he wanted it. he said that would just do; on which robert gave them to him, and he put them into his pocket. baillie then asked, if ever he was molested by any person, when he was travelling late with his packs. he said he never was, although he was sometimes a little afraid. baillie then gave him a kind of brass token, about the size of a half-crown, with some marks upon it, which he desired him to carry in his purse, and it might be of use to him some time, as he was to show it, if any person offered to rob him. baillie then mounted his horse and rode off. "some considerable time after this, as robert was one evening travelling with his packs, between elvanfoot and moffat, two men came up to him, whom he thought very suspicious-looking fellows. as he was a stout man himself, and carried a good cudgel, he kept on the alert for a considerable way, lest they should take him by surprise. at last, one of them asked him if he was not afraid to travel alone, so late at night. he said he was under a necessity to be out late, sometimes, on his lawful business. but recollecting his token, he said a gentleman had once given him a piece of brass, to show, if ever any person troubled him. they desired him to show it, as it was moonlight. he gave it to them. on seeing it, they looked at one another, and then, whispering a few words, told him it was well for him he had the token, which they returned; and they left him directly. "after a lapse of nearly two years, when he had almost forgotten his two guineas, as he was one morning loading his packs, at the door of a public-house, near gretna-green, he felt some person touch him behind, and, on looking round, saw it was mr. baillie, who slipped something into his hand, wrapped in paper, and left him, without speaking a single word. on opening the paper, he found three guineas, which was his own money, and a guinea for interest. "there was another gang of gipsies that stayed mostly in annandale, headed by a jock johnstone, as he was called in the country. these were counted a kind of lower caste than baillie's people, who would have thought themselves degraded if they had associated with any of the johnstone gang. johnstone confined his travels mostly to dumfries-shire; while baillie went over all scotland, and even made long excursions into england. johnstone kept a great many women about him,[ ] several of whom had children to him; and, in kilns and in barns, johnstone always slept in the middle of the whole gang. baillie sometimes told his select friends that he had a wife, but never any of them could find out where she stayed; and as he used to disappear now and then, for a considerable time together, it was supposed he was with her. he never slept, in barn or kiln, with any of his people. johnstone travelled all day in the midst of a crowd of women and children, mounted on asses. baillie travelled always by himself, mounted on the best horse he could get for money. [ ] a great many of the inferior gipsy chiefs travelled with a number of women in their company; such as george drummond, doctor duds, john lundie, and others. "some time in the year , johnstone, with a number of his women, came to the house of one margaret farish, an old woman who sold ale at lonegate, six miles from dumfries, on the edinburgh road. after drinking for a long time, some of jock's wives and the old woman quarrelled. on which he took up the pewter pint-stoup, with which she measured her ale, and, giving her two or three severe blows on the head, killed her on the spot. next day he was apprehended near lockerby, and brought into dumfries' jail. he had a favourite tame jack-daw that he took with him in all his travels, and he desired it might be brought to stay with him in the jail, which was done. when the lords were coming into the circuit, as they passed the jail, the trumpeters gave a blast, on which the jack-daw gave a flutter against the iron bars of the window, and dropped down dead. when jock saw that, he immediately exclaimed: 'lord have mercy on me, for i am gone.' he was accordingly tried and condemned. when the day of execution came, he would not walk to the scaffold, and so they were forced to carry him. the executioner, being an old man, could not turn him over. several of the constables refused to touch him. at last, one of the burgh officers turned him off; but the old people about dumfries used to say that the officer never prospered any more after that day."[ ] [ ] dr. alexander carlyle, in a note to his autobiography, mentions having seen this jock johnstone hanged. the date given by him ( ), differs, however, from that mentioned above. according to him, johnstone was but twenty years of age, but bold, and a great ringleader, and was condemned for robbery, and being accessory to a murder. the usual place of execution was a moor, adjoining the town; but, as it was strongly reported that the "thieves" were collecting from all quarters, to rescue the criminal from the gallows, the magistrates erected the scaffold in front of the prison, with a platform connecting, and surrounded it with about a hundred of the stoutest burgesses, armed with lochaber axes. jock made his appearance, surrounded by six officers. he was curly-haired, and fierce-looking, about five feet eight inches in height, and very strong of his size. at first he appeared astonished, but, looking around awhile, proceeded with a bold step. psalms and prayers being over, and the rope fastened about his neck, he was ordered to mount a short ladder, attached to the gallows, in order to be thrown off; when he immediately seized the rope, and pulled so violently at it as to be in danger of bringing down the gallows--causing much emotion among the crowd, and fear among the magistrates. jock, becoming furious, like a wild beast, struggled and roared, and defied the six officers to bind him; and, recovering the use of his arms, became more formidable. the magistrates then with difficulty prevailed on by far the strongest man in dumfries, for the honour of the town, to come on the scaffold. putting aside the six officers, this man seized the criminal, with as little difficulty as a nurse handles her child, and in a few minutes bound him hand and foot; and quietly laying him down on his face, near the edge of the scaffold, retired. jock, the moment he felt his grasp, found himself subdued, and, becoming calm, resigned himself to his fate.--_carlyle's autobiography._--ed. the extraordinary man baillie, who is here so often mentioned, was well known in tweed-dale and clydesdale; and my great-grandfather, who knew him well, used to say that he was the handsomest, the best dressed, the best looking, and the best bred man he ever saw. as i have already mentioned, he generally rode one of the best horses the kingdom could produce; himself attired in the finest scarlet, with his greyhounds following him, as if he had been a man of the first rank. with the usual gipsy policy, he represented himself as a bastard son of one of the baillies of lamington, his mother being a gipsy. on this account, considerable attention was paid to him by the country-people; indeed, he was taken notice of by the first in the land. but, from his singular habits, his real character at last became well known. he acted the character of the gentleman, the robber, the sorner, and the tinker, whenever it answered his purpose. he was considered, in his time, the best swordsman in all scotland. with this weapon in his hand, and his back at a wall, he set almost everything, saving fire-arms, at defiance. his sword is still preserved by his descendants, as a relic of their powerful ancestor. the stories that are told of this splendid gipsy are numerous and interesting. i will relate only two well-authenticated anecdotes of this _baurie rajah_, this king of the scottish gipsies; who was, in all probability, a descendant of towla bailyow, who, with other gipsies, rebelled against, and plundered, john faw, "lord and earl of little egypt," in the reign of james v. the following transaction of his has some resemblance to a custom among the arabians. william, with his numerous horde, happened to fall in with a travelling packman, on a wild spot between hawkshaw and menzion, near the source of the tweed. the packman was immediately commanded to halt, and lay his packs upon the ground. baillie then unsheathed his broadsword, with which he was always armed, and, with the point of the weapon, drew, on the ground, a circle around the trembling packman and his wares. within this circle no one of the tribe was allowed by him to enter but himself.[ ] the poor man was now ordered to unbuckle his packs, and exhibit his merchandise to the gipsies. baillie, without the least ceremony, helped himself to some of the most valuable things in the pack, and gave a great many to the members of his band. the unfortunate merchant, well aware of the character of his customers, concluded himself a ruined man; and, in place of making any resistance, handed away his property to the gipsies. but when they were satisfied, he was most agreeably surprised by baillie taking out his purse, and paying him, on the spot, a great deal more than the value of every article he had taken for himself and given to his band. the delighted packman failed not to extol, wherever he went, the gentlemanly conduct and extraordinary liberality of "captain baillie"--a title by which he was known all over the country. [ ] bruce, in his travels, when speaking of the protection afforded by the arabs to shipwrecked christians, on the coasts of the red sea, says:--"the arabian, with his lance, draws a circle large enough to hold you and yours. he then strikes his lance in the sand, and bids you abide within the circle. you are thus as safe, on the desert coast of arabia, as in a citadel; there is no example or exception to the contrary that has ever been known."--_bruce's travels in abyssinia._ the perilous situations in which baillie was often placed did not repress the merry jocularity and sarcastic wit which he, in common with many of his tribe, possessed. he sometimes almost bearded and insulted the judge while sitting on the bench. on one of these occasions, when he was in court, the judge, provoked at seeing him so often at the bar, observed to him that he would assuredly get his ears cut out of his head, if he did not mend his manners, and abandon his way of life. "that i defy you to do, my lord," replied the tinkler. the judge, perceiving that his ears had already been "nailed to the tron, and cut off," and being displeased at the effrontery and levity of his conduct, told him that he was certainly a great villain. "i am not such a villain as your lordship," retorted baillie. "what do you say?" rejoined the judge, in great surprise at the bold manner of the criminal. "i say," continued the gipsy, "that i am not such a villain as your lordship ---- takes me to be." "william," quoth the judge, "put your words closer together, otherwise you shall have cause to repent of your insolence and audacity."[ ] [ ] it might be supposed that the pride of a gipsy would have the good effect of rendering him cautious not to be guilty of such crimes as subject him to public shame. but here his levity of character is rendered conspicuous; for he never looks to the right or to the left in his transactions; and though his conceit and pride are somewhat humbled, during the time of punishment, and while the consequent pain lasts; these being over, he no longer remembers his disgrace, but entertains quite as good an opinion of himself as before.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._--ed. tradition states that william baillie's conduct involved him in numerous scrapes. he was brought before the justiciary court, and had "his ears nailed to the tron, or other tree, and cut off, and banished the country," for his many crimes of "sorning, pickery, and little thieving." it also appears, from popular tradition, that he is the same william baillie who is repeatedly noticed by hume and mclaurin, in their remarks on the criminal law of scotland. in june, , william baillie, for being an egyptian, and for forging and using a forged pass, was sentenced to be "hanged; but the privy council commuted his sentence to banishment, but under the express condition that, if ever he returned to this country, the former sentence should be executed against him." william entered into a bond with the privy council, under the penalty of merks, to leave the kingdom, and to "suffer the pains of death, in case of contravention thereof." this gipsy chief paid little regard to the terrible conditions of his bond, in case of failure; for, on the th and th august, , "baillie," says hume, "and two of his associates, were convicted and condemned to die; but as far as concerned baillie, (for the others were executed,) his doom was afterwards mitigated into transportation, under pain of death in case of return." "the jury," says mclaurin, "brought in a special verdict as to the sorning,[ ] but said nothing at all as to any other points; all they found proved was, that william, in march, , had taken possession of a barn, without consent of the owner, and that, during his abode in it, there was corn taken out of the barn, and he went away without paying anything for his quarters, or for any corn during his abode, which was for several days; and that he was habit and repute an egyptian, and did wear a pistol[ ] and shable," (a kind of sabre.) [ ] _sorn_, (scottish and irish:) an arbitrary exaction, by which a chieftain lived at pleasure, in free quarters, among his tenants: also one who obtrudes himself upon another, for bed and board, is said to sorn.--_bailey._ [ ] a great many of the scottish gipsies, in former times, carried arms. one of the baillies once left his budget in a house, by mistake. a person, whom i knew, had the curiosity to examine it; and he found it to contain a pair of excellent pistols, loaded and ready for action. "as early as the month of august, , the same man, as i understand it," says baron hume, "was again indicted, not only for being found in britain, but for continuing his former practices and course of life. notwithstanding this aggravation, the interlocutor is again framed on the indulgent plan; and only infers the pain of death from the fame and character of being an egyptian, joined with various acts of violence and sorning, to the number of three that are stated in the libel. though convicted nearly to the extent of the interlocutor, he again escaped with transportation." baillie's policy in representing himself as a bastard son of an ancient and honourable family had, as i have already observed, been of great service to him; and in no way would it be more so than in his various trials. it is almost certain, as in cases of more recent times, that great interest would be used to save a bastard branch of an honourable house from an ignominious death upon the scaffold, when his crimes amounted only to "sorning, pickery, and little thieving, and habit and repute an egyptian."[ ] [ ] what our author says of "the usual gipsy policy of making the people believe that they are descended from families of rank and influence in the country," (page ,) and that "the greater part of them will tell you that they are sprung from a bastard son of this or that noble family, or other person of rank and influence, of their own surname," ( ,) is doubtless true as a rule; but there were as likely cases of what the gipsies assert, and that gipsy women, "in some instances, bore children to some of the 'unspotted gentlemen' mentioned by act of parliament as having so greatly protected and entertained the tribe," ( ,) and that baillie was one of them, ( and .) if baillie had been following the occupation, and bearing the reputation, of an ordinary native of scotland, there would have been some chance "that great interest would be used to save a bastard branch of an honourable house from an ignominious death upon the scaffold," for almost any offence he had committed, but not for one who was guilty of "sorning, pickery, and little thieving, and habit and repute an egyptian." there was doubtless a connexion, in _gipsy_ blood, between baillie and his influential friends who saved him and his relatives so often from the gallows.--_see baillies of lamington and mclaurin's criminal trials, in the index._--ed. the descendants of william baillie state that he was married to a woman of the name of rachel johnstone; and that he was killed, in a scuffle, by a gipsy of the name of pinkerton, in a quarrel among themselves. baillie being quite superior in personal strength to pinkerton, his wife took hold of him, for fear of his destroying his opponent, and, while he was in her arms, pinkerton ran him through with his sword. upon his death, his son, then a youth of thirteen years of age, took a solemn oath, on the spot, that he would never rest until the blood of his father should be avenged. and, true to his oath, his mother and himself followed the track of the murderer over scotland, england, and ireland, like staunch bloodhounds, and rested not, till pinkerton was apprehended, tried, and executed. the following particulars, relative to the slaughter of william baillie, were published in blackwood's magazine, but apparently without any knowledge, on the part of the writer, of that individual's history, further than that he was a gipsy. "in a precognition, taken in march, , by sir james stewart, of coltness, and captain lockhart, of kirkton, two of his majesty's justices of the peace for lanarkshire, anent the murder of william baillie, brazier,[ ] commonly called gipsy, the following evidence is adduced:--john meikle, wright, declares, that, upon the twelfth of november last, he, being in the house of thomas riddle, in newarthill, with some others, the deceased, william baillie, james kairns, and david pinkerton, were in another room, drinking, where, after some high words, and a confused noise and squabble, the said three persons, above-named, went all out; and the declarant, knowing them to be three of those idle sorners that pass in the country under the name of gipsies, in hopes they were gone off, rose, and went to the door, to take the air; where, to his surprise, he saw william baillie standing, and kairns and pinkerton on horseback, with drawn swords in their hands, who both rushed upon the said william baillie, and struck him with their swords; whereupon, the said william baillie fell down, crying out he was gone; upon which, kairns and pinkerton rode off: that the declarant helped to carry the said william baillie into the house, where, upon search, he was found to have a great cut or wound on his head, and a wound in his body, just below the slot of his breast: and declares, he, the said william baillie, died some time after. [ ] on some of the tombstones of the gipsies, the word "brazier" is added to their names. [brazier is a favourite name with the gipsies, and sounds better than tinker. southey, in his life of bunyan, says: "it is stated, in a history of bedfordshire, that he was bred to the business of a brazier, and worked, as a journeyman, at bedford."--ed.] "thomas riddle, tenant and change-keeper in newarthill, &c., declares, that the deceased, william baillie, james kairns, and david pinkerton, all idle sorners, that are known in the country by the name of gipsies, came to the declarant's, about sun-setting, where, after some stay, _and talking a jargon the declarant did not well understand_, they fell a squabbling, when the declarant was in another room, with some other company; upon the noise of which, the declarant ran in to them, where he found the said james kairns lying above the said william baillie, whose nose the said james kairns had bitten with his teeth till it bled; upon which, the declarant and his wife threatened to raise the town upon them, and get a constable to carry them to prison; but kairns and pinkerton called for their horses, william baillie saying he would not go with them: declares that, after the said kairns and pinkerton had got their horses, and mounted, they ordered the declarant to bring a chopin of ale to the door to them, where william baillie was standing, talking to them: that, when the declarant had filled about the ale, and left them, thinking they were going off, the declarant's wife went to the door, where kairns struck at her with a drawn sword, to fright her in; upon which she ran in; and thereupon the declarant went to the door, where he found the said william baillie, lying with the wounds upon him, mentioned in john meikle's declaration." by hume's work on the criminal law, it appears that the trial of david pinkerton, with others of his tribe, took place on the nd august, , for "sorning and robbery;" but no mention is made of the murder of baillie; yet it was baillie's relatives that pursued pinkerton to the gallows. probably sufficient evidence could not then be adduced to substantiate the fact, being about twenty-one months after the murder was committed; and, besides, baillie was himself dead in law, having either returned from banishment, or remained at large in the country, and so forfeited his life, when he was killed by pinkerton, in . the following is part of the interlocutor pronounced upon the indictment of the prisoners: "find the said david pinkerton, alias maxwell, john marshall, and helen baillie, alias douglass, or any of them, their being habit and repute egyptians, sorners or masterful beggars, in conjunction with said pannels, or any of them, their being, at the times and places libelled, guilty, art and part, of the fact of violence, theft, robbery, or attempts of robbery libelled, or any of the said facts relevant to infer the pain of death and confiscation of moveables." william baillie was succeeded, in the chieftainship, by his son matthew, who married the celebrated mary yowston or yorkston, and became the leader of a powerful horde of gipsies in the south of scotland. he frequently visited the farms of my grandfather, about the year . it appears that his courtship had been after the tartar manner; for he used to say that the toughest battle he ever fought was that of taking, by force, his bride, then a very young girl, from her mother, at the hamlet of drummelzier.[ ] this matthew baillie had, by mary yorkston, a son, who was also named matthew, and who married margaret campbell, and had by her a family of remarkably handsome and pretty daughters. of this principal gipsy family, i can trace, distinctly, six generations in descent, and have myself seen the great-great-great-grand-children of the celebrated william baillie. some of his descendants still travel the country, in the manner of their ancestors, and at this moment speak the gipsy language with fluency. some of them, however, are little better than common beggars. there were, at one period, a captain and a quarter-master in the army, belonging to the baillie clan; and another was a country surgeon. [ ] the english gipsies say that the old mode of getting a wife among the tribe was to _steal_ her. the intended bride was nothing loth, still it was necessary to steal her, while the tribe were on the watch to detect and prevent it.--ed. mary yorkston, above mentioned, went under the appellations of "my lady," and "the duchess," and bore the title of queen, among her tribe. she presided at the celebration of their barbarous marriages, and assisted at their equally singular ceremonies of divorce. what the custom of this queen of the gipsies was, when in full dress, in her youth, on gala days, cannot now be easily known; but the following is a description of her masculine figure, and _public_ travelling apparel, when advanced in years. it was taken from the mouth of an aged and very respectable gentleman, the late mr. david stoddart, at bankhead, near queensferry, who had often seen her in his youth: she was fully six feet in stature, stout made in her person, with very strongly-marked and harsh features; and had, altogether, a very imposing aspect and manner. she wore a large black beaver-hat, tied down over her ears with a handkerchief, knotted below her chin, in the gipsy fashion. her upper garment was a dark-blue short cloak, somewhat after the spanish fashion, made of substantial woollen cloth, approaching to superfine in quality. the greater part of her other apparel was made of dark-blue camlet cloth, with petticoats so short that they scarcely reached to the calves of her well-set legs. [indeed, all the females among the baillies wore petticoats of the same length.] her stockings were of dark-blue worsted, flowered and ornamented at the ankles with scarlet thread; and in her shoes she displayed large, massy, silver buckles. the whole of her habiliments were very substantial, with not a rag or rent to be seen about her person. [she was sometimes dressed in a green gown, trimmed with red ribbons.] her outer petticoat was folded up round her haunches, for a lap, with a large pocket dangling at each side; and below her cloak she carried, between her shoulders, a small flat pack, or pad, which contained her most valuable articles. about her person she generally kept a large clasp-knife, with a long, broad blade, resembling a dagger or carving-knife; and carried in her hand a long pole or pike-staff, that reached about a foot above her head. it was a common practice, about the middle of last century, for old female gipsies of authority to strip, without hesitation, defenceless individuals of their wearing-apparel when they met them in sequestered places. mary yorkston chanced, on one occasion, to meet a shepherd's wife, among the wild hills in the parish of stobo, and stripped her of the whole of her clothes. the shepherd was horrified at beholding his wife approaching his house in a state of perfect nakedness. a jean gordon was once detected, by a shepherd, stripping a female of her wearing-apparel. he at once assisted the helpless woman; but jean drew from below her garments a dagger, and threw it at him. evading the blow, the shepherd closed in upon her, and struck her over the head with his staff, knocking her to the ground. another gipsy of the old fashion, of the name of esther grant, was also celebrated for the practice of stripping people of their clothing. the arabian principle, expressed in these words, on meeting a stranger in the desert, "undress thyself--my wife, (thy aunt,) is in want of a garment," is truly applicable to the disposition of the old female gipsies. nothing was more common, in the counties of peebles and lanark, when the country-people lost their purses at fairs, than to have recourse to the chief gipsy females, to get their property returned to them. mary yorkston, having a sovereign influence and power among her tribe, was often applied to, in such cases of distress, of which the following is a good specimen:--on one of these occasions, in a market in the south of scotland, a farmer lost his purse, containing a considerable sum of money, which greatly perplexed and distressed him. he immediately went to mary yorkston, to try if she would exert her wonderful influence to recover his property. being a favourite of mary's, she, without the least hesitation, took him along with her to the place in the fair where her husband kept his temporary depôt, or rather his office, in which he exercised his extraordinary calling during the continuance of the market. the presence of mary was a sufficient assurance that all was right; and, upon the matter being explained, matthew baillie instantly produced, and spread out before the astonished farmer, from twenty to thirty purses, and desired him to pick out his own from amongst them. the countryman soon recognized his own, and grasped at it without ceremony. "hold on," said baillie, "let us count its contents first." the gipsy chief, with the greatest coolness and deliberation, as if he had been an honest banker or money-changer, counted over the money in the purse, when not a farthing was found wanting. "there is your purse, sir," continued baillie; "you see what it is, when honest people meet!" the following incident, that occurred one night after a fair, in a barn belonging to one of my relatives, will strikingly illustrate the character of the gipsies in the matter of stealing purses:--a band of superior gipsies were quartered in the barn, after several of them had attended the fair, in their usual manner. the principal female, whom i shall not name, had also been at the market; but the old chief had thought proper to remain at home, in the barn. my relative, as was sometimes his custom, chanced to take a turn about his premises that night, when it was pretty late. he heard the voice of a female weeping in the barn, and, being curious to know the cause of the disturbance among the tinklers, stepped softly up, close to the back of the door, to listen to what they were doing, as the woman was crying bitterly. he was greatly astonished at hearing, and never could forget, the following expressions: "oh, cruel man, to beat me in this way. i have had my hands in as good as twenty pockets, but the honest people had it not to themselves." the chieftain was, in fact, chastising his wife, in the presence of his family, for her want of diligence or success, in not obtaining enough of booty at the fair. and yet this individual bore, among the country-people, the character of an honest man. another story is told of mary yorkston and the goodman of coulter-park. it differs in its nature from the above anecdote, yet is very characteristic of the gipsies. mary and her band were lurking one night at a place in clydesdale, called raggingill. as a man on horseback approached the spot where they were concealed, some of the tribe immediately laid hold of the horse, and, without ceremony, commenced to plunder the rider. but mary, stepping forth to superintend the operation, was astonished to find that the horseman was her particular friend, the goodman of coulter-park. she instantly exclaimed, with all her might: "it's mr. lindsay, the gudeman o' couter-park--let him gang--let him gang--god bless him, honest man!" it is needless to add that mr. lindsay had always given mary and her horde the use of an out-house when they required it. mary yorkston despised to ask what is properly understood to be alms. she sold horn spoons and other articles; and, when she made a bargain, she would take, almost by force, what she called her "boontith," which is a present of victuals, exclusive of the cash paid; a practice which i will explain further on in the chapter. matthew baillie had, by mary yorkston, among other children, a son, named james baillie, who, along with his brothers, as we have seen, threatened with destruction the people assembled in biggar fair, in consequence of an affront offered to his mother by a gardener of that town. he was condemned, in , to be hung, for the murder of his wife, by beating her with a horse-whip, and tumbling her over a steep; but he "obtained a pardon from the king, on condition that he transported himself beyond seas within a limited time, otherwise the pardon was to have no effect." baillie, paying little regard to the serious conditions of this pardon, did not "transport himself beyond seas," but continued his former practices, as appears by the following extract from the weekly magazine of the th october, :--"james baillie, who was last summer condemned for the murder of a woman, and afterwards obtained his majesty's pardon, on condition of transporting himself to america, for life, was lately apprehended at falkirk, on suspicion of robbery. on the st october he was brought to town, and committed to the tolbooth, by a warrant of lord auchinleck. this warrant was granted upon the petition of the procurator fiscal of stirling, in which he set forth that, as baillie was a very daring fellow, and suspected of being concerned with a gang equally so with himself, there was great reason to apprehend a rescue might be attempted, by breaking the prison; and therefore praying that he might be removed to edinburgh, where a scheme of that nature could not so easily be effected." on the th december, , and th february, , the "lords, in terms of the said former sentence, decree and adjudge the said james baillie to be hanged on the th march then next." he thus appears to have remained in prison from october, , till march, . "soon after this sentence, he got another pardon," and was again discharged from prison, in order to his transporting himself; but he remained at home, and again relapsed into his former way of life. he was, some time afterwards, committed to newcastle gaol, but made his escape. a short time after that, he was committed to carlisle gaol, on suspicion of having stolen some plate. on the th december, , three sheriff-officers set out from edinburgh, to bring him hither; but before they reached carlisle, he had again broken prison and escaped.[ ] [ ] scot's magazine, vol xxxviii., page . during one of the periods of baillie's imprisonment, he escaped from jail, attired as a female; having been assisted by some of his tribe, residing in the grass-market of edinburgh. tradition states that the then mistress baillie, of lamington, and her family, used all their interest in obtaining these pardons for james baillie; who, like his fathers before him, pretended to be a bastard relative of the family of lamington, and thereby escaped the punishment of death. mclaurin justly remarks that "few cases have occurred in which there has been such an expenditure of mercy."[ ] [ ] mclaurin's trials, page . [see note at page .--ed.] i have already mentioned how handsomely the superior order of gipsies dressed at the period of which we are speaking. the male head of the ruthvens--a man six feet some inches in height--who, according to the newspapers of the day, lived to the advanced age of years, when in full dress, in his youth, wore a white wig, a ruffled shirt, a blue scottish bonnet, scarlet breeches and waistcoat, a long blue superfine coat, white stockings, with silver buckles in his shoes. others wore silver brooches in their breasts, and gold rings on their fingers. the male gipsies in scotland were often dressed in green coats, black breeches, and leathern aprons. the females were very partial to green clothes. at the same time, the following anecdote will show how artful they were at all times, by means of dress and other equipments, to transform themselves, like actors on the stage, into various characters, whenever it suited their purposes.[ ] [ ] it appears, from vidocq's memoirs, that the gipsies on the continent changed their apparel, so as they could not again be recognized: "at break of day everybody was on foot, and the general toilet was made. but for their (the gipsies') prominent features, their raven-black tresses, and oily and tanned skins, i should scarcely have recognized my companions of the preceding evening. the men, clad in rich jockey holland vests, with leathern sashes like those worn by the men of poirsy, and the women, covered with ornaments of gold and silver, assumed the costume of zealand peasants; even the children, whom i had seen covered with rags, were neatly clothed, and had an entirely different appearance. all soon left the house, and took different directions, that they might not reach the market place together, where the country-people were assembled in crowds."--vidocq had lodged all night in a ruinous house, with a band of gipsies. my father, when a young lad, noticed a large band of gipsies taking up their quarters one night in an old out-house on a farm occupied by his father. the band had never been observed on the farm before, and seemed all to be strangers, with, altogether, a very ragged and miserable appearance. next morning, a little after breakfast, as the band began to pack up their baggage, and load their asses, preparatory to proceeding on their journey, the youth, out of curiosity, went forward to see the horde decamp. among other articles of luggage, he observed a large and heavy sack put upon one of the asses; and, as the gipsies were fastening it upon the back of the animal, the mouth of it burst open, and the greater part of its contents fell upon the ground. he was not a little surprised when he beheld a great many excellent cocked hats, suits of fine green clothes, great-coats, &c.; with several handsome saddles and bridles, tumble out of the bag. at this unexpected accident, the gipsies were much disconcerted. by some strange expressions and odd man[oe]uvres, they endeavoured to drive the boy from their presence, and otherwise engage his attention, to prevent him observing the singular furniture contained in the unlucky sack. by thus carrying along with them these superior articles, so unlike their ordinary wretched habiliments, the ingenious gipsies had it always in their power to disguise themselves, whenever circumstances called for it. the following anecdote will, in some measure, illustrate the "gallant guise" in which these wanderers, at one time, rode through scotland: about the year , early in the morning of the day of a fair, held annually at peebles, in the month of may, two gentlemen were observed riding along the only road that led to my grandfather's farm. one of the servant girls was immediately told to put the parlour in order, to receive the strangers, as, from their respectable appearance, at a distance, it was supposed they were friends, coming to breakfast, before going to the market; a custom common enough in the country. this preparation, however, proved unnecessary, as the strangers rode rapidly past the dwelling-house, and alighted at the door of an old smearing-house, nearly roofless, situated near some alder trees, about three hundred yards further up a small mountain stream. in passing, they were observed to be neatly dressed in long green coats, cocked hats, riding-boots and spurs, armed with broad-swords, and mounted on handsome grey ponies, saddled and bridled; everything, in short, in style, and of the best quality. the people about the farm were extremely curious to know who these handsomely-attired gentlemen could be, who, without taking the least notice of any one, dismounted at the wretched hovel of a sheep-smearing house, where nothing but a band of tinklers were quartered. their curiosity, however, was soon satisfied, and not a little mirth was excited, on it being ascertained that the gallant horsemen were none other than james and william baillie, sons of old matthew baillie, who, with part of his tribe, were, at the moment, in the old house, making horn spoons. but greater was their surprise, when several of the female gipsies set out, immediately afterwards, for the fair, attired in very superior dresses, with the air of ladies in the middle ranks of society.[ ] [ ] the females of this tribe also rode to the fairs at moffat and biggar, on horses, with side-saddles and bridles, the ladies themselves being very gaily dressed. the males wore scarlet cloaks, reaching to their knees, and resembling exactly the spanish fashion of the present day. besides the large hordes that traversed the south of scotland, parties of twos and threes also passed through the country, apparently not at all connected, nor in communication, at the time, with the large bands. when a single gipsy and his wife, or other female, were observed to take up their quarters by themselves, it was supposed they had either fallen out with their clan, or had the officers of the law in pursuit of them. sometimes the chiefs would enquire of the country people, if such and such a one of their tribe had passed by, this or that day, lately. under any circumstances, the presence of a female does not excite so much suspicion as a single male. in following their profession, as tinkers, the gipsies seldom, or never, travel without a female in their company, and, i believe, they sometimes hire them to accompany them, to hawk their wares through the country. the tinker keeps himself snug in an out-house, at his work, while the female vends his articles of sale, and forages for him, in the adjoining country. one of these straggling gipsies, of the name of william keith, was apprehended in an old smearing-house, on a farm occupied by my grandfather, in tweed-dale. william had been concerned, with his brother robert, in the murder of one of their clan, of the name of charles anderson, at a small public-house among the lammermoor hills, called lourie's den. robert keith and anderson had fallen out, and had followed each other for some time, for the purpose of fighting out their quarrel. they at last met at lourie's den, when a terrible combat ensued. the two antagonists were brothers-in-law; anderson being married to keith's sister. anderson proved an over-match for keith; and william keith, to save his brother, laid hold of anderson; but mage greig, robert's wife, handed her husband a knife, and called on him to despatch him, while unable to defend himself. robert repeatedly struck with the knife, but it rebounded from the ribs of the unhappy man, without much effect. impatient at the delay, mage called out to him, "strike laigh, strike laigh in;" and, following her directions, he stabbed anderson to the heart. the only remark made by any of the gang was this exclamation from one of them: "gude faith, rob, ye have done for him noo!" but william keith was astonished when he found that anderson was stabbed in his arms, as his interference was only to save the life of his brother from the overwhelming strength of anderson. robert keith instantly fled, but was immediately pursued by people armed with pitchforks and muskets. he was apprehended in a braken-bush, in which he had concealed himself, and was executed at jedburgh, on the th november, . sir walter scott, and the ettrick shepherd, slightly notice this murder at lourie's den, in their communications to blackwood's magazine. one of the individuals who assisted at the apprehension of keith was the father of sir walter scott. the following notice of this bloody scene appeared in one of the periodical publications at the time it occurred: "by a letter from lauder, we are informed of the following murder: on wednesday se'night, three men, with a boy, supposed to be tinkers, put up at a little public-house near soutra. from the after conduct of two of the men, it would appear that a difference had subsisted between them, before they came into the house, for they had drunk but very little when the quarrel was renewed with great vehemence, and, in the dispute, one of the fellows drew a knife, and stabbed the other in the body no less than seven different times, of which wounds he soon after expired. the gang then immediately made off; but upon the country-people being alarmed, the murderer himself and one of the women were apprehended."[ ] [ ] weekly magazine, th september, , page . long after this battle took place, james bartram and robert brydon, messengers-at-arms in peebles, were dispatched to apprehend william keith, in the ruinous house already mentioned. as they entered the building, early in the morning, with cocked pistols in their hands, keith, a powerful man, rose up, half naked, from his _shake-down_, and, holding out a pistol, dared them to advance. bartram, the chief officer, with the utmost coolness and bravery, advanced close up to the muzzle of the gipsy's pistol, and, clapping his own to the head of the desperate tinkler, threatened him with instant death if he did not surrender. a gipsy, who had informed against keith, was with the officers, as their guide; but the moment he saw keith's pistol, he artfully threw himself, upon his back, to the ground. he immediately rose to his feet, but, in great terror, sprang, like a greyhound, over a _fauld dyke_, to escape the shot which keith threatened. the intrepid conduct of the officers completely daunted the gipsy. he yielded, and allowed himself to be hand-cuffed, thinking that the messengers were strongly supported by the servants on the farm; for, on perceiving only the two officers, he became desperate, but he was now fast in irons. in great bitterness he exclaimed, "had i not, on saturday night, observed five stout men on mr. simson's turf-hill, ye wadna a' hae ta'en me." the five individuals were all remarkably strong men. it was on monday morning the gipsy was apprehended, and it would appear he had been reconnoitering on saturday, before risking to take up his quarters, which he did without asking permission from any one. he imagined that the five turf-casters were ready to assist the officers in the execution of their duty, and that it would have been in vain for him to make any resistance. the frantic gipsy now leaped and tossed about in the most violent manner imaginable. he struck with so much vigour, with his hands bound in irons, and kicked so powerfully with his feet, that it was with the greatest difficulty the officers could get him carried to the jail at peebles. his wife came into the kitchen of the farm-house, weeping and wailing excessively; and on some of the servant-girls endeavouring to calm her grief, she, among other bitter expressions, exclaimed, "had a decent, honest man, like the master, informed, i would not have cared; but for a blackguard like ourselves to inform, is unsufferable." keith was tried, condemned, and banished to the plantations, for the part he acted at the slaughter at lourie's den. here we have seen the melancholy fate of two, if not three, of the then _gipsy constabulary force_ in peebles-shire; one murdered, another hanged, and the third banished. however strange it may appear at the present day, it is nevertheless true, that the magistrates of this county, about this period, ( ,) actually appointed and employed a number of the principal gipsies as peace officers, constables, or country-keepers, as they were called, of whom i will speak again in another place. the nomadic gipsies in general, like the baillies in particular, have gradually declined in appearance, till, at the present day, the greater part of them have become little better than beggars, when compared to what they were in former times. among those who frequented the south of scotland were to be found various grades of rank, as in all other communities of men. there were then wretched and ruffian-looking gangs, in whose company the superior gipsies would not have been seen. the reader will have observed the complete protection which william baillie's token afforded robert mcvitie, when two men were about to rob him, while travelling with his packs, between elvanfoot and moffat. this system of tokens made part of the general internal polity of the gipsies. these curious people stated to me that scotland was at one time divided into districts, and that each district was assigned to a particular tribe. the chieftains of these tribes issued tokens to the members of their respective hordes, "when they scattered themselves over the face of the country." the token of a local chieftain protected its bearer only while within his own district. if found without this token, or detected travelling in a district for which the token was not issued, the individual was liable to be plundered, beaten, and driven back into his own proper territory, by those gipsies on whose rights and privileges he had infringed. these tokens were, at certain periods, called in and renewed, to prevent any one from forging them. they were generally made of tin, with certain characters impressed upon them; and the token of each tribe had its own particular mark, and was well known to all the gipsies in scotland. but while these passes of the provincial chieftains were issued only for particular districts, a token of the baillie family protected its bearer throughout the kingdom of scotland; a fact which clearly proves the superiority of that ancient clan. several gipsies have assured me that "a token from a baillie was good over all scotland, and that kings and queens had come of that family." and an old gipsy also declared to me that the tribes would get into utter confusion, were the country not divided into districts, under the regulations of tokens. it sometimes happened, as in the case of robert mcvitie and others, that the gipsies gave passes or tokens to some of their particular favourites who were not of their own race. this system of gipsy polity establishes a curious fact, namely, the double division and occupation of the kingdom of scotland; by ourselves as a civilized people, and by a barbarous community existing in our midst, each subject to its own customs, laws and government; and that, while the gipsies were preying upon the vitals of the civilized society which harboured them, and were amenable to its laws, they were, at the same time, governed by the customs of their own fraternity. the surnames most common among the old tweed-dale bands of gipsies were baillie, ruthven, kennedy, wilson, keith, anderson, robertson, stewart, tait, geddes, grey, wilkie and halliday. the three principal clans were the baillies, ruthvens and kennedys; but, as i have already mentioned, the tribe of baillie were superior to all others, in point of authority as well as in external appearance.[ ] [ ] according to hoyland, the most common names among the english tented gipsies are smith, cooper, draper, taylor, boswell, lee, lovel, loversedge, allen, mansfield, glover, williams, carew, martin, stanley, berkley, plunket, and corrie. mr. borrow says: "the clans young and smith, or curraple, still haunt two of the eastern counties. the name curraple is a favourite among the english gipsies. it means a smith--a name very appropriate to a gipsy. the root is _curaw_, to strike, hammer, &c." among the english and scottish gipsies in america, i have found a great variety of surnames.--ed. besides the christian and surnames common to them in scotland, the gipsies have names in their own language;[ ] and, while travelling through the country, assume new names every morning, before commencing the day's journey, and retain them till money is received, in one way or other, by each individual of the company; but if no money is received before twelve o'clock, they all, at noon-tide, resume their permanent scottish names. they consider it unlucky to set out on a journey, in the morning, under their own proper names; and if they are, by any chance, called back, by any of their neighbours, they will not again stir from home for that day. the gipsies also frequently change their british names when from home: in one part of the country they have one name, and in another part they appear under a different one, and so on. [ ] in the "gipsies in spain," mr. borrow says: "every family in england has two names; one by which they are known to the gentiles, and another which they use among themselves."--ed. * * * * * i will now describe the appearance of the gipsies in tweed-dale during the generation immediately following the one in which we have considered them; and would make this remark, that this account applies to them of late years, with this exception, that the numbers in which the nomadic class are to be met with are greatly reduced, their condition greatly fallen, and the circumstances attending their reception, countenance and toleration, much modified, and in some instances totally changed. within the memories of my father and grandfather, which take in about the last hundred years, none of the gipsies who traversed tweed-dale carried tents with them for their accommodation. the whole of them occupied the kilns and out-houses in the country; and so thoroughly did they know the country, and where these were to be found, and the disposition of the owners of them, that they were never at a loss for shelter in their wanderings. some idea may be formed of the number of gipsies who would sometimes be collected together, from the following extract from the clydesdale magazine, for may, : "mr. steel, of kilbucho mill, bore a good name among 'tanderal gangerals.' his kiln was commodious, and some hardwood trees, which surrounded his house, bid defiance to the plough, and formed a fine pasture-sward for the cuddies, on a green of considerable extent. on a summer saturday night, mary came to the door, asking quarters, pretty late. she had only a single ass, and a little boy swung in the panniers. she got possession of the kiln, as usual, and the ass was sent to graze on the green; but mary was only the avant-garde. next morning, when the family rose, they counted no less than forty cuddies on the grass, and a man for each of them in the kiln, besides women and children." considering the large families the gipsies generally have, and allowing at this meeting two asses for carrying the infants and luggage of each family, there could not have been less than one hundred gipsies on the spot. my parents recollect the gipsies, about the year , traversing the county of tweed-dale, and parts of the surrounding shires, in bands varying in numbers from ten to upwards of thirty in each horde. sometimes ten or twelve horses and asses were attached to one large horde, for the purpose of carrying the children, baggage, &c. in the summer of , forty gipsies, in one band, requested permission of my father to occupy one of his out-houses. it was good-humouredly observed to them that, when such numbers of them came in one body, they should send their quarter-master in advance, to mark out their camp. the gipsies only smiled at the remark. one half of them got the house requested; the other half occupied an old, ruinous mill, a mile distant. there were above seven of these large bands which frequented the farms of my relatives in tweed-dale down to about the year . a few years after this period, when a boy, i assisted to count from twenty-four to thirty gipsies who took up their quarters in an old smearing-house on one of these farms. the children, and the young folks generally, were running about the old house like bees flying about a hive. their horses, asses, dogs, cats, poultry, and tamed birds were numerous. these bands did not repeat their visits above twice a year, but in many instances the principal families remained for three or four weeks at a time. from their manner and conduct generally, they seemed to think that they had a right to receive, from the family on whose grounds they halted, food gratis for twenty-four hours; for, at the end of that period, they almost always provided victuals for themselves, however long they might remain on the farm. the servants of my grandfather, when these large bands arrived, frequently put on the kitchen fire the large family _kail-pot_, of the capacity of thirty-two scotch pints, or about sixteen gallons, to cook victuals for these wanderers. the first announcement of the approach of a gipsy band was the chief female, with, perhaps, a child on her back, and another walking at her feet. the chieftain himself, with his asses and baggage, which he seldom quits, is, perhaps, a mile and a half in the rear, baiting his beasts of burden, near the side of the road, waiting the return and report of his quarter-mistress. this chief female requests permission for her _gude-man_ and _weary bairns_ to take up their quarters for the night, in an old out-house. knowing perfectly the disposition of the individual from whom she asks lodgings, she is seldom refused. a farmer's wife, whom i knew, on granting this indulgence to a female in advance of her band, added, by way of caution, "but ye must not steal anything from me, then." "we'll no' play ony tricks on you, mistress; but others will pay for that," was the gipsy's reply. instead, however, of the chief couple and a child or two, the out-house, before nightfall, or next morning, will perhaps contain from twenty to thirty individuals of all ages and sexes. the different members of the horde are observed to arrive at head-quarters as single individuals, in twos, and in threes; some of the females with baskets on their arms, some of the males with fishing-rods in their hands, trout creels on their backs, and large dogs at their heels. the same rule is observed when the camp breaks up. the old chief and two or three of his family generally take the van. the other members of the band linger about the old house in which they have been quartered, for several days after the chiefs are gone; they, however, move off, in small parties of twos or as single individuals, on different days, till the whole horde gradually disappear. above three grown-up gipsies are seldom seen travelling together. in this manner have the gipsies traversed the kingdom, concealing their numbers from public observation, and only appearing in large bands on the grounds of those individuals of the community who were not disposed to molest them. on such occasions, when the chief gipsies continued encamped, they would be visited by small parties of their friends, arriving and departing almost daily. excepting that of sometimes allowing their asses to go, under night, into the barn-yard, as if it were by accident, to draw the stacks of corn, it is but fair and just to state, that i am not aware of a single gipsy ever having injured the property of any of my relatives in tweed-dale, although their opportunities were many and tempting. my ancestor's extensive business required him, almost daily, to travel, on horseback, over the greater part of the south of scotland; and he was often under the necessity of exposing himself, by riding at night, yet he never received the slightest molestation, to his knowledge, from the gipsies. they were as inoffensive and harmless as lambs to him, and to every one connected with his family. whenever they beheld him, every head was uncovered, while they would exclaim, "there is mr. simson; god bless him, honest man!" and woe would have been to that man who would have dared to treat him badly, had these determined wanderers been present. the gipsies may be compared to the raven of the rock, as a complete emblem of their disposition. allow the _corbie_ shelter, and to build her nest in your cliffs and wastes, and she will not touch your property; but harass her, and destroy her brood, and she will immediately avenge herself upon your young lambs, with terrible fury.[ ] washings of clothes, of great value, were often left out in the fields, under night, and were as safe as if they had been within the dwelling-house, under lock and key, when the gipsies happened to be quartered on the premises. if any of their children had dared to lay its hands upon the most trifling article, its parents would have given it a severe beating. on one occasion, when a gipsy was beating one of his children, for some trifling offence it had committed, my relative observed to him that the boy had done no harm. "if he has not been in fault just now, sir, it will not be long till he be in one; so the beating he has got will not be thrown away on him," was the tinkler's reply. [ ] it is known that the rock-raven, or _corbie_, seldom preys upon the flocks around her nest; but the moment she is deprived of her young, she will, to the utmost of her power, wreak her vengeance on the young lambs in her immediate neighborhood. i have known the corbie, when bereaved of her brood, tear, with her beak, the very foggage from the earth, and toss it about; and before twenty-four hours elapsed, several lambs would fall a sacrifice to her fury. i have also observed that grouse, where the ground suits their breeding, are generally very plentiful close around the eyrie of the relentless falcon. when the gipsies took up their residence on the cold earthen floor of an old out-house, the males and females of the different families had always beds by themselves, made of straw and blankets, and called shake-downs. the younger branches also slept by themselves, in separate beds, the males apart from the females. when the band consisted of more families than one, each family occupied a separate part of the floor of the house, distinct from their neighbours; kindled a separate fire, at which they cooked their victuals; and made horn spoons and other articles for themselves, for sale in the way of their calling. they formed, as it were, a camp on the ground-floor of the ruinous house, in which would sometimes be observed five mothers of families, some of whom would be such before they were seventeen years of age. the principal gipsies who, about this period, travelled tweed-dale, were never known to have had more than one wife at a time, or to have put away their wives for trifling causes. on such occasions, the chief and the grown-up males of the band seldom or never set foot within the door of the farm-house, but generally kept themselves quite aloof and retired; exposing themselves to observation as little as possible. they employed themselves in repairing broken china, utensils made of copper, brass and pewter, pots, pans and kettles, and white-iron articles generally; and in making horn spoons, smoothing-irons, and sole-clouts for ploughs. but working in horn is considered by them as their favourite and most ancient occupation. it would certainly be one of the first employments of man, at a very early stage of human society--that of converting the horns of animals for the use of the human race: and such has been the regard which the gipsies have had for it, that every clan knows the spoons which are made by another. the females also assisted in polishing, and otherwise finishing, the spoons. however early the farm-servants rose to their ordinary employments, they always found the tinklers at work. a considerable portion of the time of the males was occupied in athletic amusements. they were constantly exercising themselves in leaping, cudgel-playing, throwing the hammer, casting the putting-stone, playing at golf, quoits, and other games; and while they were much given, on other occasions, to keep themselves from view, the extraordinary ambition which they all possessed, of beating every one they met with, at these exercises, brought them sometimes in contact with the men about the farm, master as well as servants. they were fond of getting the latter to engage with them, for the purpose of laughing at their inferiority in these healthy and manly amusements; but when any of the country-people chanced to beat them at these exercises, as was sometimes the case, they could not conceal their indignation at the affront. their haughty scowl plainly told that they were ready to wipe out the insult in a different and more serious manner. indeed, they were always much disposed to treat farm-servants with contempt, as quite their inferiors in the scale of society; and always boasted of their own high birth, and the antiquity of their family. they were extremely fond of the athletic amusement of "o'erending the tree," which was performed in this way: the end of a spar or beam, above six feet long, and of a considerable thickness and weight, is placed upon the upper part of the right foot, and held about the middle, in a perpendicular position, by the right hand. standing upon the left foot, and raising the right a little from the ground, and drawing it as far back as possible, and then bringing the foot forward quickly to the front, the spar is thrown forward into the air, from off the foot, with great force. and he who "overends the tree" the greatest number of times in the air, before it reaches the ground, is considered the most expert, and the strongest man. a great many of these gipsies had a saucy military gesture in their walk, and generally carried in their hands short, thick cudgels, about three feet in length. while they travelled, they generally unbuttoned the knees of their breeches, and rolled down the heads of their stockings, so as to leave the joints of their knees bare, and unincumbered by their clothes. during the periods they occupied the out-houses of the farms, the owners of which were kind to them, the gipsies were very orderly in their deportment, and temperate in the use of spirituous liquors, being seldom seen intoxicated; and were very courteous and polite to all the members of the family. their behaviour was altogether very orderly, peaceable, quiet, and inoffensive. in gratitude for their free-quarters, they frequently made, from old metal, smoothing-irons for the mistress, and sole-clouts for the ploughs of the master, and spoons for the family, from the horns of rams, or other horns that happened to be about the house; for all of which they would take nothing. they, however, did not attend the church, while encamped on the premises; at the same time, they took especial care to give no molestation, or cause of offence, to any about the farm, on sunday; being, indeed, seldom seen on that day out-side of the door of the house in which they were quartered, saving an individual to look after their horses or asses, while grazing in the neighbouring fields. their religious sentiments were confined entirely within their own breasts; and it was impossible to know what were their real opinions on the score of religion. however, within the last ten years, i enquired, very particularly, of an intelligent gipsy, what religion his forefathers professed, and his answer was, that "the gipsies had no religious sentiments at all; that they worshipped no sort of thing whatever." many practised music; and the violin and bag-pipes were the instruments they commonly used. this musical talent of the gipsies delighted the country-people; it operated like a charm upon their feelings, and contributed much to procure the wanderers a night's quarters. many of the families of the farmers looked forward to the expected visits of the merry gipsies with pleasure, and regretted their departure. some of the old women sold salves and drugs, while some of the males had pretensions to a little surgery. one of them, of the name of campbell, well known by the title of dr. duds, traversed the south of scotland, accompanied by a number of women. he prescribed, and sold medicines to the inhabitants; and several odd stories are told of the very unusual, but successful, cures performed by him. as in arranging for, and taking up, their quarters, the principal female gipsy almost always negotiates the transactions which the horde have with the farmer's family, during their abode on his premises. indeed, the females are the most active, if not the principal, members of the tribe, in vending their articles of merchandise. the time at which, on such occasions, they present these for sale, is the day after their arrival on the farm, and immediately after the breakfast of the farmer's family is over. when there are more families than one in the band, but all of one horde, the chief female of the whole gets the first chance of selling her wares; but every head female of the respective families bargains for her own merchandise, for the behoof of her own family. when the farmer's family is in want of any of their articles, an extraordinary higgling and chaffering takes place in making the bargain. besides money, the gipsy woman insists upon having what she calls her "boontith"--that is, a present in victuals, as she is fond of bartering her articles for provisions. if the mistress of the house agrees, and goes to her larder or milk-house for the purpose of giving her this boontith, the gipsy is sure to follow close at her heels. admitted into the larder, the voracious tinkler will have part of everything she sees--flesh, meal, butter, cheese, &c., &c. her fiery and penetrating eye darts, with rapidity, from one object to another. she makes use of every argument she can think of to induce the farmer's wife to comply with her unreasonable demands. "i'm wi' bairn, mistress," she will say; "i'm greenin'; god bless ye, gie me a wee bit flesh to taste my mouth, if it should no' be the book o' a robin-red-breast."[ ] if the farmer's wife still disregards her importunities, the gipsy will, in the end, snatch up a piece of flesh, and put it into her lap, in a twinkling; for out of the larder she will not go, without something or other. the farmer's wife, ever on the alert, now takes hold of the _sorner_, to wrest the flesh from her clutches, when a serious personal struggle ensues. she will frequently be under the necessity of calling for the assistance of her servants, to thrust the intruder out of the apartment; but the cautious gipsy takes care not to let matters go too far: she yields the contest, and, laughing heartily at the good-wife losing her temper, immediately assumes her ordinary polite manner. and notwithstanding all that has taken place, both parties generally part on good terms. [ ] after recovery from child-birth, the gipsy woman recommences her course of begging or stealing, with her child in her arms; and then she is more rapacious than at other times, taking whatever she can lay her hands upon. for she calculates upon escaping without a beating, by holding up her child to receive the blows aimed at her; which she knows will have the effect of making the aggrieved person desist, till she finds an opportunity of getting out of the way.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._--ed. on one of these bargain-making occasions, as the wife of the farmer of glencotha, in tweed-dale, went to give a boontith to mary yorkston, the harpy thrust, unobserved, about four pounds weight of tallow into her lap. on the return of the good-wife, the tallow was missed. she charged mary with the theft, but mary, with much gravity of countenance, exclaimed: "god bless ye, mistress, i wad steal from mony a one before i wad steal from you." the good-wife, however, took hold of mary, to search her person. a struggle ensued, when the tallow fell out of mary's lap, on the kitchen-floor. at this exposure, in the very act of stealing, the gipsy burst into a fit of laughter, exclaiming: "the lord hae a care o' me, mistress; ye hae surely little to spare, whan ye winna let a body take a bit tauch for a candle, to light her to bed." at another time, this gipsy gravely told the good-wife of rachan-mill, that she must give her a pound of butter for her boontith, that time, as it would be the last she would ever give her. astonished at the extraordinary saying, the good-wife demanded, with impatience, what she meant. "you will," rejoined the gipsy, "be in eternity (by a certain day, which she named,) and i will never see you again; and this will be the last boontith you will ever give me." the good-wife of rachan-mill, however, survived the terrible prediction for several years.[ ] [ ] the following facts will show what a scottish tinkler, at the present day, will sometimes do in the way of "sorning," or masterful begging. one of the race paid a visit to the house of a country ale-wife, and, in a crowded shop, vaulted the counter, and applied his bottle to her whiskey-tap. immediately a cry, with up-lifted hands, was raised for the police, but the prudent ale-wife treated the circumstance with indifference, and exclaimed: "hout, tout, tout! _let_ the deil tak' a wee drappie." on another occasion, a gipsy woman entered a country public-house, leaving her partner at a short distance from the door. espying a drawn bottle of porter, standing on a table, in a room in which were two females sitting, she, without the least ceremony, filled a glass, and drank it off; but before she could decant another, the other gipsy, feeling sure of the luck of his mate, from her being admitted into the premises, immediately proceeded to share it with her. but he had hardly drank off the remainder of the porter, ere a son of the mistress of the house made his appearance, and demanded what was wanted. "want--_want?_" replied the gipsy, with a leering eye towards the empty bottle; "we want nothing--we've got all that we want!" on being ordered to "walk out of that," they left, with a smile of satisfaction playing on their weather-beaten countenances. such displays of gipsy impudence sometimes call forth only a hearty laugh from the people affected by them.--ed. the female gipsies also derived considerable profits from their trade of fortune-telling. the art of telling fortunes was not, however, general among the gipsies; it was only certain old females who pretended to be inspired with the gift of prophecy. the method which they adopted to get at the information which often enabled them to tell, if not fortunes, at least the history, and condition of mind, of individuals, with great accuracy, was somewhat this: the inferior gipsies generally attended our large country "penny-weddings", in former times, both as musicians and for the purpose of receiving the fragments of the entertainments. at the wedding in the parish of corstorphine, to which i have alluded, under the chapter of fife and stirlingshire gipsies, charles stewart entered into familiar conversation with individuals present; joking with them about their sweet-hearts, and love-matters generally; telling them he had noticed such a one at such a place; and observing to another that he had seen him at such a fair, and so on. he always enquired about their masters, and places of abode, with other particulars relative to their various connections and circumstances in life. here, the gipsy character displays itself; here, we see stewart, while he seems a mere merry-andrew, to the heedless, merry-making people at these weddings, actually reading, with deep sagacity, their characters and dispositions; and ascertaining the places of residence, and connexions, of many of the individuals of the country through which he travelled. in this manner, by continually roaming up and down the kingdom, now as individuals in disguise, at other times in bands--not passing a house in their route--observing everything taking place in partial assemblies, at large weddings, and general gatherings of the people at fairs--scanning, with the eye of a hawk, both males and females, for the purpose of robbing them--did the gipsies, with their great knowledge of human character, become thoroughly acquainted with particular incidents concerning many individuals of the population. hence proceed, in a great measure, the warlockry and fortune-telling abilities of the shrewd and sagacious gipsies. or, suppose an old gipsy female, who traverses the kingdom, has a relative a lady's maid in a family of rank, and another a musician in a band, playing to the first classes of society, in public or private assemblies, the travelling _spae-wife_ would not be without materials for carrying on her trade of fortune-telling. the observant handmaid, and the acute, penetrating fiddler would, of course, communicate to their wandering relative every incident and circumstance that came under their notice, which would, at an after and suitable period, enable the cunning fortune-teller to astonish some of the parties who had been at these meetings, when in another part of the country, remote in time, and distant in place, from the spot where the occurrences happened. in order that they might not lessen the importance and value of their art, these gipsies pretended they could tell no one's fortune for anything less than silver, or articles of wearing-apparel, or other things of value. besides telling fortunes by palmistry,[ ] they foretold destinies by divination of the cup, their method of doing which appears to be nearly the same as that practised among the ancient assyrians, chaldeans, and egyptians, perhaps, about the time of joseph. the gipsy method was, and i may say is, this: the divining cup, which is made of tin, or pewter, and about three inches in diameter, was filled with water, and sometimes with spirits. into the cup a certain quantity of a melted substance, resembling tin, was dropped from a crucible, which immediately formed itself, in the liquid, into curious figures, resembling frost-work, seen on windows in winter. the compound was then emptied into a trencher, and from the arrangements or constructions of the figures, the destiny of the enquiring individual was predicted.[ ] while performing the ceremony, the gipsies muttered, in their own language, certain incantations, totally unintelligible to the spectator. the following fact, however, will, more particularly, show the manner in which these gipsy sorceresses imposed on the credulous. [ ] the kamtachadales, says dr. grieve, in his translation of a russian account of kamtachatka, pretend to chiromancy, and tell a man's good or bad fortune by the lines of his hand; but the rules which they follow are kept a great secret. _page ._ [ ] julius serenus, says stackhouse, tells us, that the method among the assyrians, chaldeans, and egyptians was to fill the cup with water, then throw into it thin plates of gold and silver, together with some precious stones, whereon were engraven certain characters, and, after that, the person who came to consult the oracle used certain forms of incantation, and, so calling upon the devil, were wont to receive their answer several ways: sometimes by particular sounds; sometimes by the characters which were in the cup rising upon the surface of the water, and by their arrangement forming the answer; and many times by the visible appearance of the persons themselves, about whom the oracle was consulted. cornelius agrippa (de occult. philos. li, c. ,) tells as, likewise, that the manner of some was to pour melted wax into the cup wherein was water; which wax would range itself in order, and so form answers, according to the questions proposed.--_saurin's dissertation, , and heidegger's his. patriar. exercit. ._ fortune-telling is punishable by the th geo. ii, chap. th. in june, , a woman, of the name of maxwell, commonly called the galloway sorceress, was tried for this offence, by a jury, before the stewart of kirkcudbright, and was sentenced to imprisonment and the pillory.--_burnet on criminal law, page ._ a relative of mine had several servant-girls who would, one day, have their fortunes told. the old gipsy took them, one at a time, into an apartment of the house, and locked the door after her. my relative, feeling a curiosity in the matter, observed their operations, and overheard their conversation, through a chink in the partition of the room. a bottle of whiskey, and a wine glass, were produced by the girl, and the sorceress filled the glass, nearly full, with the spirits. into the liquor she dropped part of the white of a raw egg, and taking out of her pocket something like chalk, scraped part of it into the mixture. certain figures now appeared in the glass, and, muttering some jargon, unintelligible to the girl, she held it up between her eyes and the window. "there is your sweetheart now--look at him--do you not see him?" exclaimed the gipsy to the trembling girl; and, after telling her a number of events which were to befall her, in her journey through life, she held out the glass, and told her to "cast that in her mouth"--"me drink that? the lord forbid that i should drink a drap o't." "e'ens ye like, my woman; i can tak' it mysel," quoth the gipsy, and, suiting the action to the word, "cast" the whiskey, eggs and chalk[ ] down her throat, in an instant. knowing well that the idea of swallowing the glass in which their future husbands were seen, and their own fortunes told, in so mysterious a manner, would make the girls shudder, the cunning gipsy gave each of them, in succession, the order to drink, and, the moment they refused, threw the contents of the "divining cup" into her own mouth. in this manner did the gipsy procure, at one time, no less than four glasses of ardent spirits, and sixpence from each of the credulous girls. [ ] it is not unlikely that the "something like chalk," here mentioned, was nothing but a nutmeg, with which, and the eggs and whiskey, the gipsy would make, what is called, "egg-nogg."--ed. the country-girls, however, never could stand out the operations of telling fortunes by the method of turning a corn-riddle, with scissors attached, in a solitary out-house. whenever the gipsy commenced her work, and, with her mysterious mutterings, called out: "turn riddle--turn--shears and all," the terrified girls fled to the house, impressed with the belief that the devil himself would appear to them, on the spot. the gipsies in tweed-dale were never in want of the best of provisions, having always an abundance of fish, flesh, and fowl. at the stages at which they halted, in their progress through the country, it was observed that the principal families, at one time, ate as good victuals, and drank as good liquors, as any of the inhabitants of the country. a lady of respectability informed me of her having seen, in her youth, a band dine on the green-sward, near douglass-mill, in lanarkshire, when, as i have already mentioned, the gipsies handed about their wine, after dinner, as if they had been as good a family as any in the land. those in fifeshire, as we have already seen, were in the habit of purchasing and killing fat cattle, for their winter's provisions. in a communication to blackwood's magazine, to which i will again allude, the illustrious author of "waverley" mentions that his grandfather was, in some respects, forced to accept a dinner from a party of gipsies, carousing on a moor, on the scottish border. the feast consisted of "all the varieties of game, poultry, pigs, and so forth." and, according to the same communication, it would appear that they were in the practice of stewing game and all kinds of poultry into soup, which is considered very rich and savoury, and is now termed "pottage a la meg merrilies de derncleugh;" a name derived from the singular character in the celebrated novel of guy mannering. but the ancient method of cooking practised among the scottish gipsies, and which, in all probability, they brought with them, when they arrived in europe, upwards of four hundred years ago, is, if i am not mistaken, new to the world, never having as yet, that i am aware of, been described.[ ] it is very curious, and extremely primitive, and appears to be of the highest antiquity. it is admirably adapted to the wants of a rude and barbarous people, travelling over a wild and thinly-inhabited country, in which cooking utensils could not be procured, or conveniently carried with them. my facts are from the gipsies themselves, and are corroborated by people, not of the tribe, who have witnessed some of their cooking operations. [ ] i published the greater part of the gipsy method of cooking, in the fife herald, of the th april, . the gipsies, on such occasions, make use of neither pot, pan, spit, nor oven, in cooking fowls. they twist a strong rope of straw, which they wind very tightly around the fowl, just as it is killed, with the whole of its feathers on, and its entrails untouched. it is then covered with hot peat ashes, and a slow fire is kept up around and about the ashes, till the fowl is sufficiently done. when taken out from beneath the fire, it is stripped of its hull, or shell, of half-burned straw-rope and feathers, and presents a very fine appearance. those who have tasted poultry, cooked by the gipsies, in this manner, say that it is very palatable and good. in this invisible way, these ingenious people could cook stolen poultry, at the very moment, and in the very place, that a search was going on for the pilfered article. the art of cooking butcher-meat among the gipsies is similar to that of making ready fowls, except that linen and clay are substituted for feathers and straw. the piece of flesh to be cooked is first carefully wrapped up in a covering of cloth or linen rags, and covered over with well wrought clay, and either frequently turned before a strong fire, or covered over with hot ashes, till it is roasted, or rather stewed. the covering or crust, of the shape of the article enclosed, and hard with the fire, is broken, and the meat separated from its inner covering of burned rags, which, with the juice of the meat, are reduced to a thick sauce or gravy. sometimes a little vinegar is poured upon the meat. the tribe are high in their praise of flesh cooked in this manner, declaring that it has a particularly fine flavour. these singular people, i am informed, also boiled the flesh of sheep in the skins of the animals, like the scottish soldiers in their wars with the english nation, when their camp-kettles were nothing but the hides of the oxen, suspended from poles, driven into the ground. the only mode of cooking butcher-meat, bearing any resemblance to that of the gipsies, is practised by some of the tribes of south america, who wrap flesh in _leaves_, and, covering it over with clay, cook it like the gipsies. some of the indians of north america roast deer of a small size in their skins, among hot ashes. an individual of great respectability, who had tasted venison cooked in this fashion, said that it was extremely juicy, and finely flavoured. in the sandwich islands, pigs are baked on hot stones in pits, or in the leaves of the bread-fruit tree, on hot stones, covered over with earth, during the operation of cooking. it is probable that the gipsy art of cooking would be amongst the first modes of making ready animal food, in the first stage of human society, in asia--the cradle of the human race.[ ] substitute linen rags for the leaves of trees, and what method of cooking can be more primitive than that of our scottish gipsies? [ ] ponqueville considers the gipsies contemporary of the first societies. _paris_, . the gipsy method of smelting iron, for sole-clout for ploughs, and smoothing-irons, is also simple, rude, and primitive.[ ] the tribe erect, on the open field, a small circle, built of stone, turf, and clay, for a furnace, of about three feet in height, and eighteen inches in diameter, and plastered, closely round on the outside, up to the top, with mortar made of clay. the circle is deepened by part of the earth being scooped out from the inside. it is then filled with coal or charred peat; and the iron to be smelted is placed in small pieces upon the top. below the fuel an aperture is left open, on one side, for admitting a large iron ladle, lined inside with clay. the materials in the furnace are powerfully heated, by the blasts of a large hand-bellows, (generally wrought by females,) admitted at a small hole, a little from the ground. when the metal comes to a state of fusion, it finds its way down to the ladle, and, after being skimmed of its cinders, is poured into the different sand moulds ready to receive it. [ ] according to grellmann, working in iron is the most usual occupation of the gipsies. in hungary it is so common, as to have given rise to the proverb, "so many gipsies, so many smiths." the same may be said of those in transylvania, wallachia, and moldavia, and all turkey in europe; at least, gipsies following that occupation are very numerous in those countries. this occupation seems to have been a favourite one with them, from the most distant period. uladislaus, king of hungary, in the year , ordered: "that every officer and subject, of whatever rank or condition, do allow thomas polgar, leader of twenty-five tents of wandering gipsies, free residence everywhere, and on no account to molest either him or his people, because they prepared musket balls and other military stores, for the bishop sigismund, at fünf-kirchen." in the year , when mustapa, turkish regent of bosnia, besieged crupa, the turks having expended their powder and cannon balls, the gipsies were employed to make the latter, part of iron, the rest of stone, cased with lead. observe the gipsies at whatever employment you may, there always appear sparks of genius. we cannot, indeed, help wondering, when we consider the skill they display in preparing and bringing their work to perfection, from the scarcity of proper tools and materials.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._--ed. chapter vii. border gipsies. it would be an unpardonable omission were i to overlook the descendants of john faw, "lord and earl of little egypt," in this history of the gipsies in scotland. but to enter into details relative to many of the members of this ancient clan, would be merely a repetition of actions, similar in character to those already related of some of the other bands in scotland. it would appear that the district in which the faw tribe commonly travelled, comprehended east lothian, berwickshire and roxburghshire; and that northumberland was also part of their walk. i can find no traces of gipsies, of that surname, having, in families, traversed the midland or western parts of the south of scotland, for nearly the last seventy years; and almost all the few ancient public documents relative to this clan seem to imply that they occupied the counties above mentioned. i am inclined to believe that the faws and the baillies, the two principal gipsy clans in scotland, had frequently lived in a state of hostility with one another. these two tribes quarrelled in the reign of james v, when they brought their dispute before the king in council; and from the renewal of the order in council, in the reign of queen mary, it appears their animosities had then existed. in the year , the faws and the shaws, as already noticed, advanced into tweed-dale, to fight the baillies and the browns, as mentioned by dr. pennecuik, in his history of tweed-dale. at the present day, the baillies consider themselves quite superior in rank to the faas; and, on the other hand, the faas and their friends speak with great bitterness and contempt of the baillies, calling them "a parcel of thieves and vagabonds."[ ] [ ] this long standing feud between the baillies and the faas is notorious. in paying a visit to a family of english gipsies in the united states, the head of the family said to me: "you must really excuse us to-day. it's the faas and baillies over again; it will be all i can do to keep them from coming to blows." the noise inside of the house was frightful. there had been a "difficulty" between two families in consequence of some gossip about one of the parties before marriage, which the families were sifting to the bottom. the faas and their partisans, on reading this work, will not overwell relish the prominence given to the baillie clan.--ed. in ruddiman's weekly magazine, of the th august, , the following notice is taken of this tribe, which shows the fear which persons of respectability entertained for them: "the descendants of this lord of little egypt continued to travel about in scotland till the beginning of this century, mostly about the southern border; and i am most credibly informed that one, henry faa, was received, and ate at the tables of people in public office, and that men of considerable fortune paid him a gratuity, called blackmail, in order to have their goods protected from thieves." one of the faas rose to great eminence in the mercantile world, and was connected by marriage with scotch families of the rank of baronets. this family was the highly respectable one of fall, now extinct, general merchants in dunbar, who were originally members of the gipsy family at yetholm. so far back as about the year , one of the baillies of dunbar was of the surname of faa, spelled exactly as the gipsy name, as appears by the rev. j. blackadder's memoirs. on the th of may, , captain james fall, of dunbar, was elected member of parliament for the dunbar district of burghs. on the th of may, , captain fall was again elected member for the same burghs; but, there being a double return, sir hew dalrymple ousted him. the family of fall gave dunbar provosts and baillies, and ruled the political interests of that burgh for many years. when hearty over their cups, they often mentioned their origin; and, to perpetuate the memory of their descent from the family of faa, at yetholm, the late mrs. fall, of dunbar, whose husband was provost of the town, had the whole family, with their asses, &c., &c., as they took their departure from yetholm, represented, by herself, in needle-work, or tapestry.[ ] the particulars, or details, of this family group were derived from her husband, who had the facts from his grandfather, one of the individuals represented in the piece. a respectable aged gentleman, yet living in dunbar, has often seen this family piece of the falls, and had its details pointed out and explained to him by mrs. fall herself.[ ] [ ] "he will be pleased to learn that there is, in the house of provost whyte, of kirkaldy, a piece of needle-work, or tapestry, on which is depicted, by the hands of mrs. fall, the principal events in the life of the founder of her family, from the day the gipsy child came to dunbar in its mother's creel, until the same gipsy child had become, by its own honourable exertions, the head of the first mercantile establishment then existing in scotland." [this seems to be an extract from a letter. the authority has been omitted in the ms.--ed.] [ ] "there are," says a correspondent, "several gentlemen in this town and neighbourhood who have heard declare, that the falls themselves had often acknowledged to them their descent from the gipsy faas. i am told by an old berwickshire gentlemen, who had the account from his mother, that the falls, on their departure from yetholm, stopped some little time at a country village-hamlet called hume, in berwickshire, where they had some female relations; and after a few days spent there, they set out for dunbar, taking their female friends along with them. "latterly, the late robert and charles fall, who were cousins, kept separate establishments. robert possessed the dwelling house now occupied by lord lauderdale; and charles possessed one at the shore, (now the custom-house.) built on the spot where some old houses formerly stood, and was called 'lousy law.' it was in these old cot-houses that the falls first took up their residence on coming to dunbar. it appears the mother of the first of the falls who came to dunbar was a woman of much spirit and great activity. old william faa, the chief of the gipsies at yetholm, when in lothian, never failed to visit the dunbar family, as his relations. the dunbar falls were connected, by marriage, with the anstruthers, footies, of balgonie, coutts, now bankers, and with collector whyte, of the customs, at kirkaldy, and collector melville, of the customs, at dunbar." the mercantile house of the falls, at dunbar, was so extensive as to have many connexions in the ports of the baltic and mediterranean, and supported so high a character that several of the best families in scotland sent their sons to it, to be initiated in the mysteries of commerce. amongst others who were bred merchants by the falls, were sir francis kinloch, and two sons of sir john anstruther. it appears that the falls were most honourable men in all their transactions; and that the cause of the ruin of their eminent firm was the failure of some considerable mercantile houses who were deeply indebted to them. one of the misses fall was married to sir john anstruther, of elie, baronet. it appears that this alliance with the family of fall was not relished by the friends of sir john, of his own class in society. the consequence was that lady anstruther was not so much respected, and did not receive those attentions from her neighbours, to which her rank, as sir john's wife, gave her a title. the tradition of her gipsy descent was fresh in the memories of those in the vicinity of her residence; and she frequently got no other name, or title, when spoken of, than "jenny faa." she was, however, a woman of great spirit and activity. her likeness was taken, and, i believe, is still preserved by the family of anstruther.[ ] [ ] speaking of a gentlemen in his autobiography, dr. alexander carlyle, in . says: "he had the celebrated jenny fall, (afterwards lady anstruther,) a coquette and a beauty, for months together in the house with him; and as his person and manners drew the marked attention of the ladies, he derived considerable improvement from the constant intercourse with this young lady and her companions, for she was lively and clever, no less than beautiful."--ed. at a contested election, for a member of parliament, for the burghs in the east of fife, in which sir john was a candidate, his opponents thought to annoy him, and his active lady, by reference to the gipsy origin of the latter. whenever lady anstruther entered the burghs, during the canvass, the streets resounded with the old song of the "gipsy laddie." a female stepped up to her ladyship, and expressed her sorrow at the rabble singing the song in her presence. "oh, never mind them," replied lady anstruther; "they are only repeating what they hear from their parents."[ ] the following is the song alluded to: johnny faa, the gipsy laddie. the gipsies came to my lord cassilis' yett, and oh! but they sang bonnie; they sang sae sweet, and sae complete, that down came our fair ladie. she came tripping down the stair, and all her maids before her; as soon as they saw her weel-far'd face they coost their glamourie owre her. she gave to them the good wheat bread, and they gave her the ginger; but she gave them a far better thing, the gold ring off her finger. "will ye go wi' me, my hinny and my heart, will ye go wi' me, my dearie; and i will swear, by the staff of my spear, that thy lord shall nae mair come near thee." "gar take from me my silk manteel, and bring to me a plaidie; for i will travel the world owre, along with the gipsy laddie. "i could sail the seas with my jockie faa, i could sail the seas with my dearie; i could sail the seas with my jockie faa, and with pleasure could drown with my dearie." they wandered high, they wandered low, they wandered late and early, until they came to an old tenant's barn, and by this time she was weary. "last night i lay in a weel-made bed, and my noble lord beside me; and now i must lie in an old tenant's barn, and the black crew glowring owre me." "o hold your tongue, my hinny and my heart, o hold your tongue, my dearie; for i will swear by the moon and the stars that thy lord shall nae mair come near thee." they wandered high, they wandered low, they wandered late and early, until they came to that wan water, and by this time she was weary. "aften i have rode that wan water, and my lord cassilis beside me; and now i must set in my white feet, and wade, and carry the gipsy laddie." by-and-by came home this noble lord, and asking for his ladie; the one did cry, the other did reply, "she is gone with the gipsy laddie." "go, saddle me the black," he says, "the brown rides never so speedie; and i will neither eat nor drink till i bring home my ladie." he wandered high, he wandered low, he wandered late and early, until he came to that wan water, and there he spied his ladie. "o wilt thou go home, my hinny and my heart, o wilt thou go home, my dearie; and i will close thee in a close room where no man shall come near thee." "i will not go home, my hinny and heart, i will not come, my dearie; if i have brewn good beer, i will drink of the same, and my lord shall nae mair come near me. "but i will swear by the moon and the stars, and the sun that shines sae clearly, that i am as free of the gipsy gang as the hour my mother did bear me." they were fifteen valiant men, black, but very bonny, and they all lost their lives for one, the earl of cassilis' ladie. [ ] i beg the reader to take particular notice of this circumstance. a scotch rabble is the lowest and meanest of all rabbles, at such work as this. in their eyes, it was unpardonable that lady anstruther, or "jenny faa," should have been of gipsy origin; but it would have horrified them, had they known the meaning of her ladyship "being of gipsy origin," and that she doubtless "chattered gipsy," like others of her tribe.--ed. tradition states that john faa, the leader of a band of gipsies, seizing the opportunity of the earl of cassilis' absence, on a deputation to the assembly of divines at westminster, in , to ratify the solemn league and covenant, carried off the lady. the earl was considered a sullen and ill-tempered man, and perhaps not a very agreeable companion to his lady.[ ] [ ] see page .--ed. before proceeding to give an account of the modern gipsies on the scottish border, i shall transcribe an interesting note which sir walter scott gave to the public, in explaining the origin of that singular character meg merrilies, in the novel guy mannering. the illustrious author kindly offered me the "scraps" which he had already given to blackwood's magazine, to incorporate them, if i chose, in my history of the gipsies; but i prefer giving them in his own words. "my father," says sir walter, "remembered jean gordon of yetholm, who had a great sway among her tribe. she was quite a meg merrilies, and possessed the savage virtue of fidelity in the same perfection. having been hospitably received at the farm-house of lochside, near yetholm, she had carefully abstained from committing any depredations on the farmer's property. but her sons, (nine in number,) had not, it seems, the same delicacy, and stole a brood-sow from their kind entertainer. jean was so much mortified at this ungrateful conduct, and so much ashamed of it, that she absented herself from lochside for several years. at length, in consequence of some temporary pecuniary necessity, the good-man of lochside was obliged to go to newcastle, to get some money to pay his rent. returning through the mountains of cheviot, he was benighted, and lost his way. a light, glimmering through the window of a large waste-barn, which had survived the farm-house to which it had once belonged, guided him to a place of shelter; and when he knocked at the door, it was opened by jean gordon. her very remarkable figure, for she was nearly six feet high, and her equally remarkable features and dress, rendered it impossible to mistake her for a moment; and to meet with such a character, in so solitary a place, and probably at no great distance from her clan, was a terrible surprise to the poor man, whose rent, (to lose which would have been ruin to him,) was about his person. jean set up a loud shout of joyful recognition. 'eh, sirs! the winsome gude-man of lochside! light down, light down; for ye manna gang farther the night, and a friend's house sae near!' the farmer was obliged to dismount, and accept of the gipsy's offer of supper and a bed. there was plenty of meat in the barn, however it might be come by, and preparations were going on for a plentiful supper, which the farmer, to the great encrease of his anxiety, observed was calculated for ten or twelve guests of the same description, no doubt, with his landlady. jean left him in no doubt on the subject. she brought up the story of the stolen sow, and noticed how much pain and vexation it had given her. like other philosophers, she remarked that the world grows worse daily, and, like other parents, that the bairns got out of her guiding, and neglected the old gipsy regulations which commanded them to respect, in their depredations, the property of their benefactors. the end of all this was an enquiry what money the farmer had about him, and an urgent request that he would make her his purse-keeper, as the bairns, as she called her sons, would be soon home. the poor farmer made a virtue of necessity, told his story, and surrendered his gold to jean's custody. she made him put a few shillings in his pocket; observing it would excite suspicion should he be found travelling altogether penniless. this arrangement being made, the farmer lay down on a sort of _shake-down_, as the scotch call it, upon some straw; but, as is easily to be believed, slept not. about midnight the gang returned with various articles of plunder, and talked over their exploits, in language which made the farmer tremble. they were not long in discovering their guest, and demanded of jean whom she had got there. 'e'en the winsome gude-man of lochside, poor boy,' replied jean; 'he's been at newcastle, seeking siller to pay his rent, honest man, but deil-be-licket he's been able to gather in; and sae he's gaun e'en hame wi' a toom purse and a sair heart.' 'that may be, jean,' replied one of the banditti, 'but we maun ripe his pouches a bit, and see if it be true or no.' jean set up her throat in exclamation against this breach of hospitality, but without producing any change of their determination. the farmer soon heard their stifled whispers and light steps by his bed-side, and understood they were rummaging his clothes. when they found the money which the prudence of jean gordon had made him retain, they held a consultation if they should take it or not; but the smallness of the booty, and the vehemence of jean's remonstrances, determined them on the negative. they caroused, and went to rest. so soon as day dawned, jean roused her guest, produced his horse, which she had accommodated behind the _hallan_, and guided him for some miles, till he was on the high-road to lochside. she then restored his whole property, nor could his earnest entreaties prevail on her to accept so much as a single guinea. "i have heard the old people at jedburgh say that all jean's sons were condemned to die there on the same day. it is said the jury were equally divided, but that a friend of justice, who had slept during the whole discussion, waked suddenly, and gave his vote for condemnation, in the emphatic words: 'hang them a'.' jean was present, and only said, 'the lord help the innocent in a day like this.' her own death was accompanied with circumstances of brutal outrage, of which poor jean was, in many respects, wholly undeserving. jean had, among other demerits, or merits, as you may choose to rank it, that of being a staunch jacobite. she chanced to be at carlisle, upon a fair or market day, soon after the year , where she gave vent to her political partiality, to the great offence of the rabble in that city. being zealous in their loyalty when there was no danger, in proportion to the tameness with which they had surrendered to the highlanders, in , they inflicted upon poor jean gordon no slighter penalty than that of ducking her to death in the eden. it was an operation of some time, for jean was a stout woman, and, struggling with her murderers, often got her head above water; and, while she had voice left, continued to exclaim, at such intervals, 'charlie yet! charlie yet!' "when a child, and among the scenes which she frequented, i have often heard these stories, and cried piteously for poor jean gordon. "before quitting the border gipsies, i may mention that my grandfather, riding over charter-house moor, then a very extensive common, fell suddenly among a large band of them, who were carousing in a hollow of the moor, surrounded by bushes. they instantly seized on his horse's bridle, with many shouts of welcome, exclaiming, (for he was well known to most of them,) that they had often dined at his expense, and he must now stay, and share their good-cheer. my ancestor was a little alarmed, for, like the good man of lochside, he had more money about his person than he cared to venture with into such society. however, being a bold, lively man, he entered into the humour of the thing, and sate down to the feast, which consisted of all the different varieties of game, poultry, pigs, and so forth, that could be collected by a wide and indiscriminate system of plunder. the feast was a very merry one, but my relative got a hint, from some of the elder gipsies, to retire just when 'the mirth and fun grew fast and furious;' and, mounting his horse, accordingly, he took french leave of his entertainers, but without experiencing the least breach of hospitality. i believe jean gordon was at this festival. "the principal settlements of the gipsies, in my time, have been the two villages of easter and wester gordon, and what is called kirk-yetholm, making good the proverb odd, near the church and far from god." in giving an account of the modern gipsies on the scottish border, i shall transcribe, at full length, the faithful and interesting report of baillie smith, of kelso, which was published in hoyland's "historical survey of the gipsies." "a considerable time," says mr. smith, "having elapsed since i had an opportunity or occasion to attend to the situation of the colony of gipsies in our neighbourhood, i was obliged to delay my answer to your enquiries, until i could obtain more information respecting their present numbers. "the great bar to the benevolent intentions of improving their situation, will be the impossibility to convince them that there either is, or can be, a mode of life preferable, or even equal, to their own. "a strong spirit of independence, or what they would distinguish by the name of liberty, runs through the whole tribe. it is, no doubt, a very licentious liberty, but entirely to their taste. some kind of honour peculiar to themselves seems to prevail in their community. they reckon it a disgrace to steal near their homes, or even at a distance, if detected. i must always except that petty theft of feeding their _shelties_ and asses, on the farmer's grass and corn, which they will do, whether at home or abroad. "when avowedly trusted, even in money matters, they never deceived me, nor forfeited their promise. i am sorry to say, however, that when checked in their licentious appropriations, &c., they are very much addicted both to threaten and to execute revenge. "having so far premised with respect to their general conduct and character, i shall proceed to answer, as far as i am able, the four queries subjoined to the circular which you sent me; and then subjoin, in notes, some instances of their conduct in particular cases, which may perhaps elucidate their general disposition and character. "_query st._ what number of gipsies in the county? "_answer._ i know of none except the colony of yetholm, and one family who lately removed from that place to kelso. yetholm consists of two towns, or large villages, called town-yetholm and kirk-yetholm. the first is in the estate of mr. wauchope, of niddry; the latter in that of the marquis of tweed-dale. the number of the gipsy colony at present in kirk-yetholm amounts to, at least, men, women and children; and perhaps two or three may have escaped notice. they marry early in life; in general have many children; and their number seems to be encreasing. "_query d._ in what do the men and women mostly employ themselves? "_answer._ i have known the colony between forty and fifty years. at my first remembrance of them, they were called the _tinklers_ (tinkers) of yetholm, from the males being chiefly then employed in mending pots and other culinary utensils, especially in their peregrinations through the hilly and less frequented parts of the country. sometimes they were called _horners_, from their occupation in making and selling horn-spoons, called _cutties_. now, their common appellation is that of _muggers_, or, what pleases them better, _potters_. they purchase, at a cheap rate, the cast or faulty articles from the different manufacturers of earthenware, which they carry for sale all over the country; consisting of groups of six, ten, and sometimes twelve or fourteen persons, male and female, young and old, provided with a horse and cart, to transport the pottery, besides shelties and asses, to carry the youngest of the children, and such baggage as they find necessary. a few of the colony also employ themselves, occasionally, in making besoms, foot-basses, &c., from heath, broom, and bent, and sell them at kelso and the neighbouring towns. after all, their employment can be considered little better than an apology for idleness and vagrancy. i do not see that the women are otherwise employed than attending the young children, and assisting to sell the pottery when carried through the country. "they are, in general, great adepts in hunting, shooting and fishing; in which last they use the net and spear, as well as the rod; and often supply themselves with a hearty meal by their dexterity. they have no notion of being limited in their field sports, either in time, place, or mode of destruction. in the country, they sleep in barns and byres, or other out-houses; and when they cannot find that accommodation, they take the canvas covering from the pottery cart and squat below it, like a covey of partridges in the snow. "_query d._ have they any settled abode in winter, and where? "_answer._ their residence, with the exception of a single family, who, some years ago, came to kelso, is at kirk-yetholm, and chiefly confined to one row of houses, or street, of that town, which goes by the name of the _tinkler row_. most of them have leases of their possessions, granted for a term of nineteen times nineteen years, for payment of a small sum yearly, something of the nature of a quit-rent. there is no tradition in the neighbourhood concerning the time when the gipsies first took up their residence at that place, nor whence they came. most of their leases, i believe, were granted by the family of the bennets, of grubit, the last of whom was sir david bennet, who died about sixty years ago. the late mr. nisbet, of dirlton, then succeeded to the estate, comprehending the baronies of kirk-yetholm and grubit. he died about the year ; and long after, the property was acquired by the late lord tweed-dale's trustees. during the latter part of the life of the late mr. nisbet, he was less frequently at his estate in roxburghshire than formerly. he was a great favourite of the gipsies, and was in use to call them his body-guards, and often gave them money, &c. "on the other hand, both the late and present mr. wauchope were of opinion that the example of these people had a bad effect upon the morals and industry of the neighbourhood; and seeing no prospect of their removal, and as little of their reformation, considered it as a duty to the public to prevent the evil encreasing; and never would consent to any of the colony taking up their residence in _town_ yetholm. "they mostly remain at home during winter, but as soon as the weather becomes tolerably mild, in spring, most of them, men, women and children, set out on their peregrinations over the country; and live in a state of vagrancy, until driven into their habitations by the approach of winter. "seeming to pride themselves as a separate tribe, they very seldom intermarry out of the colony; and, in rare instances, when that happens, the gipsy, whether male or female, by influence and example, always induces the stranger husband, or wife, to adopt the manners of the colony; so that no improvement is ever obtained in that way. the progeny of such alliances have almost universally the tawny complexion, and fine black eyes, of the gipsy parent, whether father or mother. so strongly remarkable is the gipsy cast of countenance, that even a description of them to a stranger, who has had no opportunity of formerly seeing them, will enable him to know them whenever he meets them. some individuals, but very rarely, separate from the colony altogether; and when they do so, early in life, and go to a distance, such as london, or even edinburgh, their acquaintances in the country get favourable accounts of them. a few betake themselves to regular and constant employments at home, but soon tire, and return to their old way of life. "when any of them, especially a leader, or man of influence, dies, they have full meetings, not only of the colony, but of the gipsies from a distance; and those meetings, or _late-wakes_, are by no means conducted with sobriety or decency. "_query th._ are any of their children taught to read, and what portion of them? with any anecdotes respecting their customs and conduct. "_answer._ education being obtained at a cheaper rate, the gipsies, in general, give their male children as good a one as is bestowed on those of the labouring people, and farm servants, in the neighbourhood; such as reading, writing, and the first principles of arithmetic. they all apply to the clergyman of the parish for baptism to their children; and a strong, superstitious notion universally prevails with them, that it is unlucky to have an unchristened child in the house. only a very few ever attend divine service, and those as seldom as they can, just to prevent being refused as sponsors at their children's baptism. "they are, in general, active and lively, particularly when engaged in field sports, or in such temporary pursuits as are agreeable to their habits and dispositions; but are destitute of the perseverance necessary for a settled occupation, or even for finishing what a moderate degree of continued labour would enable them to accomplish in a few weeks. "i remember that, about years ago, being then apprenticed to a writer, who was in use to receive the rents and the small duties of kirk-yetholm, he sent me there with a list of names, and a statement of what was due, recommending me apply to the landlord of the public-house, in the village, for any information or assistance which i might need. "after waiting a long time, and receiving payment from most of the feuers, or rentalers, i observed to him, that none of the persons of the names of faa, young, blythe, fluckie, &c., who stood at the bottom of the list, for small sums, had come to meet me, according to the notice given by the baron-officer, and proposed sending to inform them that they were detaining me, and to request their immediate attendance. "the landlord, with a grave face, enquired whether my master had desired me to ask money from those men. i said, not particularly; but they stood on the list. 'so i see,' said the landlord; 'but had your master been here himself, he did not dare to ask money from them, either as rent or feu duty. he knows that it is as good as if it were in his pocket. they will pay when their own time comes, but do not like to pay at a set time, with the rest of the barony, and still less to be craved.' "i accordingly returned without their money, and reported progress. i found that the landlord was right: my master said, with a smile, that it was unnecessary to send to them, after the previous notice from the baron-officer; it was enough if i had received the money, if offered. their rent and feu duty was brought to the office in a few weeks. i need scarcely add that those persons all belonged to the tribe. "another instance of their licentious, independent spirit occurs to me. the family of niddry always gave a decent annual remuneration to a baron-baillie, for the purpose of keeping good order within the barony of town-yetholm. the person whom i remember first in possession of that office was an old man, called doctor walker, from his being also the village surgeon; and from him i had the following anecdote: "between yetholm and the border farms, in northumberland, there were formerly, as in most border situations, some uncultivated lands, called the plea-lands, or debatable-lands, the pasturage of which was generally eaten up by the sorners and vagabonds, on both sides of the marches. many years ago, lord tankerville and some others of the english borderers made their request to sir david bennet, and the late mr. wauchope, of niddry, that they would accompany them at a riding of the plea-lands, who readily complied with their request. they were induced to this, as they understood that the gipsies had taken offence, on the supposition that they might be circumscribed in the pasturage for their shelties and asses, which they had held a long time, partly by stealth, and partly by violence. "both threats and entreaties were employed to keep them away; and, at last, sir david obtained a promise from some of the heads of the gang, that none of them should show their faces on the occasion. they, however, got upon the hills, at a little distance, whence they could see everything that passed. at first they were very quiet. but when they saw the english court-book spread out, on a cushion, before the clerk, and apparently him taking in a line of direction, interfering with what they considered to be their privileged ground, it was with great difficulty that the most moderate of them could restrain the rest from running down and taking vengeance, even in sight of their own lord of the manor. "they only abstained for a short time; and no sooner had sir david and the other gentlemen taken leave of each other, in the most polite and friendly manner, as border chiefs were wont to do, since border feuds ceased, and had departed to a sufficient distance, than the clan, armed with bludgeons, pitchforks, and such other hostile weapons as they could find, rushed down in a body, and before the chiefs on either side had reached their home, there was neither english tenant, horse, cow nor sheep left upon the premises. "meeting at kelso, with mr. walter scott, whose discriminating habits and just observations i had occasion to know, from his youth, and, at the same time, seeing one of my yetholm friends in the horse-market, i said to mr. scott, 'try to get before that man with the long drab coat, look at him on your return, and tell me whether you ever saw him, and what you think of him.' he was as good as to indulge me; and, rejoining me, he said, without hesitation: 'i never saw the man that i know of; but he is one of the gipsies of yetholm, that you told me of, several years ago.' i need scarcely say that he was perfectly correct. "when first i knew anything about the colony, old will faa was king, or leader; and had held the sovereignty for many years. the descendants of faa now take the name of fall, from the messrs. fall, of dunbar, who, they pride themselves in saying, are of the same stock and lineage. when old will faa was upwards of eighty years of age, he called on me, at kelso, on his way to edinburgh, telling me that he was going to see the laird, the late mr. nisbet, of dirlton, as he understood that he was very unwell; and he himself being now old, and not so stout as he had been, he wished to see him once more before he died. he set out by the nearest road, which was by no means his common practice. next market-day, some of the farmers informed me that they had been in edinburgh, and seen will faa, upon the bridge, (the south bridge was not then built;) that he was tossing about his old brown hat, and huzzaing, with great vociferation, that he had seen the laird before he died. indeed, will himself had no time to lose; for, having set his face homewards, by the way of the sea-coast, to vary his route, as is the general custom of the gang, he only got the length of coldingham, when he was taken ill and died. "his death being notified to his friends at yetholm, they and their acquaintances at berwick, spittal, horncliff, &c., met to pay the last honours to their old leader. his obsequies were continued three successive days and nights, and afterwards repeated at yetholm, whither he was brought. i cannot say that the funeral rites were celebrated with decency and sobriety, for that was by no means the case. this happened in the year , or , and the late mr. nisbet did not long survive."[ ] [ ] when mr. hoyland commenced making enquiries into the condition of the gipsies, he addressed circulars to the sheriffs, for information. no less than thirteen scotch sheriffs reported, "no gipsies within the county." a report of this kind was nearly as good as would be that of a cockney, as to there being no _foxes_ in the country; because, while riding through it, on the stage, he did not _see_ any! baillie smith's report, although graphic, is superficial. he states that the gipsies "marry early in life, and in general have many children;" yet "that their number _seems_ to be encreasing."--ed. in addition to the above graphic report of baillie smith, i will now give a few details from a ms., given to me by mr. blackwood, towards the elucidation of the history of the gipsies. this ms. bears the initials of a. w., and appears to have been written by a gentleman who had ample opportunities of observing the manners of the border gipsies. "i am a native of yetholm parish, and a residenter in it, with a little exception, for upwards of fifty years. i well remember kirk-yetholm, when the faas and youngs alone had a footing in it.[ ] the taits came next, and latterly, at various periods, the douglasses, blyths, montgomerys, &c. old william faa, (with whom i was well acquainted, and saw him married to his third wife,[ ]) constantly claimed kindred with the falls of dunbar; and persisted, to the last, that he himself was the male descendant, in a direct line, from the earl of little egypt. for many years before his death, mr. nisbet of dirlton, (the then laird of kirk-yetholm,) gave him the charge of his house, at marlfield, and all its furniture, although he resided six miles distant from it. the key of the principal door was regularly delivered to him, at the laird's departure. i remember a sale of wood at cherry-trees, belonging to the late sheriff murray. william faa was a purchaser at the roup, and the sheriff proclaimed aloud to the clerk, that he would be mr. faa's cautioner. all the tinklers in the village, and even strangers resorting thither, considered william faa as the head and leader of the whole. his corpse was escorted betwixt coldstream and yetholm by above three hundred asses. [ ] the tribe of young have preserved the following tradition respecting their first settlement in yetholm: at a siege of the city of namur, (date unknown,) the laird of kirk-yetholm, of the ancient family of bennets, of grubit and marlfield, in attempting to mount a breach, at the head of his company, was struck to the ground, and all his followers killed, or put to flight, except a gipsy, the ancestor of the youngs, who resolutely defended his master till he recovered his feet, and then, springing past him upon the rampart, seized a flag which he put into his leader's hand. the besieged were struck with panic--the assailants rushed again to the breach--namur was taken, and captain bennet had the glory of the capture. on returning to scotland, the laird, out of gratitude to his faithful follower, settled him and his family, (who had formerly been travelling tinkers and heckle-makers,) in kirk-yetholm; and conferred upon them, and the faas, a fen of their cottages, for the space of nineteen times nineteen years; which they still hold from the marquis of tweed-dale, the present proprietor of the estate.--_blackwood's magazine._--ed. [ ] on solemn occasions, will faa assumed, in his way, all the stately deportment of sovereignty. he had twenty-four children, and at each of their christenings he appeared, dressed in his original wedding-robes. these christenings were celebrated with no small parade. twelve young handmaidens were always present, as part of the family retinue, and for the purpose of waiting on the numerous guests, who assembled to witness the ceremony, or partake of the subsequent festivities. besides will's gipsy associates, several of the neighbouring farmers and lairds, with whom he was on terms of friendly intercourse, (among others, the murrays, of cherry-trees,) used to attend these christenings.--_blackwood's magazine._--ed. "he was succeeded by his eldest son william, one of the cleverest fellows upon the border. for agility of person, and dexterity in every athletic exercise, he had rarely met with a competitor. he had a younger brother impressed, when almost a boy. he deserted from his ship, in india; enlisted as a soldier, and, by dint of merit, acquired a commission in a regular regiment of foot, and died a lieutenant, within these thirty years, at london. he was an officer under governor wall, at goree, when he committed the crime for which he suffered, twenty years after, in england. "it was the present william faa that the 'earl of hell' contended with; not for sovereignty, but to revenge some ancient animosity.[ ] his lordship lives at new coldstream, and was the only person in berwickshire that durst encounter, in single combat, the renowned bully-more. young fought three successive battles with faa, and one desperate engagement with more, midway between dunse and coldstream; and was defeated in all of them. he is a younger son of william young, of yetholm, the cotemporary chieftain of old william faa. it was still a younger brother that migrated to kelso, where he supported a good character till he died. charles young, the eldest brother, is still alive, and chief of the name. the following anecdote of him will serve to establish his activity. [ ] this is in contradiction to the assertion, in blackwood's magazine, that, on the death of his father, a sort of civil war broke out among the yetholm gipsies; and that the usurper of the regal office was dispossessed, after a battle, by the subjects who adhered to the legitimate heir.--ed. "mr. walker, of thirkstane, the only residing heritor in yetholm parish, missed a valuable mare, upon a sunday morning. after many fruitless enquiries, at the adjacent kirks and neighbourhood, he dispatched a servant for charles, in the evening. he privately communicated to him his loss, and added, that he was fully persuaded he could be the means of recovering the mare. charles boldly answered, 'if she was betwixt the tyne and the forth, she should be restored.' on the thursday after, at sunrise, the mare was found standing at the stable door, much jaded, and very warm. "when the kirk-yetholm families differed among themselves, (and terrible conflicts at times they had,) this same mr. walker was often chosen sole arbitrator, to decide their differences. he has often been locked up in their houses for twenty-four hours together, but carefully concealed their secrets.[ ] [ ] there would appear to be something remarkable in the position which this mr. walker held with the gipsies. i know, from the best of authority, that most of the people living in and about yetholm are gipsies, settled or unsettled, civilized or uncivilized, educated or uneducated; and of one in particular, who went under the title of "lord mayor of yetholm." he is now dead. the above mentioned mr. walker was probably a relation of dr. walker, mentioned by baillie smith, as the baron-baillie of yetholm. i notice in blackwood's magazine, that one william walker, a gipsy, in company with various yetholm gipsies, was indicted at jedburgh, in , for fire-raising, but was acquitted. the walkers alluded to in the text are very probably of the same family, settled, and raised in the world. as i have just said, most of the people in and about yetholm are gipsies. gipsydom has even eaten its way in among the population round about yetholm. the rev. mr. baird, in conducting the scottish church mission among the _travelling_ gipsies, hailing from yetholm, doubtless encountered many of them incog. but all this will be better understood by the reader after he peruses the disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. "the yetholm tinklers keep up an intercourse with their friends at horncliff, spittal, rothbury, hexam, and harbottle. they go frequently to newcastle, and even to staffordshire, for earthenware, and the whole family embark in every expedition. "i was at school with most of the present generation of tinklers. i mean the males; for, to speak truth, i never heard of a female gipsy being educated at all. "none of this colony have been either impeached or tried for a crime for fifty years past. two tinklers have been executed at jedburgh, in my remembrance, named keith and clark, for murder and horse-stealing. they were strangers, from a distance." when i visited yetholm, i fell in with a gentleman who resided at that time in town-yetholm. i chanced to mention to him that i was sure all the gipsies had a method of their own in handling the cudgel, but he would not believe it. at my request, he took me into some of their houses, and, observing an old, rusty sword lying upon the joists of an apartment in which we were sitting, i took it down, and, under pretence of handling it, in their fashion, gave some of the guards of the hungarian sword-exercise. an old gipsy, of the name of blyth, shook his head, and observed: "ay, that is an art easily carried about with you; it may be of service to you some day." my friend was then convinced of his mistake. william faa, when i was in his house, showed me the mark of a stroke of a sword on his right wrist, by which he had nearly lost his hand. with others of his clan, he had been engaged in a smuggling speculation, on the coast of northumberland, when they were overtaken by a party of dragoons, one of whom singled out and attempted to take faa prisoner. william was armed with a stick only, but, with his stick in his dexterous hand, he, for a long time, set the dragoon, with all his arms, at defiance. the horseman, now galloping round and round him, attempting to capture him, became exasperated at the resistance of a man on foot, armed with a cudgel only, and struck with such vigour that the cudgel became shattered, and cut in pieces, till nothing but a few inches of it remained. still holding up the stump, to meet the stroke of his antagonist's sword, william was cut to the bone, and compelled to yield himself a prisoner. a person, present at the scuffle, informed me that the only remark the brave tinkler made to the dragoon was, "ye've spoiled a good fiddler." william faa, the lineal descendant of john faw, "lord and earl of little egypt," when i saw him, appeared about sixty years of age, and was tall and genteel-looking, with grey hair, and dark eyes. he is the individual who fought the three battles with young, between dunse and coldstream. the following notice of his death i have extracted from the "scotsman" newspaper, of the th october, : "a lament for will faa, "the deceased king of little egypt. "the daisy has faded, the yellow leaf drops; the cold sky looks grey o'er the shrivelled tree-tops; and many around us, since summer's glad birth, have dropt, like the old leaves, into the cold earth. and one worth remembering hath gone to the home where the king and the kaiser must both at last come, the king of the gipsies--the last of a name[ ] which in scotland's old story is rung on by fame. the cold clod ne'er pressed down a manlier breast than that of the old man now gone to his rest. "it is meet we remember him; never again will such foot as old will's kick a ball o'er the plain, or such hand as his, warm with the warmth of the soul, bid us welcome to yetholm, to bicker and bowl. oh, the voice that could make the air tremble and ring with the great-hearted gladness becoming a king, is silent, is silent; oh, wail for the day when death took the border king, brave willie faa. "no dark jeddart prison e'er closed upon him, the last lord of egypt ne'er wore gyve on limb. though his grey locks were crownless, the light of his eye was kingly--his bearing majestic and high. though his hand held no sceptre, the stranger can tell that the full bowl of welcome became it as well; the fisher or rambler, by river or brae, ne'er from old willie's hallan went empty away. "in the old house of yetholm we've sat at the board, the guest, highly honoured, of egypt's old lord, and mark'd his eye glisten as oft as he told of his feats on the border, his prowess of old. it is meet, when that dark eye in death hath grown dim, that we sing a last strain in remembrance of him. the fame of the gipsy hath faded away with the breath from the brave heart of gallant will faa." [ ] will faa had a brother, a house-carpenter, in new york, who survived him a few years. he was considered a fine old man by those who knew him. he left a family in an humble, but respectable, way of doing. the scottish gipsy throne was occupied by another family of gipsies, in consequence of this family being "forth of scotland." there are a great many faas, under one name or other, scattered over the world.--ed. chapter viii. marriage and divorce ceremonies. the gipsies in scotland are all married at a very early age. i do not recollect ever having seen or heard of them, male or female, being unmarried, after they were twenty years old. there are few instances of bastard children among them; indeed, they declare that their children are all born in wedlock.[ ] i know, however, of one instance to the contrary; and of the gipsy being dreadfully punished for seducing a young girl of his own tribe. [ ] there is one word in the gipsy language to which is attached more importance than to any other thing whatever--_lácha_--the corporeal chastity of woman; the loss of which she is, from childhood, taught to dread. to ensure its preservation, the mother will have occasion to the _diclé_--a kind of drapery which she ties around the daughter; and which is never removed, but continually inspected, till the day of marriage; but not for fear of the "stranger" or the "white blood." a girl is generally betrothed at fourteen, and never married till two years afterward. betrothal is invariable. but the parties are never permitted, previous to marriage, to have any intimate associations together.--_borrow on the spanish gipsies._--ed. the brother of the female, who was pregnant, took upon himself the task of chastising the offender. with a knife in his hand, and at the dead hour of night, he went to the house of the seducer. the first thing he did was deliberately to sharpen his knife upon the stone posts of the door of the man's house; and then, in a gentle manner, tap at the door, to bring out his victim. the unsuspecting man came to the door, in his shirt, to see what was wanted; but the salutation he received was the knife thrust into his body, and the stabs repeated several times. the avenger of his sister's wrongs fled for a short while; the wounded tinkler recovered, and, to repair the injury he had done, made the girl his wife. the occurrence took place in mid-lothian, about twenty years ago. the name of the woman was baillie, and her husband, tait. i have not been able to discover any peculiarity in the manner of gipsy courtships, except that a man, above sixty years of age, affirmed to me that it was the universal custom, among the tribe, not to give away in marriage the younger daughter before the elder. in order to have this information confirmed, i enquired of a female, herself one of eleven sisters,[ ] if this custom really existed among her people. she was, at first, averse, evidently from fear, to answer my question directly, and even wished to conceal her descent. but, at last, seeing nothing to apprehend from speaking more freely, she said such was once the custom; and that it had been the cause of many unhappy marriages. she said she had often heard the old people speaking about the law of not allowing the younger sister to be married before the elder. she, however, would not admit of the existence of the custom at the present day, but appeared quite well acquainted with it, and could have informed me fully of it, had she been disposed to speak on the subject. [ ] a gipsy multiplication table. +-------------+-------+----------+--+ | births | mar- | births of| | |of children. |riages.| grand- | | | | | children.| | +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+ | , oct. .| | , jul.| | | | | | | +--+--+ | , jan. .| | , oct.| | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , apl. .| | , jan.| | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , jul. .| | , ap. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , oct. .| | , jul | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , jan. .| | , oct.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , apl. .| | , jan.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , jul. .| | , ap. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , oct. .| | , jul.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , jan. .| | , oct.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ | , apl. .| | , jan.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+ | , jul. .| | | |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|total. +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-----+ the above table will give a general idea of the natural encrease of the gipsies. the reader can make what allowances he pleases, for ages at time of marriage, intervals between births, twins, deaths, or numbers of children born. by this table, the gipsy, by marrying at twenty years of age, would, when years old, have a "following" of no less than souls. "there is one of the divine laws," said i to a gipsy, "which the gipsies obey more than any other people." "what is that?" replied he, with great gravity. "the command to 'be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (but not subdue) the earth.'" even five generations can be obtained from the male, and six from the female gipsy, in a century, counting from first-born to first-born. the reader will notice how large are the gipsy families incidentally mentioned by our author.--ed. the exact parallel to this custom is to be found in the gentoo code of laws, translated by halhed; wherein it is made criminal for "a man to marry while his elder brother remains unmarried; or when a man marries his daughter to such a person; or where a man gives the younger sister in marriage while the elder sister remains unmarried."[ ] the learned translator of the code considers this custom of the gentoos of the remotest antiquity, and compares it with that passage in the book of genesis, where laban excuses himself to jacob for having substituted leah for rachel, in these words, "it must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born." [ ] major archer says that this law is still in force. the nuptial ceremony of the gipsies is undoubtedly of the highest antiquity, and would, probably, be one of the first marriage ceremonies observed by mankind, in the very first stages of human society. when we consider the extraordinary length of time the gipsies have preserved their speech, as a secret among themselves, in the midst of civilized society, all over europe, while their persons were proscribed and hunted down in every country, like beasts of the chase, we are not at all surprised at their retaining some of their ancient customs; for these, as distinguished from their language, are of easy preservation, under any circumstances in which they may have been placed. that may much more be said of this ceremony, as there would be an occasion for its almost daily observance. it was wrapped up with their very existence--the choice of their wives, and the love of their offspring--the most important and interesting transactions of their lives; and would, on that account, be one of the longest observed, the least easily forgotten, of their ancient usages. the nuptial rites of the scottish gipsies are, perhaps, unequalled in the history of marriages. at least, i have neither seen nor heard of any marriage ceremony that has the slightest resemblance to it, except the extraordinary benediction which our countryman, mungo park, received from the bride at the moorish wedding in ali's camp, at benown; and that of a certain custom practised by the mandingoes, at kamalia, in africa, also mentioned by park.[ ] this custom with the mandingoes and the gipsies is nearly the same as that observed by the ancient hebrews, in the days of moses, mentioned in the book of deuteronomy. when we have the manners and customs of every savage tribe hitherto discovered, including even the hottentots and abyssinians, described, in grave publications, by adventurous travellers, i can see no reason why there should not be preserved, and exhibited for the inspection of the public, the manners and customs of a barbarous race that have lived so long at our own doors--one more interesting, in some respects, than any yet discovered; and more particularly as marriage is a very important, indeed the most important, institution among the inhabitants of any country, whether civilized or in a state of barbarism. how much would not our antiquarians now value authenticated specimens of the language, manners, and customs of the ancient pictish nation that once inhabited scotland! [ ] "i was soon tired," says park, "and had retired into my tent. when i was sitting, almost asleep, an old woman entered with a wooden bowl in her hand, and signified that she had brought me a present from the bride. before i could recover from the surprise which this message created, the woman discharged the contents of the bowl full in my face. finding that it was the same sort of holy water with which, among the hottentots, a priest is said to sprinkle a new-married couple, i began to suspect that the lady was actuated by mischief or malice; but she gave me seriously to understand that it was a nuptial benediction from the bride's own person; and which, on such occasions, is always received by the young unmarried moors, as a mark of distinguished favour. this being the case, i wiped my face, and sent my acknowledgment to the lady."--_park's travels, pages and ._ in describing the marriage ceremony of the scottish gipsies, it is scarcely possible to clothe the curious facts in language fit to be perused by every reader. but i must adopt the sentiment of sir walter scott, as given in the introduction, and "not be squeamish about delicacies, where knowledge is to be sifted out and acquired."[ ] [ ] whatever prudes and snobs may think of this chapter, i believe that the sensible and intelligent reader will agree with me in saying, that the marriage and divorce ceremonies of the gipsies are historical gems of the most antique and purest water.--ed. a marriage cup, or bowl, made out of solid wood, and of a capacity to contain about two scotch pints, or about one gallon, is made use of at the ceremony. after the wedding-party is assembled, and everything prepared for the occasion, the priest takes the bowl and gives it to the bride, who passes urine into it; it is then handed, for a similar purpose, to the bridegroom. after this, the priest takes a quantity of earth from the ground, and throws it into the bowl, adding sometimes a quantity of brandy to the mixture. he then stirs the whole together, with a spoon made of a ram's horn, and sometimes with a large ram's horn itself, which he wears suspended from his neck by a string. he then presents the bowl, with its contents, first to the bride, and then to the bridegroom; calling at the same time upon each to separate the mixture in the bowl, if they can. the young couple are then ordered to join hands over the bowl containing the earth, urine, and spirits; when the priest, in an audible voice, and in the gipsy language, pronounces the parties to be husband and wife; and as none can separate the mixture in the bowl, so they, in their persons, cannot be separated till death dissolves their union. as soon as that part of the ceremony is performed, the couple undress, and repair to their nuptial couch. after remaining there for a considerable time, some of the most confidential relatives of the married couple are admitted to the apartment, as witnesses to the virginity of the bride; certain tokens being produced to the examining friends, at this stage of the ceremony. if all the parties concerned are satisfied, the bride receives a handsome present from the friends, as a mark of their respect for her remaining chaste till the hour of her marriage. this present is, in some instances, a box of a particular construction.[ ] [ ] on their return from church, the bride is seated at one extremity of a room, with the unmarried girls by her; the bridegroom on the right, and the father and mother, or those who perform their office, on the left. the male part of the company stand in the corners, singing, and playing on the guitar. about one o'clock, the oldest matron, accompanied by others advanced in years, conducts the bride into the bed-room, which, according to the custom of spain, is usually a small chamber, without a window, opening into the general apartment. _tune vetula, manu sud sponsæ naturalibus admota membranam, vulvæ ori oppositam unguibus scindit et cruorem à plagâ fusum linteolo excipit._ the gitanos without make a loud noise with their whistles, and the girls, striking the door, sing the following couplets, or some other like them: "abra viñd la puerta snr. joaquin que le voy à viñd à poner un pañuelito en las manos que tienen que llorar toditas las callis." the bride then returns from the chamber, accompanied by the matrons, and the new-married couple are placed upon a table, where the bride dances, _et coram astantibus linteolum, internerati pudoris indicium explicat_; whilst the company, throwing down their presents of sweetmeats, &c., dance and cry, "viva la honra."--_bright, on the spanish gipsy marriage._ before the marriage festival begins, four matrons--relations of the contracting parties--are appointed to scrutinize the bride; in which a handkerchief, of the finest french cambric, takes a leading part. should she prove frail, she will likely be made away with, in a way that will leave no trace behind. in carrying out some marriage festivals, a procession will take place, led by some vile-looking fellow, bearing, on the end of a long pole, the _diclé_ and unspotted handkerchief; followed by the betrothed and their nearest friends, and a rabble of gipsies, shouting and firing, and barking of dogs. on arriving at the church, the pole, with its triumphant colours, is stuck into the ground, with a loud huzza; while the train defile, on either side, into the church. on returning home, the same takes place. then follows the most ludicrous and wasteful kind of revelling, which often leaves the bridegroom a beggar for life.--_borrow, on the spanish gipsy marriage._--ed. these matters being settled on the spot, the wedded pair rise from the marriage-bed, again dress themselves in their finest apparel, and again join the wedding-party. the joy and happiness on all sides is now excessive. there is nothing to be heard or seen but fiddling and piping, dancing, feasting and drinking, which are kept up, with the utmost spirit and hilarity imaginable, for many hours together.[ ] /# [ ] the part of the marriage ceremony of the gipsies which relates to the chastity of the bride has a great resemblance to a part of the nuptial rites of the russians, and the christians of st. john, in mesopotamia and chaldea. dr. hurd says: "when a new-married couple in russia retire to the nuptial bed, an old domestic servant stands sentinel at the chamber-door. some travellers tell us that this old servant, as soon as it is proper, attends nearer the bedside, to be informed of what happens. upon the husband's declaration of his success and satisfaction, the kettle-drums and trumpets proclaim the joyful news." among the christians of st. john, as soon as the marriage is consummated, "both parties wait upon the bishop, and the husband deposes before him that he found his wife a virgin; and then the bishop marries them, puts several rings on their fingers, and baptizes them again. . . . a marriage with one who is discovered to have lost her honour beforehand but very seldom, if ever, holds good." #/ when speaking of the marriages of the mandingoes, at kamalia, about miles in the interior of africa, park says: "the new-married couple are always disturbed toward morning by the women, who assemble to inspect the nuptial sheet, (according to the manners of the ancient hebrews, as recorded in scripture,) and dance around it. this ceremony is thought indispensably necessary, nor is the marriage considered valid without it." _park's travels, page ._ by the laws of menu, the hindoo could reject his bride, if he found her not a virgin.--_sir william jones._ [the reader will observe that the marriage ceremony of the gipsies, though barbarous, is very figurative and emphatic, and certainly moral enough. to show that the gipsies, as a people, have not been addicted to the most barbarous customs, in regard to marriage, i note the following very singular form of the scottish highlanders, which, according to skene, continued in use _until a very late period_. "this custom was termed _hand-fasting_, and consisted in a species of contract between two chiefs, by which it was agreed that the heir of one should live with the daughter of the other, as her husband, for twelve months and a day. if, in that time, the lady became a mother, or proved to be with child, the marriage became good in law, even although no priest had performed the marriage in due form; but should there not have occurred any appearance of issue, the contract was considered at an end, and each party was at liberty to marry, or _hand-fast, with any other_." which fact shows that highland chiefs, at one time, would have annulled any, or all, of the laws of god, whenever it would have served their purposes.--ed.] the nuptial mixture is carefully bottled up, and the bottle marked with the roman character, m. in this state, it is buried in the earth, or kept in their houses or tents, and is carefully preserved, as evidence of the marriage of the parties. when it is buried in the fields, the husband and wife to whom it belongs frequently repair to the spot, and look at it, for the purpose of keeping them in remembrance of their nuptial vows. small quantities of the compound are also given to individuals of the tribe, to be used for certain rare purposes, such, perhaps, as pieces of the bride's cake are used for dreaming-bread, among the natives of scotland, at the present day. what is meant by employing earth, water, spirits, and, of course, air, in this ceremony, cannot be conjectured; unless these ingredients may have some reference to the four elements of nature--fire, air, earth, and water. that of using a ram's horn, in performing the nuptial rites, has also its meaning, could information be obtained concerning that part of the ceremony. this marriage ceremony is observed by the gipsies in scotland at the present day. a man, of the name of james robertson, and a girl, of the name of margaret graham, were married, at lochgellie, exactly in the manner described. besides the testimony of the gipsies themselves, it is a popular tradition, wherever these people have resided in scotland, that they were all married by mixing of earth and urine together in a wooden bowl. i know of a girl, of about sixteen years of age, having been married in the gipsy fashion, in a kiln, at appindull, in perthshire. a gipsy informed me that he was at a wedding of a couple on a moor near lochgellie, and that they were married in the ancient gipsy manner described. shortly after this, a pair were married near stirling, after the custom of their ancestors. in this instance, a screen, made of an old blanket, was put up in the open field, to prevent the parties seeing each other, while furnishing the bowl with what was necessary to lawfully constitute their marriage.[ ] the last-named gipsy further stated to me, that when two young folks of the tribe agree to be married, the father of the bridegroom sleeps with the bride's mother, for three or four nights immediately previous to the celebration of the marriage. [ ] on reading the above ceremony to an intelligent native of fife, he said he had himself heard a gipsy, of the name of thomas ogilvie, say that the tinklers were married in the way mentioned. on one occasion, when a couple of respectable individuals were married, in the usual scottish presbyterian manner, at elie, in fife, ogilvie, gipsy-like, laughed at such a wedding ceremony, as being, in his estimation, no way binding on the parties. he at the same time observed that, if they would come to him, he would marry them in the tinkler manner, which would make it a difficult matter to separate them again. having endeavoured to describe the ancient nuptial ceremony of the scottish gipsies, i have considered it proper to give some account of an individual who acted as priest on such occasions. the name of a famous celebrator of gipsy marriages, in fifeshire, was peter robertson, well known, towards the latter end of his days, by the name of blind pate. peter was a tall, lean, dark man, and wore a large cocked hat, of the olden fashion, with a long staff in his hand. by all accounts, he must have been a hundred years of age when he died. he was frequently seen at the head of from twenty to forty gipsies, and often travelled in the midst of a crowd of women. whenever a marriage was determined on, among the lochgellie horde, or their immediate connexions, peter was immediately sent for, however far distant he happened to be at the time from the parties requiring his assistance, to join them in wedlock: for he was the oldest member of the tribe at the time, and head of the tinklers in the district, and, as the oldest member, it was his prerogative to officiate, as priest, on such occasions. a friend, who obligingly sent me some anecdotes of this gipsy priest, communicated to me the following facts regarding him: "at the wedding of a favourite brae-laird, in the shire of kinross, peter robertson appeared at the head of a numerous band of tinklers, attended by twenty-four asses. he was always chief and spokesman for the band. at the wedding of a william low, a multerer, at kinross, peter, for the last time, was seen, with upwards of twenty-three asses in his retinue. he had certain immunities and privileges allowed him by his tribe. for one thing, he had the sole profits arising from the sale of keel, used in marking sheep, in the neighbouring upland districts; and one of the asses belonging to the band was always laden with this article alone. peter was also notorious as a physician, and administered to his favourites medicines of his own preparation, and numbers of extraordinary cures were ascribed to his superior skill. he was possessed of a number of wise sayings, a great many of which are still current in the country. peter robertson was, altogether, a very shrewd and sensible man, and no acts of theft were ever laid to his charge, that i know of. he had, however, in his band, several females who told fortunes. the ceremony of marriage which he performed was the same you mentioned to me. the whole contents of the bowl were stirred about with a large ram's horn, which was suspended from a string round his neck, as a badge, i suppose, of his priestly office.[ ] he attended all the fairs and weddings for many miles round. the braes of kinross were his favourite haunt; so much so that, in making his settlement, and portioning his children, he allowed them all districts, in the country round about, to travel in; but he reserved the braes of kinross as his own pendicle, and hence our favourite toast in the shire of kinross, 'the lasses of blind pate's pendicle.' besides the braes of kinross, this gipsy, in his sweeping verbal testament, reserved the town of dunfermline, also, to himself, 'because,' said he, 'dunfermline was in cash, what lochleven was in water--it never ran dry.'" a great deal of booty was obtained by the tinklers, at the large and long-continued fairs which were frequently held in this populous manufacturing town, in the olden times. [ ] two ram's horns and two spoons, crossed, are sculptured on the tombstone of william marshall, a gipsy chief, who, according to a writer in blackwood's magazine, died at the age of years, and whose remains are deposited in the church-yard of kirkcudbright. a horn is the hieroglyphic of authority, power, and dignity, and is a metaphor often made use of in the scriptures. the jews held ram's horns in great veneration, on account, it is thought, of that animal having been caught in a bush by the horns, and used as a substitute, when isaac was about to be sacrificed by his father; or, perhaps, on account of this animal being first used in sacrifice. so much were ram's horns esteemed by the israelites, that their priests and levites used them as trumpets, particularly at the taking of jericho. the modern jews, when they confess their sins, in our month of september, announce the ceremony by blowing a ram's horn, the sound of which, they say, drives away the devil. in ancient egypt, and other parts of africa, jupiter ammon was worshipped under the figure of a ram, and to this deity one of these animals was sacrificed annually. a ram seems to have been an emblem of power in the east, from the remotest ages. it would, therefore, appear that the practice of the gipsy priest "wearing a ram's horn, suspended from a string, around his neck," must be derived from the highest antiquity. this gipsy priest was uncommonly fond of a bottle of good ale. like many other celebrators of marriages, he derived considerable emoluments from his office. a gipsy informed me that robertson, on these occasions, always received presents, such as a pair of candlesticks, or basins and platters, made of pewter, and such like articles. the disobedient and refractory members of his clan were chastised by him at all times, on the spot, by the blows of his cudgel, without regard to age or sex, or manner of striking. when any serious scuffle arose among his people, in which he was like to meet with resistance, he would, with vehemence, call to his particular friends, "set my back to the wa';" and, being thus defended in the rear, he, with his cudgel, made his assailants in front smart for their rebellion. although he could not see, his daughter would give him the word of command. she would call to him, "strike down"--"strike laigh" (low)--"strike amawn" (athwart,)--"strike haunch-ways,"--"strike shoulder-ways," &c. in these, we see nearly all the cuts or strokes of the hungarian sword-exercise. as i have frequently mentioned, all the gipsies were regularly trained to a peculiar method of their own in handling the cudgel, in their battles. i am inclined to think that part of the hungarian sword-exercise, at present practised in our cavalry, is founded upon the gipsy manner of attack and defence, including even the direct thrust to the front, which the gipsies perform with the cudgel. notwithstanding all that has been said of the licentious manners of the scottish gipsies, i am convinced that the slightest infidelity, on the part of their wives, would be punished with the utmost severity. i am assured that nothing can put a gipsy into so complete a rage as to impute incontinence to his wife. in india, the gipsy men "are extremely jealous of their wives, who are kept in strict subservance, and are in danger of corporeal punishment, or absolute dismissal, if they happen to displease them."[ ] the gipsies are complete tartars in matters of this kind.[ ] [ ] edinburgh encyclopædia, vol, x. [ ] mr. borrow bears very positive testimony to the _personal_ virtue of gipsy females. i have heard natives of hungary speak lightly of them in that respect; but i conclude that they alluded to exceptions to the general rule among the race.--ed. but in the best-regulated society--in the most virtuous of families--the sundering of the marriage-tie is often unavoidable, even under the most heinous of circumstances. and it is not to be expected that the gipsies should be exempted from the lot common to humanity, under whatever circumstances it may be placed. the separation of husband and wife is, with them, a very serious and melancholy affair--an event greatly to be lamented, while the ceremony is attended with much grief and mourning, blood having to be shed, and life taken, on the occasion. it would be a conclusion naturally to be drawn from the circumstance of the gipsies having so singular a marriage ceremony, that they should have its concomitant in as singular a ceremony of divorce. the first recourse to which a savage would naturally resort, in giving vent to his indignation, and obtaining satisfaction for the infidelity of the female, (assuming that savages are always susceptible of such a feeling,) would be to despatch her on the spot. but the principle of expiation, in the person of a dumb creature, for offences committed against the deity, has, from the very creation of the world, been so universal among mankind, that it would not be wondered at if it should have been applied for the atonement of offences committed against each other, and nowhere so much so as in the east--the land of figure and allegory. the practice obtains with the gipsies in the matter of divorce, for they lay upon the head of that noble animal, the horse, the sins of their offending sister, and generally let her go free. but, it may be asked, how has this sacrifice of the horse never been mentioned in scotland before? the same question applies equally well to their language, and marriage ceremony, yet we know that both of these exist at the present day. the fact is, the gipsies have hitherto been so completely despised, and held in such thorough contempt, that few ever thought of, or would venture to make enquiries of them relative to, their ancient customs and manners; and that, when any of their ceremonies were actually observed by the people at large, they were looked upon as the mere frolics, the unmeaning and extravagant practices, of a race of beggarly thieves and vagabonds, unworthy of the slightest attention or credit.[ ] in whatever country the gipsies have appeared, they have always been remarkable for an extraordinary attachment to the horse. the use which they make of this animal, in sacrifice, will sufficiently account, in one way at least, for this peculiar feature in their character. many of the horses which have been stolen by them, since their arrival in europe, i am convinced, have been used in parting with their wives, an important religious ceremony--or at least a custom--which they would long remember and practise.[ ] [ ] what our author says, relative to the sacrifice of the horse, by the gipsies, not being known to the people of scotland at large, is equally applicable to the entire subject of the tribe. and we see here how admirably the passions--in this case, the prejudice and incredulity--of mankind are calculated to blind them to facts, perhaps to facts the most obvious and incontestible. what is stated of the gipsies in this work, generally, should be no matter of wonder; the real wonder, if wonder there should be, is that it should not have been known to the world before.--ed. [ ] grellmann says, of the hungarian gipsies, "the greatest luxury to them is when they can procure a roast of cattle that have died of any distemper, whether it be sheep, pig, cow, or other beast, _a horse only excepted_."--ed. it is the general opinion, founded chiefly upon the affinity of language, that this singular people migrated from hindostan. none of the authors on the gipsies, however, that i am aware of, have, in their researches, been able to discover, among the tribe, any customs of a religious nature, by which their religious notions and ceremonies, at the time they entered europe, could be ascertained. indeed, the learned and industrious grellmann expressly states that the gipsies did not bring any particular religion with them, from their native country, by which they could be distinguished from other people. the gipsy sacrifice of the horse, at parting with their wives, however, appears to be a remnant of the great hindoo religious sacrifice of the _aswamedha_, or _assummeed jugg_, observed by all the four principal castes in india, enumerated in the gentoo code of laws, translated from the persian copy, by nathaniel brassey halhed, and is proof, besides the similarity of language, that the gipsies are from hindostan. before the gentoo code of laws came into my hands, i was inclined to believe that this ceremony of sacrificing horses might be a tartar custom, as the ancient pagan tribes of tartary also sacrificed horses, on certain occasions; and my conjectures were countenanced by the gipsy and tartar ceremonies being somewhat similar in their details. indeed, in sweden and denmark, and in some parts of germany, the gipsies, as i have already stated, obtained the name of tartars. "they were not allowed the privilege of remaining unmolested in denmark, as the code of danish laws specifies: the tartar gipsies, who wander about everywhere, doing great damage to the people, by their lies, thefts, and witchcraft, shall be taken into custody by every magistrate." and it also appears, according to grellmann, that the gipsies sometimes called themselves tartars. if it was observed, on the continent, that they sacrificed horses, a custom very common at one time among the tartars, their supposed tartar origin would appear to have had some foundation. the tartar princes seem to have ratified and confirmed their military leagues by sacrificing horses and drinking of a running stream; and we find our scottish gipsies dissolving their matrimonial alliances by the solemn sacrifice of the same animal, while some gipsies state that horses were also, at one time, sacrificed at their marriage ceremonies. at these sacrifices of the scottish gipsies, no deity--no invisible agency--appears, as far as i am informed, to have been invoked by the sacrificers. i have alluded to this custom of the tartars, more particularly, to show that the gipsies are not the only people who have sacrificed horses. the ancient hindoos, as already stated, sacrificed horses. the greeks did the same to neptune; the ancient scandinavians to their god, assa-thor, the representative of the sun; and the persians, likewise, to the sun.[ ] but i am inclined to believe that the gipsy sacrifice of the horse is the remains of the great _assummeed jugg_ of the hindoos, observed by tribes of greater antiquity than the modern nations of india, as appears by the gentoo code of laws already referred to. [ ] it appears that the jews, when they lapsed into the grossest idolatry, dedicated horses to the sun. "and he (josiah) took away the horses that the kings of judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the lord, by the chamber of nathan-melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burnt the chariots of the sun with fire." ii kings, xxiii. . the sacrificing of horses is a curious as well as a leading and important fact in the history of the gipsies, and, as far as i know, is new to the world. i shall, in establishing its existence among the scottish gipsies, produce my authorities with my details. in the first place, it was, and i believe it still is, a general tradition, over almost all scotland, that, when the tinklers parted from their wives, the act of separation took place over the carcass of a dead horse. in respect to mcdonald's case, alluded to under the head of linlithgowshire gipsies, my informant, mr. alexander ramsay, late an officer of the excise, a very respectable man, who died in , at the age of years, stated to me that he saw mcdonald and his wife separated over the body of a dead horse, on a moor, at shieldhill, near falkirk, either in the year or , he was uncertain which. the horse was laying stretched out on the heath. the parties took hold of each other by the hand, and, commencing at the head of the dead animal, walked--the husband on one side, and the wife on the other--till they came to the tail, when, without speaking a word to each other, they parted, in opposite directions, as if proceeding on a journey. mr. ramsay said he never could forget the violent swing which mcdonald gave his wife at parting. the time of the day was a little after day-break. my informant, at the time, was going, with others, to shieldhill for coals, and happened to be passing over a piece of rising ground, when they came close upon the gipsies, in a hollow, quite unexpectedly to both parties. another aged man of credibility, of the name of james wilson, at north queensferry, also informed me that it was within his own knowledge, that a gipsy, of the name of john lundie, divorced four wives over dead horses, in the manner described. wilson further mentioned that, when gipsies were once regularly separated over a dead horse, they could never again be united in wedlock; and that, unless they were divorced in this manner, all the children which the female might have, subsequently to any other mode of separation, the husband was obliged to support. in fact, the transaction was not legal, according to the gipsy usages, without the horse. the facts of lundie, and another gipsy, of the name of drummond, having divorced many wives over dead horses, have been confirmed to me by several aged individuals who knew them personally. one intelligent gentleman, mr. richard baird, informed me that, in his youth, he actually saw john lundie separated from one of his wives over a dead horse, in the parish of carriden, near bo'ness. my father, who died in , at the age of nearly years, also stated that it was quite current, in tweed-dale, that mary yorkston, wife of matthew baillie, the gipsy chief, parted married couples of her tribe over dead horses. about ten years after receiving the above information, malcolm's anecdotes of the manners and customs of london came into my hands; wherein i found the following quotations, from a work published in , describing the different classes of impostors at that period in england: "patricos," says this old author, "are strolling priests; every hedge is their parish, and every wandering rogue their parishioner. the service, he saith, is the marrying of couples, without the gospels or book of common prayer; the solemnity whereof is this: the parties to be married find out a dead horse, or other beast; standing, one on the one side, and the other on the other, the patrico bids them live together till death part them; so, shaking hands, the wedding is ended." now the parties here described seem to have been no other than gipsies. but it also appears that the ceremony alluded to is that of dissolving a marriage, and not that of celebrating it. it is proper, however, to mention, as i have already done, that horses, at one time, were sacrificed at their marriages, as well as at their divorces. feeling now quite satisfied that gipsies were, at one time, actually separated over the bodies of dead horses, and horses only, (for i could find no other animal named but horses,) i proceeded to have the fact confirmed by the direct testimony of the people themselves. and whether these horses were sacrificed expressly for such purposes, or whether the rites were performed over horses accidentally found dead, i could not discover till the year . it occurred to me that the using of dead horses, in separating man and wife, was a remnant of some ancient ceremony, which induced me to persevere in my enquiries, for the purpose of ascertaining, if not the origin, at least the particulars, of so extraordinary a custom. in the year mentioned, and in the year following, i examined a gipsy on the subject; a man of about sixty years of age, who, a few years before, had given me a specimen of his language. he said that he himself had witnessed the sacrifices and ceremonies attending the separation of husband and wife. from this man i received the following curious particulars relative to the sacrifice of horses and ceremony of divorce; which i think may be depended on, as i was very careful in observing that his statements, taken down at four different times, agreed with each other. when the parties can no longer live together as husband and wife, and a separation for ever is finally determined on, a horse, without blemish, and in no manner of way lame, is led forth to the spot for performing the ceremony of divorce. the hour at which the rites must be performed is, if possible, twelve o'clock at noon, "when the sun is at his height."[ ] the gipsies present cast lots for the individual who is to sacrifice the animal, and whom they call the priest, for the time. the priest, with a long pole or staff in his hand,[ ] walks round and round the animal several times; repeating the names of all the persons in whose possession it has been, and extolling and expatiating on the rare qualities of so useful an animal. it is now let loose, and driven from their presence, to do whatever it pleases. the horse, perfect and free, is put in the room of the woman who is to be divorced; and by its different movements is the degree of her guilt ascertained. some of the gipsies now set off in pursuit of it, and endeavour to catch it. if it is wild and intractable, kicks, leaps dykes and ditches, scampers about, and will not allow itself to be easily taken hold of, the crimes and guilt of the woman are looked upon as numerous and heinous. if the horse is tame and docile, when it is pursued, and suffers itself to be taken without much trouble, and without exhibiting many capers, the guilt of the woman is not considered so deep and aggravated; and it is then sacrificed in her stead. but if it is extremely wild and vicious, and cannot be taken without infinite trouble, her crimes are considered exceedingly wicked and atrocious; and my informant said instances occurred in which both horse and woman were sacrificed at the same time; the death of the horse, alone, being then considered insufficient to atone for her excessive guilt. the individuals who catch the horse bring it before the priest. they repeat to him all the faults and tricks it had committed; laying the whole of the crimes of which the woman is supposed to have been guilty to its charge; and upbraiding and scolding the dumb creature, in an angry manner, for its conduct. they bring, as it were, an accusation against it, and plead for its condemnation. when this part of the trial is finished, the priest takes a large knife and thrusts it into the heart of the horse; and its blood is allowed to flow upon the ground till life is extinct. the dead animal is now stretched out upon the ground. the husband then takes his stand on one side of it, and the wife on the other; and, holding each other by the hand, repeat certain appropriate sentences in the gipsy language. they then quit hold of each other, and walk three times round the body of the horse, contrariwise, passing and crossing each other, at certain points, as they proceed in opposite directions. at certain parts of the animal, (the _corners_ of the horse, was the gipsy's expression,) such as the hind and fore feet, the shoulders and haunches, the head and tail, the parties halt, and face each other; and again repeat sentences, in their own speech, at each time they halt. the two last stops they make, in their circuit round the sacrifice, are at the head and tail. at the head, they again face each other, and speak; and lastly, at the tail, they again confront each other, utter some more gipsy expressions, shake hands, and finally part, the one going north, the other south, never again to be united in this life.[ ] immediately after the separation takes place, the woman receives a token, which is made of cast-iron, about an inch and a half square, with a mark upon it resembling the roman character, t. after the marriage has been dissolved, and the woman dismissed from the sacrifice, the heart of the horse is taken out and roasted with fire, then sprinkled with vinegar, or brandy, and eaten by the husband and his friends then present; the female not being allowed to join in this part of the ceremony. the body of the horse, skin and everything about it, except the heart, is buried on the spot; and years after the ceremony has taken place, the husband and his friends visit the grave of the animal, to see whether it has been disturbed. at these visits, they walk round about the grave, with much grief and mourning. [ ] this gipsy mentioned one particular instance of having seen a couple separated in this way, on a wild moor, near huntly, about the year . he particularly stated that a horse found dead would not do for a separation, but that one must be killed for the express purpose; and that "the sun must be at his height" before the horse could be properly sacrificed. from the fact of ramsay stumbling upon the gipsies "a little after day-break," it would seem that circumstances had compelled them to change the time, or adjourn the completion, of the sacrifice; or that the extreme wildness of the victim had prevented its being caught, and so led to the "violent swing which mcdonald gave his wife at parting." and it might be that ramsay had come upon them when mcdonald and his wife were performing the last part of the ceremony, or had caused them to finish it abruptly; as the old gipsy stated that not only are none but gipsies allowed to be present on such occasions, but that the greatest secrecy is observed, to prevent discovery by those who are not of the tribe. [ ] it appears all the gipsies, male as well as female, who perform ceremonies for their tribe, carry long staffs. in the institutes of menu, page , it is written: "the staff of a priest must be of such length as to reach his hair; that of a soldier to reach his forehead; and that of a merchant to reach the nose." [ ] that i might distinctly understand the gipsy, when he described the manner of crossing and wheeling round the corners of the horse, a common sitting-chair was placed on its side between us, which represented the animal lying on the ground. the husband may take another wife whenever he pleases, but the female is never permitted to marry again.[ ] the token, or rather bill of divorce, which she receives, must never be from about her person. if she loses it, or attempts to pass herself off as a woman never before married, she becomes liable to the punishment of death. in the event of her breaking this law, a council of the chiefs is held upon her conduct, and her fate is decided by a majority of the members; and, if she is to suffer death, her sentence must be confirmed by the king, or principal leader. the culprit is then tied to a stake, with an iron chain, and there cudgelled to death. the executioners do not extinguish life at one beating, but leave the unhappy woman for a little while, and return to her, and at last complete their work by despatching her on the spot. [ ] bright, on the spanish gipsies, says: "widows never marry again, are distinguished by mourning-veils, and black shoes made like those of a man; no slight mortification, in a country where the females are so remarkable for the beauty of their feet." it is most likely that _divorced female gipsies_ are confounded here with _widows_.--ed. i have been informed of an instance of a gipsy falling out with his wife, and, in the heat of his passion, shooting his own horse dead on the spot with his pistol, and forthwith performing the ceremony of divorce over the animal, without allowing himself a moment's time for reflection on the subject. some of the country-people observed the transaction, and were horrified at so extraordinary a proceeding. it was considered by them as merely a mad frolic of an enraged tinkler. it took place many years ago, in a wild, sequestered spot between galloway and ayrshire. this sacrifice of the horse is also observed by the gipsies of the russian empire. in the year , a russian gentleman of observation and intelligence, proprietor of estates on the banks of the don, stated to me that the gipsies in the neighbourhood of moscow, and on the don, several hundred versts from the sea of asoph, sacrificed horses, and ate part of their flesh, in the performance of some very ancient ceremony of idolatry. they sacrifice them under night, in the woods, as the practice is prohibited by the russian government. the police are often detecting the gipsies in these sacrifices, and the ceremony is kept as secret as possible. my informant could not go into the particulars of the gipsy sacrifice in russia; but there is little doubt that it is the same which the tribe performed in scotland. in russia, the gipsies, like those in this country, have a language peculiar to themselves, which they retain as a secret among their own fraternity. as regards the sacrificing of horses by the gipsies of scotland, at the present day, all that i can say is that i do not know of its taking place; nor has it been denied to me. the only conclusion to which i can come, in regard to the question, is that it is in the highest degree probable that, like their language and ceremony of marriage, it is still practised when it can be done. in carrying out this ceremony, there is an obstacle to be overcome which does not lay in the way of that of marriage, and it is this: where are many of the tinklers to find a horse, over which they can obtain a divorce? the difficulty with them is as great as it is with the people of england, who must, at a frightful expense, go to no less than the house of lords to obtain an act to separate legally from their unfaithful partners.[ ] the gipsies, besides being generally unable or unwilling to bear the expense of what will procure them a release in their own way, find it a difficult matter, in these days, to steal, carry off, and dispose of such a bulky article as a horse, in the sacrifice of which they will find a new wife. i am not aware how they get quit of this solemn and serious difficulty, beyond this, that a gipsy, a native of yetholm, informed me that some of his brethren in that colony knock down their _asses_, for the purpose of parting with their wives, at the present day.[ ] [ ] this difficulty has been removed by recent legislation.--ed. [ ] "an ass is sometimes sacrificed by religious mendicants, as an atonement for some fault by which they had forfeited their rank as devotees."--_account of the hindoos._ as the code of the ancient laws of hindostan is not in the hands of every one, i shall here transcribe from the work the account of the gentoo institution of the _aswamedha_ or the _assummeed jugg_,[ ] that the reader may compare it with the gipsy sacrifice of horses; for which, owing to its length, i must crave his indulgence. it is under the chapter of evidence, and is as follows: "an _assummeed jugg_ is when a person, having commenced a jugg, writes various articles upon a scroll of paper on a horse's neck, and dismisses the horse, sending, along with the horse, a stout and valiant person, equipped with the best necessaries and accoutrements, to accompany the horse day and night, whithersoever he shall choose to go; and if any creature, either man, genius or dragon, should seize the horse, that man opposes such attempt, and, having gained the victory, upon a battle, again gives the horse his freedom. if any one in this world, or in heaven, or beneath the earth, would seize this horse, and the horse of himself comes to the house of the celebrator of the _jugg_, upon killing that horse, he must throw the flesh of him upon the fire of the _juk_, and utter the prayers of his deity; such a _jugg_ is called a _jugg assummeed_, and the merit of it, as a religious work, is infinite." _page ._ [ ] jugg, in hindostanee, is a word which signifies a religious ceremony; hence the well-known temple juggernaut. in another part of the same chapter of the hindoo code of laws, are the following particulars relative to horses, which show the great respect in which these animals were held among the ancient natives of hindostan. "in an affair concerning a horse: if any person gives false evidence, his guilt is as great as the guilt of murdering one hundred persons." _page ._ in the asiatic researches, the sacrifice of the horse is frequently noticed; and in sir william jones' institutes of menu, chapter viii., page , it is said: "a false witness, in the case of a horse, kills, or incurs the guilt of killing, one hundred kinsmen." "the _aswamedha_, or sacrifice of the horse: considerable difficulties usually attend that ceremony; for the consecrated horse was to be set at liberty for a certain time, and followed at a distance by the owner, or his champion, who was usually one of his near kinsmen; and if any person should attempt to stop it in its rambles, a battle must inevitably ensue; besides, as the performer of an hundred _aswamedhas_ became equal to the god of the firmaments." (_asiatic researches, vol._ iii., _page _.) "the inauguration of _indra_, (the indian god of the firmaments,) it appears, was performed by sacrificing an hundred horses. it is imagined that this celebration becomes a cause of obtaining great power and universal monarchy; and many of the kings in ancient india performed this sacrifice at their inauguration, similar to that of indra's." "these monarchs were consecrated by these great sacrifices, with a view to become universal conquerors." (_asiatic researches._) it appears, by the hindoo mythology, that _indra_ was at one time a mere mortal, but by sacrificing an hundred horses, he became sovereign of the firmament; and that should any indian monarch succeed in immolating an hundred horses, he would displace _indra_. the above are literal and simple facts, which took place in performing the sacrifice; but the following is the explanation of the mystic signification contained in the ceremony. "the _assummeed jugg_ does not merely consist in the performance of that ceremony which is open to the inspection of the world, namely, in bringing a horse, and sacrificing him; but _assummeed_ is to be taken in a mystic signification, as implying that the sacrificer must look upon himself to be typified in that horse, such as he shall be described; because the religious duty of the _assummeed jugg_ comprehends all those other religious duties, to the performance of which all the wise and holy direct all their actions; and by which all the sincere professors of every different faith aim at perfection. the mystic signification thereof is as follows: the head of that unblemished horse is the symbol of the morning; his eyes are the sun; his breath the wind; his wide-opening mouth is the _bishw[=a]ner_, or that innate warmth which invigorates all the world; his body typifies one entire year; his back, paradise; his belly, the plains; his hoof, this earth; his sides, the four quarters of the heavens; the bones thereof, the intermediate spaces between the four quarters; the rest of his limbs represent all distinct matter; the places where those limbs meet, or his joints, imply the months, and halves of the months, which are called _p[)e]ch[)e]_ (or fortnights); his feet signify night and day; and night and day are of four kinds; first, the night and day of brihma; second, the night and day of angels; third, the night and day of the world of the spirits of deceased ancestors; fourth, the night and day of mortals. these four kinds are typified in his four feet. the rest of his bones are the constellations of the fixed stars, which are the twenty-eight stages of the moon's course, called the lunar year; his flesh is the clouds; his food the sand; his tendons the rivers; his spleen and liver the mountains; the hair of his body the vegetables, and his long hair the trees. the fore part of his body typifies the first half of the day, and the hinder part the latter half; his yawning is the flash of the lightning, and his turning himself is the thunder of the cloud; his urine represents the rain; and his mental reflection is his only speech. "the golden vessels, which are prepared before the horse is let loose, are the light of the day; and the place where these vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of the east; the silver vessels, which are prepared after the horse is let loose, are the light of the night; and the place where those vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of the west. these two sorts of vessels are always before and after the horse. the arabian horse, which, on account of his swiftness, is called _hy_, is the performer of the journeys of angels; the _t[=a]jee_, which is of the race of persian horses, is the performer of the journeys of the _kundherps_ (or the good spirits); the _w[=a]zb[=a]_, which is of the race of the deformed _t[=a]jee_ horses, is the performer of the journeys of _jins_ (or demons); and the _ashoo_, which is of the race of turkish horses, is the performer of the journeys of mankind. this one horse which performs these several services, on account of his four different sorts of riders, obtains the four different appellations. the place where this horse remains is the great ocean, which signifies the great spirit of _perm-atm[=a]_, or the universal soul, which proceeds also from that _perm-atm[=a]_, and is comprehended in the same _perm-atm[=a]_. "the intent of this sacrifice is, that a man should consider himself to be in the place of that horse, and look upon all these articles as typified in himself; and conceiving the _atm[=a]_ (or divine soul) to be an ocean, should let all thought of self be absorbed in that _atm[=a]_." _page ._ mr. halhed, the translator, justly observes: "this is the very acme and enthusiasm of allegory, and wonderfully displays the picturesque powers of fancy in an asiatic genius; yet, unnatural as the account there stands, it is seriously credited by the hindoos of all denominations." on the other hand, he thinks there is a great resemblance between this very ancient hindoo ceremony and the sacrifice of the scape-goat, in the bible, described in the st and d verses of the th chapter of leviticus, viz.: "and aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of israel, and all their transgressions, in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat; and shall send him away, by the hand of a fit man, into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat into the wilderness." _page ._ in the same manner, all the iniquities of the sacrificer, in the gentoo ceremony, are laid upon the horse, which is let loose, and attended by a stout and valiant person. the same is done in the gipsy sacrifice, as typifying the woman to be divorced. the resemblance between the gipsy and the hindoo sacrifice is close and striking in their general bearings. the hindoo sacrificer is typified in the horse, and his sins are ascertained and described by the motions or movements of the animal; for if the horse is very docile and tame, and of its own accord comes to the hindoo celebrator of the sacrifice, his merits are then infinite, and extremely acceptable to the deity worshipped. in the gipsy sacrifice, if the horse is in like manner quiet, and easily caught, the woman, whom it represents, is then comparatively innocent. in india, part of the _flesh_ of the horse was eaten: among the gipsies, the _heart_ is eaten. the hindoos sacrificed their _enemies_, by substituting for them a _buffalo_, &c.: the gipsies sacrifice their _unfaithful wives_, by the substitute of a _horse_. in the hindoo sacrifice, particular parts of the horse allegorically represent certain parts of the earth: at certain parts of the horse, (the _corners_, as the gipsies call them,) the gipsies, in their circuit round the animal, halt, and utter particular sentences in their own language, as if these parts were of more importance, and had more influence, than the other parts. and it is probable that, in these sentences, some invisible agency was addressed and invoked by the gipsies. as the _aswamedha_, or sacrifice of the horse, was the most important of all the religious ceremonies of every caste of hindoos, in ancient india, so it would be the last to be forgotten by the wandering gipsies. and as both sacrificed at twelve o'clock, noon, i am inclined to believe that both offered their sacrifice to the sun, the animating soul of universal nature. as already stated, the gipsies, while travelling, assume new names every morning before setting out; but when noon-tide arrives, they resume their permanent english ones. this custom is practised daily, and has undoubtedly also some reference to the sun. by the account of the gipsy already mentioned, the horse must, if possible, be killed at noon. according to southey, in his curse of kehamah, the sacrifice of the horse in india was performed at the same time. colonel tod, in his history of india, says: "the sacrifice of the horse is the most imposing, and the earliest, heathenish rite on record, and was dedicated to the sun, anciently, in india." according to the same author, the horse in india must be milk-white, with particular marks upon it. the gipsy's horse to be sacrificed must be sound, and without blemish; but no particular colour is mentioned. according to halhed, the horse sacrificed in india was also without blemish. i have, perhaps, been too minute and tedious in describing these rites and ceremonies of the gentoos; but the singular fact that our scottish tinklers yet--at least till very lately--retained the important fragments of the ancient mythology of the pagan tribes of hindostan, is offered as an apology to the curious reader for the trouble of perusing the details. i shall only add, that there appears to be nearly as great a resemblance between the sacrifices of the gipsies and the ancient hindoos, as there is affinity between modern hindostanee and the language of the gipsies in scotland, at the present day, as will be seen in the following chapter. chapter ix. language. the scottish gipsies appear to be extremely tenacious of retaining their language, as their principal secret, among themselves, and seem, from what i have read on the subject, to be much less communicative, on this and other matters relative to their history, than those of england and other countries. on speaking to them of their speech, they exhibit an extraordinary degree of fear, caution, reluctance, distrust, and suspicion; and, rather than give any information on the subject, will submit to any self-denial. it has been so well retained among themselves, that i believe it is scarcely credited, even by individuals of the greatest intelligence, that it exists at all, at the present day, but as slang, used by common thieves, house-breakers and beggars, and by those denominated flash and family men.[ ] [ ] before considering this trait in the character of the scottish gipsies, it may interest the reader to know that the same peculiarity obtains among those on the continent. of the hungarian gipsies, grellmann writes: "it will be recollected, from the first, how great a secret they make of their language, and how suspicious they appear when any person wishes to learn a few words of it. even if the gipsy is not perverse, he is very inattentive, and is consequently likely to answer some other rather than the true gipsy word." of the hungarian gipsies, bright says: "no one, who has not had experience, can conceive the difficulty of gaining intelligible information, from people so rude, upon the subject of their language. if you ask for a word, they give you a whole sentence; and on asking a second time, they give the sentence a totally different turn, or introduce some figure altogether new. thus it was with our gipsy, who, at length, tired of our questions, prayed most piteously to be released; which we granted him, only on condition of his returning in the evening." of the spanish gipsies, mr. borrow writes: "it is only by listening attentively to the speech of the gitanos, whilst discoursing among themselves, that an acquaintance with their dialect can be formed, and by seizing upon all unknown words, as they fall in succession from their lips. nothing can be more useless and hopeless than the attempt to obtain possession of their vocabulary, by enquiring of them how particular objects and ideas are styled in the same; for, with the exception of the names of the most common things, they are totally incapable, as a spanish writer has observed, of yielding the required information; owing to their great ignorance, the shortness of their memories, or, rather, the state of bewilderment to which their minds are brought by any question which tends to bring their reasoning faculties into action; though, not unfrequently, the very words which have been in vain required of them will, a minute subsequently, proceed inadvertently from their mouths." what has been said by the two last-named writers is very wide of the mark; grellmann, however, hits it exactly. the gipsies have excellent memories. it is all they have to depend on. if they had not good memories, how could they, at the present day, speak a word of their language at all? the difficulty in question is down-right shuffling, and not a want of memory on the part of the gipsy. the present chapter will throw some light on the subject. even mr. borrow himself gives an ample refutation to his sweeping account of the spanish gipsies, in regard to their language; for, in another part of his work, he says: "i recited the apostles' creed to the gipsies, sentence by sentence, which they translated as i proceeded. they exhibited the greatest eagerness and interest in their unwonted occupation, and frequently broke into loud disputes as to the best rendering, many being offered at the same time. i then read the translation aloud, whereupon they raised a shout of exultation, and appeared not a little proud of the composition." on this occasion, mr. borrow evidently had the gipsies in the right humour--that is, off their guard, excited, and much interested in the subject. he says, in another place: "the language they speak among themselves, and they are particularly anxious to keep others in ignorance of it." as a general thing, they seem to have been bored by people much above them in the scale of society; with whom, their natural politeness, and expectations of money or other benefits, would naturally lead them to do anything than give them that which it is inborn in their nature to keep to themselves.--ed. among the causes contributing to this state of things among the scottish gipsies, and what are called tinklers or tinkers, for they are the same people, may be mentioned the following: the traditional accounts of the numerous imprisonments, banishments, and executions, which many of the race underwent, for merely being "by habit and repute gipsies," under the severe laws passed against them, are still fresh in the memories of the present generation. they still entertain the idea that they are a persecuted race, and liable, if known to be gipsies, to all the penalties of the statutes framed for the extirpation of the whole people. but, apart from this view of the question, it may be asked, how is it that the gipsies in scotland are more reserved, (they are generally altogether silent,) in respect to themselves, than their brethren in other countries seem to be? it may be answered, that our scottish tribes are, in general, much more civilized, their bands more broken up, and the individuals more mixed with, and scattered through, the general population of the country, than the gipsies of other nations; and it therefore appears to me that the more their blood gets mixed with that of the ordinary natives, and the more they approach to civilization, the more determinedly will they conceal every particular relative to their tribe, to prevent their neighbours ascertaining their origin and nationality. the slightest taunting allusion to the forefathers of half-civilized scottish tinklers kindles up in their breasts a storm of wrath and fury: for they are extremely sensitive to the feeling which is entertained toward their tribe by the other inhabitants of the country.[ ] "i have," said one of them to me, "wrought all my life in a shop with fellow-tradesmen, and not one of them ever discovered that i knew a single gipsy word." a gipsy woman also informed me that herself and sister had nearly lost their lives, on account of their language. the following are the particulars: the two sisters chanced to be in a public-house near alloa, when a number of colliers, belonging to the coal-works at sauchie, were present. the one sister, in a low tone of voice, and in the gipsy language, desired the other, among other things, to make ready some broth for their repast. the colliers took hold of the two gipsy words, _shaucha_ and _blawkie_, which signify broth and pot; thinking the tinkler women were calling them _sauchie blackies_, in derision and contempt of their dark, subterraneous calling. the consequence was, that the savage colliers attacked the innocent tinklers, calling out that they would "grind them to powder," for calling them _sauchie blackies_. but the determined gipsies would rather perish than explain the meaning of the words in english, to appease the enraged colliers; "for," said they, "it would have exposed our tribe, and made ourselves odious to the world." the two defenceless females might have been murdered by their brutal assailants, had not the master of the house fortunately come to their assistance. the poor gipsies felt the effects of the beating they had received, for many months thereafter; and my informant had not recovered from her bruises at the time she mentioned the circumstances to me.[ ] [ ] this opinion is confirmed by the fact that the gipsies whom the rev. mr. crabbe has civilized will not now be seen among the others of the tribe, at his annual festival, at southampton. we have already seen, under the head of continental gipsies, that "those who are gold-washers in transylvania and the banat have no intercourse with others of their nation; nor do they like to be called gipsies." [ ] on the whole, however, our scottish peasantry, in some districts, do not greatly despise the tinklers; at least not to the same extent as the inhabitants of some other countries seem to do. when not involved in quarrels with the gipsies, our country people, with the exception of a considerable portion of the land-owners, were, and are even yet, rather fond of the _superior_ families of the _nomadic_ class of these people, than otherwise. they are also anxious to retain their language, as a secret among themselves, for the use which it is to them in conducting business in markets or other places of public resort. but they are very chary of the manner in which they employ it on such occasions. besides this, they display all the pride and vanity in possessing the language which is common with linguists generally. the determined and uniform principle laid down by them, to avoid all communications with "strangers" on the subject, and their resolution to keep it a secret within their own tribe, will be strikingly illustrated by the following facts. for seven years, a woman, of the name of baillie, about fifty years of age, and the mother of a family, called regularly at my house, twice a year, while on her peregrinations through the country, selling spoons and other articles made from horn. every time i saw her, i endeavoured to prevail upon her to give me some of her secret speech, as i was certain she was acquainted with the gipsy tongue. but, not to alarm her by calling it by that name, i always said to her, in a jocular manner, that it was the _mason_ word i wished her to teach me. she, however, as regularly and firmly declared that she knew of no such language among the tinklers. i always treated her kindly, and desired her to continue her visits. i gave her, each time she called, a glass of spirits, a piece of flesh, and such articles; and generally purchased some trifle from her, for which i intentionally paid her more than its value. she so far yielded to my importunities, that, for the last three years she called, she went the length of saying that she would tell me "something" the next time she came back. but when she returned, she guardedly evaded all my questions, by constantly repeating nearly the same answer, such as, "i will speak to you the next time i come back, sir." after having been put off for _seven_ years in this manner, i was determined to put her to the usual test, should she never enter my door again, and, as she was walking out of the gate of my garden, i called to her, in the gipsy language, "_jaw vree, managie!_"--(go away, woman.) she immediately turned round, and, laughing, replied, "i will _jaw_ with you when i come back, _gaugie_"--(i will go or speak with you, when i come back, man.) she returned, as usual, in december following. i again requested her to give me some of her words, assuring her that she would be in no danger from me on that account. i further told her it was of no use to conceal her speech from me, having, the last time she was in my house, shown her that i was acquainted with it. after considerable hesitation and reluctance, she consented; but then, she said, she would not allow any one in the house to hear her speak to me but my wife. i took her at once into my parlour, and, on being desired, she, without the least hesitation or embarrassment, took the seat next the fire. observing the door of the room a little open, she desired it to be shut, in case of her being overheard, again mentioning that she had no objections to my wife being present, and gravely observing that "husbands and wives were one, and should know all one another's secrets." she stated that the public would look upon her with horror and contempt, were it known she could speak the gipsy language. she was extremely civil and intelligent, yet placed me upon a familiar equality with herself, when she found i knew of the existence of her speech, and could repeat some of the words of it. her nature, to appearance, seemed changed. her bold and fiery disposition was softened and subdued. she was very frank and polite; retained her self-possession, and spoke with great propriety.[ ] the words which i got on this occasion will be found in another part of the chapter. [ ] their (the female's) speech is as fluent, and their eyes as unabashed, in the presence of royalty, as before those from whom they have nothing to hope or fear; the result of which is, that most minds quail before them.--_borrow on the spanish gipsies._--ed. in corroboration of this principle of concealment observed by the scottish gipsies, relative to their language, i may give a fact which will show how artful they are in avoiding any allusion to it. one evening, as a band of _potters_, with a cart of earthenware, were travelling on the high-road, in a wild glen in the south of scotland, a brother of mine overheard them, male and female, conversing in a language, a word of which he did not understand. as the road was very bad, and the night dark, one of the females of the band was a few yards in advance of the cart, acting as a guide to the horde. every now and then, among other unintelligible expressions, she called out "_shan drom_." my brother's curiosity was excited by hearing the potters conversing in this manner, and, next morning, he went to where they lodged, in an out-house on the farm, and enquired of the female what she was saying on the road, the night before, and what she meant by "_shan drom_." the woman appeared confused at the unexpected question; but in a short time recovered her self-possession, and artfully replied that they were talking _latin_(_!_) and that "_shan drom_," in latin, signified "bad road." but the truth is, "_shan drom_" is the gipsy expression for bad road, as will by and by be seen. besides the difficulties mentioned in the way of getting any of their language from them, there is a general one that arises from the suspicious, unsettled, restless, fickle and volatile nature by which they are characterized. it is a rare thing to get them to speak consecutively for more than a few minutes on any subject, thus precluding the possibility, in most instances, of taking advantage of any favourable humour in which they may be found, in the matter of their general history--leaving alone the formal and serious procedure necessary to be followed in regard to their language. if this favourable turn in their disposition is allowed to pass, it is rarely anything of that nature can be got from them at that meeting; and it is extremely likely that, at any after interviews, they will entirely evade the matter so much desired. with these remarks, i will now proceed to state the method i adopted to get at the gipsy language. short vocabularies of the language of the _tschengenes_ of turkey, the _cyganis_ of hungary, the _zigeuners_ of germany, the _gitanos_ of spain, and the _gipsies_ of england, have, at different periods, since , issued from the press, in this country and in germany; but i am not aware of any specimens of our scottish _tinkler_ or gipsy language having as yet been submitted to the public. some of the former i committed to memory, and used, intermixed with english words, in questions i would put to the scottish gipsies. in this way, one word would lead to another. i would address them in a confident and familiar manner, as if i were one of themselves, and knew exactly who they were, and all about them. i would, for instance, ask them: have you a _grye_ (horse)? how many _chauvies_ (children) have you? where is your _gaugie_ (husband)? do you sell _roys_ (spoons)? being taken completely by surprise, they would give me at once a true answer. for, being the first, as far as i know, to apply the language of the gipsies of the continent to our own tribes, they could naturally have no hesitation in replying to my questions; although they would wonder what kind of a gipsy i could possibly be--dressed, as i was, in black, with black neck-cloth, and no display of linen, save a ruffled breast, thick-soled shoes and gaiters. the consequence was, i became a character of interest to many of the gipsies to be found in a circuit of many miles; and great wonder was excited in their untutored minds, leading to a desire to see, and know something of, the _riah nawken_, or the gentleman gipsy. on such occasions, i would treat them as i would land a fish--give them hook and line enough. but the circumstance was to them something incomprehensible, for, although gipsies are very ready-witted, and possess great natural resources, in thieving, and playing tricks of every kind, and great tact in getting out of difficulties of that nature--which, with them, are matters of instinct, training, and practice--their whole mind being bent, and exclusively employed, in that direction, it was almost impossible for them to form any intelligible opinion as to my true character, provided i was any way discreet in disguising my real position among them. as little chance was there of any of themselves informing the others of what assistance they had inadvertently been to me, in getting at their language. some of them might have an idea that one of their race had, in their own way of thinking, peached, turned traitor to their blood, and let the cat out of the bag. at times, if they happened to see me approach them, so as to have an opportunity to scrutinize me--which they are much given to, with people generally--they would not be so easily disconcerted at any question put to them in their language; but the result would be either direct replies, or the most ludicrous scenes of surprise and terror imaginable, which, to be enjoyed, were only to be seen, but could not be described, although the sequel will in some measure illustrate them. at other times, if i addressed a gipsy in his own language, and spoke to him in a kind and familiar manner, as if i had been soothing a wild and unmanageable horse, before mounting him, he would either very awkwardly pretend not to understand what i meant, or, with a downcast and guilty look, and subdued voice, immediately answer my gipsy words in english. but if i put the words to him in an abrupt, hasty, or threatening manner, he would either take to his heels, or turn upon me, like a tiger, and pour out upon me a torrent of abusive language. the following instances will show the manner in which my use of their language was sometimes appreciated by the female gipsies. when i spoke in a sharp manner to some of the old women, on the high-road, by way of testing them, they would quicken their paces, look over their shoulders, and call out, in much bitterness of spirit, "you are no gentleman, sir, otherwise you would not insult us in that way." on one occasion, i observed a woman with her son, who appeared about twelve years of age, lingering near a house at which they had no business, and i desired her, rather sharply, to leave the place, telling her that i was afraid her chauvie was a _chor_--(that her son was a thief). i used these two words merely to see what effect they would have upon her, as i did not really think she was a gipsy. she instantly flew into a dreadful passion, telling me that i had been among thieves and robbers myself, otherwise i could not speak to her in such words as these. she threatened to go to edinburgh, to inform the police that i was the head and captain of a band of thieves,[ ] and that she would have me immediately apprehended as such. four sailors who were present with me were astonished at the sudden wrath and insolence of the woman, as they could not perceive any provocation she had received from me--being ignorant of the meaning of the words _chauvie_ and _chor_, which i applied to her boy. [ ] this woman evidently mistook our author for a gipsy _gent_, such as he is described at page .--ed. one day i fell in by chance, on a lonely part of the old public road, on the hills within half a mile of the village of north queensferry, with a woman of about twenty-seven years of age, and the mother, as she said, of seven children. she had light hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. the youngest of her children appeared to be about nine months old, and the eldest about ten years. the mother was dressed in a brown cloak, and the group had altogether a very squalid appearance. in the most lamentable tone of voice, she informed me that her husband had set off with another woman, and left her and her seven children to starve; and that he had been lately employed at a paper-mill in mid-lothian. she sometimes appeared almost to choke with grief, but, nevertheless, i observed no tears in her eyes. she often repeated, in a sort of hypocritical and canting manner, "the lord has been very kind to me, and will still protect me and my helpless babes. last night we all slept in the open fields, and gathered peas and beans from the stubble for our suppers." she certainly seemed to be in very indigent circumstances; but that her husband had abandoned her, i did not credit. however, i gave her a few half-pence, for which she thanked me very civilly. from her extravagant behaviour, and a peculiar wildness in her looks, it occurred to me that she belonged to the lowest caste of gipsies, although her appearance did not indicate it; that her grief was, for the most part, feigned, and that the story of her husband having abandoned her was got up merely to excite pity, for the purpose of procuring a little money for the subsistence of her band. i now put a number of questions to her, relative to many individuals whom i knew were gipsies of a superior class, taking care not to call them by that name, in case of alarming her. i spoke to her as if i had been quite intimate with all the persons i was enquiring about. she gave me satisfactory answers to almost every question, and seemed well acquainted with every individual i named. she now appeared quite calm and collected, and answered me very gravely. but she said that some of the men i mentioned were rogues, and that their wives played many clever tricks. on mentioning the tricks of the wives, i noticed a smile come over her countenance. i observed to her that they were not faultless, but that they were often blamed for crimes of which they were not guilty. upon perceiving that i took their part, which i did on purpose, to hear what she would say, she gradually changed her mind, and came over to my opinion. she said that they were exceedingly good-hearted people, and that some of them had frequently paid a night's lodging for herself and family. i now ventured to put a question to her, half in gipsy and half in english. after a short pause and hesitation, she signified that she understood what i said. i then asked one or two questions in gipsy words only. a gipsy, with crockery-ware in a basket, happened to pass us at the very moment i was speaking to her; and to show her the knowledge i had of her speech and people, i said, "there is a _nawken_"--(there is a gipsy.) she, in a very civil and polite manner, immediately replied, "sir, i hope you will not take it ill, when i use the freedom of saying that you must have been among the people you are enquiring about, otherwise you could not speak to me in that way." to show her that i did not despise her for understanding my gipsy words, i gave her a few pence more, and spoke kindly to her. she then became quite cheerful and frank, as if we had been old acquaintances. instead of trying to impose upon me, by tales of grief and woe, and feigned piety, she appeared happy and contented, her whole conduct indicating that it was useless to play off her tricks upon me, as she was now sensible that i knew exactly what she was, and yet did not treat her contemptuously. she said her husband's name was wilson, and her own jackson, (the names of two gipsy tribes;) that she could tell fortunes, and was acquainted with the _irish_ words i spoke, being afraid to call them by their right name. she further stated that every one of the people i was enquiring about spoke in the same language. about half an hour after i parted with her, on the road, i met her in the village of north queensferry, while i was walking with a friend. i then put a question to her in gipsy words, in the presence of this third party, who knew not what she was, to see how she would conduct herself in public. she seemed surprised at my question, as if she did not understand a word of it--to prevent it being discovered to others of the community that she was a gipsy. but she publicly praised me highly, for having given her something to help her poor children; and, with her trumped-up story at her tongue's end, proceeded on her travels. these poor people were much alarmed when i let them see that i knew they were gipsies. they thought i was despising them, and treating them with contempt; or they were afraid of being apprehended under the old sanguinary laws, condemning the whole unfortunate race to death; for the gipsies, as i have already said, still believe that these bloody statutes are in full force against them at the present day. i was advised by sir walter scott, as mentioned in the introduction, to "get the same words from different individuals; and, to verify the collection, to set down the names of the persons by whom they were communicated;" which i have done. for this reason, the words now furnished will appear as the confessions of so many individuals, rather than a vocabulary drawn up in the manner in which such is usually done; and which will be more satisfactory to the general reader, as well as the philologist, than if i had presented the words by themselves, without any positive or circumstantial evidence of their genuineness. to the general reader, as distinguished from the philologist, the anecdotes connected with the collection may prove interesting, if the words themselves have no attraction for him; while they will satisfy the latter, as far as they go, as to the existence of a language which has almost always been denied, yet which is known, at the present day, to a greater number of the population of the country than could at first have been imagined; this part of it having been drawn from a variety of individuals, at different and widely-separated times and places. on this account, i hope that the minuteness of the details of the present enquiry may not appear tedious, but, on the contrary, interesting, to my readers generally; inasmuch as the present collection is the first, as far as i know, of the scottish gipsy language that has ever been made; although the people themselves have lived amongst us for three hundred and fifty years, and talked it every hour of the day, but hardly ever in the hearing of the other inhabitants, excepting, occasionally, a word of it now and then, to disguise their discourse from those around them; which, on being questioned, they have always passed off for _cant_, to prevent the law taking hold of them, and punishing them for being gipsies. these details will also show that our scottish tinklers, or gipsies, are sprung from the common stock from which are descended those that are to be found in the other parts of europe, as well as those that are scattered over the world generally; what secrecy they observe in all matters relative to their affairs; what an extraordinary degree of reluctance and fear they evince in answering questions tending to develop their history; and, consequently, how difficult it is to learn anything satisfactory about them.[ ] [ ] it would be well for the reader to consider what a _gipsy is_, irrespective of the _language which he speaks_; for the _race_ comes _before_ the _speech_ which it uses. that will be done fully in my disquisition on the gipsies. the language, considered in itself, however interesting it may be, is a secondary consideration; it may ultimately disappear, while the people who now speak it will remain.--ed. i fell in one day, on the public road, with an old woman and her two daughters, of the name of ross, selling horn spoons, made by andrew stewart, a tinkler at bo'ness. i repeated to the woman, in the shape of questions, some of the gipsy words presented in these pages. she at first affected, though very awkwardly, not to understand what i said, but in a few minutes, with some embarrassment in her manner, acknowledged that she knew the speech, and gave me the english of the following words: _gaugie_, man. _managie_, woman. _chauvies_, children. _grye_, horse. _grye-femler_, horse-dealer. _roys_, spoons. i observed to this woman, that i saw no harm in speaking this language openly and publicly. "none in the least, sir," was her reply. two girls, of the name of jamieson, came one day begging to my door. they appeared to be sisters, of about eight and seventeen years of age, and were pretty decently clothed. both had light-blue eyes, light-yellow, or rather flaxen, hair, and fair complexions. to ascertain whether they were tinklers or not, i put some gipsy words to the eldest girl. she immediately hung down her head, as if she had been detected in a crime, and, pretending not to understand what was said, left the house; but, after proceeding about twelve paces, she took courage, turned round, and, with a smile upon an agreeable countenance, called back, "there are eleven of us, sir." i had enquired of her how many children there were of her family. i called both the girls back to my house, and ordered them some victuals, for which they were extremely grateful, and seemed much pleased that they were kindly treated. after i had discovered they were gipsies, i wormed out of them the following words: _gaugie_, man. _managie_, woman. _chauvies_, children. _grye_, horse. _jucal_, dog. when i enquired of the eldest girl the english of _jucal_, she did not, at first, catch the sound of the word; but her little sister looked up in her face, and said to her, "don't you hear? that is dog. it is dog he means." the other then added, with a downcast look, and a melancholy tone of voice, "you gentlemen understand all languages now-a-days." at another time, four or five children were loitering about, and diverting themselves, before the door of a house, near inverkeithing. the youngest appeared about five, and the eldest about thirteen years of age. one of the boys, of the name of mcdonald, stepped forward, and asked some money from me in charity. from his importunate manner of begging, i suspected the children were gipsies, although their appearance did not indicate them to be of that race. after some questions put to them about their parents and their occupations, they gave me the english of the following words: _gaugie_, man. _chauvies_, children. _riah_, gentleman. _grye_, horse. _jucal_, dog. _aizel_, ass. _lowa_, silver. _chor_, thief. _staurdie_, prison. _bing_, the devil. a gentleman, an acquaintance of mine, was in my presence while the children were answering my words; and as the subject of their language was new to him, i made some remarks to him in their hearing, relative to their tribe, which greatly displeased them. one of the boys called out to me, with much bitterness of expression, "you are a gipsy yourself, sir, or you never could have got these words." some years since, a female, of the name of ruthven, was in the habit of calling at a farm occupied by one of my brothers. my mother, being interested about the gipsies, began, on one occasion, to question this female tinkler, relative to her tribe, and, among other things, asked if she was a gipsy. "yes," replied ruthven, "i am a gipsy, and a desperate, murdering race we are. i will let you hear me speak our language, but what the better will you be of that?" she accordingly uttered a few sentences, and then said, "now, are you any the wiser of what you have heard? but that infant," pointing to her child of about five years of age, "understands every word i speak." "i know," continued the tinkler, "that the public are trying to find out the secrets of the gipsies, but it is in vain." this woman further stated that her tribe would be exceedingly displeased, were it known that any of their fraternity taught their language to "strangers."[ ] she also mentioned that the gipsies believe that the laws which were enacted for their extirpation were yet in full force against them. i may mention, however, that she could put confidence in the family in whose house she made these confessions. [ ] the gipsies are always afraid to say what they would do in such cases. perhaps they don't know, but have only a general impression that the individual would "catch it;" or there may be some old law on the subject. what ruthven said of her's being a desperate race is true enough, and murderous too, among themselves as distinguished from the inhabitants generally. her remark was evidently part of that _frightening_ policy which keeps the natives from molesting the tribe. see page .--ed. on another occasion, a female, with three or four children, the eldest of whom was not above ten years of age, came up to me while speaking to an innkeeper, on a public pier on the banks of the forth. she stated to us that her property had been burned to the ground, and her family reduced to beggary, and solicited charity of us both. after receiving a few half-pence from the innkeeper, she continued her importunities with an unusual impertinence, and hung upon me for a contribution. her barefaced conduct displeased me. i thought i would put her to the test, and try if she was not a gipsy. deepening the tone of my voice, i called out to her, in an angry manner, "_sallah, jaw drom_"--("curse you, take the road.") the woman instantly wheeled about, uttered not another word, but set off, with precipitation; and so alarmed were her children, that they took hold of her clothes, to hasten and pull her out of my presence; calling to her, at the same time, "mother, mother, come away." mine host, the innkeeper, was amazed at the effectual manner in which i silenced and dismissed the importunate and troublesome beggars. he was anxious that i should teach him the unknown words that had so terrified the poor gipsies; with the design, it appeared to me, of frightening others, should they molest him with their begging. had i not proved this family by the language, it was impossible for any one to perceive that the group were gipsies. in prosecuting my enquiries into the existence of the gipsy language, i paid a visit to lochgellie, once the residence of four or five families of gipsies, as already mentioned, and procured an interview with young andrew steedman, a member of the tribe. at first, he appeared much alarmed, and seemed to think i had a design to do him harm. his fears, however, were in a short while calmed; and, after much reluctance, he gave me the following words and expressions, with the corresponding english significations. like a true gipsy, the first expression which he uttered, as if it came the readiest to him, was, "_choar a chauvie_"--("rob that person") which he pronounced with a smile on his countenance. _gaugie_, man. _gourie_, man. _managie_, woman. _chauvie_, a person of either sex. _chauvies_, children. _been gaugie_, gentleman. _been gourie_, gentleman. _rajah_, a chief, governor. _baurie rajah_, the king. _greham_, horse. _grye_, horse. _seefer_, ass. _jucal_, dog. _mufler_, cat. _sloof_, sheep. _bashanie_, cock. _caunie_, hen. _borlan_, sun. _mang_, moon. _goff_, fire. _garlan_, ship. _heefie_, spoon. _keechan_, knife. _chowrie_, knife. _seaf_, hat. _mass_, flesh. _mass_, hand. _bar_, money. _lowie_, coin or money. _roug_, silver. _neel_, shilling. _deek_, to listen. _chee_, tongue. _chee chee_, hold your tongue. _chor_, thief. _choar_, to steal. _quad_, prison. _moolie_, death. _moolie_, i'll kill you. _bing_, the devil. _bing feck_, devil take you. _bing feck eelreelee_, devil take your soul. _choar a chauvie_, rob that person. _choar a gaugie_, steal from that man. _cheeteromanie_, a dram of whiskey. _glowie a lowa_, pay him the money. the first expression which the gipsies use in saluting one another, when they first meet, anywhere, is "_auteenie, auteenie_." steedman, however, did not give me the english of this salutation. he stated to me that, at the present day, the gipsies in scotland, when by themselves, transact their business in their own language, and hold all their ordinary conversations in the same speech. in the course of a few minutes, steedman's fears returned upon him. he appeared to regret what he had done. he now said he had forgotten the language, and referred me to his father, old andrew steedman, who, he said, would give me every information i might require. i imprudently sent him out, to bring the old man to me; for, when both returned, all further communication, with regard to their speech, was at an end. both were now dead silent on the subject, denied all knowledge of the gipsy language, and were evidently under great alarm. the old man would not face me at all; and when i went to him, he appeared to be shaking and trembling, while he stood at the head of his horses, in his own stable. young steedman entreated me to tell no one that he had given me any words, as the tinklers, he said, would be exceedingly displeased with him for doing so. this man, however, by being kindly treated, and seeing no intention of doing him any harm, became, at an after period, communicative on various subjects relative to the gipsies. the following are the words which i obtained during an hour's interrogation of the woman that baffled me for seven years, and of whom i have said something already: _gaugie_, man. _chauvie_, child. _mort_, wife. _shan mort_, bad wife. _blawkie_, pot. _roys_, spoons. _snypers_, shears. _fluff_, tobacco-pipe. _baurie mort_, good wife. _nais mort_, grandmother. _nais gaugie_, grandfather. _been riah_, gentleman. _been raunie_, gentlewoman. _dill_, servant-maid. _loudnie_, whore. _chor_, thief. _gawvers_, pickpockets. _nawkens_, tinklers. _rachlin_, hanged man. _klistie_, soldier. _paunie-col_, sailor. _femmel_, hand. _yak_, eye. _sherro_, head. _mooie_, mouth. _chatters_, teeth. _rat_, blood. _rat_, night. _moolie_, death, to die, kill. _shucha_, coat. _teeyakas_, shoes. _gawd_, shirt. _olivers_, stockings. _wiper_, napkin. _coories_, blankets. _grye_, horse. _aizel_, ass. _jucal_, dog. _routler_, cow. _bakra_, sheep. _kair_, house. _blinker_, window. _kep_, bed. _fluffan_, tobacco. _lowie_, money. _roug_, silver. _leel_, bank notes. _casties_, trees. _quad_, prison. _harro_, sword. _chourie_, bayonet-knife. _mass_, meat, flesh. _guffie_, swine's flesh. _flatrins_, fish. _habben_, bread. _blaw_, meal. _neddies_, potatoes. _thood_, milk. _smout_, butter. _chizcazin_, cheese. _bobies_, peas. _pooklie_, pot-barley. _shaucha_, broth. _geeve_, corn, wheat, grain. _faizim_, hay. _stramel_, straw. _paunie_, water. _yak_, coal. _mouds_, peats. _shan drom_, bad road. _beenlightment_, daylight. _jaw vree_, go away. _aucheer mangan_, hold your tongue. _bing lee ma_, devil miss me. _ruffie feck ma_, devil take me. _ruffie lee ma_, devil miss me. i observed to this woman that her language would, in course of time, be lost. she replied, with great seriousness, "it will never be forgotten, sir; it is in our hearts, and as long as a single tinkler exists, it will be remembered." i further enquired of her, how many of her tribe were in scotland. her answer was, "there are several thousand; and there are many respectable shop-keepers and house-holders in scotland that are gipsies." i requested of this woman the gipsy word for god.[ ] she said they had no corresponding word for god in their speech; adding, that she thought "it as well, as it prevented them having their maker's name often unnecessarily and sinfully in their mouths." she acknowledged the justice, and highly approved of the punishment of death for murder; but she condemned, most bitterly, the law that took away the lives of human beings for stealing. she dwelt on the advantages which her secret speech gave her tribe in transacting business in markets. she said that she was descended from the first gipsy family in scotland. i was satisfied that she was sprung from the second, if not the first, family. i could make out, with tolerable certainty, the links of her descent for four generations of gipsies. i have already described the splendid style in which her ancestors travelled in tweed-dale. her mother, above eighty years of age, also called at my house. both were fortune-tellers. it was evident, from this woman's manner, that she knew much she would not communicate. like the gipsy chief, in presence of dr. bright, at csurgo, in hungary, she, in a short time, became impatient; and, apparently, when a certain hour arrived, she insisted upon being allowed to depart. she would not submit to be questioned any longer. [ ] ponqueville, in his travels, says that the gipsies in the levant have no words in their language to express either god or the soul. of ten words of the greek gipsy, given by him, five of them are in use in scotland.--_paris_, . [the gipsy for god, according to grellmann, is _dewe_, _dewel_, _dewol_, _dewla_.]--ed. owing to the nature of my enquiries, and more particularly the fears of the tribe, i could seldom venture to question the gipsies regarding their speech, or their ancient customs, with any hope of receiving satisfactory answers, when a third party was present. the following, however, is an instance to the contrary; and the facts witnessed by the gentleman who was with me at the time, are, besides the testimony of the gipsies themselves, convincing proofs that these people, at the present day, in scotland, can converse among themselves, on any ordinary subject, in their own language, without making use of a single word of the english tongue.[ ] [ ] had a german listened a whole day to a gipsy conversation, he would not have understood a single expression.--_grellmann._ the dialect of the english gipsies, though mixed with english, is tolerably pure, from the fact of its being intelligible to the race in the centre of russia.--_borrow._--ed. in may, , while near the manse of inverkeithing, my friend and i accidentally fell in, on the high road, with four children, the youngest of whom appeared to be about four, and the eldest about thirteen, years of age. they were accompanied by a woman, about twenty years old, who had the appearance of being married, but not the mother of any of the children with her. not one of the whole party could have been taken for a gipsy, but all had the exact appearance of being the family of some indigent tradesman or labourer. excepting the woman, whose hair was dark, all of the company had hair of a light colour, some of them inclining to yellow, with fair complexions. in not one of their countenances could be seen those features by which many pretend the gipsies can, at all times, be distinguished from the rest of the community. the manner, however, in which the woman, at first, addressed me, created in my mind a suspicion that she was one of the tribe. in order to ascertain the fact, i put a question to her in gipsy, in such a manner that it might appear to her that i was quite certain she was one of the fraternity. she immediately smiled at my question, held down her head, cast her eyes to the ground, then appeared as if she had been detected in something wrong, and pretended not to understand what i said. one of the children, however, being thrown entirely off his guard, immediately said to her, "you know quite well what he says." the woman, recovering from her surprise and confusion, and being assured she had nothing to fear from me, now answered my question. she also replied to every other interrogation i put to her, without showing the least fear or hesitation. after i had repeated a few words more, and a sentence in the gipsy tongue, one of the boys exclaimed, "he has good cant!" and then addressed me entirely in the gipsy language. (all the gipsies, as i have already mentioned, call their language _cant_, for the purpose of concealing their tribe.) the whole party seemed extremely happy that i was acquainted with their speech. the woman put several questions to me, in return, some of which were wholly in her own peculiar tongue. she asked my name, place of residence, and whether i was a _nawken_--that is a gipsy. she further enquired whether my friend was also a _nawken_; adding, with a smile, that she was sure i was a _tramper_. the children sometimes conversed among themselves wholly in their own language; and, when i could not understand the woman, as she requested, in her own speech, to know my name, &c., one of them instantly interpreted the sentence into english for me. one of the oldest boys, however, thinking i was only pretending to be ignorant of their speech, observed, in english, to his companions, "i am sure he is a tramper, and can speak as good cant as any of us." to keep up the character, my friend told them that i had been a tramper in my youth, but that i had now nearly lost the language. on hearing this, the woman, with great earnestness, exclaimed, "god bless the gentleman!" in order to confirm their belief that i was one of their tribe, i bade the woman good-day in her own tongue, and parted with them. she informed me, on leaving, that she resided at banff, but that her husband was then at perth. during the short interview which i had with these gipsies, i collected the following words: _gaugie_, man. _riah_, gentleman. _raunie_, lady. _vast_, hand. _sonnakie_, gold. _sonnakie vanister_, gold ring. _roug_, silver. _lowie_, money. _grye_, horse. _aizel_, ass. _jucal_, dog. _matchka_, cat. _baurie_, great. _vile_, village. _baurie vile_, large village. _nawken_, gipsy. _davies_, day. _beenship davies_, _nawken_, good-day, gipsy. _pen yer naam?_ what is your name? _shucha_, coat. _calshes_, breeches. _gogle_, hat. _coories_, blankets. _roys_, spoons. _skews_, platters. _habben kairer_, baker of bread. the method i adopted with them, as i have already hinted, was to ask them the english of the words i gave them in gipsy, so that the answers i got were confirmations of the same words collected from other individuals, and which i drew from memory for the occasion. had i attempted to write down any of their sentences, it would have instantly shut the door to all further conversation on the subject, and, in all probability, the gipsies would have taken to their heels, muttering imprecations against me for having insulted them. of this i was satisfied, that had i really been acquainted with their speech, these gipsy children could have kept up a regular and connected conversation with me, with the greatest fluency, and without their sentences being intermixed with any english or scotch words whatever, a fact which has been repeatedly stated to me by the gipsies. in confirmation of these facts, i shall transcribe a letter addressed to me by the gentleman who was present on the occasion.[ ] [ ] this letter is interesting to the extent that it illustrates the amount of knowledge possessed by the scottish community, generally, regarding the subject of the gipsies.--ed. inverkeithing, _ th may, ._ "my dear sir: "agreeably to your desire, i have looked over that part of your manuscript of the scottish gipsies which details the particulars of a short and accidental interview which we had with a woman and four children, whom we met near inverkeithing manse, on the d inst., and who turned out to be gipsies. i have no hesitation in averring that your statements, to my knowledge, are substantially correct--being present during the whole conversation which took place with the individuals mentioned. it was the first time i ever heard the gipsy language spoken, and it appeared quite evident that those gipsies could converse, in a regular and connected manner, on any subject, without making use of a single english word; and which particularly appeared from the questions which they put to you, as well as from the conversation which they had among themselves, in their own peculiar speech: and that, otherwise, the woman and children had not, in the colour of their hair, complexion, and general appearance, any resemblance to those people whom i always considered to be gipsies. i am, &c., "james h. cobban, _deputy compt. of customs, inverkeithing._ "mr. walter simson, _supt. of quarantine, inverkeithing_."[ ] [ ] sir walter scott was disposed to think that our gipsy population was rather exaggerated at five thousand souls; but when families such as the above mentioned are taken into account--leaving alone those who may be classed as settled gipsies--i am convinced that their number is not over-estimated. [not being in possession of sufficient information on the subject of the gipsies, the opinion of sir walter scott, on the point in question, amounted to nothing. see the index, for sir walter scott's ideas of the scottish gipsy population.--ed.] i have already mentioned having succeeded in obtaining a few words of gipsy, from two sisters, of the name of jamieson, who came begging to my door. i had reason to suppose they would acquaint their relatives of having been questioned in their own speech, and would greatly exaggerate my knowledge of it; for i always observed that the individuals with whom i conversed were at first impressed with a belief that i knew much more of it than i really did. during the following summer, a brother and a cousin of these girls called at my house, selling baskets. the one was about twenty-one, the other fifteen, years of age. i happened to be from home, but one of my family, suspecting them to be gipsies, invited them into the house, and mentioned to them, (although very incorrectly,) that i understood every word of their speech. "so i saw," replied the eldest lad, "for when he passed us on the road, some time ago, i called, in our language, to my neighbour, to come out of the way, and he understood what i said, for he immediately turned round, and looked at us." i, however, knew nothing of the circumstance; i did not even recollect having seen them pass me. it is likely, however, i had been examining their appearance, and it is as likely they had been trying if i understood their speech. at all events, they appeared to have known me, while i was entirely ignorant of who they were, and to have had their curiosity excited, on account, as i imagined, of their relatives having told them i was acquainted with their language. this occurrence produced a wonderful effect upon the two lads, for they appeared pleased to think i could speak their language. at this moment, one of my daughters, about seven years of age, repeated, in their hearing, the gipsy word for pot, having picked it up from hearing me mention it. the young tinklers now thought they were in the midst of a gipsy family, and seemed quite happy. "but are you really a _nawken_?" i asked the eldest of them. "yes, sir," he replied; "and to show you i am no impostor, i will give you the names of everything in your house;" which, in the presence of my family, he did, to the extent i asked of him. "my speech," he continued, "is not the cant of packmen, nor the slang of common thieves." but gipsy-hunting is like deer-stalking. in prosecuting it, it is necessary to know the animal, its habits, and the locality in which it is to be found. i saw the unfavourable turn approaching: the gipsies' time was up; their patience was exhausted. i dropped the subject, and ordered them some refreshment. on their taking leave of me, i said to them, "do you intend coming round this part of the country again?" (i need not have asked them such a question as that.) "that we do, sir; and we will not fail to come and see you again." they thus left me, with the strong impression on their minds, that i was a _nawken_, like themselves, but a _riah_--a gentleman gipsy. i waited patiently for their return, which would happen in due season, on their half-yearly _tramp_. everything looked so favourably, circumstances had contributed so fortunately, to the end which i had so much at heart, that i looked upon the information to be drawn from these poor tinkler lads, with as much solicitude and avarice as one would who had discovered a treasure hid in his field. this species of gipsy-hunting, i believe, i had exclusively to myself. i had none of the difficulties to contend with, which would be implied in the field of it having been gone over by others before me. that kind of gipsy-hunting which implied imprisonment, banishment, and hanging, was a thing of which the gipsies had had sad experience; if not in their own persons, at least in that which the traditions of their tribe had so carefully handed down to them. besides this, the experience of the daily life of the members of their tribe afforded an excellent school of training, for acquiring a host of expedients for escaping every danger and difficulty to which their habits exposed them. but so thoroughly had they preserved their secrets, and especially the grand one--their language--that they came to their wits' end how to understand, and how to act in, the new sphere of danger into which they were now thrown, or even to comprehend its nature. such was the advantage which education and enlightenment had given their civilized neighbour over them. how could _they_ imagine that the commencement of my knowledge of their language had been drawn from _books_? what did some of them know of _books_, beyond, perhaps, a youth sent to school, where, owing to his restless and unsettled good-for-nothingness, he would advance little beyond his alphabet?[ ] for we know that some gipsies are so intensely vain as to send a child to school, merely to brag before their civilized neighbours that their children have been educated. how could _they_ comprehend that _their_ language had found, or could find, its way into _books_? the thing to them was impossible; the idea of it could not, by any exertion of their own, even enter into their imagination. the danger to arise from such a quarter was altogether beyond their capacity of comprehension. knowing, however, that there was danger of some singular nature surrounding them, yet being unable to comprehend it, they flickered about it, like moths about a candle; till at last they did come to comprehend, if not its origin, or extent, at least its tendency, and the consequences to which it would lead. [ ] in speaking of the more original kind of gipsy, grellmann says: "no gipsy has ever signalized himself in literature, notwithstanding many of them have partaken of the instruction to be obtained at public schools. their volatile disposition and unsteadiness will not allow them to complete anything which requires perseverance or application. in the midst of his career of learning, the recollection of his origin seizes him; he desires to return to what he thinks a more happy manner of life; this solicitude encreases; he gives up all at once, turns back again, and consigns over his knowledge to oblivion." there are too many circumstances surrounding such a gipsy to remind him of his origin, and arrest him in his career of learning: for his race never having been tolerated--that is, no position ever having been assigned it, he feels as if he were a vagabond, if known or openly avowed to the public as a member of the tribe. and this, in itself, is sufficient to discourage such a gipsy in every effort towards improvement.--ed. according to promise, the eldest of the gipsy boys called at my house, in about six months, accompanied by his sister. he was selling white-iron ware, for he was a tin-smith by occupation. without entering into any preliminary conversation, for the purpose of smoothing the way for more direct questions, i took him into my parlour, and at once enquired if he _could_ speak the tinkler language? he applied to my question the construction that i doubted if he could, and the consequences which that would imply, and answered firmly, "yes, sir; i have been bred in that line all my life." "will you allow me," said i, "to write down your words?" "o yes, sir; you are welcome to as many as you please." "have you names for everything, and can you converse on any subject, in that language?" "yes, sir; we can converse, and have a name for everything, in our own speech." i now commenced to "make hay while the sun shone," as the phrase runs; for i knew that i could have only about an hour with the gipsy, at the most. the following, then, are the words and sentences which i took down, on this occasion: _slaps_, tea. _moozies_, porridge. _mass_, flesh. _shaucha_, broth. _mumlie_, candle. _stramel_, straw. _parnie_, wheat. _duff_, smoke. _yak_, fire. _wuther_, door. _glue_, window. _kair_, house. _shucha_, coat. _shuch-hamie_, waistcoat. _castie_, stick. _coories_, blankets. _eegees_, bed-clothes. _wautheriz_, bed. _suchira_, sixpence. _sye-boord_, sixpence. _chinda_, shilling. _chinda ochindies_, twelve shillings. _trin chindies_, three shillings. _baurie_, grand, great, good. _shan_, bad. _davies-pagrin_, daybreak. _baurie davies_, good day. _shan davies_, bad day. _paunie davies_, wet day. _sheelra davies_, frosty or cold day. _sneepa davies_, snowy or white day. _baurie forest_, the chief city. _baurie paunie_, the sea, ocean, grand water. _bing_, the devil. _ruffie_, the devil. _feck_, take. _chauvies wautheriz_, the children's bed-clothes. _sherro_, head. _carlie_, neck. _lears_, ears. _chatters_, teeth. _yak_, eye. _nak_, nose. _mooie_, mouth. _vast_, hand. _jaur_, leg. _nek_, knee. _peerie_, foot. _bar_, stone. _drom_, the earth. _cang-geerie_, church. _sonnakie_, gold. _sonnakie vanister_, gold ring. _callo_, black. _callo gaugie_, black man. _leehgh callo_, blue. _sneepa_, white, snow. _sheelra_, cold, frost. _lon_, salt. _lon paunie_, the sea, salt water. _rat_, night. _rat_, blood. _habben kairer_, baker of bread. _aizel_, ass. _gournie_, cow. _jucal_, dog. _paupeenie_, goose. _caunie_, hen. _boord_, penny. _curdie_, half-penny. _lee_, miss. _ruffie feck ma_, devil take me. _ruffie lee ma_, devil miss me. _feck a bar and mar the gaugie_, lift a stone and fell the man. _chee, chee_, silence, hold your tongue. _auvie_, come here. _jaw vree_, go away. _jaw wree wautheriz_, go away to your bed. _baish doun_, sit down. _baish doun bettiment_, sit down on the chair. _howie been baishen?_ how are you? _riah_, gentleman. _raunie_, gentlewoman. _baurie riah_, king. _baurie raunie_, queen. _praw_, son. _prawl_, daughter. _yaggers_, colliers. _nawken_, tinkler, gipsy. _cam_, the moon. _quad_, prison. _staurdie_, prison. _yaik_, one. _duie_, two. _trin_, three. _tor_, four. _fo_, five. _shaigh_, six. _naivairn_, seven. _naigh_, eight. _line_, nine. _nay_, ten. this young man sang part of two gipsy songs to me, in english; and then, at my request, he turned one of them into the gipsy language, intermingled a little, however, with english words; occasioned, perhaps, by the difficulty in translating it. the subject of one of the songs was that of celebrating a robbery, committed upon a lord shandos; and the subject of the other was a description of a gipsy battle. the courage with which the females stood the rattle of the cudgels upon their heads was much lauded in the song. like the gipsy woman with whom i had no less than seven years' trouble ere getting any of her speech, this gipsy lad became, in about an hour's time, very restless, and impatient to be gone. the true state of things, in this instance, dawned upon his mind. he now became much alarmed, and would neither allow me to write down his songs, nor stop to give me any more of his words and sentences. his terror was only exceeded by his mortification; and, on parting with me, he said that, had he, at first, been aware i was unacquainted with his speech, he would not have given me a word of it. as far as i can judge, from the few and short specimens which i have myself heard, and had reported to me, the subjects of the songs of the scottish gipsies, (i mean those composed by themselves,) are chiefly their plunderings, their robberies, and their sufferings. the numerous and deadly conflicts which they had among themselves, also, afforded them themes for the exercise of their muse. my father, in his youth, often heard them singing songs, wholly in their own language. they appear to have been very fond of our ancient border marauding songs, which celebrate the daring exploits of the lawless freebooters on the frontiers of scotland and england. they were constantly singing these compositions among themselves. the song composed on hughie græme, the horse-stealer, published in the second volume of sir walter scott's border minstrelsy, was a great favourite with the tinklers. as this song is completely to the taste of a gipsy, i will insert it in this place, as affording a good specimen of that description of song in the singing of which they take great delight. it will also serve to show the peculiar cast of mind of the gipsies. hughie the gr�me. gude lord scroope's to the hunting gane, he has ridden o'er moss and muir; and he has grippit hughie the græme, for stealing o' the bishop's mare. "now, good lord scroope, this may not be! here hangs a broadsword by my side; and if that thou canst conquer me, the matter it may soon be tryed." "i ne'er was afraid of a traitor-thief; although thy name be hughie the græme, i'll make thee repent thee of thy deeds, if god but grant me life and time." "then do your worst now, good lord scroope, and deal your blows as hard as you can! it shall be tried, within an hour, which of us two is the better man." but as they were dealing their blows so free, and both so bloody at the time, over the moss came ten yeomen so tall, all for to take brave hughie the græme. then they hae grippit hughie the græme, and brought him up through carlisle town; the lasses and lads stood on the walls, crying, "hughie the græme, thou'se ne'er gae down." then hae they chosen a jury of men, the best that were in carlisle town; and twelve of them cried out at once, "hughie the græme, thou must gae down." then up bespak him gude lord hume, as he sat by the judge's knee,-- "twenty white owsen, my gude lord, if you'll grant hughie the græme to me." "o no, o no, my gude lord hume! for sooth and sae it manna be; for, were there but three græmes of the name, they suld be hanged a' for me." 'twas up and spake the gude lady hume, as she sat by the judge's knee,-- "a peck of white pennies, my gude lord judge, if you'll grant hughie the græme to me." "o no, o no, my gude lady hume! for sooth and so it must na be; were he but the one græme of the name, he suld be hanged high for me." "if i be guilty," said hughie the græme, "of me my friends shall have small talk;" and he has louped fifteen feet and three, though his hands they were tied behind his back. he looked over his left shoulder, and for to see what he might see; there was he aware of his auld father, came tearing his hair most piteouslie. "o! hald your tongue, my father," he says, "and see that ye dinna weep for me! for they may ravish me o' my life, but they canna banish me fro heavin hie. "fare ye weel, fair maggie, my wife! the last time we came ower the muir, 'twas thou bereft me of my life, and wi' the bishop thou play'd the whore. "here, johnie armstrang, take thou my sword, that is made o' the metal sae fine; and when thou comest to the english side, remember the death of hughie the græme."[ ] [ ] on mentioning to sir walter scott, when at abbotsford, that the gipsies were very partial to hughie the græme, he caused his eldest daughter, afterwards mrs. lockhart, to sing this ancient border song, which she readily did, accompanying her voice with the harp. we were, at the time, in the room which contained his old armour and other antiquities; to which place he had asked me, after tea, to hear his daughter play on the harp. she sang hughie the græme, in a plain, simple, unaffected manner, exactly in the style in which i have heard the humble country-girls singing the same song, in the south of scotland. sir walter was much interested about the gipsies; and when i repeated to him a short sentence in their speech, he, with great feeling, exclaimed, "poor things! do you hear that?" this was the first time, i believe, that he ever heard a scottish gipsy word pronounced. it appeared to me that the mind of the great magician was not wholly divested of the fear that the gipsies might, in some way or other, injure his young plantations. i will now give the testimony of the gipsy chief from whom i received the "blowing up" alluded to, by mr. laidlaw, in the introduction to the work.[ ] [ ] see pages and .--ed. one of the greatest fairs in scotland is held, annually, on the th day of july, at st. boswell's green, in roxburghshire. i paid a visit to this fair, for the purpose of taking a view of the gipsies. an acquaintance, whom i met at the fair, observed to me, that he was sure if any one could give me information regarding the tinklers, it would be old ----, the horner, at ----. to ensure a kind reception from the gipsies, it was agreed upon, between us, that i should introduce myself by mentioning who my ancestors were, on whose numerous farms, (sixteen, rented by my grandfather, in ,[ ]) their forefathers had received many a night's quarters, in their out-houses. we soon found out the old chieftain, sitting in a tent, in the midst of about a dozen of his tribe, all nearly related to him. the moment i made myself known to them, the whole of the old persons immediately expressed their gratitude for the humane treatment they, and their forefathers, had received at the farms of my relatives. they were extremely glad to see me; and "god bless you," was repeated by several of the old females. "ay," said they, "those days are gone. christian charity has now left the land. we know the people are growing more hard and uncharitable every year." i found the old man shrewd, sensible, and intelligent; far beyond what could have been expected from a person of his caste and station in life. he, besides, possessed all that merriness and jocularity which i have often observed among a number of the males of his race. after some conversation with this chief, who appeared about eighty years of age, i enquired if his people, who, in large bands, about sixty years ago, traversed the south of scotland, had not an ancient language, peculiar to themselves. he hesitated a little, and then readily replied, that the tinklers had no language of their own, except a few cant words. i observed to him that he knew better--that the tinklers had, beyond dispute, a language of their own; and that i had some knowledge of its existence at the present day. he, however, declared that they had no such language, and that i was wrongly informed. in the hearing of all the gipsies in the tent, i repeated to him four or five gipsy words and expressions. at this he appeared amazed; and on my adding some particulars relative to some of the ancestors of the tribe then present, enumerating, i think, three generations of their clan, one of the old females exclaimed, "preserve me, he kens a' about us!" the old chief immediately took hold of my right hand, below the table, with a grasp as if he were going to shake it: and, in a low and subdued tone of voice, so as none might near but myself, requested me to say not another word in the place where we were sitting, but to call on him, at the town of ----, and he would converse with me on that subject. i considered it imprudent to put any more questions to him relative to his speech, on this occasion, and agreed to meet him at the place he appointed. [ ] these sixteen farms embraced about , acres of mountainous land, maintained , sheep, goats, cattle, horses, draught-oxen, and dogs; shepherds, other servants, and cotters, making, with their families, souls, supported by my ancestor's property, as that of a scotch gentleman-farmer. on the farms mentioned, which lay in mid-lothian, tweed-dale, and selkirkshire, the gipsies were allowed to remain as long as they pleased; and no loss was ever sustained by the indulgence. several persons in the tent, (it being one of the public booths in the market,) who were not gipsies, were equally surprised, when they observed an understanding immediately take place between me and the tinklers, by means of a few words, the meaning of which they could not comprehend. a farmer, from the south of scotland, who was present in the tent, and had that morning given the tinklers a lamb to eat, met me, some days after, on the banks of the yarrow. he shook his head, and observed, with a smile, "yon was queer-looking wark wi' the tinklers." as i was anxious to penetrate to his secret speech, i resolved to keep the appointment with the gipsy, whatever might be the result of our meeting, and i therefore proceeded to the town which he mentioned, eleven days after i had seen him at the fair. on enquiring of the landlord of the principal inn, at which i put up my horse, where the house of ----, the tinkler, was situated in the town, he appeared surprised, and eyed me all over. he told me the street, but said he would not accompany me to the house, thinking that i wished him to go with me. it was evident that the landlord, whom i never saw before, considered himself in bad company, in spite of my black clothes, black neck-cloth, and ruffles aforesaid, and was determined not to be seen on the street, either with me or the tinkler. i told him i by no means wished him to accompany me, but only to tell me in what part of the town the tinkler's house was to be found. on entering the house, i found the old chief sitting, without his coat, with an old night-cap on his head, a leathern apron around his waist, and all covered with dust or soot, employed in making spoons from horn. after conversing with him for a short time, i reminded him of the ancient language with which he was acquainted. he assumed a grave countenance, and said the tinklers had no such language, adding, at the same time, that i should not trouble myself about such matters. he stoutly denied all knowledge of the tinkler language, and said no such tongue existed in scotland, except a few cant words. i persisted in asserting that they were actually in possession of a secret language, and again tried him with a few of my words; but to no purpose. all my efforts produced no effect upon his obstinacy. at this stage of my interview, i durst not mention the word gipsy, as they are exceedingly alarmed at being known as gipsies. i now signified that he had forfeited his promise, given me at the fair, and rose to leave him. at this remark, i heard a man burst out a-laughing, behind a partition that ran across the apartment in which we were sitting. the old man likewise started to his feet, and, with both his sooty hands, took hold of the breast of my coat, on either side, and, in this attitude, examined me closely, scanning me all over from head to foot. after satisfying himself, he said, "now, give me a hold of your hand--farewell--i will know you when i see you again." i bade him good-day, and left the house.[ ] [ ] i am convinced the gipsies have a method of communicating with one another by their hands and fingers, and it is likely this man tried me, in that way, both at the fair and in his own house. i know a man who has seen the gipsies communicating their thoughts to each other in this way. "bargains among the indians are conducted in the most profound silence, and by merely touching each other's hands. if the seller takes the whole hand, it implies a thousand rupees or pagodas; five fingers import five hundred; one finger, one hundred; half a finger, fifty; a single joint only ten. in this manner, they will often, in a crowded room, conclude the most important transactions, without the company suspecting that anything whatever was doing."--_historical account of travels in asia, by hugh murray._ "_method of the english selling their cargoes, at jedda, to the turks_: two indian brokers come into the room to settle the price, one on the part of the indian captain, the other on that of the buyer or turk. they are neither mahommedans nor christians, but have credit with both. they sit down on the carpet, and take an indian shawl, which they carry on their shoulders like a napkin, and spread it over their hands. they talk, in the meantime, indifferent conversation, of the arrival of ships from india, or of the news of the day, as if they were employed in no serious business whatever. after about twenty minutes spent in handling each other's fingers, below the shawl, the bargain is concluded, say for nine ships, without one word ever having been spoken on the subject, or pen or ink used in any shape whatever."--_bruce's travels._ i had now no hope of obtaining any information from this man, regarding his peculiar language. i had scarcely, however, proceeded a hundred yards down the street, from the house, when i was overtaken by a young female, who requested me to return, to speak with her father. i immediately complied. on reaching the door, with the girl, i met one of the old man's sons, who said that he had overheard what passed between his father and me, in the house. he assured me that his father _was ashamed to give me his language_; but that, if i would promise not to publish their names, or place of residence, he would himself give me some of their speech, if his father still persevered in his refusal. i accordingly agreed not to make public the names, and place of residence, of the family. i again entered the little factory of horn spoons. matters were now, to all appearance, quite changed. the old man was very cheerful, and seemed full of mirth. "come away," said he; "what is this you are asking after? i would advise you to go to mr. stewart, at hawick, and he will tell you everything about our language." "father," said the son, who had resumed his place behind the partition before mentioned, "you know that mr. stewart will give our speech to nobody." the old chief again hesitated and considered, but, being urged by his son and myself, he, at last, said, "come away, then; i will tell you whatever you think proper to ask me. i gave you my oath, at the fair, to do so. get out your paper, pen and ink, and begin." he gave me no other oath, at the fair, than his word, and taking me by the hand, that he would converse with me regarding the speech of the tinklers. but, i believe, joining hands is considered an oath in some countries of the eastern world. i was fully convinced, however, that he was _ashamed to give me his speech_, and that it was with the greatest reluctance he spoke one word on the subject. the following are the words and sentences which i collected from him:[ ] [ ] it is interesting to notice the reason for this old gipsy chief being so backward in giving our author some of his language. "he was ashamed to do it." pity it is that there should be a man in scotland, who, independent of personal character, should be ashamed of such a thing. then, see how the gipsy woman, in our author's house, said that "the public would look upon her with horror and contempt, were it known she could speak the gipsy language." and again, the two female gipsies, who would rather allow themselves to be murdered, than give the meaning of two gipsy words to sauchie colliers, for the reason that "it would have exposed their tribe, and made themselves odious to the world." and all for knowing the gipsy language!--which would be considered an accomplishment in another person! what frightful tyranny! mr. borrow, as we will by and by see, says a great deal about the law of charles iii, in regard to the prospects of the spanish gipsies. but there is a law above any legislative enactment--the law of society, of one's fellow-creatures--which bears so hard upon the gipsies; the despotism of caste. if gipsies, in such humble circumstances, are so afraid of being known to be gipsies, we can form some idea of the morbid sensitiveness of those in a higher sphere of life. the innkeeper evidently thought himself in bad company, when our author asked him for the tinkler's house, or that any intercourse with a tinkler would contaminate and degrade him. in this light, read an anecdote in the history of john bunyan, who was one of the same people, as i shall afterwards show. in applying for his release from bedford jail, his wife said to justice hale, "moreover, my lord, i have four small children that cannot help themselves, of which one is blind, and we have nothing to live upon but the charity of good people." thereat, justice hale, looking very soberly on the matter, said, "alas, poor woman!" "what is his calling?" continued the judge. and some of the company, that stood by, said, (evidently in interruption, and with a bitter sneer,) "a tinker, my lord!" "yes," replied bunyan's wife, "and because he is a tinker, and a poor man, therefore he is despised, and cannot have justice." noble woman! wife of a noble gipsy! if the world wishes to know who john bunyan really was, it can find him depicted in our author's visit to this scottish gipsy family, where it can also learn the meaning of bunyan, at a time when jews were legally excluded from england, taking so much trouble to ascertain whether he was of that race, or not. from the present work generally, the world can learn the reason why bunyan said nothing of his ancestry and nationality, when giving an account of his own history.--ed. _pagrie_, to break. _humf_, give me. _mar_, to strike. _mang_, to speak. _kair_, house. _drom_, street or road. _vile_, village. _gave_, village. _jaw drom_, take the road, get off quickly. _hatch here_, come here. _bing_, the devil. _bing lee_, devil miss me. _moolie_, death. _moolie_, i'll kill you. _mooled_, murdered. _moolie a gaugie_, kill the man. _powiskie_, gun or pistol. _harro_, sword. _shammel_, sword. _chourie_, knife. _rachlin_, hanged. _sallah_[ ], to curse. _klistie_, soldier. _nash_, deserter. _grye-femler_, horse-dealer. _staurdie_, prison. _nak_, nose. _yak_, eye. _yaka_, eyes. _mooie_, mouth. _vast_, hand. _sherro_, head. _femmel_, hand. _lowie_, coin or money. _lowa_, silver. _curdie_, half-penny. _bar_, five shillings. _size_, six. _grye_, horse. _greham_, horse. _prancie_, horse. _aizel_, ass. _jucal_, dog. _routler_, cow. _bakra_, sheep. _matchka_, cat. _bashanie_, cock. _caunie_, hen. _thood_, milk. _molzie_, wine. _bulliment_, loaf of bread. _neddie_, potato. _shaucha_, broth. _mass_, flesh. _habben_, bread. _pauplers_, pottage. _paunie_, water. _paurie_, water. _mumlie_, candle. _blinkie_, candle. _flatrin_, fish. _chizcazin_, cheese. _romanie_, whiskey. _casties_, wood. _filsh_, tree. _lodlie_, quarters. _choar_, to steal. _chor_, a thief. _bumie_, to drink. _jaw vree_, go away. _graunzie_, barn. _graunagie_, barn. _clack_, stone. _yak_, fire. _peerie_, pot. _treepie_, pot-lid. _roy_, spoon. _skew_, platter. _swag_, sack. _ingrims_, pincers. _yog-ingrims_, fire-irons. _sauster_, iron. _mashlam_, brass or metal. _fizam_, grass. _penam_, hay. _geeve_, corn. _greenam_, corn. _beerie_, ship. _outhrie_, window. _nab_, horn. _shucha_, coat. _scaf_, hat. _gogle_, hat. _cockle_, hat. _calshes_, breeches. _teeyakas_, shoes. _olivers_, stockings. _beenship_, good. _baurie_, good. _shan_, bad. _rauge_, mad. _riah_, _rajah_, chief, governor. _been riah_, the king. _been mort_, the queen. _been gaugie_, gentleman. _been riah_, gentleman. _been mort_, lady. _yagger_, collier. _nawken_,[ ] tinkler, gipsy. _davies_, day. _rat_, night. _beenship mashlam_, good metal. _beenship-rat_, good-night. _beenlightment_, sabbath-day. _shan drom_, bad road. _shan davies_, bad day. _gaugie_, man. _managie_, woman. _mort_, wife. _chavo_, son. _chauvies_, children. _praw_, son. _prawl_, daughter. _nais-gaugie_, grandfather. _nais-mort_, grandmother. _aukaman_, marriage. _carie_, penis. _bight_, pudenda. _sjair_, to ease nature. _jair dah_, a woman's apron. [ ] _sallah_, in the scottish gipsy speech, properly signifies accursed, or detested. it is one of the most abusive expressions that can be used towards your fellow creatures. nothing terrifies a young gipsy so much as to bawl out to him, "_sallah, jaw drom_," which, in plain english, nearly means, "you accursed, take the road." it appears that, in hindostanee, _salla_ is a word of the highest reproach, and that nothing can provoke a hindoo so much as the applying of it to him. when cursing and swearing, by what would appear to be the deity, the gipsies make use of the word _sallahen_. [ ] _nawken_ has a number of significations, such as tinkler, gipsy, a wanderer, a worker in iron, a man who can do anything for himself in the mechanical arts, &c., &c. i was desirous to learn, from this gipsy, if there were any traditions among the scottish gipsies, as to their origin, and the country from which they came. he stated that the language of which he had given me a specimen was an ethiopian dialect, used by a tribe of thieves and robbers; and that the gipsies were originally from ethiopia, although now called gipsies.[ ] he now spoke of himself and his tribe by the name of gipsies, without hesitation or alarm. "our gipsy language," added he, "is softer than your harsh gaelic." he was at considerable pains to give me the proper sound of the words. the letter _a_ is pronounced broad in their language, like _aw_ in paw, or _a_ in water; and _ie_, or _ee_, in the last syllable of a great many words, are sounded short and quick; and _ch_ soft, as in church. their speech appears to be copious, for, said he, they have a great many words and expressions for one thing. he further stated that the gipsy language has no alphabet, or character, by which it can be learned, or its grammatical construction ascertained. he never saw any of it written. i observed to him that it would, in course of time, be lost. he replied, that "so long as there existed two gipsies in scotland, it would never be lost." he informed me that every one of the yetholm tinklers spoke the language; and that almost all those persons who were selling earthen-ware at st. boswell's fair were gipsies. i counted myself twenty-four families, with earthen-ware, and nine female heads of families, selling articles made of horn. these thirty-three families, together with a great many single gipsies scattered through the fair, would amount to above three hundred gipsies on the spot. he further mentioned that none of the yetholm gipsies were at the market. the old man also informed me that a great number of our horse-dealers are gipsies. "listen attentively," said he, "to our horse-coupers, in a market, and you will hear them speaking in the gipsy tongue." i enquired how many there were in scotland acquainted with the language. he answered, "there are several thousand." i further enquired, if he thought the gipsy population would amount to five thousand souls. he replied he was sure there were fully five thousand of his tribe in scotland. it was further stated to me, by this family, that the gipsies are at great pains in teaching their children, from their very infancy, their own language; and that they embrace every opportunity, when by themselves, of conversing in it, about their ordinary affairs. they also pride themselves very much in being in possession of a speech peculiar to themselves--quite unknown to the public. [ ] the tradition among the scottish gipsies of being ethiopians, whatever weight the reader may attach to it, dates as far back, at least, as the year ; for it is mentioned in the remission under the privy seal, granted to william auchterlony, of cayrine, for resetting john faa and his followers. _see page ._--ed. i then sent for some spirits wherewith to treat the old chief; but i was cautioned, by one of the family, not to press him to drink much, as, from his advanced age and infirmities, little did him harm. the moment you speak to an intelligent gipsy chief, in a familiar and kindly manner, putting yourself, as it were, on a level with him, you find him entirely free from all embarrassment in his manners. he speaks to you, at once, in a free, independent, confident, emphatic tone, without any rudeness in his way of addressing you. he never loses his self-possession. the old chieftain sang part of a gipsy song, in his own language, but he would not allow me to write it down.[ ] indeed, by his manner, he seemed frequently to hesitate whether he would proceed any further in giving me information, and appeared to regret that he had gone so far as he had done. i now and then stopped him in his song, and asked him the meaning of some of the expressions. it was, however, intermixed with a few english words; perhaps every fifth word was english. the gipsy words, _graunzie_ (barn), _caunies_ (chickens), _molzie_ (wine), _staurdie_ (prison), _mort_ and _chauvies_ (wife and children), were often repeated. in short, the subject of the song was that of a gipsy, lying in chains in prison, lamenting that he could not support his wife and children by plunder and robbery. the gipsy was represented as mourning over his hard fate, deprived of his liberty, confined in a dungeon, and expressing the happiness and delight which he had when free, and would have were he lying in a barn, or out-house, living upon poultry, and drinking wine with his tribe.[ ] [ ] the scottish gipsies have doubtless an oral literature, like their brethren in other countries. it would be strange indeed if they did not rank as high, in that respect, as many of the barbarous tribes in the world. people so situated, with no written language, are wonderfully apt at picking up, and retaining, any composition that contains poetry and music, to which oral literature is chiefly confined. in that respect, their faculties, like those of the blind, are sharpened by the wants which others do not experience in indulging a feeling common to all mankind. a striking instance of a people, unacquainted with the art of writing, possessing a literature, is said to have been found in hawaii; and to such an extent, as to "possess a force and compass that, at the beginning of the study of it, would not have been credited."--ed. [ ] a song which a female gipsy sang to mr. borrow, at moscow, commenced in this way, "her head is aching with grief, as if she had tasted wine;" and ended thus, "that she may depart in quest of the lord of her bosom, and share his joys and pleasures."--ed. this family, like all their race, now became much alarmed at their communications; and it required considerable trouble on my part to allay their fears. the old man was in the greatest anguish of mind, at having committed himself at all, relative to his speech. i was very sorry for his distress, and renewed my promise not to publish his name, or place of residence, assuring him he had nothing to fear. it is now many years since he died. he was considered a very decent, honest man, and was a great favourite with those who were acquainted with him. but his wife, and some other members of his family, followed the practices of their ancestors. publish their language! give to the world that which they had kept to themselves, with so much solicitude, so much tenacity, so much fidelity, for three hundred and fifty years! a parallel to such a phenomenon cannot be found within the whole range of history.[ ] what will the tinklers, the "poor things," as sir walter scott so feelingly called them--what will they think of me, after the publication of the present work?[ ] [ ] smith, in his "hebrew people," writes: "the jews had almost lost, in the _seventy_ years' captivity, their original language; that was now become dead; and they spoke a jargon made up of their own language and that of the chaldeans, and other nations with whom they had mingled. formerly, preachers had only explained subjects; now, they were obliged to explain words; words which, in the sacred code, were become obsolete, equivocal, dead."--ed. [ ] the gipsies have been much annoyed, in late times, by people anxious to find out their secrets. the circumstance caused them, at first, much alarm as to what it meant; but when they came to learn the object of this modern gipsy-hunting, they became, in a measure, reconciled to their troubles; for they were perfectly satisfied that the labours of these inquisitive people would, in the language of ruthven, "be in vain." but the attempt of our author, with his "open sesame," caused not a few of them to travel through life with the weight of a millstone hanging about their necks, which the publication, now, is perhaps calculated to lighten. the "giving to the world everything relative to their tribe," was something they were more apt to over than under estimate. to be "put in the papers," judging from the horror with which such is regarded by our own humble people, was bad enough; still, the end of that would, in their peculiar way of thinking, be merely the "lighting of the candles, and curling the hair, of the gentle folk." but to have themselves put in a book--to see themselves, in their imaginations, "carried about in every bit herd-laddie's pouch," was something that aggravated them. the presumptuous pride, the overweening conceit of a high-mettled scottish gipsy; his boasted descent--a descent at once high, illustrious, and lost in antiquity; his unbounded contempt for the rabble of town and country--rendered him, under the circumstances, almost incapable of brooking the idea of seeing his race exposed to, what he would consider, the ridicule of the very herds. the very idea of it was to him mortifying and maddening. well might our author, from having been so much mixed up with the gipsies, show some hesitancy ere taking a step that would have brought such a nest of hornets about his ears. but, all things considered, my impression is, that the outdoor gipsies, at the present day, will feel extremely proud of the present work; and that the same may be said of all classes of them, if one subject had been excluded from the volume, over which they will be very apt to growl a little in secret.--ed. while walking one day, with a friend, around the harbour of grangemouth, i observed a man, who appeared above seventy years of age, carrying a small wooden box on his shoulder, a leathern apron tied around his waist, with a whitish coloured bull-dog following him. he was enquiring of the crews of the vessels in the port, whether they had any pots, kettles, or pans to repair. just as my friend and i came up to him, on the quay, i said to him, in a familiar manner, as if i knew exactly what he was, "_baurie jucal_," words which signify, in the gipsy language, a "good dog." being completely taken by surprise, the old man turned quickly round, and, looking down at his dog, said, without thinking what he was about, "yes, the dog is not bad." but the words had scarcely escaped his lips ere he affected not to comprehend my question, after he had distinctly answered it. he looked exceedingly foolish, and afforded my friend a hearty laugh, at his attempt at recovering himself. he became agitated and angry, and called out, "what do you mean? i don't understand you--yes, the dog is _hairy_." i said not another word, nor took any further notice of him, but passed on, in case of provoking him to mischief. he stood stock-still upon the spot, and, keeping his eyes fixed upon me, as long as i was in sight, appeared to be considering with himself what i could be, or whether he might not have seen me before. he looked so surprised and alarmed, that he could scarcely trust himself in the place, since he found, to a certainty, that his grand secret was known. i saw him a short while afterwards, at a little distance, with his glasses on, sitting on the ground, in the manner of the east, with his hammers and files, tin and copper, about him, repairing cooking utensils belonging to a vessel in the basin; with his trusty _jucal_, sitting close at his back, like a sentinel, to defend him. the truth is, i was not very fond of having anything further to do with this member of the tribe, in case he had resented my interference with him and his speech. this old man wore a long great-coat, and externally looked exactly like a blacksmith. no one of ordinary observation could have perceived him to be a gipsy; as there were no striking peculiarities of expression about his countenance, which indicated him as being one of that race. i was surprised at my own discovery. a gipsy informed me that almost all our thimble-riggers, or "thimble-men," as they are sometimes called, are a superior class of gipsies, and converse in the gipsy language. in the summer of , an opportunity presented itself to me to verify the truth of this information. on a by-road, between edinburgh and newhaven, i fell in with a band of these thimble-riggers, employed at their nefarious occupation. the band consisted of six individuals, all personating different characters of the community. some had the appearance of mercantile clerks, and others represented young farmers, or dealers in cattle, of inferior appearance. the man in charge of the board and thimbles looked like a journeyman blacksmith or plumber. they all pretended to be strangers to each other. some were betting and playing, and others looking on, and acting as decoys. none besides themselves were present, except myself, a young lad, and a respectable-looking elderly female. i stood and looked at the band for a little; but as nobody was playing but themselves, the man with the thimbles, to lead me on, urged me to bet with him, and try my fortune at his board. i said i did not intend to play, and was only looking at them. i took a steady look at the faces of each of the six villains; but, whenever their eyes caught mine, they looked away, or down to the ground, verifying the saying that a rogue cannot look you in the face. the man at the board again urged me to play, and, with much vapouring and insolence, took out a handful of notes, and said he had many hundreds a year; that i was a poor, shabby fellow, and had no money on me, and, therefore, could not bet with him. i desired him to let me alone, otherwise i would let them see i was not to be insulted, and that i knew more about them than they were aware of. "who the devil are you, sir, to speak to us in that manner," was the answer i received. i again replied, that, if they continued their insolence, i would show them who i was. this only provoked them the more, and encreased their violent behaviour. high words then arose, and the female alluded to, thinking i was in danger, kindly entreated me to leave them. i now thought it time to try what effect my gipsy words would produce upon them. in an authoritative tone of voice, i called out to them, "_chee, chee!_" which, in the scottish gipsy language, signifies "hold your tongue," "be silent," or "silence."[ ] the surprised thimble-men were instantly silent. they spoke not a word, but looked at one another. only, one of them whispered to his companions, "he is not to be meddled with." they immediately took up their board, thimbles and all, and left the place, apparently in considerable alarm, some taking one direction and some another. the female in question was also surprised at seeing their insolent conduct repressed, in a moment, by a single expression. "but, sir," said she, "what was that you said to them, for they seem afraid?" i was myself afraid to say another word to them, and took care they did not see me go to my dwelling-house.[ ] [ ] a lady, who had been seventeen years in india, told me that "_chee_, _chee_" was, in hindostanee, an expression of reproof, corresponding exactly with our "fie, shame!" "oh fie, shame!" [ ] about four years after this occurrence, i was invited to dine at the house of a friend, with whose wife i was not acquainted. on being introduced to her, i was rather surprised at the repeated hard looks which she took at me. at last she said, "i think i have seen you before. were you never engaged with a band of thimble-men, near newhaven?" i said i was, some years ago. "do you recollect," continued she, "of a female taking you by the arm, and urging you to leave them?" i said, "perfectly." "well, then, i am the female; and i yet recollect your words were _chee, chee_." she mentioned the circumstance to her husband at the time; but he always said to her that i must have been only one of the blackguards themselves, deceiving her. he would not listen to her when she described me as not at all like a thimble-rigger, but always answered her, "i tell ye, woman, the man you spoke to was nothing but one of these villains." the thimble-riggers who molested mr. rose, ship-builder, so much, also answered my gipsy words distinctly; and, ever afterwards, took off their hats to me, as i passed them playing at their game. [the thimble-men here alluded to took up their quarters immediately to the west of leith fort, where the road takes a turn, at a right angle, a little in front of mr. rose's house, and there takes a similar turn towards the west: the best position for carrying on the thimble game. so exasperated was this gentleman, when, by every means in his power, he failed to dislodge them, that he sent some of the men from his yard, to erect, on the spot, a pole, which he covered with sheet-iron, to prevent its being cut down; and placed on the top of it a board, having this upon it, "beware of thimble-riggers and chain-droppers," with a hand pointing directly below. this had no effect, however, for the "knights of the thimble" pursued their game right under it. a gentleman, in passing one day, directed their attention to the board, but the only reply he got was, "bah! that's nothing. where can you find a shop without a sign? and where's the other person that gets a sign from the public for nothing?" thimble-rigging is peculiarly a gipsy game. in great britain, the gipsies nearly monopolize it; and it would be singular if some of the american thimblers were not gipsies.--ed.] one of the favourite, and permanent, fields of operation of these thimblers is on the queensferry road, from where it is intersected by the street leading from the back of leith fort, on the east, to the new road leading from granton pier, on the west. this part of the queensferry road is intersected by about half-a-dozen cross-roads, all leading from the landing and shipping places at the piers of granton, trinity, and newhaven. these cross-roads are cut by three roads running nearly parallel to each other, viz., the road along the sea-beach, trinity road, and the queensferry road. a great portion of the passengers, by the many steamboats, pass along all these different roads, to and from edinburgh. on all of these roads, between the water of leith and the forth, the thimble-riggers station themselves, as single individuals, or in numbers, as it may answer their purpose. in fact, this part of the country between the sea and edinburgh, is so much chequered by roads crossing each other, that it may be compared to the meshes of a spider's web, and the thimblers as so many spiders, watching to pounce upon their prey. the moment one of these sentinels observes a stranger appear, signals are made to his confederates, when their organized plan of operations for entrapping the unwary person is immediately put in execution. strangers, unacquainted with the locality, are greatly bewildered among all the cross-roads mentioned, and have considerable difficulty in threading their way to the city. one of the gang will then step forward, and, pretending to be a stranger himself, will enquire of the others the road to such and such a place. frequently the unsuspecting and bewildered individual will enquire of the thimbler for some street or place in edinburgh. the decoy and the victim now walk in company, and converse familiarly together on various topics; the thimbler offers snuff to his friend, and makes himself as agreeable as he can; while one of the gang, at a distance in front, drops a watch, chain, or other piece of mock jewelry, or commences playing at the thimble-board. the decoy is sure to lead his dupe exactly to the spot where the trap is laid, and where he will probably be plundered. one or these entrapments terminated in the death of its subject. a working man, having risked his half-year's wages at the thimble-board, of course lost every farthing of the money; and took the loss so much to heart as, in a fit of despondency, to drown himself in the water of leith. in the beginning of , i fell in with six of these thimble-riggers and chain-droppers, on newhaven road, on their way to edinburgh. i was anxious to discover the nature of their conversation, and kept as close to them as i could, without exciting their suspicions. like that of most people brought up in one particular line of life, their conversation related wholly to their own trade--that of swindling, theft, and robbery. i overheard them speaking of "bloody swells," and of dividing their booty. one of them was desired by the others to look after a certain steamboat, expected to arrive, and to get a bill to ascertain its movements exactly. he said he would "require three men to take care of that boat"; meaning, as i understood him, that all these men were necessary for laying his snares, and executing his designs upon the unsuspecting passengers, as they landed from the vessel, and were on their way to their destinations. the manager of the steamboat company could not have consulted with his subordinates, about their lawful affairs, with more care and deliberation, or in a more cool, business-like way, than were these villains in contriving plans for plundering the public. on their approach to pilrig street, the band separated into pairs; some taking the north, and some the south, side of leith walk, for edinburgh, where they vanished in the crowd. their language was fearful, every expression being accompanied by a terrible oath. on another occasion, i fell in with another band of these vagabond thimble-men, on the dalkeith road, near craigmiller castle. i asked the fellow with the thimbles, "is that _gaugie a nawken_?" pointing to one of the gang who had just left him. the question, in plain english, was, "is that man a gipsy?" the thimbler flew at once into a great passion, and bawled out, "ask himself, sir." he then fell upon me, and a gentleman who was with me, in most abusive language, applying to us the most insulting epithets he could think of. it was evident to my friend that the thimble-man perfectly understood my gipsy question. so enraged was he, that we were afraid he would follow us, and do us some harm. my friend did not consider himself safe till he was in the middle of edinburgh, for many a look did he cast behind him, to see whether the gipsy was not in pursuit of us.[ ] [ ] there is a gipsy belonging to one of these bands, known by the soubriquet of the "winged duck," from having lost an arm, of whom i have often heard our author speak. he is what may be called the captain of the company. a description of him, and his way of life, may be interesting, inasmuch as it illustrates a class of scottish gipsies at the present day. about the year , three young gentlemen, from the town of leith, had occasion to take a stroll over arthur's seat, a hill that overhangs edinburgh, on the east side of the city. in climbing the hill, they observed, a little way before them, a man toiling up the ascent, whom they did not notice till they came close upon him, and who had evidently been laying off on the side of the path, and entered it as they approached it. he appears about sixty years of age, is well dressed, and carries a fine cane, which he keeps pressing into the ground, to help him up the hill. just as they make up to him, he abruptly stops, and turns round, so as almost to touch them. "hech, how! i'm blown, i'm blown; i'm fairly done up. young gentlemen, you have the advantage of me; i'm getting old, and it is hard for me to climb the hill." (blown, done up, indeed! the fellow has stamina enough to outclimb any of them for years yet.) an agreeable conversation ensues, such as at once gains for him the confidence of the youths. he appears to them so mild, so bland, so fatherly, so worthy of respect, in short, a "nice old cove," who is evidently enjoying his _otium cum dignitate_ in his old age, in some cottage near by, upon a pension, an annuity, or a moderate competency of some sort. during the conversation, he manages to ascertain that his young friends have not been on the hill for some time--that one of them, indeed, has never been there before. all at once he exclaims, "ah! what can this be? let us go and see." upon which they step forward to look at a person like a mechanic playing at the thimbles. placing his arm around the neck of one of the young men, he begins to moralize: "pray, young gentlemen, don't bet, (they had not shown the least symptoms of doing that;) it's wrong to bet; it's a thing i never do; i would advise you not to do it. this is a rascally thimbler; he'll cheat, he'll rob you." at this time there are three playing at the board, winning and losing money rapidly. the "old cove" becomes impatient to be gone, and motions so as to imply, "boys, let us go, let us go." moving a few steps forward, he halts to admire the scenery, (but casts a leering eye in the direction of the board.) "ah! there's another goose gone to be plucked; let us see what luck he meets with." now thimble rigging is the game, of all others, by which the uninitiated can be duped. they see the pea put under one of the thimbles, (nutshells they are, indeed;) there seems to be no doubt of that. the thimbles are then so gently moved, that any one can follow them. the pea is not afterwards tampered with--that is evident. all, then, that remains to be done, is to lift the thimble under which the pea is, and secure your prize. but the thimble man, with his long nail, and nimble finger, has secured the pea under his nail, or, with the crook of his little finger, thrust it into the palm of his hand, while he pretended to cover it with the thimble. an accomplice, to make doubly sure of the pea being under the thimble, lifts it, and shows a pea, which he, by sleight of hand, drops, and, while pretending to cover it, as nimbly takes it up again. betting and playing go on as before. the player makes some fine hauls, but loses a game. he swears that foul play has been used. an altercation follows. the man at the board gets excited, and to show that he really is honourable in his playing, exclaims, "well, sir, there's your money again; try another game if you have a mind." "now that is really honest, and no mistake about it," remarks the "old cove." then the thimbler averts his head, to speak to a person behind him, and the "old cove" slyly lifts a thimble and shows the pea, and whispers very confidentially to his friends, "now, young gentlemen, you can safely bet a few shillings on that." they shake their heads, however, for they know too much about thimbling. the "old cove" now gets fidgety, and, managing to edge a little away from the board, commences, in a subdued tone, to speak, in a strange gibberish, to another bystander; but, forgetting himself, drops a word rather louder than the others, on which, as he turns round and catches the eyes of his young friends, he coughs and hems. on hearing the gibberish, a fear steals over the young men, on finding themselves surrounded by a band of desperadoes, in so solitary a place, and they make haste to be off. but the "old cove," to quiet their suspicions, accompanies them to a convenient spot, where he leaves them, to go to his home, by a side-path that soon leads him out of sight. on separating, he looks around him at the scenery, now lets fall his stick, now picks up something, that he may, with less suspicion, watch the movements of his escaped victims. they feel a singular relief in getting rid of his company, and, with tact, dog him over the hill, till they see him go back to the thimblers. they then think over their adventure, and the strange jargon they have heard, and unanimously exclaim, "wasn't he a slippery old serpent, after all!" on this occasion, there were no less than fourteen of these fellows present, some of them stationed here, some there, while they kept artfully moving around and about the hill, so as not to appear connected, but frequently approached the board, to contribute to and watch their luck. they personated various characters. one of them played the country lout, whose dress, gait, gape, and stare were inimitable. on the slightest symptom of danger manifesting itself, they would, by the movement of a hat, scatter, and vanish in an instant. among the people generally, a mystery attaches to these and other thimble-men. no one seems to know any thing about them--who they are or where they come from--and yet they are seen flitting everywhere through the country; but hardly ever two days together in one dress. but the mystery is solved by their being gipsies. they are dangerous fellows to meddle with; yet they seem to prefer thimbling, chain-dropping, card-playing, pocket-picking, in fairs and thoroughfares, and pigeon-plucking in every form, to robbery on the high-way, after the manner of their ancestors. thimble-rigging, according to sir j. gardner wilkinson, was practised in ancient egypt. he calls it "thimble-rig, or the game of cups, under which a ball was put, while the opposite party guessed under which of four it was concealed."--ed. the gipsies in scotland consider themselves to be of the same stock as those in england and ireland, for they are all acquainted with the same speech. they afford assistance to one another, whenever they happen to meet. the following facts will at least show that the scottish and irish gipsies are one and the same people. in the county of fife, i once fell in with an irish family, to appearance in great poverty and distress, resting themselves on the side of the public road. a shelty and an ass were grazing hard by. the ass they used in carrying a woman, who, they said, was a hundred and one years of age. she was shrunk and withered to a skeleton, or rather, i should say, to a bundle of bones; and her chin almost rested on her knees, and her body was nearly doubled by age. on interrogating the head of the family, i found that his name was hugh white, and that he was an irishman, and a son of the old woman who was with him. i put some gipsy words to him, to ascertain whether or not he was one of the tribe. he pretended not to understand what i said; but his daughter, of about six years of age, replied, "but i understand what he says." i then called out sharply to him, "_jaw vree_"--("go away," or "get out of the way.") "as soon as i can," was his answer. on leaving him, i again called, "_beenship-davies_"--("good-day.") "good-day, sir; god bless you," was his immediate reply. i happened, at another time, to be in the court-house of one of the burghs north of the forth, when two irishmen, of the names of o'reilly and mcewan, were at the bar for having been found drunk, and fighting within the town. they were sentenced by the magistrates to three days' imprisonment, and to be "banished the town," for their riotous conduct. the men had the irish accent, and had certainly been born and brought up in ireland; but their habiliments and general appearance did not correspond exactly with the ordinary dress and manners of common irish peasants, although their features were in all respects hibernian. when the magistrates questioned them in respect to their conduct, the prisoners looked very grave, and said, "sure, and it plase your honours, our quarrel was nothing but whiskey, and sure we are the best friends in the world;" and seemed very penitent. but when the magistrates were not looking at them, they were smiling to each other, and keeping up a communication in pantomime. suspecting them to be irish gipsies, i addressed the wife of mcewan as follows: "for what is the _riah_ (magistrate) going to put your _gaugie_ (man) in _staurdie_, (prison)?" "only for a little whiskey, sir," was her immediate reply. she gave me, on the spot, the english of the following words; adding, at the same time, that i had got the _gipsy_ language, but that hers was only the _english cant_. she was afraid to acknowledge that she was a gipsy, as such a confession might, in her opinion, have proved prejudicial to her husband, in the situation in which he was placed. _gaugie_, man. _managie_, woman. _chauvies_, children. _riah_, magistrate. _chor_, thief. _yaka_, eyes. _grye_, horse. _roys_, spoons. _skews_, platters. _mashlam_, metal. i observed the woman instantly communicate to her husband the conversation she had with me. she immediately returned to me, and, after questioning me as to my name, occupation, and place of residence, very earnestly entreated me to save her _gaugie_ from the _staurdie_. i asked her, how many _chauvies_ she had? "twelve, sir." were any of them _chors_? "none, sir." two of her _chauvies_ were in her hand, weeping bitterly. the woman was in great distress, and when she heard the sound of her own language, she thought she saw a friend. i informed one of the magistrates, whom i knew, that the prisoners were gipsies; and proposed to him to mitigate the punishment of the woman's husband, on condition of his giving me a specimen of his secret speech. but the reply of the man of authority was, "the scoundrel shall lie in prison till the last hour of his sentence." the "scoundrel" however, did not remain in durance so long. while the jailer was securing him in prison, the determined tinkler, with the utmost coolness and indifference, asked him, which part of the jail would be the easiest for him to break through. the jailer told him that, if he attempted to escape, the watchman, stationed in the church-yard, close to the prison, would shoot him. on visiting the prison next morning, the turnkey found that the gipsy had undone the locks of the doors, and fled during the night. o'reilly, the other gipsy, remained, in a separate cell, the whole period of his sentence. when the officers were completing the other part of his punishment--"banishing him from the town"--the regardless, light-hearted irish tinkler went capering along the streets, with his coat off, brandishing, and sweeping, and twirling his shillalah, in the gipsy fashion. meeting, in this excited state, his late judge, the tinkler, with the utmost contempt and derision, called out to him, "plase your honour! won't you now take a fight with me, for the sake of friendship?" this worthy irish gipsy represented himself as the head tinkler in perth, and the first of the second class of boxers. on another occasion, i observed a horde of gipsies on the high street of inverkeithing, employed in making spoons from horn. i spoke to one of the young married men, partly in scottish gipsy words, when he immediately answered me in english. he said they were all natives of ireland. they had, male and female, the irish accent completely. i invited this man to accompany me to a public-house, that i might obtain from him a specimen of his irish gipsy language. the town-clerk being in my company at the time, i asked him to go with me, to hear what passed; but he refused, evidently because he considered that the company of a gipsy would contaminate and degrade him. i treated the tinkler with a glass of spirits, and obtained from him the following words: _yaik_, one. _duie_, two. _trin_, three. _punch_, five. _saus_, six. _luften_, eight. _sonnakie_, gold. _roug_, silver. _vanister_, ring. _rat_, night. _cham_, the moon. _borlan_, the sun. _yak_, fire. _chowrie_, knife. _bar_, stone. _shuha_, coat. _roy_, spoon. _chauvie_, child. _gaugie_, man. _mort and kinshen_, wife and child. _klistie_, soldier. _ruffie lee ma_, devil miss me. _nasher_, deserter. _daw-douglars_, hand-cuffs. _staurdie_, prison. _lodie_, lodgings. _vile_, town. _yak_, eye. _deekers_, eyes. _shir_, head. _test_, head. _nak_, nose. _mooie_, mouth. _meffemel_, hand. _grye_, horse. _aizel_, ass. _dugal_, dog. _bakra_, sheep. _ruffie_, devil. _bing_, devil. _feck_, take. _ruffie feck ma_, devil take me. _nawken_, tinkler. _baurie-dews, nawken_, good-day, tinkler. this man conducted himself very politely, his behaviour being very correct and becoming; and he seemed much pleased at being noticed, and kindly treated. at first, he spoke wholly in the gipsy language, thinking that i was as well acquainted with it as himself. but when he found that i knew only a few words of it, he, like all his tribe, stopped in his communications, and, in this instance, began to quiz and laugh at my ignorance. on returning to the street, i repeated some of the words to one of the females. she laughed, and, with much good humour, said, "you will put me out, by speaking to me in that language." these facts prove that the irish gipsies have the same language as those in scotland. the english gipsy is substantially the same. there are a great many irish gipsies travelling in scotland, of whom i will again speak, in the following chapter. they are not easily distinguished from common irish peasants, except that they are generally employed in some sort of traffic, such as hawking earthen-ware, trinkets, and various other trifles, through the country. it may interest the reader to know how the idea originated that the gipsies, at all events their speech, came, or was thought to have come, from hindostan. according to grellmann, it was in this way: "the following is an article to be found in the vienna gazette, from a captain szekely, who was thinking of searching for (the origin of) the gipsies, and their language, in the east indies: in the year , on the th of november, a printer, whose name was stephen pap szathmar nemethi, came to see me. talking upon various subjects, we at last fell upon that of the gipsies; and my guest related to me the following anecdote, from the mouth of a preacher of the reformed church, stephen vali, at almasch. when the said vali studied at the university of leyden, he was intimately acquainted with some young malabars, of whom three are obliged constantly to study there; nor can they return home till relieved by three others. having observed that their native language bore a great affinity to that spoken by the gipsies, he availed himself of the opportunity to note down from themselves upwards of one thousand words, together with their significations. after vali was returned from the university, he informed himself of the raber gipsies, concerning the meaning of his malabar words, which they explained without trouble or hesitation."[ ] [ ] "the opinion, that the gipsies came originally from india, seems to have been very early entertained, although it was again soon forgotten, or silently relinquished. hieronymus foroliviensis, in the nineteenth volume of muratori, says, that on the th day of august, a. d. , of the cingari came to his native town, and remained there two days, on their way to rome, and that some of them said that they came from india, '_et ut audivi aliqui dicebant quod erant de indiâ_;' and the account which munster gives of what he gathered from one of the cingari, in , seems to prove that an impression existed amongst them of their having come from that country."--_bright._--ed. none of the scottish gipsy words have as yet, i believe, been collated with the hindostanee, the supposed mother tongue of the gipsies.[ ] i showed my list to a gentleman lately from india, who, at first sight, pointed out, from among several hundred words and sentences scattered through these pages, about thirty-nine which very closely resembled hindostanee. but in ascertaining the origin of the gipsies, the traveller, dr. bright, thinks it would be desirable to procure some of the speech of the lowest classes in india, and compare it with the gipsy, as spoken in europe; for the purpose of showing, more correctly, the affinity of the two languages. he supposes, as i understand him, that the terms used by the despised and unlettered gipsies would probably resemble more closely the vulgar idiom of the lowest castes in india, than the hindostanee spoken by the higher ranks, or that which is to be found in books. the following facts show that dr. bright's conjectures are not far from the truth. [ ] mr. baird's missionary report contained a collation of the scottish gipsy with hindostanee, but that appeared considerably after what our author has said was written.--ed. i had occasion at one time to be on board of a vessel lying in the harbour of limekilns, fifeshire, where i observed a black man, acting as cook, of the name of john lobbs, about twenty-five years of age, and a native of bombay, who could neither read nor write any language whatever. he stated that he was now a christian, and had been baptized by the name of john. he had been absent from india three years, as cabin boy, in several british vessels, and spoke english well. he appeared to be of a low caste in his native land, but sharpened by his contact with europeans. recollecting dr. bright's hint, it occurred to me that this hindoo's vulgar dialect might resemble the language of our scottish gipsies. i repeated to him about one hundred and eighty gipsy words and expressions. the greater part were familiar to his ear, but many of them that meant one thing in gipsy, had quite a different signification in his speech. i shall, however, give the following gipsy words, with the corresponding words of lobb's language, and the english opposite.[ ] [ ] meeting a bengalee at peebles, begging money to pay his passage back to india, i repeated to him, from memory, a few of the gipsy words i had collected a week before. after listening attentively, he answered that it was the moor's language i had got, and gave me the english of _paunie_, water, and _davies_, day. i took the first opportunity of mentioning this interview to the gipsies, observing it was the general opinion that their forefathers came from india. they, however, persisted in their own tradition, that they were a tribe of ethiopians, which is believed by all the scottish gipsies. [see pages and .--ed.] scottish gipsy. john lobbs' english. hindostanee. _baurie_, great, grand, rich. _bura_, grand, good, great, rich. _been_, great, grand, rich. _beenie_, grand, good, great, rich. _callo_, _kala_, black. _lon_, _loon_, salt. _gourie_, a man. _gowra_, white man. _gaugie_, a man. _gaugie_, or rich man. _fraugie_, _mort_, a wife. _murgia_, dead wife. _chavo_, _chokna_, a boy, a son. _praw_, _praw_, son. _prawl_, _prawl_, daughter. _nais-gaugie_, grand- father. _nais gaugie_, old man. _nais-mort_, grand- mother. _nais mort_, old woman. _riah_, _riah_, a chief, a gentleman. _rajah_, a chief, governor, _rajah_, a chief, a lord. _raunie_, lady, wife of a gentleman. _raunie_, the wife of a prince. _been riah_, _beenie riah_, the king. _been raunie_, _beenie raunie_, the queen. _been gourie_, _beenie gourie_, a gentleman. _bauree rajah_, _bura rajah_, the king. _baurie raunie_, _bura raunie_, the queen. _baurie forest_, _bura frost_, _bura great town. malook_, _baurie paunie_, _bura paunie_, the sea, the great water. _lon paunie_, _loon paunie_, salt water, the ocean. _grye_, _ghora_, horse. _prancie_, a horse. _prawncie_, a gentleman's carriage. _gournie_, _goroo_, a cow. _backra_, _buckra_, a sheep. _sherro_, _sir_, head. _yak_, _aukh_, eye. _yaka_, _aukha_, eyes. _nak_, _nak_, nose. _mooie_, _mooih_, mouth. _chee_, _jeebh_, the tongue. _chee chee_, _choopra_, hold your tongue. _femmel_, hand. _fingal_, ends of the fingers. _vast_, _wast_, the hand. _peerie_, _peir_, the foot. _gave_, _gaw_, village. _kair_, _gur_, a house. _wautheriz_, _waudrie_, a bed. _outhrie_, a window. _outrie_, _durvaja_, a door. _eegees_, bed clothes. _eegees_, bed curtains. _shuch-hamie_, _shuamie_, a waistcoat. _jair-dah_, _jairda_, woman's apron. _gawd_, _dowglaw_, a man's shirt. _teeyakas_, _teeyaka_, shoes. _scaf_, a hat. _scaf_, a small piece of cloth tied around the head, like a fillet. _skews_, _skows_, platters, jugs. _chowrie_, _choree_, knife. _harro_, _dhoro_, sword. _sauster_, iron. _sauspoon_, iron pot-lid, iron. _mass_, _mass_, flesh. _thood_, _doodh_, milk. _chizcazin_, cheese. _chizcaizim_, cheese-knife. _blaw_, meal. _blaw_, indian corn. _flatrin_, _flatrin_, fish of any kind. _shaucha_, broth _shoorwa_, soup. _molzie_, _mool_, wine. _romanie_, whiskey. _rominie_, spirits, liquor. _mumlie_, a candle. _membootie_, candles. _fluffan_, _floofan_, smoking tobacco. _yak_, _ag_, fire. _paunie_, _paunie_, water. _casties_, _cashtes_, fruit trees. _bar_, _dunbar_, a stone. _sonnakie_, _sona_, gold. _roug_, _roopa_, silver. _chinda_, silver. _chindee_, silver, tin. _geeve_, _guing_, wheat. _mang_, _chan_, _jung_, the moon. _bumie_, _boomie_, to drink. _mar_, _marna_, to strike. _rauge_, _rawd_, mad. _choar_, _chorna_, to steal. _chor_, _chor_, thief. _humff_, _huff_, give me. _moolie_, death, to die, dead. _moola_, dead. _quad_, _quid_, prison. _staurdie_, prison. _staurdee_, a prison, to confine, hold. _jaw vree_, _jowa_, go away. _auvie_, _aow_, coming, come here. _davies_, _din_, day. _rat_, _raut_, night. _pagrin_, _pawgrin_, to break. _davies-pagrin_, _dawis-pawgrin_, day-break, the morning. _klistie_, a soldier. _kleestie_, black soldier, sepoy. _nash_, deserter. _natch_, to run away. _loudnie_, _loonie_, a bad woman.[ ] [ ] a lady who resided seventeen years in india, already alluded to, mentioned to me that the pronunciation of the hindoos is broad, like that of the scotch, particularly where the letter a occurs; and that the scotch learn hindostanee sooner, and more correctly, than the natives of other countries. for this reason, i am inclined to think that the scottish gipsy will have a greater resemblance to hindostanee than the gipsy of some other countries. my informant understood, he said, two of the dialects of hindostan, the one called the hindoo, and the other the moors' language. the former, he said, the english in india generally spoke, but understood little of the latter; and that he himself did not know a word of the language of the brahmins. when he failed to produce, in the moors' language, the word corresponding to the gipsy one, he frequently found it in what he called the hindoo speech. the greater part of the gipsy words, as i have already mentioned, were familiar to his ear; but many of them that signified one thing in his speech, meant quite another in gipsy. for example, the word _graunagie_, in gipsy, signifies a _barn_; with lobbs, it meant an _old rich man_. _coories_, bed clothes or blankets, signified, in lobbs' dialect, _ornaments for the ears_. _dill_, a servant maid, according to lobbs, was a _church_. _shan davies_, a bad day, was the hindostanee for _holiday_. _managie_, a woman, signifies the _name of a person_, such as john or james. _chavo_, a son, meant a _female child_; and _pooklie_, hulled barley, _anything fine_. the two gipsy words _callo_ and _rat_ are black and night; but, according to lobbs, _callorat_ is simply anything dark.[ ] [ ] in the report of the fourteenth gipsies' festival, held at southampton, under the superintendence of the rev. james crabb, the gipsies' friend, on the th december, , is the following statement: "the above gentleman, (the rev. j. west, one of the speakers at the festival,) with the rev. mr. crabb, and two elderly gipsies, who speak the gipsy language, called, the following morning, on a lady who had long resided in india, and speaks the hindostanee language; and it was clear that many of the rommany (gipsy) words were pure hindostanee, and other words strongly resembled that language."--_hampshire advertiser, st january, ._ this statement, made some years subsequent to the period at which i took down the words from lobbs and the gipsies in scotland, is nearly in my own words, and proves that my opinion, as to the close affinity between hindostanee and the scottish gipsy language, is correct. to confirm my collection of scottish gipsy words, i will collate some of those which i sent to sir walter scott, for examination but not for publication, with those to be found in mr. baird's report, a publication which i first saw in . scottish gipsy. yetholm gipsy. english. _gaugie_, _gadgé_, man. _managie_, _manishee_, woman. _mort_, wife. _chavo_, (_chauvies_, _shavies_, children,) children, son. _praw_, _gouré_ a boy, son. _prawl_, _racklé_, a girl, daughter. _riah_, _rai_, a gentleman, a chief. _rajah_, governor. _baurie_, _baré_, good. _sherro_, _shero_, head. _yak_, _yack_, eye. _yaka_, eyes. _nak_, _nak_, nose. _mooie_, _moi_, mouth. _vast_, _vastie_, hand. _grye_, _gr[=a][=i]_, horse. _bashanie_, _basné_, cock. _caunie_, _kanné_, hen. _drom_, _drone_, road. _gave_, _gaave_, village. _graunagie_, barn. _graunzie_, _gransé_, barn. _kair_, _keir_, house. _outhrie_, window. _yag_, _yag_, fire. _thood_, _thud_, milk. _mass_, _mass_, flesh. _peerie_, (or _blawkie_,) _blakie_, pot. _paunie_, _pawné_, water. _paurie_, water. _molzie_, _mul_, wine. _roy_, _roy_, spoon. _nab_, horn. _chorie_, knife. _chowrie_, _chouré_, knife. _shuha_, _shohé_, coat. _scaf_, (or _gogle_,) _gogel_, hat. _harro_, sword. _beerie_, ship. _bumie_, _peevan_, drinking, to drink. _choar_, to steal. _chor_, _tschor_, thief. _staurdie_, _stardé_, a jail, prison. _moolie_, _moulian_, dying, death. _moolie_, _moulé_, to kill, i'll kill you. _bing_, _bing_, the devil. the following scottish gipsy words appear to have some relation to the sanscrit: scottish gipsy. sanscrit. english. _yag_, _agnish_, fire. _paurie_, _varni_, water. _casties_, _cashth_, wood. _duff_, _dhupah_, smoke. _sneepa_, _sweta_, white. _callo_, _cala_, black. _sherro_, _sira_, the head. _rajah_, _rajah_, lord. _vast_, _hastah_, the hand. _praw_, _putra_, son. _gave_, or _gan_, _gramam_, a village. _mar_, _mar_, to strike. _loudnie_, _lodha_, loved, a whore. in order to show the relationship of the language of the gipsies in scotland, england, germany, hungary, spain, and turkey, and the affinity between it and the persian, hindostanee, sanscrit, pali, and kawi, i append a table containing the first ten numerals in all these tongues: table of the first ten numerals in various gipsy dialects, compared with those in other oriental languages. ++------++-----------+--------+------------+-------+--------+-------+ || || scottish |english | german |hunga- |hunga- |turkish| || || gipsy. | gipsy. | gipsy. | rian | rian | gipsy.| || eng- || | | | gipsy.| gipsy. | | ||lish. ++-----------+--------+------------+-------+--------+-------+ || || w. s. |hoyland.|grellmann. |bright.|borrow. |hoyl'd.| || || | | | | | | ++------++-----------+--------+------------+-------+--------+-------+ ||one ||yaik |aick |ick, ek |jeg |jek |yeck | ||two ||duie |dooce |duj, doj |dui |dui |duy | ||three ||trin |trin |trin, tri |tri |trin |trin | ||four ||tor |{shtar, |schtar, star|stah |schtar |shtiar | || || |{staur | | | | | ||five ||punch, fo |panji | {pantsch, |paunch |pansch |panch | || || | | {pansch | | | | ||six ||shaigh |shove |{tschowe, |schof |tschov |shove | || || | |{schow, sof | | | | ||seven ||naivairn |heftan |efta |epta |efta |efta | || ||[ ] | | | | | | ||eight ||{naigh, |. . . |ochto |opto |ochto |okto | || ||{luften | | | | | | ||nine ||line |henya |enja, eija |ennia |enija |enia | ||ten ||nay |desh |desch, des |desh |d[=o]sch|desh | ++------++-----------+--------+------------+-------+--------+-------+ ++------++--------+--------+-------+---------+---------+-------+-------++ || ||spanish |persian.|vulgar |sanscrit.|sanscrit.| pali. | kawi. || || || gipsy. | | hindo-| | | | || || eng- || | |stanee.| | | | || ||lish. ++--------+--------+-------+---------+---------+-------+-------+| || ||borrow. |borrow. |john |polock. | borrow. |polock.|polock.|| || || | |lobbs. | | | | || ++------++--------+--------+-------+---------+---------+-------+-------++ ||one ||yeque |ek |yek |eka |ega |ekka |eka || ||two ||dui |du |doh |dui |dvaya |di |dui || ||three ||trin |se |tin |tri |treya |tri |tri || ||four ||estar |chehar |char |chater |tschatvar|chatwa |chator || || || | | | | | | || ||five ||pansche |pansch |paunsh |pancha |pantscha |pancha |pancha || || || | | | | | | || ||six ||job, zoi|schesche|shaiah |shat |schasda |cho |sat || || || | | | | | | || ||seven ||hefta |heft |saut |sapta |sapta |sap |sapta || || || | | | | | | || ||eight ||otor |hescht |aut |ashta |aschta |at-tha |asta || || || | | | | | | || ||nine ||esnia |nu |nong |nava |nava |nowa |nawa || ||ten ||deque |de |dest |dasa |dascha |thotsa |dasa || ++------++--------+--------+-------+---------+---------+-------+-------++ [ ] the four last of these numerals, in the scottish gipsy language, differ very considerably from the corresponding ones in the table. i leave the matter to be settled by philologists. that the gipsy language, in scotland, is intermixed with cant, or slang, and other words, is certain, as will appear by the specimens i have exhibited.[ ] i am inclined to believe, however, that were the cant and slang used by our flash men and others carefully examined, much of it would turn out to be corrupted hindostanee, picked up from the gipsies. i have, after considerable trouble, produced, and, i may venture to say, faithfully recorded, the raw materials as i found them: to separate the other words from the original and genuine gipsy, is a task i leave to the learned philologist. i shall only observe, that the way in which the gipsy language has been corrupted is this: that whenever the gipsies find words not understood by the people among whom they travel, they commit such to memory, and use them in their conversation, for the purpose of concealment. in the lowlands of scotland, for example, they make use of gaelic,[ ] welsh, irish, and french words. these picked-up words and terms have, in the end, become part of their own peculiar tongue; yet some of the gipsies are able to point out a number of these foreign words, as distinguished from their own. in this manner do the gipsies carry along with them part of the language of every country through which they pass.[ ] [ ] it is remarkable, considering how much the habits and occupations of the gipsies bring them in contact with beggars, thieves, and other bad and disorderly characters, how few of the slang words used by such persons have been adopted by them.--_rev. mr. baird's missionary report to the scottish church, ._--ed. [ ] of the highland gipsies, i had the following account from a person of observation, and highly worthy of credit: there are many settled in kintyre, who travel through the highlands and lowlands annually. they certainly speak, among themselves, a language totally distinct from either gaelic or lowland scotch.--_blackwood's magazine._--ed. [ ] "there is reason for supposing that the gipsies had been wandering in the remote regions of sclavonia, for a considerable time previous to entering bohemia--the first civilized country of europe in which they made their appearance; as their language abounds with words of sclavonic origin, which could not have been adopted in a hasty passage through a wild and half populated country."--_borrow._ that the gipsies were, in some way, drawn together, at a very remote age, and became amalgamated, so as to form a race, can hardly admit of a doubt. but it is an opinion that has no reasonable foundation which supposes that they suddenly took their departure from india, and travelled together, till they entered and spread over europe. they may, as i have conjectured in the introduction, have separated into bands, and passed into countries in asia, as they have done in europe; and existed in asia, and africa, long before they appeared in europe. for this reason, their language ought to vary in different countries; and it would be enough to identify them as the same race, were the substance of their language and their customs, or even their cast of mind, the same. in speaking of the hungarian gipsies, grellmann says, that their speech contains words from the turkish, sclavonian, greek, latin, wallachian, hungarian, and german; but that it would not be absurd to pronounce that there remain more, or at least different, gipsy words among those residing in one country than another.--ed. in concluding my account of the scottish gipsy language, i may observe, that i think few who have perused my details will hesitate for a moment in pronouncing that the people have migrated from hindostan. many convincing proofs of the origin of the race have been adduced by grellmann, hoyland, and bright; and i think that my researches, made in scotland alone, have confirmed the statements of these respectable authors. the question which now remains to be solved is this: from what tribe or nation at present in, or originally from, hindostan are the gipsies descended? that they have been a robber or predatory nation, from principle as well as practice, i am convinced little doubt can be entertained. even yet, the greater the art and address displayed in committing a dexterous theft or robbery, the higher is the merit of such an action esteemed among their fraternity. i am also convinced that this general, or national, propensity to plunder has been the chief cause of the gipsies concealing their origin, language, customs, and religious observances, at the time they entered the territories of civilized nations, and up to this time. the intelligent old gipsy, whose acquaintance i made at st. boswell's, distinctly told me, that his tribe were originally a nation of thieves and robbers; and it is quite natural to suppose that, when they found theft and robbery punished with such severity, in civilized society, everything relating to them would be kept a profound secret. the tribe in india whose customs, manners, and habits have the greatest resemblance to those of the gipsies, are the _nuts_, or _bazegurs_; an account of which is to be found in the th volume of the asiatic researches, page . in blackwood's magazine we find the following paragraph relative to these nuts, or bazegurs, which induces a belief that these people are a branch of the gipsy nation, and a tribe of the highest antiquity. they are even supposed to be the wild, aboriginal inhabitants of india. "a lady of rank, who has resided some time in india, lately informed me that the gipsies are to be found there, in the same way as in england, and practise the same arts of posture-making and tumbling, fortune-telling, stealing, and so forth. the indian gipsies are called nuts, or bazegurs, and they are believed by many to be the remains of an aboriginal race, prior even to the hindoos, and who have never adopted the worship of bramah. they are entirely different from the parias, who are hindoos that have lost caste, and so become degraded." the nuts, or bazegurs, under the name of decoits or dukyts, are, it seems, guilty of frequently sacrificing victims to the goddess calie, under circumstances of horror and atrocity scarcely credible. now the old gipsy, who gave me the particulars relative to the gipsy sacrifice of the horse, stated that sometimes both woman and horse were sacrificed, when the woman, by the action of the horse, was found to have greatly offended. in the ordinances of menu, the nuts, or bazegurs, are called _nata_. now, our scottish gipsies, at this moment, call themselves _nawkens_, a word not very dissimilar in sound to _nata_. when i have spoken to them, in their own words, i have been asked, "are you a _nawken_?" a word to which they attach the meaning of a _wanderer_, or _traveller_--one who can do any sort of work for himself that may be required in the world. chapter x. present condition and number of the gipsies in scotland. every author who has written on the subject of the gipsies has, i believe, represented them as all having remarkably dark hair, black eyes, and swarthy complexions. this notion has been carried to such an extent, that hume, on the criminal laws of scotland, thinks the black eyes should make part of the evidence in proving an individual to be of the gipsy race. the gipsies, in scotland, of the last century, were of all complexions, varying from light flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and corresponding complexions, to hair of raven black, dark eyes, and swarthy countenances. many of them had deep-red and light-yellow hair, with very fair complexions. i am convinced that one-half of the gipsies in scotland, at the present day, have blue eyes, instead of black ones. according to the statistical account of the parish of borthwick, mid-lothian, ( ,) the baillies, wilsons, and taits, at middleton, the descendants of the old tweed-dale gipsies, are described as, "in general, of a colour rather cadaverous, or of a darkish pale; their cheek-bones high; their eyes small, and light coloured; their hair of a dingy white or red colour, and wiry; and their skin, drier and of a tougher texture than that of the people of this country." this question of colour has been illustrated in my enquiry into the history of the gipsy language; for the language is the only satisfactory thing by which to test a gipsy, let his colour be what it may. in other countries, besides scotland, the gipsies are not all of one uniform swarthy hue. a russian gentleman stated to me that many of the gipsies in finland have light hair, and fair complexions. i am also informed there are gipsies in arabia with fair hair. among many other mal-practices, the gipsies have, in all countries, been accused of stealing children; but what became of these kidnapped infants, no one appears to have given any account, that i am aware of. to satisfy myself on this trait of their character, i enquired of a gipsy the reasons which induced his tribe to steal children. he candidly acknowledged the practice, and said that the stolen children were adopted as members of the tribe, and instructed in the language, and all the mysteries of the body. they became, he said, equally hardy, clever, and expert in all the practices of the fraternity. the male gipsies were very fond of marrying the stolen females. some of the kidnapped children were made servants, or, rather, a sort of slaves, to the tribe. they considered that the occasional introduction of another race into their own, and mixing the gipsy blood, in that manner, invigorated and strengthened their race. in this manner would the gipsies alter the complexion of their race, by the introduction of foreign blood among them.[ ] [ ] an objection is perhaps started, that these incorporated individuals are not gipsies. they have been brought into the body at such an age as to leave no trace of past recollections, leaving alone past associations. there was no occasion for such children being either "squalling infants," or of such an age as was likely to lead them to "betray the gipsies," as mr. borrow supposes would be the case, when he says that gipsies have never stolen children, to bring them up as gipsies. how are they to discover their origin, when so many of the body around them have the same colour of hair and complexion? if the idea has ever entered into their imaginations, it has led to a greater antipathy towards their own race, and attachment to the tribe, from the special education which they have received to those ends. so far as the matter of blood is concerned, they are not what may be physiologically called gipsies; and, by being married to gipsies, they become doubly attached to the body. what has been said of children introduced among the gipsies, in the way described, applies with infinitely greater force to those born of one of such parents. suppose, for instance, that the spanish race was originally of an exclusively _dark_ hair and complexion: should we therefore say that a _fair_ spaniard, at the present day, was no spaniard? or that the turks of constantinople, on account of the mixture of their blood, were not turks? in the same manner are gipsies with white blood in their veins gipsies. they may be half-breed, but it would be improper to call them half-caste, gipsies. but what are full-blood gipsies, to commence with? the idea itself is intangible; for, by adopting, more or less, wherever they have been, others into their body, during their singular history, a pure gipsy, like the pure gipsy language, is doubtless nowhere to be found. an english gipsy acquaintance, of perfect european appearance, who, for love of race and language, may be termed "a gipsy of the gipsies," admitted that he was only one-eighth gipsy; his father, a full-blood white, having married a quadroon gipsy. he spoke gipsy with great fluency. he married a seven-eighths gipsy. were his descendants to marry what are supposed to be pure gipsies, the result would be as follows: the first generation, (his children,) would be one-half gipsy; the second, three-fourths; the third, seven-eighths; the fourth, fifteen-sixteenths; the fifth, thirty-one thirty-seconds; and the sixth, sixty-three sixty-fourths. if this were to go on _ad infinitum_, the issue would always lack the one part to make the full blood. but the gipsies do not calculate their vulgar fractions so closely as that; the division of the blood doubtless bothers them, so that they "lump" the question. what has been said, is breeding _up_. sometimes they breed _down_, and sometimes _across_. mixing the blood, in this way, is quite a peculiarity among the english gipsies. i asked my friend, if he was sure his wife was a pure gipsy. he said she was considered such, (i have put her down at seven-eighths,) but that one of her forefathers was a fair-haired french gipsy. according to a well-admitted principle in physiology, a fair-haired gipsy, of almost full blood, is by no means so _rara avis in terris_ as a white crow. some of the children of my acquaintance took after himself, and had blue eyes; and others after the mother, and had black ones. but the english gipsies, (the tented ones at least,) are much purer, in point of blood, than their brethren in scotland. many of the irish gipsies have very red hair--fiery and shaggy in the extreme. indeed, they seem to be pretty much all of a fairish kind.--ed. before going into details to show the condition in which the gipsies are at the present day, i will consider, shortly, the causes which have contributed to the change that has come over their outward circumstances, and driven so many of them, as it were, "to cover," in consequence of the unfortunate times on which they had fallen; a state of things which, however unfortunate to them, in their peculiar way of thinking, has been of so much benefit to civilization, and society at large. about the commencement of the american war of independence, in , the gipsies, in scotland, occupied a very singular position in society. instead of being the proscribed, and, as they thought, persecuted, members of the community, many of them then became the _preservers_ of the peace and good order of the country. the country, as appears by the periodical publications of the day, was, about this time, greatly pestered by rogues and vagabonds. the gipsies had art enough to get a number of their chiefs appointed constables, peace-officers, and _country-keepers_, in several counties in scotland. these public officers were to clear the country of all idle vagrants, vagabonds, and disturbers of the peace. this was, sure enough, a very extraordinary employment for the gipsies. the situation of country-keeper was, of all others, the office in society the most completely to their liking. it gave them authority over every rogue in the country, and they certainly followed out their instructions to the very letter. they hunted down, with the utmost vigilance, every delinquent who was not of their tribe; but, on the other hand, they took especial care to protect every individual of their own fraternity, excepting those that were obnoxious to themselves. when it agreed with their inclinations, these gipsy country-keepers sometimes caused stolen property to be returned to the owners, as if it had been done by magic. it is needless to observe that they were themselves the very chiefs of the depredators, but had generally the dexterity never to be seen in the transactions.[ ] [ ] the following extract from the fife herald, for the th june, , will give the reader an idea of a scotch "country-keeper," at the time alluded to: "a gipsy chief, of the name of pat gillespie, was keeper for the county of fife. he rode on horse-back, armed with a sword and pistols attended by four men, on foot, carrying staves and batons. he appears to have been a sort of travelling justice of the peace. the practice seems to have been general. about the commencement of the late french war, a man, of the name of robert scott, (rob the laird,) was keeper for the counties of peebles, selkirk, and roxburgh." a gipsy country-keeper was at the height of his vanity and glory, when he got an unfortunate individual of the community into his clutches. in the presence of his captive, he would draw his sword, flourish it in the air, and swear a terrible oath, that he would, at a blow, cut the head from his body, if he made the least attempt at escape. the public services of the gipsies were in a short time discontinued, as their conduct only made matters a great deal worse. a friend of mine[ ] saw those gipsy constables, for peebles-shire, sworn into office, at the town of peebles, when they were first appointed. he said he never saw such a set of gloomy, strange-looking fellows, in his life; and expressed his surprise at the conduct of the county magistrates, for employing such banditti as conservators of the public peace. the most extraordinary circumstance attending their appointment, he said, was, that not one of them had a permanent residence within the county. [ ] the late mr. charles alexander, tenant of happrew. during the american war, however, the tide of fortune again completely turned against the gipsies. the government was in need of soldiers and sailors; the gipsies were a proscribed race; their peculiar habits were continually involving them in serious scrapes and difficulties; the consequence was, that the tinklers were apprehended all over the country, and forced into our fleets and armies then serving in america. all the aged persons of intelligence with whom i have conversed on this subject, agree in representing that the kidnapping system at that period was the means of greatly breaking up and dispersing the gipsy bands in scotland. from this blow these unruly vagrants have never recovered their former position in the country.[ ] [ ] we may very readily believe that almost all of the gipsies would desert the army, on landing in america, and marry gipsy women in the colonies, or bring others out from home, or marry with common natives, or return home. indeed, native-born american gipsies say that many of the british gipsies voluntarily accepted the bounty, and a passage to the colonies, during the war of the revolution, and deserted the army on landing. this would lead to a migration of the tribe generally to america.--ed. the war in america had been concluded only a few years before that with france broke out. our army and navy were, of necessity, again augmented to an extent beyond precedent. it was not difficult to find pretences for renewing the chase of the gipsies, and apprehending them, under the name of vagrants and disorderly persons. they were again compelled to enlist into our regiments, and embark on board our ships of war, as sailors and marines. an individual stated to me that, about the commencement of this war, he had seen english gipsies sent, in scores at a time, on board of men-of-war, in the downs. but, rather than be forced into a service so much against their inclinations, numerous instances occurred of gipsies voluntarily mutilating themselves. in the very custody of press-gangs, and other hardened kidnappers, the determined gipsies have, with hatchets, razors, and other sharp instruments, struck from their hands a thumb, or finger or two, to render them unfit for a military life. several instances have come to my knowledge of these resolute acts of the scottish gipsies. i have myself seen several of the tribe without fingers; and, on enquiry, i found that they themselves had struck them from their hands, in consequence of their aversion to become soldiers and sailors. one man, of the name of graham, during the last war, laid his hand upon a block of wood, and, in a twinkling, struck, with a hatchet, his thumb from one of his hands. another, of the name of gordon, struck two of his fingers from one of his hands with a razor. such, indeed, was the aversion which the whole gipsy race had to a military life, that even mothers sometimes mutilated their infants, by cutting off certain fingers, to render them, when they became men, entirely incapable of serving in either the army or navy.[ ] [ ] "when paris was garrisoned by the allied troops, in the year , i was walking with a british officer, near a post held by the prussian troops. he happened, at the time, to smoke a cigar, and was about, while passing the sentinel, to take it out of his mouth, in compliance with a general regulation to that effect; when, greatly to the astonishment of the passengers, the soldier addressed him in these words; 'rauchen sie immer fort; verdamt sey der preussische dienst;' that is: 'smoke away; may the prussian service be d----d.' upon looking closer at the man, he seemed plainly to be a _zigeuner_, or gipsy, who took this method of expressing his detestation of the duty imposed on him. when the risk he ran, by doing so, is considered, it will be found to argue a deep degree of dislike which could make him commit himself so unwarily. if he had been overheard by a sergeant or corporal, the _prugel_ would have been the slightest instrument of punishment employed."--_sir walter scott: note to quentin durward._ mutilation was also very common among the english gipsies, during the french war. strange as it may appear, the same took place among them, at the commencement of the late russian war; from which we may conclude, that they had suffered severely during the previous war, or they would not have resorted to so extreme a measure for escaping military duty, when a press-gang was not even thought of. an english gipsy, at the latter time, laid two of his fingers on a block of wood, and, handing his broom-knife to his neighbour, said, "now, take off these fingers, or i'll take off your head with this other hand!" during the french war, gipsies again and again accepted the bounty for recruits, but took "french leave" of the service. the idea is finely illustrated in burns' "jolly beggars:" "tune--_clout the caudron_. "my bonny lass, i work in brass, a tinkler is my station: i've travell'd round all christian ground, in this my occupation. i've ta'en the gold, an' been enroll'd in many a noble squadron: but vain they searched when off i march'd to go and clout the caudron." poosie nancie and her reputed daughter, racer jess, were very probably gipsies, who kept a poor "tinkler howff" at mauchline. gipsies sometimes voluntarily join the navy, as musicians. here their vanity will have a field for conspicuous display; for a good fifer, on board of a man-of-war, in accompanying certain work with his music, is equal to the services of ten men. there were some gipsy musicians in the fleet at sebastopol. but, generally speaking, gipsies are like cats--not very fond of the water.--ed. such causes as these, taken in connection with the improved internal administration of the country, and the progression of the age, have cast a complexion over the outward aspect of the bulk of the scottish gipsy race, entirely different from what it was before they came into existence. many of the gipsies now keep shops of earthen-ware, china, and crystal. some of them, i am informed on the best authority, have from one to eight thousand pounds invested in this line of business.[ ] i am disposed to think that few of these shops were established prior to the commencement of the french war; as i find that several of their owners travelled the country in their early years. perhaps the fear of being apprehended as vagrants, and compelled to enter the army or navy, forced some of the better sort to settle in towns.[ ] like their tribe in other countries, numbers of our scottish gipsies deal in horses; others keep public-houses; and some of them, as innkeepers, will, in heritable and moveable property, possess, perhaps, two or three thousand pounds. these innkeepers and stone-ware merchants are scarcely to be distinguished as gipsies; yet they all retain the language, and converse in it, among themselves. the females, as is their custom, are particularly active in managing the affairs of their respective concerns. [ ] mr. borrow mentions having observed, at a fair in spain, a family of gipsies, richly dressed, after the fashion of their nation. they had come a distance of upwards of a hundred leagues. some merchants, to whom he was recommended, informed him, that they had a credit on their house, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars.--ed. [ ] in his enquiry into the present condition of the gipsies, our author has apparently confined his remarks exclusively to the body in its present wandering state, and such part of it as left the tent subsequently to the commencement of the french war. in the disquisition on the gipsies, the subject will be fully reviewed, from the date of arrival of the race in the country.--ed. many of them have betaken themselves to some of the regular occupations of the country, such as coopers, shoemakers, and plumbers; some are masons--an occupation to which they seem to have a partiality. some of them are members of masons' lodges. there are many of them itinerant bell-hangers, and umbrella-menders. among them there are tin-smiths, braziers, and cutlers, in great numbers; and the tribe also furnish a proportion of chimney-sweeps. i recollect of a gipsy, who travelled the country, selling earthen-ware, becoming, in the end, a master-sweep. several were, and i believe are, constables; and i am inclined to think that the police establishments, in large as well as small towns, contain some of the fraternity.[ ] individuals of the female gipsies are employed as servants, in the families of respectable persons, in town and country. some of them have been ladies' maids, and even house-keepers to clergymen and farmers.[ ] i heard of one, in a very respectable family, who was constantly boasting of her ancient and high descent; her father being a baillie, and her mother a faa--the two principal families in scotland. some of those persons who sell gingerbread at fairs, or what the country-people call _rowly-powly-men_, are also of the gipsy race. almost all these individuals hawking earthen-ware through the country, with carts, and a large proportion of those hawking japan and white-iron goods, are gipsies. [ ] this is quite common. an english mixed gipsy spontaneously informed me that he had been a constable in l----, and that he had a cousin who was lately a _runner_ in the police establishment of m----. among other motives for the gipsies joining the police is the following: that such is their dislike for the people among whom they live, owing to the prejudice which is entertained against them, that nothing gives them greater satisfaction than being the instruments of affronting and punishing their hereditary enemies. besides this, the lounging and idle kind of life, coupled with the activity, of a constable, is pretty much to their natural disposition. an intelligent mixed gipsy is calculated to make a first-rate constable and thief-catcher. of course, he will not be very hard on those of his own race who come in his way.--ed. [ ] our author frequently spoke of a dissenting scottish clergyman having been married to a gipsy, but was not aware, as far as i know, of the circumstances under which the marriage took place. the clergyman was not, in all probability, aware that he was taking a gipsy to his bosom; and as little did the public generally; but it was well known to the initiated that both her father and mother had cut and divided many a purse. the unquestionable character and standing of the father, and the prudent conduct of the mother, protected the children. one of the daughters married another dissenting clergyman, which fairly disarmed those not of the gipsy race of any prejudice towards the grand-children. the issue of these marriages would pass into gipsydom, as explained in the disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. some of the itinerant venders of inferior sorts of jewelry, part of which they also manufacture, and carry about in boxes on their shoulders, are of the tribe; and some of them even carry these articles in small, handsome, light-made carts. i had frequently observed, in my neighbourhood, a very smart-looking and well-dressed man, who, with his wife and family, and a servant to take care of his children, travelled the country, in a neat, light cart, selling jewelry. all the family were well dressed. i was curious to know the origin of this man, and, upon enquiring of one of the tribe, but of a different clan, i found that he was a gipsy, of the name of robertson, descended from the old _horners_ who traversed the kingdom, about half a century ago. he still retained the speech, peculiar dance, and manner of handling the cudgel, the practices and roguish tricks of his ancestors. i believe he also practised chain-dropping. to show the line of life which some of the descendants of the old style of gipsies are now pursuing, in scotland, i will give the following anecdote, which i witnessed, relative to this gipsy jeweller. i happened to be conversing, about twenty years ago, with four or five individuals, on a public quay in fifeshire, when a smart, well-dressed sailor, apparently of the rank of a mate, obtruded himself on our company. he said he was "a sailor, and had spent all his money in a frolic, as many thoughtless sailors had done;" and, pulling out a watch, he continued, "he would give his gold watch for a mere trifle, to supply his immediate wants." one of the company at once thought he was an impostor, and told him his watch was not gold at all, and worth very little money. "not worth much money!" he exclaimed; "why, i paid not less than ten francs for it, in france, the other day!" at this assertion, all present burst out a laughing at the impostor's ignorance in exposing his own trick. "why, friend," said a ship-master, who was one of the company, "a franc is only worth tenpence; so you have paid just eight and fourpence for this valuable watch of yours. do not attempt to cheat us in this manner." at finding himself so completely exposed, the villain became furious, and stepping close up to the ship-master, with abusive language, _chucked_ him under the chin, to provoke him to fight. i at once perceived that the feigned sailor was a professional boxer and cudgelist, and entreated the ship-master not to touch him, notwithstanding his insolence. the "sailor," now disappointed on all hands, brandished his bludgeon, and retreated backwards, dancing in the gipsy manner, and twirling his weapon before him, till he got his back to a wall. here he set all at defiance, with a design that some one should strike at him, that he might avenge the affront he had received. but he was allowed to go away without interruption. this man was, in short, robertson, the gipsy travelling jeweller, disguised as a sailor, and a well-known prize-fighter. almost all those cheats called thimble-riggers, who infest thoroughfares, highways and byways, are also gipsies, of a superior class. i have tried them by the language, and found they understood it, as has been seen in my account of the gipsy language. i need scarcely say, that all those females who travel the country in families, selling articles made from horn, while the males practise the mysteries of the tinker, are that portion of the gipsies who adhere more strictly to their ancient customs and manner of life. some of the principal families of these nomadic horner bands have yet districts on which none others of the tribe dare encroach. this division of the gipsies are, by superficial observers, considered the only gipsies in existence in scotland; which is a great mistake. the author of guy mannering, himself, seems to have had this class of gipsies, only, in view, when he says, "there are not now above five hundred of the tribe in scotland." those who deal in earthen-ware, and work at the tinsmith business, call these horners gipsies; and nothing can give greater offence to these gipsy potters and smiths than to ask them if they ever _made horn spoons_; for, by asking them this question, you indirectly call them gipsies, an appellation that alarms them exceedingly.[ ] [ ] it is only within these forty years that spoon-making from horn became a regular trade. it would seem the gipsies had a monopoly of the business; for i am informed that the first man in scotland who served a regular apprenticeship to it was alive, in glasgow, in . [there is nothing in this remark to imply that the manufacturing of spoons, and other articles, from horn, may not be monopolized by the gipsies yet, whatever the way in which it may be carried on.--ed.] since the termination of the long-protracted french war, the gipsies have, to some extent, resumed their ancient manners; and many of them are to be seen encamped in the open fields. there are six tents to be observed at present, for one during the war. to substantiate what i have said of the numbers and manners of the nomadic gipsies since the peace, i will give the two following paragraphs, taken from the caledonian mercury newspaper: "_tinklers and vagabonds_: the country has been much infested, of late years, by wandering hordes of vagabonds, who, under pretence of following the serviceable calling of tinkers, assume the name and appearance of such, merely to extort contributions of victuals, and other articles of value, from the country-people, particularly in lonely districts. the evil has encreased rapidly of late, and calls loudly for redress upon those in whose charge the police of the country districts is placed. they generally travel in bands, varying in number from ten to thirty; and wherever they pitch their camp, the neighbours are certain of suffering loss of cattle or poultry, unless they submit to pay a species of black-mail, to save themselves from heavier and more irregular contributions. these bands possess all the vices peculiar to the regular gipsies, without any of the extenuating qualities which distinguish these foreign tribes. unlike the latter, they do not settle in one place sufficiently long to attach themselves to the soil, or to particular families; and seem possessed of no industrious habits, but those of plunder, knavery, and riot. the chief headquarters of the hordes are at the caves of auchmithie, on the east coast of forfarshire; from which, to the wilds of argyleshire, seems to be the usual route of their bands; small detachments being sent off, at intermediate places, to extend the scene of their plunder. their numbers have been calculated by one who lives on the direct line of their passage, through the braes of perthshire, and who has had frequent opportunities for observation; and he estimates them at several hundred."--_ d august, ._ "a horde of gipsies and vagabonds encamped, last week, in a quarry, on the back of the hill opposite cherry-bank. their number amounted to about thirty. the inhabitants in that quarter became alarmed; and provost ross, whose mansion is in the vicinity of the new settlers, ordered out a strong posse of officers from perth, to dislodge them; which they effected. the country is now kept in continual terror by these vagabonds, and it will really be imperative on the landed proprietors to adopt some decided measure for the suppression of this growing evil."--_ d october, ._[ ] [ ] from the numerous enquiries i have made, i am fully satisfied that the greater part of the vagrants mentioned in these notices are gipsies; at least most of them speak the gipsy language. [it matters not whether the people mentioned are wholly or only partly of gipsy blood; it is sufficient if they have been reared as gipsies. there are enough of the tribe in the country to follow the kind of life mentioned, to the extent the people can afford to submit to, without having their prerogatives infringed upon by ordinary natives. where will we find any of the latter, who would betake themselves to the tent, and follow such a mode of life? besides, the gipsies, with their organization, would not tolerate it; and far less would they allow any common natives, of the lowest class, to travel in their company.--ed.] a gentleman informed me that, in the same year, he counted, in aberdeenshire, thirty-five men, women, and children, in one band, with six asses and two carts, for carrying their luggage and articles of merchandise. another individual stated to me, that upwards of three hundred of the gipsies attended the funeral of one of their old females, who died near the bridge of earn. so late as , the sheriff of east lothian addressed a representation to the justices of the peace of mid-lothian, recommending a new law for the suppression of the numerous gipsy tents in the lothians. i have, myself, during a walk of two hours, counted, in edinburgh and its suburbs, upwards of fifty of these vagrants, strolling about.[ ] [ ] owing to such causes as these, many of the gipsies have been again driven into their holes. it is amusing to notice the tricks which some of them resort to, in evading the letter of the vagrant act. they generally encamp on the borders of two counties, which they will cross--passing over into the other--to avoid being taken up: for county officers have no jurisdiction over them, beyond the boundaries of their respective shires.--ed. when i visited st. boswell's, i felt convinced, as mentioned in the last chapter, that there were upwards of three hundred gipsies in the fair held at that place. part of them formed their carts, laden with earthen-ware, into two lines, leaving a space between them, like a street. in the rear of the carts were a few small tents, in which were gipsies, sleeping in the midst of the noise and bustle of the market; and numbers of children, horses, asses, and dogs, hanging around them. there were also kettles, suspended from triangles, in which victuals were cooking; and many of the gipsies enjoyed a warm meal, while others at the market had to content themselves with a cold repast. in the midst of the throng of this large and crowded fair, i noticed, without the least discomposure on their part, some of the male gipsies changing their dirty, greasy-looking shirts for clean ones, leaving no covering on their tawny persons, but their breeches; and some of the old females, with bare shoulders and breasts, combing their dark locks, like black horses' tails, mixed with grey. "ae whow! look at that," exclaimed a countryman to his companion; and, without waiting for his friend's reply, he gravely added: "everything after its kind." the gipsies were, in short, dressing themselves for the fair, in the midst of the crowd, regardless of everything passing around them. on my return from the english border, i passed over the field where the fair had been held, two days before, and found, to my surprise, the gipsies occupying their original encampment. they, alone, were in possession of st. boswell's green. i counted twenty-four carts, thirty horses, twenty asses, and about thirty dogs; and i thought there were upwards of a hundred men, women, and children, on the spot. the horses were, in general, complete rosinantes--as lean, worn-out, wretched-looking animals, as possibly could be imagined. the field trampled almost to mortar, by the multitude of horses, cattle, and sheep, and human beings, at the fair; the lean, jaded and lame horses, braying asses, and surly-looking dogs; the groups of miserable furniture, ragged children, and gloomy-looking parents; a fire, here and there, smoking before as many miserable tents--when contrasted with the gaily-dressed multitude, of both sexes, on the spot, two days before--presented a scene unequalled for its wretched, squalid and desolate appearance. any one desirous of viewing an asiatic encampment, in scotland, should visit st. boswell's green, a day or two after the fair.[ ] [ ] st. boswell's fair "is the resort of many salesmen of goods, and, in particular, of _tinkers_. bands of these very peculiar people, the direct descendants of the original gipsies, who so much annoyed the country in the fifteenth century, haunt the fair, for the disposal of earthen-ware, horn spoons, and tin culinary utensils. they possess, in general, horses and carts, and they form their temporary camp by each _whomling_ his cart upside down, and forming a lodgement with straw and bedding beneath. cooking is performed outside the _craal_, in gipsy fashion. there could not, perhaps, be witnessed, at the present day, in britain, a more amusing and interesting scene, illustrative of a rude period, than is here annually exhibited."--_chambers' gazetteer of scotland._ [this writer is in error as to the gipsies annoying the country in the _fifteenth_ century: that occurred during the three following centuries.--ed.] the following may be said to be about the condition in which the present race of scottish _tinkering_ gipsies are to be found: i visited, at one time, a horde of gipsy tinsmiths, bivouacked by the side of a small streamlet, about half a mile from the town of inverkeithing. it consisted of three married couples, the heads of as many families, one grown-up, unmarried female, and six half-clad children below six years of age. including the more grown-up members, scattered about in the neighbourhood, begging victuals, there must have been above twenty souls belonging to this band. the tinsmiths had two horses and one ass, for carrying their luggage, and several dogs. they remained, during three cold and frosty nights, encamped in the open fields, with no tents or covering, for twenty individuals, but two pairs of old blankets.[ ] some of the youngest children, however, were pretty comfortably lodged at night. the band had several boxes, or rather old chests, each about four feet long, two broad, and two deep, in which they carried their white-iron plates, working tools, and some of their infants, on the backs of their horses. in these chests the children passed the night, the lids being raised a little, to prevent suffocation. the stock of working tools, for each family, consisted of two or three files, as many small hammers, a pair of bellows, a wooden mallet, a pair of pincers, a pair of large shears, a crucible, a soldering-iron or two, and a small anvil, of a long shape, which was stuck into the ground. [ ] the gipsies' supreme luxury is to lie, day and night, so near the fire as to be in danger of burning. at the same time, they can bear to travel in the severest cold, bare-headed, with no other covering than a torn shirt, or some old rags carelessly thrown over them, without fear of catching cold, cough, or any other disorder. they are a people blessed with an iron constitution. neither wet nor dry weather, heat nor cold, let the extremes follow each other ever so close, seems to have any effect upon them.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._ their power of resisting cold is truly wonderful, as it is not uncommon to find them encamped, in the midst of the snow, in light canvas tents, when the temperature is or degrees below freezing point, according to raumer.--_borrow on the russian gipsies._ it is no uncommon thing to see a poor scottish gipsy wrap himself and wife in a thin, torn blanket, and pass the night, in the cold of december, in the open air, by the wayside. on rising up in the morning, they will shake themselves in their rags, as birds of prey, in coming off their perch, do their feathers; make for the nearest public-house, with, perhaps, their last copper, for a gill; and, like the ravens, go in search of a breakfast, wherever and whenever providence may send it to them.--ed. the females as well as the males of this horde of gipsies were busily employed in manufacturing white-iron into household utensils, and the clink of their hammers was heard from daybreak till dark.[ ] the males formed the plates into the shapes of the different utensils required, and the females soldered and otherwise completed them, while the younger branches of the families presented them for sale in the neighbourhood. the breakfast of the band consisted of potatoes and herrings, which the females and children had collected in the immediate neighbourhood by begging. i noticed that each family ate their meals by themselves, wrought at their calling by themselves, and sold their goods for themselves. the name of the chief of the gang was williamson, who said he travelled in the counties of fife and perth. when i turned to leave them, they heaped upon me the most fulsome praises, and so loud, that i might distinctly hear them, exactly in the manner as those in spain, mentioned by dr. bright. [ ] some of the itinerant gipsies, doubtless, use their trades, in a great measure, as a cover for living by means such as society deems very objectionable. many of them work hard while they are at it, as in the above instance, when "the clink of their hammers was heard from daybreak till dark;" and as has been said of those in tweed-dale--"however early the farm servants rose to their ordinary employments, they always found the tinklers at work."--ed. i have, for many months running, counted above twenty gipsies depart out of the town of inverkeithing, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, every day, on their way to various parts of the country; and i have been informed that from twenty to thirty vagrants lodged in this small burgh nightly. some of the bakers declared that the persons who were the worst to please with hot rolls for breakfast, were the beggars, or rather gipsies, who frequented the place. on one occasion, i observed twelve females, without a single male among them, decamp out of the town, all travelling in and around a cart, drawn by a shagged pony. the whole party were neatly attired, some of the young girls having trowsers, with frills about their ankles; and very few would have taken them for gipsies. a large proportion of those miserable-looking females, who are accompanied by a number of ragged children, and scatter themselves through the streets, and beg from door to door, are gipsies. i do not recollect, distressing as the times ever have been, of having seen reduced scotch tradesmen _begging in families_. i remember once seeing a man with a white apron wrapped around his waist, his coat off, an infant in his arms, and two others at his feet, accompanied by a dark-looking fellow of about twenty, singing through the town mentioned. they represented themselves as broken-down tradesmen, and had the appearance of having just left their looms, to sing for bread; and many half-pence they received. suspecting them to be impostors, i observed their motions, and soon saw them join other vagrants, outside of the town, among whom were females. the poor tradesmen were now dressed in very substantial drab surtouts. they were nothing but a family of tinklers. they were proceeding, with great speed, to the next town, to practise their impositions on the inhabitants; and i learned that they had, in this manner, traversed several counties in scotland. at a subsequent period, i fell in with another family, consisting of five children and their parents, driving an ass and its colt, near the south queensferry. upon the back of the ass were two stone-hammers, and two reaping-hooks, placed in such a manner as any one, in passing, might observe them. i enquired where they had been. "we have been in england, sir, seeking work, but could find none." few would have taken them for anything but country labourers; but the truth was, they were a family of gipsies, of the well-known name of marshall, from about stranraer. their implements of industry, so conspicuously exhibited on the back of their ass, was all deception. it is only about twenty-five years since the irish gipsies, in bands, made their appearance in scotland. many severe conflicts they had with our scottish tribes, before they obtained a footing in the country. but there is a new swarm of irish gipsies at present scattered, in bands, over scotland, all acquainted with the gipsy language. they are a set of the most wretched creatures on the face of the earth. a horde of them, consisting of several families, encamped, at one time, at port edgar, on the banks of the forth, near south queensferry. they had three small tents, two horses, and four asses, and trafficked in an inferior sort of earthen-ware. on the outside of one of the tents, in the open air, with nothing but the canopy of heaven above her, and the greensward beneath her, one of the females, like the deer in the forest, brought forth a child, without either the infant or mother receiving the slightest injury.[ ] the woman, however, was attended by a midwife from queensferry, who said that these irish gipsies were so completely covered with filth and vermin, that she durst not enter one of their tents, to assist the female in labour. several individuals were attracted to the spot, by the novelty of such an occurrence, in so unusual a place as the open fields. immediately after the child was born, it was handed about to every one of the band, that they might look at the "young donkey," as they called it. in about two days after the accouchement, the horde proceeded on their journey, as if nothing had happened.[ ] [ ] i know another instance of a gipsy having a child in the open fields. it took place among the rushes on stanhope-hangh, on the banks of the tweed. in the forenoon, she was delivered of her child, without the assistance of a midwife, and in the afternoon the hardy gipsy resumed her journey. the infant was a daughter, named mary baillie. [when a gipsy woman is confined, it is either in a miserable hut or in the open air, but always easily and fortunately. true gipsy-like, for want of some vessel, a hole is dug in the ground, which is filled with cold water, and the new-born child is washed in it--_grellmann, on the hungarian gipsies._ we may readily believe that a child coming into the world under the circumstances mentioned, would have some of the peculiarities of a wild duck. mr. hoyland says that "on the first introduction of a gipsy child to school, he flew like a bird against the sides of its cage; but by a steady care, and the influence of the example of the other children, he soon became settled, and fell into the ranks." it pleases the gipsies to know that their ancestors came into the world "like the deer in the forest," and, when put to school, "flew like a bird against the sides of its cage."--ed.] [ ] this invasion of scotland by irish gipsies has, of late years, greatly altered the condition of the nomadic scottish tribes; for this reason, that as scotland, no less than any other country, can support only a certain number of such people who "live on the road," so many of the scottish gipsies have been forced to betake themselves to other modes of making a living. to such an extent has this been the case, that gipsies, speaking the scottish dialect, are in some districts comparatively rarely to be met with, where they were formerly numerous. the same cause may even lead to the extinction of the scottish gipsies as wanderers; but as the descendants of the irish gipsies will acquire the scottish vernacular in the second generation, (a remarkably short period among the gipsies,) what will then pass for scottish gipsies will be irish by descent. the irish gipsies are allowed, by their english brethren, to speak good gipsy, but with a broad and vulgar accent; so that the language in scotland will have a still better chance of being preserved. england has likewise been invaded by these irish swarms. the english gipsies complain bitterly of them. "they have no law among them," they say; "they have fairly destroyed scotland as a country to travel in; if they get a loan of anything from the country-people, to wrap themselves in, in the barn, at night, they will decamp with it in the morning. they have brought a disgrace upon the very name of gipsy, in scotland, and are heartily disliked by both english and scotch." "there is a family of irish gipsies living across the road there, whom i would not be seen speaking to," said a superior english gipsy; "i hate a jew, and i dislike an irish gipsy." but english and scottish gipsies pull well together; and are on very friendly terms in america, and frequently visit each other. the english sympathise with the scottish, under the wrongs they have experienced at the hands of the irish, as well as on account of the persecutions they experienced in scotland, so long after such had ceased in england. twenty-five years ago, there were many gipsies to be found between londonderry and belfast, following the style of life described under the chapter of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies. their names were docherty, mccurdy, mccloskey, mcguire, mckay, holmes, dinsmore, morrow, allan, stewart, lindsay, cochrane, and williamson. some of these seem to have migrated from scotland and the north of england.--ed. but there are irish gipsies of a class much superior to the above, in scotland. in , a very respectable and wealthy master-tradesman informed me that the whole of the individuals employed in his manufactory, in edinburgh, were irish gipsies.[ ] [ ] in england, some of the irish gipsies send their children to learn trades. there are many of such irish mechanic gipsies in america. a short time ago, a company of them landed in new york, and proceeded on to chicago. their occupations, among others, were those of hatters and tailors.--ed. the gipsies do not appear to have been altogether free from the crime of destroying their offspring, when, by infirmities, they could not be carried along with them in their wanderings, and thereby became an encumbrance to them. it has, indeed, been often noticed that few, or no, deformed or sickly individuals are to be found among them.[ ] the following appears to be an instance of something like the practice in question. a family of gipsies were in the habit of calling periodically, in their peregrinations over the country, at the house of a lady in argyleshire. they frequently brought with them a daughter, who was ailing of some lingering disorder. the lady noticed the sickly child, and often spoke kindly to her parents about her condition. on one occasion, when the family arrived on her premises, she missed the child, and enquired what had become of her, and whether she had recovered. the father said his daughter was "a poor sickly thing, not worth carrying about with them," and that he had "made away with her." whether any notice was taken of this murder, by the authorities, is not mentioned. the gipsies, however, are generally noted for a remarkable attachment to their children.[ ] [ ] they are neither overgrown giants nor diminutive dwarfs; and their limbs are formed in the justest proportions. large bellies are as uncommon among them as humpbacks, blindness, or other corporeal defects.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._--ed. [ ] the _ross-shire advertiser_, for april, , says: "gipsy recklessness.--last week, two gipsy women, who were begging through the country, each with a child on her back, having got intoxicated, took up their lodgings, for the night, in an old sawpit, in the parish of logie-easter. it is supposed that they forgot to take the children off their backs, when going to rest; for, in the morning, they were found to be both dead, having been smothered by their miserable mothers lying upon them through the night. one of the women, upon awakening in the morning, called to the other, 'that her baby was dead,' to which the reply was, 'that it could not be helped.' having dug a hole, they procured some straw, rolled up the children in it, put them in the hole, and then filled it up with the earth." several authors have brought a general charge of cowardice against the gipsies, in some of the countries of europe; but i never saw or heard of any grounds for bringing such a charge against the scottish gipsies. on the contrary, i always considered our tinklers the very reverse of cowards. heron, in his journey through part of scotland, before the year , when speaking of the gipsies in general, says: "they make excellent soldiers, whenever the habit of military discipline can be sufficiently impressed upon them." several of our scottish gipsies have even enjoyed commissions, as has already been noticed.[ ] but the military is not a life to their taste, as we have already seen; for, rather than enter it, they will submit to even personal mutilation. there is even danger in employing them in our regiments at the seat of war; as i am convinced that, if there are any gipsies in the ranks of the enemy, an improper intercourse will exist between them in both armies. during the last rebellion in ireland, the gipsy soldiers in our regiments kept up an intimate and friendly correspondence with their brethren among the irish rebels.[ ] [ ] though gipsies everywhere, they differ, in some respects, in the various countries which they inhabit. for example, an english gipsy, of pugilistic tendencies, will, in a vapouring way, engage to _thrash_ a dozen of his hungarian brethren. the following is the substance of what grellmann says on this feature of their character: sulzer says a gipsy requires to have been a long time in the army before he can meet an enemy's balls with decent soldiers' resolution. they have often been employed in military expeditions, but never as regular soldiers. in the thirty years' war, the swedes had a body of them in the army; and the danes had three companies of them at the siege of hamburg, in . they were chiefly employed in flying parties, to burn, plunder, or lay waste the enemy's country. in two hungarian regiments, nearly every eighth man is a gipsy. in order to prevent either them(!) or any others from remembering their descent, it is ordered, by the government, that as soon as a gipsy joins the regiment, he is no longer to be called by that appellation. here he is placed promiscuously with other men. but whether he would be adequate to a soldier's station--unmixed with strangers, in the company of his equals only--is very doubtful. he has every outward essential for a soldier, yet his innate properties, his levity, and want of foresight, render him incompatible for the services of one, as an instance may illustrate. francis von perenyi, who commanded at the siege of nagy ida, being short of men, was obliged to have recourse to the gipsies, of whom he collected a thousand. these he stationed behind the entrenchments, while he reserved his own men to garrison the citadel. the gipsies supported the attack with so much resolution, and returned the fire of the enemy with such alacrity, that the assailants--little suspecting who were the defendants--were compelled to retreat. but the gipsies, elated with victory, immediately crept out of their holes, and cried after them, "go, and be hanged, you rascals! and thank god that we had no more powder and shot, or we would have played the devil with you!" "what!" they exclaimed, bearing in mind the proverb, "you can drive fifty gipsies before you with a wet rag," "what! are _you_ the heroes?" and, so saying, the besiegers immediately wheeled about, and, sword in hand, drove the black crew back to their works, entered them along with them, and in a few minutes totally routed them.--ed. [ ] a gipsy possesses all the properties requisite to render him a fit agent to be employed in traitorous undertakings. being necessitous, he is easily corrupted; and his misconceived ambition and pride persuade him that he thus becomes a person of consequence. he is, at the same time, too inconsiderate to reflect on danger; and, artful to the greatest decree, he works his way under the most difficult circumstances. gipsies have not only served much in the capacity of spies, but their garb and manner of life have been assumed by military and other men for the same purpose.--_grellmann on the hungarian gipsies._ mr. borrow gives a very interesting description of a meeting of two gipsies, in a battle between the french and spaniards, in the peninsula, in bonaparte's time. in the midst of a desperate battle--when everything was in confusion--sword to sword and bayonet to bayonet--a french soldier singled out one of the enemy, and, after a severe personal contest, got his knee on his breast, and was about to run his bayonet through him. his cap at this moment fell off, when his intended victim, catching his eye, cried, "_zincali, zincali!_" at which the other shuddered, relaxed his grasp, smote his forehead, and wept. he produced his flask, and poured wine into his brother gipsy's mouth; and they both sat down on a knoll, while all were fighting around. "let the dogs fight, and tear each other's throats, till they are all destroyed: what matters it to us? they are not of our blood, and shall that be shed for them?" what our author says of there being danger in employing gipsies in time of war has little or no foundation; for the associations between those in the opposite ranks would be merely those of interest, friendship, assistance, and scenes like the one depicted by mr. borrow. the objection to gipsies, on such occasions, is as applicable to jews and freemasons.--ed. the scottish gipsies have ever been distinguished for their gratitude to those who treated them with civility and kindness, during their progress through the country. the particulars of the following instance of a gipsy's gratitude are derived from a respectable farmer, to whom one of the tribe offered assistance in his pecuniary distress. i was well acquainted with both of them. the occurrence, which took place only about ten years ago, will show that gratitude is still a prominent feature in the character of the scottish gipsy. the farmer became embarrassed in his circumstances, in the spring of the year, when an ill-natured creditor, for a small sum, put him in jail, with a design to extort payment of the debt from his relatives. the farmer had always allowed a gipsy chief, of the name of ----, with his family, to take up his quarters on his premises, whenever the horde came to the neighbourhood. the gipsy's horse received the same provender as the farmer's horses, and himself and family the same victuals as the farmer's servants. so sure was the gipsy of his lodgings, that he seldom needed to ask permission to stay all night on the farm, when he arrived. on learning that the farmer was in jail, he immediately went to see him. when he called, the jailer laughed at him, and, for long, would not intimate to the farmer that he wished to see him. with tears in his eyes, the gipsy then told him he "would be into the jail, and see the honest man, whether he would or not." at last, an hour was fixed when he would be allowed to enter the prison. when the time arrived, the gipsy made his appearance, with a quantity of liquor in his hand, for his friend the farmer. "weel, man," said he to the turnkey, "is this your hour, now?" being displeased at the delay which had taken place. the jailer again said to him that he was surely joking, and still refused him admittance. "joking, man?" exclaimed the gipsy, with the tears again glistening in his dark eyes, "i am not joking, for into this prison i shall be; and if it is not by the door, it shall be by another way." observing the determined gipsy quite serious, the jailer at last allowed him to see the object of his search. the moment he saw the farmer, he took hold of both his hands, and, immediately throwing his arms around him, burst into tears, and was for some time so overcome by grief, that he could not give utterance to his feelings. recovering himself, he enquired if it was the laird that had put him in prison; but on being told it was a writer, one of his creditors, the gipsy exclaimed, "they are a d----d crew, thae writers,[ ] and the lairds are little better." with much feeling, he now said to his friend, "your father, honest man, was aye good to my horse, and your mother, poor body, was aye kind to me, when i came to the farm. i was aye treated like one of their own household, and i can never forget their kindness. many a night's quarters i received from them, when others would not suffer me to approach their doors." the grateful gipsy now offered the farmer fifty pounds, to relieve him from prison. "we are," said he, "not so poor as folk think we are;" and, putting his hand into his pocket, he added, "here is part of the money, which you will accept; and if fifty pounds will not do, i will sell all that i have in the world, horses and all, to get you out of this place." "oh, my bonnie man," continued the gipsy, "had i you in my camp, at the back of the dyke, i would be a happy man. you would be far better there than in this hole." the farmer thanked him for his kind offer, but declined to accept it. "we are," resumed the gipsy, "looked upon as savages, but we have our feelings, like other people, and never forget our friends and benefactors. kind, indeed, have your relatives been to me, and all i have in this world is at your service." when the gipsy found that his offer was not accepted, he insisted that the farmer would allow him to supply him, from time to time, with pocket money, in case he should, during his confinement, be in want of the necessaries of life. before leaving the prison, the farmer asked the gipsy to take a cup of tea with him; but long the gipsy modestly refused to eat with him, saying, "i am a black thief-looking deevil, to sit down and eat in your company; but i will do it, this day, for your sake, since you ask it of me." the gipsy's wife, with all her family, also insisted upon being allowed to see the farmer in prison.[ ] [ ] a _writer_ in scotland corresponds with an _attorney_ in england. it is interesting to notice the opinion which the gipsy entertained of the writers. possibly he had been a good deal worried by them, in connection with the conduct of some of his folk.--ed. [ ] there is something singularly inconsistent in the mind of the gipsies. they pride themselves, to an extraordinary degree, in their race and language; at the same time, they are extremely sensitive to the prejudice that exists against them. "we feel," say they, "that every other creature despises us, and would crush us out of existence, if it could be done. no doubt, there are things which many of the gipsies do not hold to be a shame, that others do; but, on the other hand, they hold some things to be a shame which others do not. they have many good points. they are kind to their own people, and will feed and clothe them, if it is in their power; and they will not molest others who treat them civilly. they are somewhat like the wild american indians: they even go so far as to despise their own people who will willingly conform to the ways of the people among whom they live, even to putting their heads under a roof. but, alas! a hard necessity renders it unavoidable; a necessity of two kinds--that of making a living under the circumstances in which they find themselves placed, and the impossibility of enforcing their laws among themselves. let them do what they may, live as they may, believe what they may, they are looked upon as everything that is bad. yet they are a people, an ancient and mysterious people, that have been scattered by the will of providence over the whole earth." it is to escape this dreadful prejudice that all gipsies, excepting those who avowedly live and profess themselves gipsies, will hide their race, if they can, and particularly so, in the case of those who fairly leave the tent, conform to the ordinary ways of society, and engage in any of its various callings. while being convoyed by the son of an english gipsy, whose family i had been visiting, at their house, where i had heard them freely speak of themselves as gipsies, and converse in gipsy, i said, in quite a pleasant tone, "ah, my little man, and you are a young gipsy?--eh, what's the matter?" "i don't wish to be known to the people as a gipsy." his father, on another occasion, said, "we are not ashamed to say to a friend that we are gipsies; but my children don't like people to be crying after them, 'look at the gipsies!'" and yet this family, like all gipsies, were strongly attached to their race and language. it was pitiful to think that there was so much reason for them to make such a complaint. on one occasion, i was asked, "if you would not deem it presumptuous, might we ask you to take a bite with us?" "eat with you? why not?" i replied. "what will your people think, if they knew that you had been eating with us? you will lose caste." this was said in a serious manner, but slightly tinged with irony. bless me, i thought, are all our scottish gipsies, of high and low degree, afraid that the ordinary natives would not even eat with them, if they knew them to be gipsies?--ed. this interview took place in presence of several persons, who were surprised at the gratitude and manner of the determined gipsy. it is proper to mention that he is considered a very honest man, and is a protection to the property of the country-people, wherever he is quartered. he sells earthen-ware, through the country, and has, sometimes, several horses in his possession, more for pleasure than profit, some of which the farmers graze for nothing, as he is a great favourite with those who are intimately acquainted with him. he is about fifty years of age, about six feet in height, is spare made, has small black eyes, and a swarthy complexion. he is styled king of the gipsies, but the country-people call him "terrible," for a by-name. it was said his mother was a witch, and many of the simple, ignorant people, in the country, actually believed she was one. that her son believed she possessed supernatural power, will appear from the following fact: as some one was lamenting the hard case of the farmer remaining in prison, the gipsy gravely said, "had my mother been able to go to the jail, to see the honest man, she possessed the power to set him free." that numbers of our gipsies attend the church, and publicly profess christianity, and get their children baptized, is certain; and that many of the male heads of principal families have the appearance and reputation of great honesty of character, is also certain. yet their wives and other members of their families are, in general, little better than professed thieves; and are secretly countenanced and encouraged in their practices by many of those very chief males, who designedly keep up an outward show of integrity, for the purpose of deception, and of affording their plundering friends protection. when the head of the family is believed to be an honest man, it excites a feeling of sympathy for his tribe on his account, and it enables him to step forward, with more freedom, to protect his kindred, when they happen to get into scrapes. i am convinced, could the fact be ascertained, that many of the offenders who are daily brought before our courts of justice are gipsies, though their external appearance does not indicate them to be of that race. with regard to the education of our scottish gipsies, i am convinced that very few of them receive any education at all; except some of those among the superior classes, who have property in houses, and permanent residences. a gipsy, of some property, who gave one of her sons a good education, declared that the young man was entirely spoiled.[ ] it appears, however, that the males of the yetholm colony received such an education as is commonly given to the working classes; but it is supposed there is scarcely such a thing as a female gipsy who has been educated. there are, however, instances to the contrary; and i know one female at least, who can handle her pen with some dexterity.[ ] [ ] it it well to notice the fact, that by giving a gipsy child a good education, it became "entirely spoiled." it would be well if we could "spoil" all the gipsies. a thoroughly spoiled gipsy makes a very good man, but leaves him a gipsy notwithstanding. a "thorough gipsy" has two meanings; one strongly attached to the tribe, and its _original habits_, or one without these original habits. there are a good many "spoiled" gipsies, male and female, in scotland.--ed. [ ] the education and acquirements of the spanish gipsies, according to mr. borrow, are, on the whole, not inferior to those of the lower classes of the spaniards; some of the young _men_ being able to read and write in a manner by no means contemptible; but such never occurs among the females. neglecting females, in the matter of education, is quite in keeping with the oriental origin of the gipsies. the same feature is observable among the jews; and the talmud bears heavily upon jewish women. every jew says, in his morning prayer, "blessed art thou, o lord, our god, king of the universe, who hast not made me a woman!" and the woman returns thanks for having been "created according to god's will."--ed. as to their religious sentiments, i am inclined to think that the greater part of the scottish gipsies are quite indifferent on the subject. numbers of them certainly attend church, occasionally, when at home, in their winter quarters; but not one of them will enter its door when travelling through the country.[ ] on sundays, while resting themselves by the side of the public roads, the females employ themselves in washing and sewing their apparel, without any regard for that sacred day. it appears to me that a large proportion of them comply with our customs and forms of worship, more for the purpose of concealing their tribe and practices, than from any serious belief in the doctrines of christianity. i recollect, however, of once conversing with an aged man who professed much apparent zeal in religious matters; and i mind well that he stoutly maintained, in opposition to calvin's ideas on the subject of free grace, that everything depended upon our own works. "by my works in this life," said he, "i must stand, or fall, in the world to come." this very man acknowledged to me that the gipsies were a tribe of thieves. but almost all the gipsies, when the subject of religion is mentioned to them, affect to be very pious; speak of the goodness of god to them, with much apparent sincerity; lament the want of education; and reprobate, in strong terms, every act of immorality. this, i am sorry to say, is, in general, all hypocrisy and deception. there is not a better test, in a general way, for discovering who are gipsies, than the expression of "god bless you," which is constantly in the mouth of every female.[ ] [ ] the ostensible reason which the gipsy gives for not attending church, when travelling, is to prevent himself being ridiculed by the people. if he enters a place of worship, he makes the old people stare, and frightens the children. on returning from church, a child will exclaim, "mother, mother, there was a tinkler at the kirk, to-day."--"a what? a _tinkler_ at the kirk? what could have possessed _him_ to go there?" gipsies are extremely sensitive to the feeling in question. a short time ago, one of them entered ----, in the state of ----, with a "shears to grind," having a small bell attached. some bar-room gentry assembled around him, and saluted him with, "oh, oh, a gipsy in a new rig!" so keenly did he feel the insult, that he at once left the village.--ed. [ ] according to grellmann, the gipsies did not bring any particular religion with them from their own country, but have regulated it according to those of the countries in which they have lived. they suffer themselves to be baptized among christians, and circumcised among mahommedans. they are greeks with greeks, catholics with catholics, protestants with protestants, and as inconstant in their creed as their place of residence. they suffer their children to be several times baptised. to-day, they receive the sacrament as a lutheran; next sunday, as a catholic; and, perhaps before the end of the week, in the reformed church. the greater part of them do not go so far as this, but live without any religion at all, and worse than heathens. so thoroughly indifferent are they in this respect, as to have given rise to the adage, "the gipsy's church was built of bacon, and the dogs ate it." so perfectly convinced are the turks of the insincerity of the gipsy in matters of religion, that, although a jew, by becoming a mahommedan, is freed from the payment of the poll-tax, a gipsy--at least in the neighbourhood of constantinople--is not, even although his ancestors, for centuries, had been mahommedans, or he himself should actually have made a pilgrimage to mecca. his only privilege is to wear a white turban, which is denied to unbelieving jews and gipsies. mr. borrow says, that when the female gipsies, who sing in the choirs of moscow, were questioned, in their own language, about their externally professing the greek religion, they laughed, and said it was only to please the russians. the same author mentions an instance in which he preached to them; taking, for his text, the situation of the hebrews in egypt, and drawing a comparison between it and theirs in spain. warming with his subject, he spoke of the power of god in preserving both, as a distinct people, in the world to this day. on concluding, he looked around to see what impression he had made upon them, but the only response he got from them all was--a squint of the eye!--ed. with regard to the general politics of the scottish gipsies, if they entertain any political sentiments at all, i am convinced they are monarchical; and that, were any revolutionary convulsion to loosen the bonds of society, and separate the lower from the higher classes, they would take to the side of the superior portion of the community. they have, at all times, heartily despised the peasantry, and been disposed to treat menials with great contempt, though, at the very moment, they were begging at the doors of their masters. in the few instances which have come to my knowledge, of scottish gipsies forming matrimonial connexions with individuals of the community, those individuals were not of the working or lower classes of society.[ ] [ ] what our author says of the politics of the gipsies is rather more applicable to their ideas of their social position. being a small body in comparison with the general population of the country, they entertain a very exclusive and, consequently, a very aristocratic idea of themselves, whatever others may think of them; and therefore scorn the prejudice of the very lowest order of the common natives.--ed. i believe there are gipsies, in more or less numbers, in almost every town in scotland, permanent as well as periodical residenters. in many of the villages there are also gipsy inhabitants. in mid-lothian there are great numbers of them, who have houses, in which they reside permanently, but a portion of them travel in other districts, during the summer season. i have been at no ordinary pains and trouble in making enquiries regarding the number of the gipsies, and the result of my numerous investigations induces me to believe that there are about five thousand of them in scotland, at the present day. indeed, some of the gipsies themselves entertain the same opinion, and they must certainly be allowed to have some idea of the number of their own fraternity.[ ] [ ] before the reformation of our criminal law, many of the male gipsies perished on the gallows, but now, the greatest punishment they meet with is banishment, or a short imprisonment, for "sorning, pickery, and little thieving." few of them are now "married to the gallows tree," in the manner of graham, as described under the head of fifeshire gipsies. owing to their, (the more original kind especially,) all marrying very young, and having very large families, their number cannot fail to encrease, under the present laws, in a ratio far beyond that of our own population. instead of there being only , gipsies in scotland, there are, as i have already said, nearer , , for reasons to be given in my disquisition on the gipsies.--ed. it appears to me that the civilization and improvement of the body, generally, would be a work of great difficulty. i would be apt to give nearly the same answer which a hungarian nobleman gave to dr. bright, when that traveller asked him if he could not devise a plan for bettering the condition of the race in hungary. the nobleman said he knew of no manner of improving the gipsies.[ ] the best plan yet proposed for improving the race appears to be the one suggested by the rev. james crabb, of southampton, and the rev. john baird, of yetholm.[ ] one of the first steps, however, should be a complete publicity to their language, if that was possible; and encouragement held out to them to speak it openly, without fear or reproach. their secret speech is a strong bond of union among them, and forms, as it were, a wall of separation between them and the other inhabitants of the country. [ ] speaking of the attempted civilization of the gipsies, by the empress maria theresa, grellmann says, "a boy, (for you must leave the old stock alone,) would frequently seem in the most promising train to civilization; on a sudden, his wild nature would appear, a relapse follow, and he become a perfect gipsy again." "_curate._--could you not, by degrees, bring yourself to a more settled mode of life? "_gipsy._--i would not tell you a lie, sir; i really think i could not, having been brought up to it from a child."--_hoyland on the english gipsies._ the restless desire which the more original kind of gipsies, and those more recently from the tent, have for moving about, is generally gratified in some way or other. the poorer class will send their wives and young ones to the "grass," in company with the nomadic portion, or to the streets in towns. in either case, they have no great occasion to feel uneasy about their support; for she would be a poor wife indeed, if she could not forage for herself and "weary bairns." among other things, she can hire herself to assist in disposing of the wares made by another gipsy. her husband will then work at his calling, or go on the _tramp_, like some of our ordinary mechanics. the feeling which mankind in general have for the sweets of the country, and the longing which so many of us have to end our days in the midst of them, amount almost to a mania with these gipsies. frequently will gipsies, in england, after spending the best part of their lives in a settled occupation, again take to the tent; while others of them, on arrival in america, will buy themselves places, and live on them till seized with the travelling epidemic, communicated by a roving company of their tribe accidentally arriving in their neighbourhood. some of the more recently settled class of gipsies, whose occupations do not easily admit of their enjoying the pleasure of a country or travelling life, show a great partiality to their wandering brethren, however poor, with whom they are on terms of intimacy, and especially if they happen to be related. their children, from hearing their parents speak of the "good old times"--the "golden age" of the gipsies--when they could wander hither and thither, with little molestation, and live, in a measure, at free-quarters, wherever they went, grow impatient under the restraint which society has thrown around them; and vent their feelings in abusing that same society, and all the members thereof. they envy the lot of these "country cousins." meetings of that kind render these gipsies, (old as well as young,) irritable, discontented, and gloomy: they feel like "birds in a cage," as a gipsy expressed it. not unfrequently will a young town gipsy travel in the company of these country relatives, dressed _a la tinklaire_, as a relief to the discontentment which a restrained and pent-up life creates within him. at other times, his parents will know nothing of his movements, beyond his coming home to "roost" at night. the nomadic class take to winter-quarters in some village, towards the close of the year, and fret themselves all day long, till, on the return of spring, they can say, "to your tents, o gipsies!" there is as little direct relation existing between the tent and the long-settled gipsies, as there is between it and ordinary scotch people. but there is that tribal or national association connected with it, that is inseparable from the feelings of a gipsy, however high may be the position in life to which he may have risen.--ed. [ ] the fourteenth annual festival of the rev. james crabb's association, for civilizing and teaching the principles of christianity to the gipsies in england, was held on the th december, . at that time, twenty gipsy youths were attending his school. he was very sanguine of ultimately ameliorating the condition of the british gipsies. at yetholm, in the same year, after the rev. john baird's school had been in existence about two years, there were about forty gipsy children receiving instruction. when they were educated, they were hired as servants to families, or bound apprentices to different trades. [i will offer some remarks on the improvement of the gipsies, in the disquisition on the gipsies.--ed.] many of the gipsies, following the various occupations enumerated, are not now to be distinguished from others of the community, except by the most minute observation; yet they appear a distinct and separate people; seldom contracting marriage out of their own tribe.[ ] a tradesman of gipsy blood will sooner give his hand to a lady's maid of his own race, than marry the highest female in the land; while the gipsy lady's maid will take a gipsy shoemaker, in preference to any one out of her tribe. a gipsy woman will far rather prefer, in marriage, a man of her own blood who has escaped the gallows, to the most industrious and best-behaved tradesman in the kingdom. like the jews, almost all those in good circumstances marry among themselves, and, i believe, employ their poorer brethren as servants. i have known gipsies most solemnly declare, that no consideration would induce them to marry out of their own tribe; and i am informed, and convinced, that almost every one of them marries in that way. one of them stated to me that, let them be in whatever situation of life they may, they all "stick to each other." [ ] it is a difficult matter to tell some of the settled scottish gipsies. in searching for them, some regard must be had to the employment of the individual, his associations, and his isolation from the community generally, beyond what is necessary in following his calling and out-door relations, as contrasted with his hospitality to strangers from a distance; a close scrutiny of the habits of himself and his numerous motley visitors; the rough-and-tumble way in which he sometimes lives; his attachment to animals, such as horses, asses, dogs, cats, birds, or pets of any kind; these, and other relative circumstances, go a great way to enable one to pounce upon some of them. but the use of their language, and the effect it has upon them, (barring their responding to it,) is, at the present stage of their history, the only satisfactory test. scottish gipsy families will generally be found to be all dark in their appearance, or all very fair or reddish, or partly very fair, and partly very dark, and sometimes dark or fair nondescript. many of the residentary class of mechanic gipsies are difficult of detection; so are the better classes, generally, if it is long since their ancestors left the tent--ed. a disquisition on the past, present, and future of gipsydom. "there is nothing hid that shall not be revealed." in giving an account of the gipsies, the subject would be very incomplete, were not something said about the manner in which they have drawn into their body the blood of other people, and the way in which the race is perpetuated; and a description given of their present condition, and future prospects, particularly as our author has overlooked some important points connected with their history, which i will endeavour to furnish. one of these important points is, that he has confined his description of the present generation of settled gipsies to the descendants of those who left the tent subsequently to the commencement of the french war, to the exclusion of those who settled long anterior to that time. it is also necessary to treat the subject abstractly--to throw it into principles, to give the philosophy of it--to ensure the better understanding, and perpetuate the knowledge of it, amid the shifting objects that present themselves to the eye of the world, and even of the people described. gipsydom may, in a word, be said to be literally a sealed book, a _terra incognita_, to mankind in general. the gipsies arrived in europe a strange race; strange in their origin, appearance, habits and disposition. supposing that their habits had never led them to interfere with the property of others, or obtain money by any objectionable way, but that they had confined their calling to tinkering, making and selling wares, trading, and such like, they would, in all probability, still have remained a caste in the community, with a strong feeling of sympathy for those living in other countries, in consequence of the singularity of their origin and development, as distinguished from those of the other inhabitants, their language and that degree of prejudice which most nations have for foreigners settling among them and particularly so in the case of a people so different in their appearance and mode of life as were the gipsies from those among whom they settled. that may especially be said of tented gipsies, and even of those who, from time to time, would be forced to leave the tent, and settle in towns, or live as _tramps_, as distinguished from tented gipsies. the simple idea of their origin and descent, tribe and language, transmitted from generation to generation, being so different from those of the people among whom they lived, was, in itself, perfectly sufficient to retain them members of gipsydom, although, in cases of intermarriages with the natives, the mixed breeds might have gone over to the white race, and been lost to the general body. but in most of such cases that would hardly have taken place; for between the two races, the difference of feeling, were it only a slight jealousy, would have led the smaller and more exclusive and bigoted to bring the issue of such intermarriages within its influence. in great britain, the gipsies are entitled, in one respect at least, to be called englishmen, scotchmen, or irishmen; for their general ideas as men, as distinguished from their being gipsies, and their language, indicate them, at once, to be such, nearly as much as the common natives of these countries. a half or mixed breed might more especially be termed or pass for a native; so that, by clinging to the gipsies, and hiding his gipsy descent and affiliation from the native race, he would lose nothing of the outward character of an ordinary inhabitant; while any benefit arising from his being a gipsy would, at the same time, be enjoyed by him. but the subject assumes a totally different aspect when, instead of a slight jealousy existing between the two races, the difference in feeling is such as if a gulf had been placed between them. the effect of a marriage between a white and a gipsy, especially if he or she is known to be a gipsy, is such, that the white instinctively withdraws from any connexion with his own race, and casts his lot with the gipsies. the children born of such unions become ultra gipsies. a very fine illustration of this principle of half-breed ultra gipsyism is given by mr. borrow, in his "gipsies in spain," in the case of an officer in the spanish army adopting a young female gipsy child, whose parents had been executed, and educating and marrying her. a son of this marriage, who rose to be a captain in the service of donna isabel, hated the white race so intensely, as, when a child, to tell his father that he wished he (his father) was dead. at whose door must the cause of such a feeling be laid? one would naturally suppose that the child would have left, perhaps despised, his mother's people, and clung to those whom the world deemed respectable. but the case was different. suppose the mother had not been prompted by some of her own race, while growing up, and the son, in his turn, not prompted by the mother, all that was necessary to stir up his hatred toward the white race was simply to know who he was, as i will illustrate.[ ] [ ] this spanish gipsy is reported by mr. borrow to have said: "she, however, remembered her blood, and hated my father, and taught me to hate him likewise. when a boy, i used to stroll about the plain, that i might not see my father; and my father would follow me, and beg me to look upon him, and would ask me what i wanted; and i would reply, 'father, the only thing i want is to see you dead!'" this is certainly an extreme instance of the result of the prejudice against the gipsy race; and no opinion can be formed upon it, without knowing some of the circumstances connected with the feelings of the father, or his relations, toward the mother and the gipsy race generally. this gipsy woman seems to have been well brought up by her protector and husband; for she _taught her child gipsy from a ms._, and procured a teacher to instruct him in latin. there are many reflections to be drawn from the circumstances connected with this spanish gipsy family, but they do not seem to have occurred to mr. borrow. suppose that a great iron-master should fancy a cinderella, living by scraping pieces of iron from the refuse of his furnaces, educate her, and marry her, as great iron-masters have done. being both of the same race, a complete amalgamation would take place at once: perhaps the wife was the best person of the two. silly people might sneer at such a marriage; but if no objection attached to the personal character of the woman, she might be received into society at once, and admired by some, and envied by others, particularly if she had no "low relations" living near her. she might even boast of having been a cinderella, if it happened to be well known; in which case she might be deemed free of pride, and consequently a very sensible, amiable woman, and worthy of every admiration. but who ever heard of such a thing taking place with a gipsy? suppose a gipsy elevated to such a position as that spoken of; she would not, she dare not, mention her descent to any one not of her own race, and far less would she give an _exposé_ of gipsydom; for she instinctively perceives, or at least believes, that, such is the prejudice against her race, people would avoid her as something horridly frightful, although she might be the finest woman in the world. who ever heard of a civilized gipsy, before mr. borrow mentioned those having attained to such an eminent position in society at moscow? are there none such elsewhere than in moscow? there are many in scotland. it is this unfortunate prejudice against the name that forces all our gipsies, the moment they leave the tent, (which they almost invariably do with their blood diluted with the white,) to hide from the public their being gipsies; for they are morbidly sensitive of the odium which attaches to the name and race being applied to them. it is quite time enough to discover the great secret of nature, when it is unavoidable to enter "the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns." as little disposition is manifested by these gipsies to "show their hands:" the uncertainty of such an experiment makes the very idea dreadful to them. hence it is that the constant aim of settled gipsies is to hide the fact of their being gipsies from other people. it is a very common idea that gipsies do not mix their blood with that of other people. now, what is the fact? i may, indeed, venture to assert, that there is not a full-blooded gipsy in scotland;[ ] and, most positively, that in england, where the race is held to be so pure, all that can be said of _some_ families is, that they have not been crossed, _as far as is known_; but that, with these exceptions, the body is much mixed: "dreadfully mixed" is the gipsies' description, as, in many instances, my own eyes have witnessed. this brings me to an issue with a writer in the edinburgh review, who, in october, , when reviewing the "gipsies in spain," by mr. borrow, says, "their descent is purity itself; no mixture of european blood has contaminated theirs. . . . . . they, (the stranger and gipsy,) may live together; the european vagrant is often to be found in the tents of the gipsies; they may join in the fellowship of sport, the pursuit of plunder, the management of their low trades, but they can never fraternize." a writer in blackwood's magazine, on the same occasion, says, "their care to preserve the purity of their race might, in itself, have confuted the unfounded charge, so often brought against them, of stealing children, and bringing them up as gipsies." more unfounded ideas than those put forth by these two writers are scarcely possible to be imagined.[ ] [ ] it is claimed, by some scottish gipsies, that there are full-blood gipsies at yetholm, but i do not believe it. this, i may venture to say, that there can be no certainty, but, on the contrary, great doubt, on the subject. but, after all, what is a pure gipsy? was the race pure when it entered scotland, or even europe? the idea is perfectly arbitrary. [ ] it would be interesting to know where these writers got such ideas about the purity of the gipsy blood. it certainly was not from mr. borrow's account of the gipsies in spain, whatever they may have inferred from that work. this mixture of "the blood" is notorious. many a full or nearly full-blood gipsy will say that gipsies do not mix their blood with that of the stranger. in such a case he only shuffles; for he whispers to himself two words, in his own language, which contradict what he says; which words i forget, but they mean "i belie it;" that is, he belies what he has just said. besides, it lets the gipsies down in their imagination, and, they think, in the imagination of others, to allow that the blood of their race is mixed. it is also a secret which they would rather hide from the world.[ ] i am intimate with english gipsy families, in none of whom is full blood; the most that can be said of them is, that they range from nearly full, say from seven-eighths, down to one-eighth, and perhaps less. suppose that a fair-haired common native marries a full-blood gipsy: the issue of such an union will show some of the children, in point of external appearance, perfectly european, like the father, and others, gipsies, like the mother. if two such european-like gipsies marry, some of their children will take after the gipsy, and be pretty, even very, dark, and others after the white race. in crossing a second time with full white blood, the issue will take still more after the white race. still, the gipsy cannot be crossed altogether out; he will come up, but of course in a modified form. should the white blood be of a dark complexion and hair, and have no tendency, from its ancestry, to turn to fair, in its descent, then the issue between it and the gipsy will always be dusky. i have seen all this, and had it fully explained by the gipsies themselves. [ ] an instance of this kind of shuffling is given by mr. borrow, in the tenth chapter of the "romany rye," in the person of ursula, a full or nearly full-blood gipsy. she confines the crossing of the blood to such instances as when a gipsy dies and leaves his children to be provided for by "_gorgios_, trampers, and basket-makers, who live in caravans;" but she says, "i hate to talk of the matter." when mr. borrow asked her, if a gipsy woman, unless compelled by hard necessity, would have anything to do with a _gorgio_, she replied, "we are not over-fond of _gorgios_, and we hate basket-makers and folks that live in caravans." here she makes a very important distinction between _gorgios_, (native english,) and _basket-makers and folks that live in caravans_, (mixed gipsies.) she does not deny that a gipsy woman will intermarry with a native under certain circumstances. a pretty-pure gipsy, when angry, will very readily call a mixed gipsy a _gorgio_, or, indeed, by any other name. the result of this mixture of the gipsy and european blood is founded, not only on the ordinary principles of physiology, but on common sense itself; for why should not such issue take after the european, in preference to the gipsy? if a residence in europe of years has had no effect upon the appearance of what may be termed pure gipsies, (a point which, at least, is questionable,) the length of time, the effects of climate, and the influence of mind, should, at least, predispose it to merge, by mixture, into something bearing a resemblance to the ordinary european; which, by a continued crossing, it does. indeed, it soon disappears to the common eye: to a stranger it is not observable, unless the mixture happens to be met with in a tent, or under such circumstances as one expects to meet with gipsies. in paying a visit to an english gipsy family, i was invited to call again, on such a day, when i would meet with some welsh gipsies. the principal welsh gipsy i found to be a very quiet man, with fair hair, and quite like an ordinary englishman; who was admitted by his english brethren to "speak deep gipsy." he had just arrived from wales, where he had been employed in an iron work. unless i am misinformed, the issue of a fair-haired european and an ordinary hindoo woman, in india, sometimes shows the same result as i have stated of the gipsies; but it ought to be much more so in the case of the gipsy in europe, on account of the race having been so long acclimated there. indeed, it is generally believed, that the population of europe contains a large part of asiatic blood, from that continent having at one time been overrun by asiatics, who mixed their blood with an indigenous race which they met with there. of the mixed spanish gipsy, to whom i have alluded, mr. borrow says, that "he had _flaxen hair_; his eyes small, and, like ferrets, red and fiery; and his complexion like a brick, or dull red, chequered with spots of purple." this description, with, perhaps, the exception of the red eyes, and spots of purple, is quite in keeping with that of many of the mixed gipsies. the race seems even to have given a preference to fair or red hair, in the case of such children and grown-up natives as they have adopted into their body. i have met with a young spaniard from corunna, who is so much acquainted with the gipsies in spain, that i took him to be a mixed gipsy himself; and he says that mixtures among the spanish gipsies are very common; the white man, in such cases, always casting his lot with the gipsies. none of the french, german, or hungarian gipsies whom i have met with in america are full blood, or anything like it; but i am told there are such, and very black too, as the english gipsies assert. indeed, considering how "dreadfully mixed" the gipsies are in great britain and ireland, i cannot but conclude that they are more or less so all over the world.[ ] [ ] grellmann evidently alludes to gipsies of mixed blood, when he writes in the following manner: "experience shows that the dark colour of the gipsies, which is continued from generation to generation, is more the effect of education and manner of life than descent. among those who profess music in hungary, or serve in the imperial army, where they have learned to pay more attention to order and cleanliness, there are many to be found whose extraction is not at all discernible in their colour." for my part, i cannot say that such language is applicable to full-blood gipsies. still, the change from tented to settled and tidy gipsydom is apt to show its effects in modifying the complexion of such gipsies, and to a much greater degree in their descendants. the blood once mixed, there is nothing to prevent a little more being added, and a little more, and so on. there are english gipsy girls who have gone to work in factories in the eastern states, and picked up husbands among the ordinary youths of these establishments. and what difference does it make? is not the game in the gipsy woman's own hands? will she not bring up her children gipsies, initiate them in all the mysteries of gipsydom, and teach them the language? there is another married to an american farmer "down east." all that she has to do is simply to "tell her wonderful story," as the gipsies express it. jonathan must think that he has caged a queer kind of a bird in the english gipsy woman. but will he say to his friends, or neighbours, that his wife is a gipsy? will the children tell that their mother, and, consequently, they themselves are gipsies? no, indeed. jonathan, however, will find her a very active, managing woman, who will always be a-stirring, and will not allow her "old man" to kindle the fires of a morning, milk his cows, or clean his boots, and, as far as she is concerned, will bring him lots of _chabos_. gipsies, however, do not like such marriages; still they take place. they are more apt to occur when they have attained to that degree of security in a community where no one knows them to be gipsies, or when they have settled in a neighbourhood to which they had come strangers. the parents exercise more constraint over their sons than daughters; they cannot bear the idea of a son taking a strange woman for a wife; for a strange woman is a snare unto the gipsies. if a scottish gipsy lad shows a hankering after a stranger lass, the mother will soon "cut his comb," by asking him, "what would she say if she knew you to be a loon of a gipsy? take such or such a one (gipsies) for a wife, if you want one." but it is different with the girls. if a gipsy lass is determined to have the stranger for a husband, she has only to say, "never mind, mother; it makes no earthly difference; i'll turn that fellow round my little finger; i'll take care of the children when i get them." i do not know how the settled scottish gipsies broach the subject of being gipsies to the stranger son-in-law when he is introduced among them. i can imagine the girl, during the courtship, saying to herself, with reference to her intended, "i'll lead you captive, my pretty fellow!" and captive she does lead him, in more senses than one. perhaps the subject is not broached to him till after she has borne him children; or, if he is any way soft, the mother, with a leering eye, will say to him at once, "ah ha, lad, ye're among gipsies now!" in such a case, the young man will be perfectly bewildered to know what it all means, so utterly ignorant is he about gipsies; when, however, he comes to learn all about it, it will be _mum_ with him, as if his wife's friends had _burked_ him, or some "old gipsy" had come along, and sworn him in on the point of a drawn dirk. it may be that the gipsy never mentions the subject to her husband at all, for fear he should "take her life;" she can, at all events, trust her secret with her children. why should there be any hard feelings towards a gipsy for "taking in and burking" a native in this way? she does not propose--she only disposes of herself. she has no business to tell the other that she is a gipsy. she does not consider herself a worse woman than he is a man, but, on the contrary, a better. she would rather prefer a _chabo_, but, somehow or other, she sacrifices her feelings, and takes the _gorgio_, "for better or worse." or there may be considerable advantages to be derived from the connexion, so that she spreads her snares to secure them. being a gipsy, she has the whip-hand of the husband, for no consideration will induce him to divulge to any one the fact that his wife is a gipsy--should she have told him; in which case she has such a hold upon him, as to have "turned him round her little finger" most effectually. "married a gipsy! it's no' possible!" "ay, it is possible. there!" she will say, chattering her words, and, with her fingers, showing him the signs. he soon gets reconciled to the "better or worse" which _he_ has taken to his bosom, as well as to her "folk," and becomes strongly attached to them. the least thing that the gipsy can then do is to tell her "wonderful story" to her children. it is not teaching them any damnable creed; it is only telling them who they are; so that they may acknowledge herself, her people, her blood, and the blood of the children themselves. and how does the gipsy woman bring up her children in regard to her own race? she tells them her "wonderful story"--informs them who they are, and of the dreadful prejudice that exists against them, simply for being gipsies. she then tells them about pharaoh and joseph in egypt, terming her people, "pharaoh's folk." in short, she dazzles the imagination of the children, from the moment they can comprehend the simplest idea. then she teaches them her words, or language, as the "real egyptian," and frightens and bewilders the youthful mind by telling them that they are subject to be hanged if they are known to be gipsies, or to speak these words, or will be looked upon as wild beasts by those around them. she then informs the children how long the gipsies have been in the country; how they lived in tents; how they were persecuted, banished, and hanged, merely for being gipsies. she then tells them of her people being in every part of the world, whom they can recognize by the language and signs which she is teaching them; and that her race will everywhere be ready to shed their blood for them. she then dilates upon the benefits that arise from being a gipsy--benefits negative as well as positive; for should they ever be set upon--garroted, for example--all that they will have to do will be to cry out some such expression as "_biené raté, calo chabo_," (good-night, gipsy, or black fellow,) when, if there is a gipsy near them, he will protect them. the children will be fondled by her relatives, handed about and hugged as "little ducks of gipsies." the granny, while sitting at the fireside, like a witch, performs no small part in the education of the children, making them fairly dance with excitement. in this manner do the children of gipsies have the gipsy soul literally breathed into them.[ ] [ ] mr. offor, editor of a late edition of bunyan's works, writes, in "notes and queries," thus: "i have avoided much intercourse with this class, fearing the fate of mr. hoyland, who, being a quaker, was shot by one of cupid's darts from a black-eyed gipsy girl; and _j. s. may do well to be cautious_." mr. offor is not far wrong. a gipsy girl can sometimes fascinate a "white fellow," as a snake can a bird--make him flutter, and particularly so, should the "little gipsy" be met with in some such dress as black silks and a white polka. this much can be said of gipsy women, which cannot be said of all women, that they know their places, and are not apt to _usurp_ the rights of the _rajahs_; they will even "work the nails off their fingers" to make them feel comfortable. i should conclude, from what mr. offor says, that the quaker married the gipsy girl. if children were born of the union, they will be gipsy-quakers, or quaker-gipsies, whichever expression we choose to adopt. in such a way--what with the supreme influence which the mother has exercised over the mind of the child from its very infancy; the manner in which its imagination has been dazzled; and the dreadful prejudice towards the gipsies, which they all apply, directly or indirectly, to themselves--does the gipsy adhere to his race. when he comes to be a youth, he naturally enough endeavours to find his way to a tent, to have a look at the "old thing." he does not, however, think much of it as a reality; but it presents something very poetical and imaginative to his mind, when he contemplates it as the state from which his mysterious forefathers have sprung.[ ] it makes very little difference, in the case to which i have alluded, whether the father be a gipsy or not; the children all go with the mother, for they inherit the blood through her. what with the blood, the education, the words, and the signs, they are simply gipsies, and will be such, as long as they retain a consciousness of who they are, and any peculiarities exclusively gipsy. as it sometimes happens that the father, only, is a gipsy, the attachment may not be so strong, on the part of the children, as if the blood had come through the mother; still, it likewise attaches them to the body. a great deal of jealousy is shown by the gipsies, when a son marries a strange woman. a greater ado is not made by some catholics, to bring up their children catholics, under such circumstances, than is exhibited by gipsies for their children knowing their secret--that is, the "wonderful story;" which has the effect of leading them, in their turn, to marry with gipsies. the race is very jealous of "the blood" being lost; or that their "wonderful story" should become known to those who are not gipsies. [ ] i have picked up quite a number of scottish gipsies of respectable character, from their having gone in their youth, to look at the "old thing." it is the most natural thing in the world for them to do. what is it to look back to the time of james v., in , when john faw was lord-paramount over the gipsies in scotland? imagine, then, the natural curiosity of a young gipsy, brought up in a town, to look at something like the original condition of his ancestors. such a gipsy will leave edinburgh, for example, and travel over the south of scotland, "casting his sign," as he passes through the villages, in every one of which he will find gipsies. some of these villages are almost entirely occupied by gipsies. james hogg is reported, in blackwood's magazine, to say, that lochmaben is "stocked" with them. there are people who cannot imagine how a man can be a gipsy and have fair hair. they think that, from his having fair hair, he cannot have the same feelings of what they imagine to be a true gipsy, that is, a black-haired one. one naturally asks, what effect can the matter of colour of _hair_ have upon the _mind_ of a member of any community or clan, whether the hair be black, brown, red, fair, or white, or the person have no hair at all? let us imagine a gipsy with fair hair. how long is it since the white blood was introduced among his ancestors? perhaps three hundred and fifty years. the race of which he comes has been, more or less, mixing and crossing ever since, but always retaining the issue within its own community. is he fair-haired? then he may be half a gipsy; he may be three-fourths gipsy, and perhaps even more. at the present day, the "points" of such a gipsy are altogether arbitrary; some profess to know their points, but it is a thing altogether uncertain. all that they know and adhere to is, that they are gipsies, and nothing else. in this manner are the british gipsies, (with the exception of some english families, about whom there is no certainty,) members of the gipsy community, or nation, as such--each having some of the blood; and not gipsies of an ideal purity of race. what they know is, that their parents and relatives are gipsies; that gipsies separate them from the eternity that is past; and, consequently, that they are gipsies. they, indeed, accept their descent, blood, and nationality as instinctively as they accept the very sex which god has given them. which of the two knows most of gipsydom--the fair-haired or black? almost invariably the fair.[ ] [ ] among the english gipsies, fair-haired ones are looked upon by the purer sort, or even by those taking after the gipsy, as "small potatoes." the consequence is they have to make up for their want of blood, by smartness, knowledge of the language, or something that will go to balance the deficiency of blood. they generally lay claim to the _intellect_, while they yield the _blood_ to the others. a full or nearly full-blood young english gipsy looks upon herself with all the pride of a little duchess, while in the company of young male mixed gipsies. a mixed gipsy may reasonably be assumed to be more intelligent than one of the old stock, were it only for this reason, that the mixture softens down the natural conceit and bigotry of the gipsy; while, as regards his personal appearance, it puts him in a more improvable position. still, a full-blood gipsy looks up to a mixed gipsy, if he is anything of a superior man, and freely acknowledges the blood. indeed, the two kinds will readily marry, if circumstances bring them together. to a couple of such gipsies i said: "what difference does it make, if the person _has the blood, and has his heart in the right place_?" "that's the idea; that's exactly the idea," they both replied. we naturally ask, what effect has this difference in appearance upon two such members of one family--the one with european, the other with gipsy, features and colour? and the answer is this: the first will hide the fact of his being a gipsy from strangers; indeed, he is ashamed to let it be known that he is a gipsy; and he is afraid that people, not knowing how it came about, would laugh at him. "what!" they would ask, "_you_ a gipsy? the idea is absurd." besides, it facilitates his getting on in the world, to prevent it being known that he is a gipsy. the other member cannot deny that he is a gipsy, because any one can see it. such are the gipsies who are more apt to cling to the tent, or the more original ways of the old stock. they are very proud of their appearance; but it is a pride accompanied with disadvantages, and even pain. for, after all, the beauty and pleasure in being a gipsy is to have the other cast of features and colour; he has as much of the blood and language as the other, while he can go into any kind of company--a sort of jack-the-giant-killer in his invisible coat. the nearer the gipsy comes to the original colour of his race, the less chance is there of improving him. he knows what he is like; and well does he know the feeling that people entertain for him. in fact, he feels that there is no use in being anything but what people call a gipsy. but it is different with those of european countenance and colour, or when these have been modified or diluted by a mixture of white blood. they can, then, enter upon any sphere of employment to which they have a mind, and their personal advantages and outward circumstances will admit of.[ ] [ ] to thoroughly understand how a gipsy, with fair hair and blue eyes, can be as much a gipsy as one with black, may be termed "passing the _pons assinorum_ of the gipsy question." once over the bridge, and there are no difficulties to be encountered on the journey, unless it be to understand that a gipsy can be a gipsy without living in a tent or being a rogue. let us now consider the destiny of such european-like gipsies. suppose a female of this description marries a native in settled life, which both of them follow. she brings the children up as gipsies, in the way described. the children are apt to become ultra gipsies. if they, in their turn, marry natives, they do the same with their children; so that, if the same system were always followed, they would continue gipsies forever. for all that is necessary to perpetuate the tribe, is simply for the gipsies to know who they are, and the prejudice that exists toward the race of which they are a part; to say nothing of the innate associations connected with their origin and descent. such a phenomenon may be fitly compared to the action of an auger; with this difference, that the auger may lose its edge, but the gipsy will drill his way through generations of the ordinary natives, and, at the end, come out as sharp as ever; all the circumstances attending the two races being exactly the same at the end as at the beginning. in this way, let their blood be mixed as it may, let even their blood-relationship outside of their body be what it may, the gipsies still remain, in their private associations, a distinct people, into whatever sphere of human action they may enter; although, in point of blood, appearance, occupation, character, and religion, they may have drifted the breadth of a hemisphere from the stakes and tent of the original gipsy. there can surely be no great difficulty in comprehending so simple an idea as this. here we have a foreign race introduced amongst us, which has been proscribed, legally as well as socially. to escape the effects of this double proscription, the people have hidden the fact of their belonging to the race, although they have clung to it with an ardour worthy of universal admiration. the proscription is toward the name and race as such, that is, the blood; and is not general, but absolute; none having ever been received into society as gipsies. for this reason, every gipsy, every one who has gipsy blood in his veins, applies the proscription to himself. on the other hand, he has his own descent--the gipsy descent; and, as i have already said, he has naturally as little desire to wish a different descent, as he has to have a different sex. as finns do not wish to have been born englishmen, or englishmen finns, so gipsies are perfectly satisfied with their descent, nay, extremely proud of it. they would not change it, if they could, for any consideration. when gipsies, therefore, marry natives, they do not only willingly bring up their children as gipsies, but by every moral influence they are forced to do it, and cling to each other. in this way has the race been absolutely cut off from that of the ordinary natives; all intercourse between the two, unless on the part of the _bush_ gipsy, in the way of dealings, having been of a clandestine nature, on the side of the gipsy, or, in other words, _incog._ how melancholy it is to think that such a state of things exists in the british islands! the gipsy, born of a gipsy mother and a native father, does, therefore, most naturally, and, i may say, invariably, follow the gipsy connexion; the simplest impulse of manhood compels him to do it. being born, or becoming a member of settled society, he joins in the ordinary amusements or occupations of his fellow-creatures of both races; which he does the more readily when he feels conscious of the incognito which he bears. but he has been brought up from his mother's knee a gipsy; he knows nothing else; his associations with his relatives have been gipsy; and he has in his veins that which the white damns, and, he doubts not, would damn in him, were he to know of it. he has, moreover, the words and signs of the gipsy race; he is brought in contact with the gipsy race; he perceives that his feelings are reciprocated by them, and that both have the same reserve and timidity for "outsiders." he does not reason abstractly what he is _not_, but instinctively holds that he is "one of them;" that he has in his mind, his heart, and his blood, that which the common native has not, and which makes him a _chabo_, that is, a gipsy. the mother, in the case mentioned, is certainly not a full-blood gipsy, nor anything like it; she does not know her real "points;" all that she knows is, that she is a "gipsy:" so that, if the youth's father is an ordinary native, the youth holds himself to be a half-and-half, nominally, though he does not know what he really is, as regards blood. imagine, then, that he takes such a half-and-half gipsy for a wife, and that both tell their children that they are "gipsies:" the children, perhaps, knowing nothing of the real origin of their parents, take up the "wonderful story," and hand it down to their children, initiating them, in their turn, in the "mysteries." these children never doubt that _they_ are "gipsies," although _their_ gipsyism may, as i have already said, have "drifted the breadth of a hemisphere from the stakes and tent of the original gipsy." in this manner is gipsydom kept alive, by its turning round and round in a perpetual circle. and in this manner does it happen, that a native finds his own children gipsies, from having, in seeking for a wife, stumbled upon an egyptian woman. gipsydom is, therefore, the aggregate of gipsies, wherever, or under whatever circumstances, they are to be found. it is, in two respects, an absolute question; absolute as to blood, and absolute as to those teachings, feelings, and associations, that, by a moral necessity, accompany the possession of the blood. this brings me to an issue with mr. borrow. speaking of the destination of the spanish gipsies, he says: "if the gitanos are abandoned to themselves, by which we mean, no arbitrary laws are again enacted for their extinction, the sect will eventually cease to be, and its members become confounded with the residue of the population." i can well understand that such procedure, on the part of the spanish government, was calculated to soften the ferocious disposition of the gipsies; but did it bring them a point nearer to an amalgamation with the people than before? mr. borrow continues: "the position which they occupy is the lowest. . . . . the outcast of the prison and the _presidio_, who calls himself spaniard, would feel insulted by being termed gitano, and would thank god that he is not." he continues: "it is, of course, by intermarriage, alone, that the two races will ever commingle; and before that event is brought about, much modification must take place amongst the gitanos, in their manners, in their habits, in their affections and their dislikes, and perhaps _even in their physical peculiarities_, (yet 'no washing,' as mr. borrow approvingly quotes, 'will turn the gipsy white;') much must be forgotten on both sides, and everything is forgotten in course of time." so great, indeed, was the prejudice against the gipsies, that the law of charles iii, in , forbade the people calling them gitanos, under the penalty of being punished for _slander!_ because, his majesty said: "i declare that those who go by the name of gitanos are not so by origin or nature; nor do they proceed from any infected root(!)" what regard would the native spaniards pay to the injunction, that they would be punished for "slander," for calling the gipsies _gitanos_, in place of _spaniards_? we may well believe that such a law would be a dead letter in spain; where, according to mr. borrow, "justice has invariably been a mockery; a thing to be bought and sold, terrible only to the feeble and innocent, and an instrument of cruelty and avarice." mr. borrow leaves the question where he found it. even remove the prejudice that exists against the gipsies, as regards their colour, habits, and history; what then? would they, as a people cease to be? would they amalgamate with the natives, _so as to be lost_? assuredly not. they may mix their blood, but they preserve their mental identity in the world; even although, in point of physical appearance, habits, manners, occupation, character, and creed, they might "become confounded with the residue of the population." in that respect, they are the most exclusive people of almost any to be found in the world. we have only to consider what freemasonry is, and we can form an idea of what gipsyism is, in one of its aspects. it rests upon the broadest of all bases--flesh and blood, a common and mysterious origin, a common language, a common history, a common persecution, and a common odium, in every part of the world. remove the prejudice against the gipsies, make it as respectable to be gipsies, as the world, with its ignorance of many of the race, deem it desreputable; what then? some of them might come out with their "tents and encampments," and banners and mottoes: the "cuddy and the creel, the hammer and tongs, the tent and the tin kettle" forever. people need not sneer at the "cuddy and the creel." the idea conveys a world of poetry to the mind of a gipsy. mrs. fall, of dunbar, thought it so poetical, that she had it, as we have seen, worked in tapestry; and it is doubtless carefully preserved, as an heir-loom, among her collateral descendants.[ ] [ ] there is a considerable resemblance between gipsyism, in its harmless aspect, and freemasonry; with this difference, that the former is a general, while the latter is a special, society; that is to say, the gipsies have the language, or some of the words, and the signs, peculiar to the whole race, which each individual or class will use for different purposes. the race does not necessarily, and does not in fact, have intercourse with every other member of it; in that respect, they resemble any ordinary community of men. masonry, as my reader may be aware, is a society of what may be termed "a mixed multitude of good fellows, who are all pledged to befriend and help each other." the radical elements of masonry may be termed a "rope of sand," which the vows of the order work into the most closely and strongly formed coil of any to be found in the world. but it is altogether of an artificial nature; while gipsyism is natural--something that, when separated from objectionable habits, one might almost call divine; for it is founded upon a question of race--a question of blood. the cement of a creed is weak, in comparison with that which binds the gipsies together; for a people, like an individual, may have one creed to-day, and another to-morrow; it may be continually travelling round the circle of every form of faith; but blood, under certain circumstances, is absolute and immutable. there are many gipsies freemasons; indeed, they are the very people to push their way into a mason's lodge; for they have secrets of their own, and are naturally anxious to pry into those of others, by which they may be benefited. i was told of a gipsy who died lately, the master of a masons' lodge. a friend, a mason, told me, the other day, of his having entered a house in yetholm, where were five gipsies, all of whom responded to his masonic signs. masons should therefore interest themselves in, and befriend, the gipsies. mr. borrow speaks of the gipsies "declining" in spain. ask a scotchman about the scottish gipsies, and he will answer: "the scotch gipsies have pretty much died out." "died out?" i ask; "that is impossible; for who are more prolific than gipsies?" "oh, then, they have become settled, and civilized." "and _ceased to be gipsies_?" i continue. "exactly so," he replies. what idea can be more ridiculous than that of saying, that if a gipsy leaves the tent, settles in a town, and attends church, he ceases to be a gipsy; and that, if he takes to the tent again, he becomes a gipsy again? what has a man's occupation, habits, or character, to do with his clan, tribe, or nationality? does education, does religion, remove from his mind a knowledge of who he is, or change his blood? are not our own borderers and highlanders as much borderers and highlanders as ever they were? are not spanish gipsies still spanish gipsies, although a change may have come over the characters and circumstances of some of them? it would be absurd to deny it.[ ] [ ] the principle, or rather fact, here involved, simple as it is in itself, is evidently very difficult of comprehension by the native scottish mind. any person understands perfectly well how a highlander, at the present day, is still a highlander, notwithstanding the great change that has come over the character of his race. but our scottish _literati_ seem to have been altogether at sea, in comprehending the same principle as applicable to the gipsies. they might naturally have asked themselves, whether _gipsies_ could have procreated _jews_; and, if not jews, how they could have procreated _gorgios_, (as english gipsies term natives.) a writer in blackwood's magazine says, in reference to billy marshall, a gipsy chief, to whom allusion has already been made: "who were his descendants i cannot tell; i am sure he could not do it himself, if he were living. it is known that they were prodigiously numerous; i dare say numberless." and yet this writer gravely says that "the _race_ is in some risk of becoming extinct(!)" another writer in blackwood says: "their numbers may perhaps have since been diminished, in particular states, by _the progress of civilization_(_!_)" we would naturally pronounce any person crazy who would maintain that there were no highlanders in scotland, owing to their having "changed their habits." we could, with as much reason, say the same of those who will maintain this opinion in regard to the gipsies. there has been a great deal of what is called genius expended upon the gipsies, but wonderfully little common sense. as the jews, during their pilgrimage in the wilderness, were protected from their enemies by a cloud, so have the gipsies, in their encrease and development, been shielded from theirs, by a mist of ignorance, which, it would seem, requires no little trouble to dispel. mr. borrow has not sufficiently examined into spanish gipsyism to pass a reliable opinion upon it. he says: "one thing is certain, in the history of the gitanos; that the sect flourished and encreased, so long as the law recommended and enjoined measures the most harsh and severe for its suppression. . . . the caste of the gitanos still exists, but is neither so extensive, nor so formidable, as a century ago, when the law, in denouncing gitanismo, proposed to the gitanos the alternatives of death for persisting in their profession, or slavery for abandoning it." these are very singular alternatives. the latter is certainly not to be found in any of the spanish laws quoted by mr. borrow. i am at a loss to perceive the point of his reasoning. there can be no difficulty in believing that gipsies would rather _encrease_ in a state of peace, than if they were hunted from place to place, like wild beasts; and consequently, having renounced their former mode or life, they would, in mr. borrow's own words, "cease to play a distinct part in the history of spain, and the _law_ would no longer speak of them as a distinct people." and the same might, to a certain extent, be said of the spanish _people_. mr. borrow again says: "that the gitanos are not so numerous as in former times, witness those _barrios_, in various towns, still denominated _gitanerias_, but from whence the gitanos have disappeared, even like the moors from the _morerias_." but mr. borrow himself, in the same work, gives a good reason for the disappearance of the gipsies from these _gitanerias_; for he says: "the _gitanerias_ were soon considered as public nuisances, on which account the gitanos were forbidden to live together in particular parts of the town, to hold meetings, and even to intermarry with each other." if the disappearance of the gipsies from spain was like that of the moors, it would appear that they had left, or been expelled from, the country; a theory which mr. borrow does not advance. the gipsies, to a certain extent, may have left these barriers, or been expelled from them, and settled, as tradesmen, mechanics, and what not, in other parts of the same or other towns; so as to be in a position the more able to get on in the world. still, many of them are in the colonies. in cuba there are many, as soldiers and musicians, dealers in mules and red pepper, which businesses they almost monopolize, and jobbers and dealers in various wares; and doubtless there are some of them innkeepers, and others following other occupations. in mexico there are not a few. i know of a gitano who has a fine wholesale and retail cigar store in virginia.[ ] [ ] in olmstead's "journey in the seaboard slave states" it is stated, that in alexandria, louisiana, when under the spanish rule, there were "french and spanish, _egyptians_ and indians, mulattoes and negroes." this author reports a conversation which he had with a planter, by which it appears that these egyptians came from "some of the northern islands;" that they spoke a language among themselves, but could talk french and spanish too; that they were black, but not very black, and as good citizens as any, and passed for white folk. the planter believed they married mostly with mulattoes, and that a good many of the mulattoes had egyptian blood in them too. he believed these egyptians had disappeared since the state became part of the union. mr. olmstead remarks: "the egyptians were probably spanish gipsies, though i have never heard of any of them being in america in any other way." mr. borrow concludes, in regard to the spanish gipsies, thus: "we have already expressed our belief that the caste has diminished of latter years; whether this diminution was the result of one or many causes combined; of a _partial change of habits_, of pestilence or sickness, of war or famine, or of a _freer intercourse with the spanish population_, we have no means of determining, and shall abstain from offering conjectures on the subject." in this way does he leave the question just where he found it. is there any reason to doubt that gipsydom is essentially the same in spain as in great britain; or that its future will be guided by any other principles than those which regulate that of the british gipsies? indeed, i am astonished that mr. borrow should advance the idea that gipsies should _decrease_ by "changing their habits;" they might not _encrease so fast_, in a settled life, as when more exposed to the air, and not molested by the spanish government. i am no less astonished that he should think they would decrease by "a freer intercourse with the spanish population;" when, in fact, such mixtures are well known to go with the gipsies; the mixture being, in the estimation of the british gipsies, calculated to strengthen and invigorate the race itself. had mr. borrow kept in mind the case of the half-blood gipsy captain, he could have had no difficulty in learning what became of mixed gipsies.[ ] [ ] mr. borrow surely cannot mean that a gipsy ceases to be a gipsy, when he settles down, and "turns over a new leaf;" and that this "change of habits" changes his descent, blood, appearance, language and nationality! what, then, does he mean, when he says that the spanish gipsies have decreased by "a partial change of habits?" and does an infusion of spanish blood, implied in a "freer intercourse with the spanish population," lead to the gipsy element being wiped out; or does it lead to the spanish feeling being lost in gipsydom? which is the element to be operated upon--the spanish or the gipsy? which is the _leaven_? the spanish element is the _passive_, the gipsy the _active_. as a question of philosophy, the most simple of comprehension, and, above all, as a matter of fact, the foreign element introduced, _in detail_, into the _body_ of gipsydom, goes with that body, and, in feeling, becomes incorporated with it, although, in physical appearance, it changes the gipsy race, so that it becomes "confounded with the residue of the population," but remains gipsy, as before. a spanish gipsy is a spaniard as he stands, and it would be hard to say what we should ask him to do, to become more a spaniard than he is already. it doubtless holds in spain, as in great britain, that as the gipsy enters into settled life, and engages in a respectable calling, he hides his descent, and even mixes his blood with that of the country, and becomes ashamed of the name before the public; but is as much, at heart, a gipsy, as any others of his race. and this theory is borne out by mr. borrow himself, when he speaks of "the unwillingness of the spanish gipsies to utter, when speaking of themselves, the detested expression gitano; a word which seldom escapes their mouths." we might therefore conclude, that the spanish gipsies, with the exception of the more original and bigoted stock, would _hide their nationality_ from the common spaniards, and so escape their notice. it is not at all likely that the half-pay gipsy captain would mention to the public that he was a gipsy, although he admitted it to mr. borrow, under the peculiar circumstances in which he met him. my spanish acquaintance informs me that the gitanos, generally, hide their nationality from the rest of the world. such a case is evidently told by mr. borrow, in the vagabond gipsy, antonio, at badajoz, who termed a rich gipsy, living in the same town, a hog, because he evidently would not countenance him. antonio may possibly have been kicked out of his house, in attempting to enter it. he accused him of having married a spaniard, and of fain attempting to pass himself for a spaniard. as regards the wife, she might have been a gipsy with very little of "the blood" in her veins; or a spaniard, reared by gipsies; or an ordinary spanish maiden, to whom the gipsy would teach his language, as sometimes happens among the english gipsies. his wishing to pass for a spaniard had nothing to do with his being, but not wishing to be known as, a gipsy. the same is done by almost all our scottish gipsies. in england, those who do not follow the tent--i mean the more mixed and better-class--are even afraid of each other. "afraid of what?" said i, to such an english gipsy; "ashamed of being gipsies?" "no, sir," (with great emphasis;) "not ashamed of being gipsies, but of being _known to other people as gipsies_." "a world of difference," i replied. what does the world hold to be a _gipsy_, and what does it hold to be the _feelings of a man_? if we consider these two questions, we can have little difficulty in understanding the wish of such gipsies to disguise themselves. it is in this way, and in the mixing of the blood, that this so-called "dying out of the gipsies" is to be accounted for.[ ] [ ] mr. borrow mentions, in the twenty-second chapter of the "bible in spain," having met several cavalry soldiers from granada, gipsies _incog._ who were surprised at being discovered to be gipsies. they had been impressed, but carried on a trade in horses, in league with the captain of their company. they said: "we have been to the wars, but not to fight; we left that to the busné. we have kept together, and like true caloré, have stood back to back. we have made money in the wars." it is singular that mr. borrow should attribute the change which has come over the spanish gipsies, so much to the law passed by charles iii. in ; and that he should characterize it as an enlightened, wise, and liberal law; distinguished by justice and clemency; and as being calculated to exert considerable influence over the destiny of the race; nay, as being the principal, if not the only, cause for the "decline" of it in spain. it was headed: "rules for _repressing_ and _chastising_ the vagrant mode of life, and other excesses, of those who are called gitanos." article ii. forbids, under penalties, the gipsies "using their _language_, dress, or vagrant kind of life, which they had hitherto followed." article xi. prohibits them from "wandering about the roads and uninhabited places, even with the pretext of _visiting markets and fairs_." article ix. reads thus: "those _who have abandoned the dress, name, language or jargon, associations and manners of gitanos_, and shall have, moreover, chosen and established a domicile, but shall not have devoted themselves to any office or employment, though it be only that of day-labourer, shall be _proceeded against as common vagrants_." articles xvi. and xvii. enact, that "the children, and young people of both sexes, who are not above sixteen years of age, shall be separated from their parents, _who wander about and have no employment_, [which was forbidden by the law itself,] and shall be destined to learn something, or shall be placed out in hospices or houses of instruction." article xx. _dooms to death, without remission, gipsies who, for the second time, relapse into their old habits_. i cannot agree with mr. borrow, when he says, that this law "differs in _character_" from any which had hitherto been enacted, in connection with the body in spain, if i take those preceding it, as given by himself. the only difference between it and some of the previous laws is, that it allowed the gipsy to be admitted to whatever office or employment _to which he might apply himself_, and likewise to any guilds or communities; but it prohibited him from settling in the capital, or any of the royal residences; and forbade him, _on pain of death_, to publicly profess what he was--that is, a gipsy. with the trifling exceptions mentioned, the law of charles iii. was as foolish a one as ever was passed against the gipsies. these very exceptions show what the letter, whatever the execution, of previous laws must have been. nor can we form any opinion as to the effects the law in question had upon the gipsies, unless we know how it was carried out. the law of the empress maria theresa produced no effect upon the gipsies in hungary. "in hungary," says mr. borrow, "two classes are free to do what they please--the nobility and the gipsies--the one above the law, the other below it." and what did mr. borrow find the gipsies in hungary? in england, the last instances of condemnation, under the old sanguinary laws, happened a few years before the restoration, although these were not repealed till d geo. iii., c. . the gipsies in england can follow any employment, common to the ordinary natives, they please: and how has mr. borrow described them there? in scotland, the tribe have been allowed to do nothing, not even acknowledge their existence, as gipsies: and this work describes what they are in that country. instead of the law of charles iii. exercising any great beneficial influence over the character of the spanish gipsies, i would attribute the change in question to what mr. borrow himself says: "it must be remembered that during the last seventy years, a revolution has been progressing in spain, slowly it is true; and such a revolution may have affected the gitanos." the spanish gipsy proverb, "money is to be found in the town, not in the country," has had its influence on bringing the race to settle in towns. and by residing in towns, and not being persecuted, they have, in mr. borrow's own words, "insensibly become more civilized than their ancestors, and their habits and manners less ferocious." the only good which the law of charles iii. seems to have done to the spanish gipsies was, as already said, to permit them to follow any occupation, and be admitted to any guilds, or communities, (barring the capital, and royal residences,) they pleased; but only on the condition, and that _on the pain of death_, that they _renounced every imaginable thing connected with their tribe_; which, we may reasonably assume, no gipsy submitted to, however much in appearance he might have done so. but it is doubtful if the law of charles iii. was anything but the one which it was customary for every spanish monarch to issue against the tribe. mr. borrow says: "perhaps there is no country in which more laws have been framed, having in view the suppression and extinction of the gipsy name, race, and manner of life, than spain. every monarch, during a period of three hundred years, appears, at his accession to the throne, to have considered that one of his first and most imperative duties consisted in suppressing and checking the robberies, frauds, and other enormities of the gitanos, with which the whole country seems to have resounded since the time of their first appearance." the fact of so many laws being passed against the gipsies, is, to my mind, ample proof, as i shall afterwards explain, that few, if any, of them were put, to any extent, in force; and that the act in question, viewed in itself, as distinct from the laws previously in existence, was little more than a form. it contains a flourish of liberality, implied in the gitanos being allowed to enter, if they pleased, any guilds, (which they were not likely to do,) or communities, (where they were doubtless already;) but it debars, (that is, expels,) them from the king's presence, at the capital or any of the royal residences. moreover, it allowed the gitano to be "admitted to whatever office or employment to which he might apply himself," (against which, there probably was, or should have been, no law in existence.) his majesty must also impose his pragmatical conceit upon his loyal subjects, by telling them, that "gitanos are _not_ gitanos"--that they "do _not_ proceed from any infected root;" and threaten them, that if they maintain the contrary, and call them gitanos, he will have them punished for slander! the gipsies, after a residence of years in the country, would have comparatively little notice taken of them, under this law, except when they made themselves really obnoxious, or gave an official an occasion to display his authority, or his zeal for the public service.[ ] whatever may have been the treatment which the gipsies experienced at the hands of the _civil_ authorities, the _church_ does not seem to have disturbed, and far less distressed, them. mr. borrow represents a priest of cordova, formerly an inquisitor, saying to him: "i am not aware of one case of a gitano having been tried or punished by the inquisition. the inquisition always looked upon them with too much contempt, to give itself the slightest trouble concerning them; for, as no danger, either to the state or to the church of rome, could proceed from the gitanos, it was a matter of perfect indifference to the holy office whether they lived without religion or not. the holy office has always reserved its anger for people very different; the gitano having, at all times, been _gente barrata y despreciable_." [ ] it would seem that the law in spain, in regard to the gipsies, stands pretty much where it did--that is, the people are, in a sense, tolerated, but that the use of their language is prohibited, as may be gathered from an incident mentioned in the ninth chapter of the "bible in spain," by mr. borrow. should the spanish gipsies not now assist each other, to the extent they did when banditti, under the special proscription of the government, it would be absurd to say that they were therefore not as much gipsies as ever they were. the change in this respect arose, to some extent, from the toleration extended to them, as a people and as individuals, whether by the law, or society in general. such gipsies as mr. borrow seems to have associated with, in spain, were not likely to be very reliable authority on the questions at issue; for he has described them as "being endowed with a kind of instinct, (in lieu of reason,) which assists them to a very limited extent, and no further." might it not be in spain as in great britain? even in england, those that pass for gipsies are few in number, compared to the mixed gipsies, following various occupations; for a large part of the gipsy blood in england has, as it were, been spread over a large surface of the white. in scotland it is almost altogether so. there seems considerable reason for believing that gipsydom is, perhaps, as much mixed in spain as in great britain, although mr. borrow has taken no notice of it. we have seen, (page .) how severe an enactment was passed by queen elizabeth, against "any person, whether natural born or _stranger_, to be seen in the fellowship of the gipsies, or disguised like them." in the law of ferdinand and isabella, the first passed against the gipsies, in spain, a class of people is mentioned, in conjunction with them, but distinguished from them, by the name of "foreign tinkers." philip iii., at belan, in portugal, in , commands all gipsies to quit the kingdom within six months. "those who should wish to remain are to establish themselves in cities, and are not to be allowed to use the dress, name, and language, in order, that forasmuch as they are not such by nation,(!) this name, and manner of life, may be for evermore confounded and forgotten(!)" philip iv., on the th may, , declares "that they are not gipsies by origin or nature, but have adopted this form of life(!)" this idea of "gitanos _not_ being gitanos, and _not_ proceeding from any infected root," was not original with charles iii., in ; his proclamation having been in formal keeping with previous ones, whether of his own country, or, as in scotland, in , "recommended by the example of some other realm," (page .) there had evidently been a great curiosity to know who some of the "not gipsies by origin and nature," (evidently judging from their appearance,) could be; for philip iv. enacts, "that they shall, within two months, leave the quarters where now they _live with the denomination of gitanos_, and that they shall _separate from each other_, and _mingle with the other inhabitants_: that the ministers of justice are to observe, _with particular diligence_, whether they _hold communication with each other_, or _marry among themselves_." the "foreign tinkers" mentioned in the act of ferdinand and isabella, and the individuals distinguished from the gipsies in that of queen elizabeth, were doubtless _mixed_ gipsies; whose relationship with the gipsies proper, and isolation from the common natives, are very distinctly pointed out in the above extract from the law of philip iv. mr. borrow expresses a great difficulty to understand who these people could be, _if not gipsies_. how easy it is to get quit of the difficulty, by concluding that they were gipsies whose blood, perhaps for the most part, was native; and who had been brought into the body in the manner explained in the preface to this work, and more fully illustrated in this disquisition. if mr. borrow found in spain a half-pay captain, in the service of donna isabel, with _flaxen_ hair, a _thorough gipsy_, who spoke gipsy and latin, with great fluency, and his cousin, jara, in all probability another gipsy, what difficulty can there be in believing, that the "foreign tinkers," or tinkers of any kind, now to be met with in spain, are, like the same class in great britain and ireland, gipsies of mixed blood? indeed, the young spaniard, to whom i have alluded, informs me that the gipsies in spain are very much mixed. mr. borrow himself admits that the gipsy blood in spain has been mixed; for, in speaking of the old gipsy counts, he says: "it was the counts who determined what individuals were to be admitted into the fellowship and privileges of the gitanos. . . . . they (the gipsies) were not to teach the language to any but those who, by birth or _inauguration_, belonged to that sect." and he gives a case in point, in the bookseller of logrono, who was married to the only daughter of a gitano count; upon whose death, the daughter and son-in-law succeeded to the authority which he had exercised in the tribe. if the gipsies in spain were not mixed in point of blood, why should they have taken mr. borrow for a gipsy, as he said they did? the persecutions to which the race in spain were subjected were calculated to lead to a mixture of the blood, as in scotland, for the reasons given in the preface; but, perhaps, not to the same extent; as the spanish acts seem to have given the tribe an opportunity of escape, under the condition of settling, &c., &c., which would probably be complied with, nominally, for the time being; while the face of part of the country would afford a refuge till the storm had blown over. (see pages and .) it is very likely that the following people, described by paget, in his travels in central europe, are mixed gipsies. he says: "in almost every part of the austrian dominions are to be found a kind of wandering tinkers, wire-workers, and menders of crockery, whose language appears to be that of the sclaves, who travel about, and, at certain seasons, return to their own settlements, where the women and children remain during their absence." the wandering rothwelsh, perhaps the same mentioned by paget, may be mixed gipsies. in the encyclopædia britannica they are spoken of as "a vagabond people, in the south of germany, who have sometimes been confounded with the gipsies." the _appearance_ of such persons has nothing to do with their being, or not being, members of gipsydom.[ ] [ ] paget says these tinkers leave their women and children at home when on their travels. that is not customary with the tribe, although it may be their habit in the austrian dominions. i will now consider the present condition of the scottish gipsies. but, to commence with, what is the native capacity of a gipsy? it is good. take a common tinkering gipsy, without a particle of education, and compare him with a common native, without a particle of education, and the tinker, in point of smartness, is worth, perhaps, a dozen of the other. if not a learned, he is at least a travelled, athenian, considerably rubbed up by his intercourse with the world. this is the proper way by which to judge of the capacity of a gipsy. it will differ somewhat according to the countries and circumstances in which he is found. grellmann, about the year , says, of evidently the more original kind of hungarian gipsies: "imagine a people of childish thoughts, whose minds are filled with raw, undigested conceptions, guided more by sense than reason, and using understanding and reflection only so far as they promote the gratification of any particular appetite; and you have a perfect sketch of the general character of the gipsies." "they are lively, uncommonly loquacious, fickle to an extreme; consequently, inconstant in their pursuits." bischoff, in speaking of the german gipsies, in , says: "they have a good understanding, an excellent memory, are quick of comprehension, lively and talkative." mr. borrow, in evident allusion to the very lowest, and most ignorant, class of the spanish gipsies, says: "they seem to hunt for their bread, as if they were not of the human, but rather of the animal, species, and, in lieu of reason, were endowed with a kind of instinct, which assists them to a very limited extent, and no further." i admit that this class of gipsies may have as little intellect as there is in an ant-catcher's nose, but the remark can apply to them exclusively. without taking into account any opinion expressed by other writers on the gipsies, mr. borrow says: "should it be urged that certain individuals have found them very different from what they are represented in these volumes, ('the gipsies in spain,') he would frankly say that he yields no credit to the presumed fact." and he refers his readers to his spanish-gipsy vocabulary for the words _hoax_ and _hocus_, as a reason for such an opinion! he himself gives descriptions of quite a different caste. for example, he speaks of a rich gipsy appearing in a fair, at leon, in spain, with a twenty thousand dollar credit in his pocket. and of another gipsy, a native of constantinople, who had visited the most remote and remarkable portions of the world, "passing over it like a cloud;" and who spoke several dialects of the malay, and understood the original language of java. this gipsy, he says, dealt in precious stones and poisons; and that there is scarcely a bey or satrap in persia, or turkey, whom he has not supplied with both. in moscow, he says, "there are not a few who inhabit stately houses, go abroad in elegant equipages, and are behind the higher orders of the russians, neither in appearance nor mental acquirements." from these specimens, one might naturally conclude that there was some room for discrimination among different classes of gipsies, instead of rating them as having the intellect of ant-catchers. when the gipsies appeared in scotland, the natives themselves, as i have already said, were nearly wholly uneducated. many of the gipsies, then, and long afterwards, being smart, presumptuous, overbearing, audacious fellows, seem to have assumed great importance, and been looked upon as no small people by the authorities and the inhabitants of the country. in every country in which they have settled, they seem to have instinctively and very readily appreciated the ways and spirit of the people, while, at the same time, they preserved what belonged particularly to themselves--their gipsyism. gipsydom being, in its very essence, a "working in among other people," "a people within a people," it followed, that marriages between adopted gipsies, and even gipsies themselves, and the ordinary natives, would be encouraged, were it only to contribute to their existence in the country. the issue of such marriages, go where they might, would become centres of little gipsy circles, which, in their turn, would throw off members that would become the centres of other little gipsy circles; the leaven of gipsydom leavening into a lump everything that proceeded out of itself. to such an extent has this been followed, that, at the present day, the scottish gipsies--at least the generality of them--have every outward characteristic of scotchmen. but the secret of being gipsies, which they carry in their bosoms, makes them appear a little queer to others; they have a something about them that makes them look somewhat odd to the other scotchman, who is not "one of them," although he does not know the cause of it. upon, or shortly after, their arrival, they seem to have divided the country among themselves; each tribe exercising its rights over its own territory, to the exclusion of others, just as a native lord would have done against other natives; with a system of passes, regulated by councils of local or provincial chieftains, and a king, over all. the scottish gipsies, from the very first, seem to have been thoroughly versed in their vocation, from having had about a hundred years' experience, in some other part of europe, before they settled in scotland; although stragglers of their race evidently had made their appearance in the country many years before. what might have been the number of gipsies then in scotland, it is impossible to conjecture; it must have been considerable, if we judge from what is said in wraxall's history of france, vol. , page , when, in reference to the act of queen elizabeth, in , he states, that, in her reign, the gipsies throughout england were supposed to exceed ten thousand. the employments of the original gipsies, within their respective districts, seem to have been what is described under the head of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies; that is, tinkering, making spoons and other wares, petty trading, telling fortunes, living as much as possible at free-quarters, dealing in horses, and visiting fairs. it is extremely likely that those who travelled tweed-dale, for example, always averaged about the same number, down to the time of the american revolution, (except in times of civil commotion, when they would have the country pretty much to themselves,) and were confined to such of the families of the respective tribes, or the members of these families, in whom the right was hereditary. the consequence seems to have been, that perhaps the younger members of the family had to betake themselves to towns and villages, and engage in whatever they could possibly turn their hands to. some would, of course, take to the highway, and kindred fields of industry. admitting that the circumstances attending the gipsies in scotland, at that time, and subsequently, were the same, as regards the manner of making a living, which attend those in england, at the present day, (with this difference, that they could more easily roam at large then than now,) and we can have no difficulty in coming to a conclusion how the surplus of the tented gipsy population was disposed of. among the english gipsies of to-day, taking year with year, and tent with tent, there is, yearly, a continual moving out of the tent; a kind of gipsy crop is annually gathered from tented gipsydom; and some of these gradually find themselves drawn into almost every kind of mechanical or manual labour, even to working in coal-mines and iron-works; others become peddlers, itinerant auctioneers, and _tramps_ of almost every imaginable kind; not to speak of those who visit fairs, in various capacities, or engage in various settled traffic. put a gipsy to any occupation you like, and he shows a capability and handiness that is astonishing, if he can only muster up steadiness in his new vocation. but it is difficult to break him off the tent; he will return, and lounge, for weeks together, about that of his father, or some other relative. but get him fairly out of the tent, married, and, in a degree, settled to some occupation, in a town where there are not too many of his own race in close proximity to him, but where he gets mixed up, in his daily avocation, with the common natives, and he sooner or later falls into the ranks. still, his intimate associations are always with gipsies; for his ardent attachment to his people, and a corresponding resentment of the prejudice that exists against it, keep him aloof from any intimate intercourse with the ordinary inhabitants; his associations with them hardly ever extending beyond the commons or the public-house. if he experiences an attack from his old habits, he will take to the tramp, from town to town, working at his mechanical occupation; leaving his wife and children at home. but it is not long before he returns. his children, having been born and reared in a town, become habituated to a settled life, like other people. there is a vast amount of ambition about every gipsy, which is displayed, among the humble classes, in all kinds of athletic exercises.[ ] the same peculiarity is discernible among the educated scottish gipsies. carrying about with them the secret of being gipsies, which they assume would be a terrible imputation cast upon them by the ordinary natives, if they knew of it, they, as it were, fly up, like game-cocks, and show a disposition to surpass the others in one way or other; particularly as they consider themselves better than the common inhabitants. they must always be "cock of the company," master of ceremonies, or stand at the top of the tree, if possible. the reader may ask, how do they consider themselves better than the ordinary natives? and i answer, that, from having been so long in scotland, they are scotchmen, (as indeed they are, for the most part, in point of blood,) and consider themselves as good as the others--nay, smarter than others in the same sphere, which, generally speaking, they are; and, in addition to that, being gipsies, a great deal better. they pique themselves on their descent, and on being in possession of secrets which are peculiarly and exclusively theirs, and which they imagine no other knows, or will ever know. they feel that they are part and parcel of those mysterious beings who are an enigma to others, no less than to themselves. besides this vanity, which is peculiar to the gipsy everywhere, the scottish gipsies have chimed in with all the native scotch ideas of clanism, kith, kin, and consequence, as regards family, descent, and so forth; and applied them so peculiarly to themselves, as to render their opinion of their body as something of no small importance. some of them, whose descent leads them more directly back to the tented stock, speak of their families having possessed this district or the other district of the country, as much, almost, as we would expect to hear from some native scottish chieftain. [ ] "i was one of these verminous ones, one of these great sin-breeders; i infected all the youth of the town where i was born with all manner of youthful vanities. the neighbours counted me so; my practice proved me so: wherefore christ jesus took me first, and taking me first, the contagion was much allayed all the town over."--_bunyan._ as regards the various phases of history through which many of the scottish gipsies have passed, we can only form an estimate from what has been observed in recent times. the further back, however, we go, the greater were their facilities to rise to a position in society; for this reason, that a very little education, joined to good natural talents, were all that was necessary, in a mixed gipsy, to raise himself in the world, at the time to which i allude. he could leave the district in which, when a youth, he had travelled, with his parents; settle in a town where he was not personally known; commence some traffic, and, by his industry, gradually raise himself up, and acquire wealth. he would not lack a proper degree of innate manners, or personal dignity, to deport himself with propriety in any ordinary company into which he might enter. even at the present day, in scotland, a poor gipsy will commence life with a wheelbarrow, then get a donkey-cart, and, in a few years, have a very respectable crockery-shop. i am intimate with an english mixed gipsy family, the father of which commenced life as a basket-maker, was afterwards a constable, and now occasionally travels with the tent. his son is an m. d., for i have seen his diploma; and is a smart, intelligent fellow, and quite an adept at chemistry. to illustrate the change that has taken place among some of the scottish gipsies, within the last fifty years, i may mention that the grand-children of a prominent gipsy, mentioned in chapter v., follow, at the present day, the medical, the legal, and the mercantile professions. such occurrences have been frequent in scotland. there are the cases mentioned by our author; such as one of the faas rising to such eminence in the mercantile world, at dunbar; and another who rose to the rank of lieutenant in the east india company's service; and the baillie family, which furnished a captain and a quarter-master to the army, and a country surgeon. these are but instances of many others, if they were but known. some may object, that these were not full-blood gipsies. that, i readily admit. but the objection is more nominal than real. 'if a white were to proceed to the interior of the american continent, and cast his lot with a tribe of indians, his children would, of course, be expected to be superior, in some respects, to the children of the native blood exclusively, owing to what the father might be supposed to teach them. but it is different in the case of a white marrying a scottish gipsy woman, born and reared in the same community with himself; for the white, in general cases, brings only his blood, which enables the children, if they take after himself, in appearance, to enter such places as the black gipsies would not enter, or might not be allowed to enter. the white father, in such a case, might not even be so intelligent as the gipsy mother. be that as it may, the individuals to whom i have alluded were nothing but gipsies; possibly they did not know when, or through whom, the white blood was introduced among them; they knew, at least, that they were gipsies, and that the links which connected them with the past were substantially gipsy links. besides the scottish gipsies rising to respectable positions in life, by their own exertions, i can well believe that gipsydom has been well brought up through the female line; especially at a time when females, and particularly country females, were rude and all but uneducated. who more capable of doing that than the lady baillies, of tweed-dale, and the lady wilsons, of stirlingshire? such gipsy girls could "turn natives round their little fingers" and act, in a way, the lady at once; "turn over a new leaf," and "pin it down;" and conduct themselves with great propriety. upon a superior scottish gipsy settling in a town, and especially a small town, and wishing to appear respectable, he would naturally take a pew in the church, and attend public worship, were it only, as our author asserts, to hide the fact of his being a gipsy. because, among the scotch, there is that prying inquisitiveness into their neighbours' affairs, that compels a person to be very circumspect, in all his actions, movements, and expressions, if he wishes to be thought anything of, at all. the habit of attending church would then become as regular, in the gipsy's family, as in the families of the ordinary natives, and, in a great measure, proceed from as legitimate a motive. the family would be very polite, indeed, extra polite, to their neighbours. after they had lulled to sleep every suspicion of what they were, or, by their really good conduct, had, according to the popular idea, "ceased to be gipsies," they would naturally encourage a formal acquaintance with respectable (and nothing but respectable,) people in the place. the gipsy himself, a really good fellow at heart, honourable in his dealings, but fond of a bargain, when he could drive a bargain, and, moreover, a jovial fellow, would naturally make plenty of business and out-door friends, at least. rising in circumstances and the public esteem, he makes up his mind that his children ought to be something better than himself, at all events; in short, that they ought not to be behind those of his respectable neighbours. some of them he, therefore, educates for a liberal profession. the gipsy himself becomes more and more ambitious: besides attending church, he must become an elder of the church; or it may be that the grace of god takes hold of him, and brings him into the fold. he and his wife conduct themselves with much propriety; but some of the boys are rather wild; the girls, however, behave well. altogether, the whole family is very much thought of. such is a scottish gipsy family, (the parents of which are now dead,) that i have in my mind at the present moment. no suspicion existed in regard to the father, but there was a breath of suspicion in regard to the mother. but what difference did that make? what knowledge had the public of the nature of gipsydom? consider, then, that the process which i have attempted to describe has been going on, more or less, for at least the last three hundred and fifty years; and i may well ask, where might we _not_ expect to meet with gipsies, in scotland, at the present day? and i reply, that we will meet with them in every sphere of scottish life, not excepting, perhaps, the very highest. there are gipsies among the very best edinburgh families. i am well acquainted with scotchmen, youths and men of middle age, of education and character, and who follow very respectable occupations, that are gipsies, and who admit that they are gipsies. but, apart from my own knowledge, i ask, is it not a fact, that, a few years ago, a pillar of the scottish church, at edinburgh, upon the occasion of founding a society for the reformation of the poor class of scottish gipsies, and frequently thereafter, said that he himself was a gipsy? i ask, again, is not that a fact? it is a fact. and such a man! such prayers! such deep-toned, sonorous piety! such candour! such judgment! such amiability of manners! how much respected! how worthy of respect! the good, the godly, the saintly doctor! when will we meet his like again?[ ] [ ] "grand was the repose of his lofty brow, dark eye, and aspect of soft and melancholy meaning. it was a face from which every evil and earthly passion seemed purged. a deep gravity lay upon his countenance, which had the solemnity, without the sternness, of one of our old reformers. you could almost fancy a halo completing its apostolic character." this leads me to speak of a high-class scottish gipsy family--the falls, who settled at dunbar, as merchants, alluded to under the chapter on border gipsies.[ ] who can doubt that they were gipsies to the last? how could they avoid being gipsies? the gipsies were their people; their blood was gipsy blood. how could they get rid of their blood and descent? could they throw either off, as they would an old coat? could medical science rid them of either? assuredly not. they admitted their descent, _over their cups_. but being _descendants of gipsies_, and yet _not gipsies_, is a contradiction in terms. the principles which regulate the descent of other gipsy families applied equally to theirs. the fact that mrs. fall had the history of her people, in the act of leaving yetholm, represented in tapestry, may be taken as but a straw that indicated how the wind blew. was not old will faa, the gipsy king, down to his death, at the end of the first american war, admitted to their hospitality as a relative? and do not the scottish gipsies, at the present day, claim them to have been gipsies? why might not the falls glory in being egyptians among themselves, but not to others? were not their ancestors _kings_? "wee kings," no doubt, but still kings; one of them being the "loved john faw," of james v., whom all the tribe consider as a great man, (which, doubtless, he was, in that barbarous age,) and the principal of the thirteen patriarchs of scottish gipsydom. was not a gipsy king, (themselves being gipsies,) an ancestor of far more respect, in their eyes, than the founder of a native family, in their neighbourhood; who, in the reign of charles ii., was a common country _snip_, and most likely commenced life with "whipping the cat" around the country, for fivepence a day, and victuals and clippings?[ ] [ ] burns alludes to this family, thus: "passed through the most glorious corn country i ever saw, till i reached dunbar, a neat little town. dine with provost fall, an eminent merchant, and most respectable character, but indescribable, as he exhibits no marked traits. mrs. fall, a genius in painting; fully more clever in the fine arts and sciences than my friend lady wauchope, without her consummate assurance of her own abilities."--_life of burns, by robert chambers._ the crest of the falls, of dunbar, was _three_ boars' heads, couped; that of baillie, of lamington, is _one_ boar's head, couped. in the statistical account of scotland, ( ,) appears the following notice of this family: "a family, of the name of fall, established themselves at dunbar, and became, during the last century, the most extensive merchants in scotland. they were long the chief magistrates of the burgh, and preferred the public good to their own profit. they have left no one to bear their name, _not even a stone to tell where they lie_; but they will long be remembered for their enterprise and public spirit." there is apparently a reason for "not even a stone being left to tell where they lie;" for in hoyland's "survey of the gipsies" appeared the account of baillie smith, in which it is said: "the descendants of faa now take the name of fall, from the messrs. fall, of dunbar, who, they pride themselves in saying, _are of the same stock and lineage_;" which seems to have frightened their connexions at being known to be gipsies. let all that has been said of the falls be considered as their monument and epitaph; so that their memories may be preserved as long as this work exists. it would be interesting to know who the captain fall was, who visited dunbar, with an american ship-of-war, during the time of paul jones. he might have been a descendant of a gipsy, sent to the plantations, in the olden times. there are, as i have said before, a great many scions of gipsy faas, under one name or other, scattered over the world. [ ] _whipping the cat_: tailoring from house to house. the _cat_ is _whipped_ by females, as well as males, in america, in some parts of which the expression is current. the truth of the matter is, these falls must have considered themselves a world better than other people, merely on account of their being gipsies, as all gipsies do, arising, in part, from that antagonistic spirit of opposition which the prejudice of their fellow-creatures is so much calculated to stir up in their minds. saying, over their cups, that they were descended from the faws, the historical gipsy name in scotland, did not divulge very much to the public. for what idea had the public of the _working of gipsydom_--what idea of the gipsy language? did the public know of the existence of a gipsy language in scotland? in all probability, it generally did not. if the public heard a tinkler use a strange word, all that it would think of it would be, that it was _cant_, confined to vagabonds strolling the country. would it ever dream that what the vagabonds used was carefully preserved and spoken among the great falls, of dunbar, within the sanctity of their own dwellings, as it assuredly must have been? would the public believe in such a thing, if even its own ears were made the witnesses to it? was the love which the falls had for their yetholm connexion confined to a mere group of their ancestors worked in tapestry? where was the gipsy language, during all this time? assuredly it was well preserved in their family. if it showed the least symptoms of falling off, how easily could the mothers bring into the family, as servants, other gipsies, who would teach it to the children! for, besides the dazzling hold which the gipsy language takes of the mind of a gipsy, as the language of those black, mysterious heroes from whom he is descended, the keeping of it up forms the foundation of that self-respect which a gipsy has for himself, amidst the prejudice of the world; from which, at the bottom of his heart, whatever his position in life, or character, or associations, may be, he considers himself separated. i am decidedly of opinion that all the domestics about this fall family were gipsies of one caste, colour, condition, or what not. then, we are told that miss fall, who married sir john anstruther, of elie, baronet, was looked down upon by her husband's friends, and received no other name than jenny faa; and that she was indirectly twitted with being a gipsy, by the rabble, while attending an election in which sir john was a candidate. what real satisfaction could jenny, or any other gipsy, have for ordinary natives of the country, when she was conscious of being what she was, and how she was spoken of, by her husband's relatives and the public generally? she would take comfort in telling her "wonderful story" to her children, (for i presume she would have children,) who would sympathize with her; and in conversing with such of her own race as were near her, were it only her trusty domestics. it is the gipsy woman who feels the prejudice that exists towards her race the most acutely; for she has the rearing of the children, and broods more over the history of her people. as the needle turns to the pole, so does the mind of the gipsy woman to gipsydom. we are likewise told that this eminent gipsy family were connected, by marriage, with the footies, of balgonie; the coutts, afterwards bankers; collector whyte, of kirkaldy, and collector melville, of dunbar. we may assume, as a mathematical certainty, that gipsydom, in a refined form, is in existence in the descendants of these families, particularly in such of them as were connected with this gipsy family by the female side.[ ] [ ] of the gipsies at moscow, the following is the substance of what mr. borrow says: "those who have been accustomed to consider the gipsy as a wandering outcast . . . . . . will be surprised to learn that, amongst the gipsies of moscow, there are not a few who inhabit stately houses, go abroad in elegant equipages, and are behind the higher order of russians neither in appearance nor mental acquirements. . . . . the sums obtained by the gipsy females, by the exercise of their art (singing in the choirs of moscow,) enable them to support their relatives in affluence and luxury. some are married to russians; and no one who has visited russia can but be aware that a lovely and accomplished countess, of the noble and numerous family of tolstoy is, by birth, a zigana, and was originally one of the principal attractions of a romany choir at moscow." this short notice appears unsatisfactory, considering, as mr. borrow says, that one of his principal motives for visiting moscow was to hold communication with the gipsies. it might have occurred to him to enquire what relation the children of such marriages would bear to gipsydom generally; that is, would they be initiated in the mysteries, and taught the language, and hold themselves to be gipsies? it is evident, however, that the gipsy-drilling process is going on among the russian nobility. a person who has never considered this subject, or any other cognate to it, may imagine that a gipsy reproaches himself with his own blood. pshaw! where will you find a man, or a tribe of men, under the heavens, that will do that? it is not in human nature to do it. all men venerate their ancestors, whoever they have been. a gipsy is, to an extraordinary degree, proud of his blood. "i have very little of the blood, myself," said one of them, "but just come and see my wife!" but people may say that the ancestors of the falls were thieves. and were not all the borderers, in their way, the worst kind of thieves? they might not have stolen from their nearest relatives; but, with that exception, did they not steal from each other? now, gipsies never, or hardly ever, steal from each other. were not all the elliots and armstrongs thieves of the first water? were not the scotts and the kers thieves, long after the gipsies entered scotland? when the servants of scott of harden drove out his last cow, and said, "there goes harden's cow," did not the old cow-stealer say, "it will soon be harden's _kye_"--meaning, that he would set out on a cow-stealing expedition? in fact, he lived upon spoil. was it not his lady's custom, on the last bullock being killed, to place on the table a dish, which, on being uncovered, was found to contain a pair of clean spurs--a hint, to her husband and his followers, that they must shift for their next meal? the descendants of these scotts, and the scottish public generally, look, with the utmost complacency and pride, upon the history of such families; yet would be very apt to make a great ado, if the ancestress of a gipsy should, in such a predicament, have hung out a cock's tail at the mouth of her tent, as a hint to her "laddies" to look after poultry. common sense tells us, that, for one excuse to be offered for such conduct, on the part of the _landed-gentry_ of the country, a hundred can be found for the ancestor of a gipsy--an unfortunate wanderer on the face of the earth, who was hunted about, like a wolf of the forest.[ ] [ ] on his return with his gallant prey, he passed a very large hay-stack. it occurred to the provident laird that this would be extremely convenient to fodder his new stock of cattle; but, as no means of transporting it were obvious, he was fain to take leave of it, with the apostrophe, now become proverbial, "_by my saul, had ye but four feet, ye should not stand lang there._" in short, as froissart says of a similar class of feudal robbers. "nothing came amiss to them that was not _too heavy_ or _too hot_." sir walter scott speaks, in the most jocular manner, of an ancestress who had a _curious hand at pickling the beef which her husband stole_; and that there was not a stain upon his escutcheon, barring border theft and high treason.--_lockhart's life of sir walter scott._ we should never forget that a "hawk's a hawk," whether it is a falcon or a mosquito hawk, which is the smallest of all hawks. and what shall we say of our highland thieves? highlanders may be more touchy on this point, for their ancestors were the last of the british race to give up that kind of life. talk of the laws passed against the gipsies! various of our scottish monarchs issued decrees against "the wicked thieves and limmers of the clans and surnames, inhabiting the highlands and isles," accusing "the chieftains principal of the branches worthy to be esteemed the very authors, fosterers, and maintainers, of the wicked deeds of the vagabonds of their clans and surnames." indeed, the doweries of the chiefs' daughters were made up by a share of the booty collected on their expeditions. the highlands were, at one time, little better than a nest of thieves; thieving from each other, and more particularly from their southern neighbours. it is notorious that robbery, in the highlands, was "held to be a calling not merely innocent, but honourable;" and that a high-born highland warrior was "much more becomingly employed, in plundering the lands of others, than in tilling his own." at stated times of the year, such as at candlemas, regular bands of highlanders, the sons of gentlemen and what not, proceeded south in quest of booty, as part of their winter's provisions. the highlanders might even have been compared, at one time, to as many tribes of afghans. mr. skene, the historian of the highlands, and himself a highlander, says that the highlanders believed that they _had a right_ to plunder the people of the low country, _whenever it was in their power_. we naturally ask, how did the highlanders _acquire_ this right of plunder? were they ever proscribed? were any of them hung, merely for being highlanders? no. what plea, then, did the highlanders set up, in justification of this wholesale robbery?--"they believed, _from tradition_, that the lowlands, _in old times_, were the possessions of their ancestors." (_skene._) but that was no excuse for their plundering each other.[ ] [ ] sir walter scott makes fitz-james, in the "lady of the lake," say to roderick dhu: "but then, thy chieftain's robber life!-- winning mean prey by causeless strife, wrenching from ruined lowland swain his herds and harvests reared in vain-- methinks a soul like thine should scorn the spoils from such foul foray borne. the gael beheld him, grim the while, and answered with disdainful smile,-- * * * * * 'where live the mountain chiefs, who hold that plundering lowland field and fold is aught but retribution true? seek other cause 'gainst roderick dhu!'" the gipsy's ordinary pilfering was confined to such petty things as "hens and peats at pleasure," "cutting a bit lamb's throat," and "a mouthfu' o' grass and a pickle corn, for the cuddy"--"things that a farmer body ne'er could miss." but your highlanders did not content themselves with such "needles and pins;" they must have "horned cattle." if the coast was clear, they would table their drawn dirks, and commence their _spulzie_, by making their victims furnish them with what was necessary to fill their bellies; upon the strength of which, they would "lift" whatever they could carry and drive, or take its equivalent in black-mail. what an effort is made by our mcgregors, at the present day, to scrape up kin with this or the other bandit mcgregor; and yet how apt the mcgregor is to turn up his nose--just as punch, only, could make him turn it up--if a gipsy were to step out, and say, that he was a descendant, and could speak the language, of will baillie, mentioned under the head of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies: a gipsy, described by my ancestor, (and he could judge,) to have been "the handsomest, the best dressed, the best looking, and the best bred, man he ever saw; and the best swordsman in scotland, for, with his weapon in his hand, and his back at a wall, he could set almost everything, saving fire-arms, at defiance; a man who could act the gentleman, the robber, the sorner, and the tinker, whenever it answered his purpose."[ ] and yet, some of this man's descendants will doubtless be found among our medical doctors, and even the clergy. i recollect our author pointing out a clergyman of the scottish church, who, he was pretty sure, was "one of them." what name could have stood lower, at one time, than mcgregor? both by legal and social proscription, it was looked upon as vagabond; and doubtless the clan brought it, primarily and principally, upon themselves; but as for the rapine they practised upon their neighbours, and the helpless southerners, they were, at first, no worse, in that respect, than others of their nation. are the mcgregors sure that there are no gipsies among them? there are plenty of gipsies of, at least, the name of mcgregor, known to both the scottish and english gipsies. what more likely than some of the mcgregors, when "out," and leading their vagabond lives, getting mixed up with the better kind of mixed gipsies? they were both leading a wild life, and it is not unlikely that some of the mcgregors, of even no small consequence, might have been led captive by such gipsy girls as the lady baillies, of tweed-dale. let a gipsy once be grafted upon a native family, and she rises with it; leavens the little circle of which she is the centre, and leaves it, and its descendants, for all time coming, gipsies. [ ] see page . i now come to ask, what constitutes a gipsy at the present day? and common sense replies: the simple fact of knowing from whom he is descended, that is, who he is, in connection with having the gipsy words and signs, although these are not absolutely necessary. it requires no argument to show that there is no tribe or nation but finds something that leads it to cling to its origin and descent, and not despise the blood that runs in its own veins, although it may despise the condition or conduct of some of its members. where shall we find an exception to this rule? the gipsy race is no exception to it. civilize a gipsy, and you make him a civilized gipsy; educate him, and you make him an educated gipsy; bring him up to any profession you like, christianize him as much as you may, and he still remains a gipsy; because he is of the gipsy race, and all the influences of nature and revelation do not affect the questions of blood, tribe, and nationality. take all the gipsies that ever came out of the tent, or their descendants, including those brought into the body through the male and female line; and what are they now? still gipsies. they even pass into the other world gipsies. "but they will forget that they are gipsies," say, perhaps, some of my readers. forget that they are gipsies! will we hear, some of these days, that scotch people, themselves, will get up of a morning, toss about their night-caps, and forget that they are scotch? we may then see the same happen with the gipsies. what i have said, of the gipsy always being a gipsy, is self-evident; but it has a wide difference of meaning from that contained in the quotation given by mr. borrow, in which it is said: "for that which is unclean by nature thou canst entertain no hope; no washing will turn the gipsy white."[ ] but, taking the world all over, there will doubtless be gipsies, in larger or smaller numbers, who will always be found following the original ways of their race. [ ] in expatiating on the subject of the gipsy race always being the gipsy race, i have had it remarked to me: "suppose gipsies should not mention to their children the fact of their being gipsies." in that case, i replied, the children, especially if, for the most part, of white blood, would simply not be gipsies; they would, of course, have some of "the blood," but they would not be gipsies if they had no knowledge of the fact. but to suppose that gipsies should not learn that they are gipsies, on account of their parents not telling them of it, is to presume that they had no other relatives. their being gipsies is constantly talked of among themselves; so that, if gipsy children should not hear their "wonderful story" from their parents, they would readily enough hear it from their other relatives. this is assuming, however, that the gipsy mind can act otherwise than the gipsy mind; which it cannot. it sometimes happens, as the gipsies separate into classes, like all other races or communities of men, that a great deal of jealousy is stirred up in the minds of the poorer members of the tribe, on account of their being shunned by the wealthier kind. they are then apt to say that the exclusive members have _left_ the tribe; which, with them, is an undefined and confused idea, at the best, principally on account of their limited powers of reflection, and the subject never being alluded to by the others. this jealousy sometimes leads them to dog these straggling sheep, so that, as far as lies in their power, they will not allow them to leave, as they imagine, the gipsy fold. [see second note at page .] what were the hungarians, at one time, and what are they now? pritchard says of them: "the hungarians laid aside the habits of rude and savage hunters, far below the condition of the nomadic hordes, for the manners of civilized life. in the course of a thousand years, they have become a handsome people, of fine stature, regular european features, and have the complexion prevalent in that tract of europe where they dwell." now the gipsies have been in scotland at least three hundred and fifty years; and what with the mixture of native blood, (which, at least, helped to remove the prejudice against the man's appearance, and, consequently, gave him a larger and freer scope of action;) the hard laws of necessity, and the being tossed about by society, like pebbles on the seashore; the influences of civilization, education, and the grace of god itself; by such means as these, some of the scottish gipsies have risen to a respectable, even eminent, position in life. but some people may say: "these are not gipsies; they have little of the blood in them." that is nothing. ask themselves what they are, and, if they are at all candid, they will reply that they are gipsies. "no doubt," they say, "we have fair, or red, or black, hair, (as the case may be;) we know nothing about that; but we know that we _are_ gipsies; that is all." there is as much difference between such a high-class gipsy and a poor gipsian, as there is between a scottish judge and the judge's fourth cousin, who makes his living by clipping dogs' ears. the principle of progression, the passing through one phase of history into another, while the race maintains its identity, holds good with the gipsies, as well as with any other people. take a gipsy in his original state, and we can find nothing really _vulgar_ about him. what is popularly understood to be gipsy life may be considered low life, by people who do not overmuch discriminate in such matters; but view it after its kind, and it is not really low; for a gipsy is naturally polite and well mannered. he does not consider himself as belonging to the same race as the native, and would rather be judged by a different standard. the life which he leads is not that of the lowest class of the country in which he dwells, but the primitive, original state of a people of great antiquity, proscribed by law and society; himself an enemy of, and an enemy to, all around him; with the population so prejudiced against him, that attempts to change his condition, consistently with his feelings as a man, are frequently rendered in vain: so that, on the ground of strict morals, or even administrative justice, the man can be said to be only half responsible. the subject, however, assumes quite a different aspect, when we consider a gipsy of education and refinement, like the worthy clergyman mentioned, between whose condition and that of his tented ancestor an interval of, perhaps, two or three centuries has elapsed. we should then put him on the footing of any other race having a barbarous origin, and entertain no prejudice against him on account of the race to which he belongs. he is then to be judged as we judge highland and border scots, for the whole three were at one time robbers; and all the three having welled up to respectable life together, they ought to be judged on their merits, individually, as men, and treated accordingly. and the gipsy ought to be the most leniently dealt with, on the principle that the actions of his ancestors were far more excusable, and even less heinous, than those of the others. and as regards antiquity of descent, the gipsy's infinitely surpasses the others, being probably no less than the shepherd kings, part of whose blood left egypt, in the train of the jews. i would place such a gipsy on the footing of the hungarian race; with this difference, that the hungarians entered europe in the ninth century, and became a people, occupying a territory; while the gipsies appeared in the fifteenth century, and are now to be found, civilized and uncivilized, in almost every corner of the known world. the admission of the good man alluded to casts a flood of light upon the history of the scottish gipsy race, shrouded as it is from the eye of the general population; but the information given by him was apt to fall flat upon the ear of the ordinary native, unless it was accompanied by some such exposition of the subject as is given in this work. still, we can gather from it, where gipsies are to be found, what _a_ scottish gipsy is, and what the race is capable of; and what might be expected of it, if the prejudice of their fellow-creatures was withdrawn from the race, as distinguished from the various classes into which it may be divided, or, i should rather say, the personal conduct of each gipsy individually. view the subject any way i may, i cannot resist coming to the conclusion that, under more favourable circumstances, it is difficult to say what the gipsies might not attain to. but that would depend greatly upon the country in which they are to be found. scotland has been peculiarly favourable for them, in some respects. as regards the scottish gipsy population, at the present day, i can only adopt the language of the immortal dominie sampson, and say, that it must be "prodigious." if we consider the number that appear to have settled in scotland, the length of time they have been in scotland, the great amount of white blood that has, by one means or other, been brought into, and mixed up with, the body, and its great natural encrease; the feelings that attach them to their descent--feelings that originate, more properly, within themselves, and feelings that press upon them from without--the various occupations and positions in life in which they are to be found; we cannot set any limit to their number. gipsies are just like other people; they have their own sets or circles of associates, out of which, as a thing that is almost invariable, they will hide, if not deny, themselves to others of their race, for reasons which have already been given. so almost invariable is this, at the present day, amongst gipsies that are not tented gipsies, that, should an english gipsy come across a settlement of them in america--german gipsies, for example--and cast his sign, and address them in their own speech, they will pretend not to know what he means, although he sees the gipsy in their faces and about their dwellings. but should he meet with them away from their homes, and where they are not known, they would answer, and be cheek-by-jowl with him, in a moment. i have found, by personal experience, that the same holds with the french and other continental gipsies in america.[ ] it is particularly so with the scottish gipsies. for these reasons, it seems to be beyond question that the number at which our author estimates them in scotland, viz., , , must be vastly below the real number. if i were to say , , i do not think i would over-estimate them. the opinion of the gipsies whom our author questioned was a guess, so far as it referred to the class to which they belonged, or with which they were acquainted; so that, if we take all kinds of gipsies into account, it would be a very moderate estimate to set the scottish gipsies down at , ; and those in all the british isles at , . the number might be double what i have stated. the intelligent english gipsies say that, in england, they are not only "dreadfully mixed," but extremely numerous. there is not a race of men on the face of the earth more prolific than tented gipsies; in a word, tented gipsydom, if i may hazard such an expression, is, comparatively speaking, like a rabbit warren. the rough and uncouth kind of settled gipsies are likewise very prolific; but the higher classes, as a rule, are by no means so much so. to set down any specific number of gipsies to be found in the british isles, would be a thing too arbitrary to serve any purpose; i think sufficient data have been given to enable the intelligent reader to form an opinion for himself.[ ] [ ] i very abruptly addressed a french gipsy, in the streets of new york, thus: "vous êtes un _romany chiel_." "oui, monsieur," was the reply which he, as abruptly, gave me. but, ever afterwards, he got cross, when i alluded to the subject. on one occasion, i gave him the sign, which he repeated, while he asked, with much tartness of manner, "what is that--what does it mean?" this was a roguish gipsy, and was afterwards lodged in jail. on one occasion, i met with a german cutler, in a place of business, in new york. i felt sure he was a gipsy, although the world would not have taken him for one. catching his eye, i commenced to look around the room, from those present to himself, as if there was to be something confidential between us, and then whispered to him, "_callo chabo_," (gipsy, or black fellow;) and the effect was instantaneous. i afterwards visited his family, on a sabbath evening, and took tea with them. they were from wurtemberg, and appeared very decent people. the mother, a tall, swarthy, fine looking intelligent young woman, said grace, which was repeated by the children, whom i found learning their sabbath-school lessons. the family regularly attend church. a fair-haired german called, and went to church with the gipsy himself. what with the appearance of everything about the house, and the fine, clean, and neatly-dressed family of children, i felt very much pleased with my visit. french and german gipsies are very shy, owing to the severity of the laws against their race. [ ] fletcher, of saltoun, speaks of there being constantly a hundred thousand people in scotland, leading the life (as sir walter scott describes it,) of "gipsies, jockies, or cairds." between the time alluded to and the date of john faw's league with james v., a period of years had elapsed; and years from the date of arrival of the race in the country: so that, from the natural encrease of the body, and the large amount of white blood introduced into it, the greater part, if not the whole, of the people mentioned, were doubtless gipsies. but these gipsies, according to sir walter's opinion, "died out by a change of habits." how strange it is that the very first class scottish minds should have so little understood the philosophy of origin, blood, and descent, and especially as they applied to the gipsies! for sir walter says: "the progress of time, and encrease both of the means of life and the power of the laws, gradually reduced this dreadful evil within more narrow bounds. . . . . their numbers are so greatly diminished, that, instead of one hundred thousand, as calculated by fletcher, it would now, perhaps, be impossible to collect above five hundred throughout all scotland(!)" it is perfectly evident that sir walter scott, in common with many others, never realized the idea, in all its bearings, of what a gipsy was; or he never could have imagined that those, only, were of the gipsy race, who followed the tent. it is very doubtful if anthonius gawino, and his tribe, departed with their letter of introduction from james iv. to his uncle, the king of denmark, in . having secured the favour of the king of scots, by this recommendatory notice, he was more apt, by delaying his departure, to secure his position in the country. the circumstances attending the league with his successor, john faw, show that the tribe had been long in the country; doubtless from as far back as . from till , with the exception of about one year, during the reign of james v., the tribe, as i have already said, (page ,) must have encreased prodigiously. the persecutions against the body extended over the reign of james vi., and part of that of charles i.; for, according to baron hume, such was the terror which the executions inspired in the tribe, that, "for the space of more than years from that time, ( ,) there is no trial of an egyptian;" although our author shows that an execution of a band of them took place in . but "towards the end of that century," continues baron hume, "the nuisance seems to have again become troublesome;" in other words, that from the reign of charles i. to the accession of william and mary, the time to which fletcher's remark applies, the attention of all being taken up with the troubles of the times, the gipsies had things pretty much their own way; but when peace was restored, they would be called to strict account. for all these reasons, it may be said that the , people spoken of were doubtless gipsies of various mixtures of blood; so that, at the present day, there ought to be a very large number of the tribe in scotland. i admit that many of the scottish gipsies have been hanged, and many banished to the plantations; but these would be in a small ratio to their number, and a still smaller to the natural encrease of the body. suppose that such and such gipsies were either hanged or banished; so young did they all marry, that, when they were hanged or banished, they might leave behind them families ranging from five to ten children. we may say, of the scottish gipsies generally, in days that are past, what a writer in blackwood's magazine, already alluded to, said of billy marshall: "their descendants were prodigiously numerous; i dare say, numberless." many of the scottish gipsies have migrated to england, as well as elsewhere. in liverpool, there are many of them, following various mechanical occupations. that many gipsies were banished to america, in colonial times, from england, wales, scotland, and ireland, sometimes for merely being "by habit and repute gipsies," is beyond dispute. "your welsh and irish," said an english gipsy, in the united states, "were so mean, when they banished a gipsy to the plantations, as to make him find his own passage; but the english always paid the gipsy's passage for him." the scotch seem also to have made the gipsy find his own passage, and failing that, to have hanged him. it greatly interests the english gipsies arriving in america, to know about the native american gipsies. i have been frequently in the company of an english gipsy, in america, whose great-grandfather was so banished; but he did not relish the subject being spoken of. gipsies may be said to have been in america almost from the time of its settlement. we have already seen how many of them found their way there, during the revolution, by being impressed as soldiers, and taken as volunteers, for the benefit of the bounty and passage; and how they deserted on landing. tented gipsies have been seen about baltimore for the last seventy years. in new england, a colony is known which has existed for about a hundred years, and has always been looked upon with a singular feeling of distrust and mystery by the inhabitants, who are the descendants of the early emigrants, and who did not suspect their origin till lately. these gipsies have never associated, in the common sense of the word, with the other settlers, and, judging from their exterior, seem poor and miserable, whatever their circumstances may be. they follow pretty much the employment and modes of life of the same class in europe; the most striking feature being, that the bulk of them leave the homestead for a length of time, scatter in different directions, and reunite, periodically, at their quarters, which are left in charge of some of the feeble members of the band. it is not likely that many of the colonial gipsies would take to the tent; for, arriving, for the most part, as individuals, separated from family relations, they were more apt to follow settled, semi-settled, or general itinerant occupations; and the more so, as the face of the country, and the thin and scattered settlements, would hardly admit of it. they were apt to squat on wild or unoccupied lands, in the neighbourhood of towns and settlements, like their brethren in europe, when they took up their quarters on the borders of well-settled districts, with a wild country to fall back on, in times of danger or prosecution by the lawful authorities. besides disposing of themselves, to some little extent, in this way, many of the gipsies, banished, or going to the colonies of their own accord, would betake themselves to the various occupations common to the ordinary emigrants; the more especially as, when they arrived, they would find a field in which they were not known to be gipsies; which would give them greater scope and confidence, and enable them to go anywhere, or enter upon any employment, where, not being known to be gipsies, they would meet with no prejudice to contend with. indeed, a new country, in which the people had, more or less, to be, in a sense, tinkers, that is, jacks-of-all-trades, and masters of none, was just the sphere of a handy gipsy, who could "do a' most of things." they would turn to the tinkering, peddling, horse-dealing, tavern-keeping, and almost all the ordinary mechanical trades, and, among others, broom-making. perhaps the foundation of the american broom manufacture was laid by the british gipsies, by whom it may be partly carried on at the present day; a business they pretty much monopolize, in a rough way, in great britain. we will doubtless find, among the fraternity, some of those whittling, meddling sam slick peddlers, so often described: i have seen some of those itinerant venders of knife-sharpeners, and such "yankee notions," with dark, glistening eyes, that would "pass for the article." some of them would live by less legitimate business. i entertain no doubt, what from the general fitness of things, and the appearance of some of the men, that we will find some of the descendants of the old british mixed gipsies members of the various establishments of messrs. peter funks and company,[ ] of the city of new york, as well as elsewhere. and i entertain as little doubt that many of those american women who tell fortunes, and engage in those many curious bits of business that so often come up at trials, are descendants of the british plantation stock of gipsies. but there are doubtless many of these gipsies in respectable spheres of life. it would be extremely unreasonable to say that the descendants of the colonial gipsies do not still exist as gipsies, like their brethren in great britain, and other parts of the old world. the english gipsies in america entertain no doubt of it; the more especially as they have encountered such gipsies, of at least two descents. i have myself met with such a gipsy, following a decidedly respectable calling, whom i found as much one of the tribe, barring the original habits, as perhaps any one in europe. [ ] _peter funks & co._: mock auctioneers of mock jewelry, &c., &c. there are many hungarian and german gipsies in america; some of them long settled in pennsylvania and maryland, where they own farms. some of them leave their farms in charge of hired hands, during the summer, and proceed south with their tents. in the state of pennsylvania, there is a settlement of them, on the j---- river, a little way above h----, where they have saw-mills. about the alleghany mountains, there are many of the tribe, following somewhat the original ways of the race. in the united states generally, there are many gipsy peddlers, british as well as continental. there are a good many gipsies in new york--english, irish, and continental--some of whom keep tin, crockery, and basket stores; but these are all mixed gipsies, and many of them of fair complexion. the tin-ware which they make is generally of a plain, coarse kind; so much so, that a gipsy tin store is easily known. they frequently exhibit their tin-ware and baskets on the streets, and carry them about the city. almost all, if not all, of those itinerant cutlers and tinkers, to be met with in new york, and other american cities, are gipsies, principally german, hungarian, and french. there are a good many gipsy musicians in america. "what!" said i, to an english gipsy, "those organ-grinders?" "nothing so low as that. gipsies don't _grind_ their music, sir; they _make_ it." but i found in his house, when occupied by other gipsies, a _hurdy-gurdy_ and tambourine; so that gipsies sometimes _grind_ music, as well as _make_ it. i know of a hungarian gipsy who is leader of a negro musical band, in the city of new york; his brother drives one of the avenue cars. there are a number of gipsy musicians in baltimore, who play at parties, and on other occasions. some of the fortune-telling gipsy women about new york will make as much as forty dollars a week in that line of business. they generally live a little way out of the city, into which they ride, in the morning, to their places of business. i know of one, who resides in new jersey, opposite new york, and who has a place in the city, to which ladies, that is, females of the highest classes, address their cards, for her to call upon them. when she gets a chance of a young fellow with his female friend, she "puts the screws on;" for she knows well that he dare not "back out;" so she frequently manages to squeeze five dollars out of him. many hundred, perhaps several thousand, of english tented, and partly tented gipsies, have arrived in america within the last ten years. they, for the most part, travel, and have travelled every state in the union, east of the rocky mountains, as well as the british provinces, as horse-dealers, peddlers, doctors, exhibitors, fortune-tellers, and _tramps_ generally. such english gipsies, above all men in america, may, with the greatest propriety, say, "no pent-up utica contracts our powers, but the whole boundless continent is ours." the fortune-tellers, every time they set out on their peregrinations, choose a new route; for they say it is more difficult to go over the same ground in america, than it is in england. the horse-dealers say that jonathan is a good judge of a horse; that sometimes they get the advantage of him, and sometimes he of them; but that his demand for a warranty sometimes bothers them a deal. "what then?" i asked. "well, we give him a warranty; and should the beast _happen_ to turn out wrong, let him catch us if he can!" it is really astonishing how sensibly these english gipsies talk of american affairs generally; they are very discriminating in their remarks, and wonderfully observant of places and localities. they do not like the negroes. in their society they drop the name of king, and adopt that of president. "cunning fellows," said i, "to eschew the name of king, and look down upon negroes. that will do, in america!" i have found the above kind of gipsies, in america, to be generally pretty well off; they all seem to flourish, and have plenty of money about them. the fortune-telling, horse-dealing, and peddling branches of them have a fine field for following their respective businesses. america, indeed, is a "great country" for the gipsies; for it contains "no end" of chickens, to say nothing of ducks, geese, and turkeys, many of which are carried off by _varmint_, anyhow. there, they will find, for some time, many opportunities of gathering rich harvests, among what has been termed the shrewdest, but, in some things, the most gullible, of mortals, as an instance may illustrate. a gipsy woman, known as such, drags, into the meshes of her necromancy, 'cute jonathan; who, with an infinite reliance on his own smartness, to "try the skill of the critter," by her directions, ties up, in gold and paper, something like a thousand dollars, and, after she has passed her hands over it, and muttered a few cabalistic words, deposits it in his strong box. she sets a day, on which she calls, handles the "dimes," while muttering some more expressions, rather accidentally drops them, then returns them to the box, and sets another day when she will call, and add much to his wealth. she does not appear, however, on the day mentioned. our simpleton gets first anxious, then excited, then suspicious, then examines his "pile," and finds it transformed into a lot of copper and old paper! for, in dropping the parcel, meg does it adroitly about the folds of her dress, quickly substitutes another, exactly alike, and makes off with the fruits of her labour. then come the hue and cry, telegraphing, and dispatching of warrants everywhere. but why need he trouble himself? so, after a harder day's work than, perhaps, he ever underwent in his life, he returns home: but knowing the sympathy he will find there, he puts on his best face, and, to have the first word of it, (for he is not to be laughed at,) wipes his forehead, twitches his mouth, winks his eyes, and remarks: "waal, i reckon i've been most darnedly sold, anyhow!" such occurrences are very common among almost all classes of rural americans. sometimes it is to discover treasure on the individual's lands, or in the neighbourhood; sometimes a mine, and sometimes an indian, a trapper, a pirate, or a revolutionary deposit. when the gipsy escapes with her spoil, she frequently makes for her home, but where that is, no one knows. on being molested, while there, she produces friends, in fair standing, who _prove_ an alibi; and, with the further assistance of a well-feed lawyer, defies all the requisitions, made by the governors of neighbouring states, for her delivery. at other times, she will _divide_ with the inferior authorities, or surrender the whole of the plunder; for, to go to jail she will not, if she can help it.[ ] [ ] if the real characters of those "lady fortune-tellers," who flourish so much in the large cities, and publicly profess to reveal all matters in "love and law, health and wealth, losses and crosses," were to be ascertained, many of them would, in all probability, be found to belong to a superior class of gipsies. and this may much more be said of the more humble ones, who trust to the gossipping of a class--and that a respectable class of females, for the advertising of their calling. for a certainty, those are gipsies who stroll about, telling fortunes for dimes, clothes, or old bottles. the advertising members form a very small part of the fraternity. the extent to which such business is patronized, by americans, of both sexes, and of almost all positions in society is such, that it is doubtful if the english reader would credit it, if it were put on record. in virginia, the more original kind of gipsies are very frequently to be met with. it is in the slave states they are more apt to flourish in the olden form. the planters need not trouble themselves about their tampering with the negroes, for they have no sympathy with them. were it otherwise, they would soon be _mum_, on finding what the results would be to them. i have given some of them some useful hints on that score. the general disposition of the people, the want of _learning_ among so many of them, the distances between dwellings, the small villages, the handy mechanical services of the gipsies, the uncultivated tracts of land, the game of various kinds, and the climate, seem to point out some of the slave states as an elysium for the gipsies; unless the wealthier part of the inhabitants should use the poorer class as tools to drive them out of the country.[ ] [ ] when travelling on the stage, towards lake huron, in canada, i was surprised at finding a gipsy tent on the road-side, with a man sitting in front of it, engaged in the mysteries of the tinker. i met a camp of gipsies on a vacant space, beside a clump of trees, in hamilton, at the head of lake ontario, but i deferred visiting them till the following morning. when i returned to the spot, i found that the birds had flown. feeling disappointed, i began to question a man who kept a toll-bar, immediately opposite to where their tents had been, as to their peculiarities generally; when he said: "they seemed droll kind o' folk--quite like ourselves--no way foreign; yet i could not understand a word they were saying among themselves." shortly after this, a company of them entered a shop, in the same town, to buy tin, when i happened to be in it. i accosted one of the mothers of the company, in an abrupt but bland tone. "you're a' nawkens (gipsies) i see."--"ou ay, we're nawkens," was her immediate reply, accompanied by a smile on her weather-beaten countenance. "you'll aye speak the language?" i continued. "we'll ne'er forget that," she again replied. this seemed to be a company of gipsies from the scottish border; for the woman spoke about the broadest scotch i ever heard. they dressed well, and bore a good reputation in the neighbourhood. there are a good many very respectable scottish gipsies in the united states; but i do not wish to be too minute in describing them. in canada, i know of a doctor, a lawyer, and an editor, scottish gipsies. the fact of the matter is, that, owing to the mixture of the blood, the improvement, and perpetuation, and secrecy, of the race, there may be many, very many, gipsies, in almost every place in the world, and other people not know of it: and it is not likely that, at the present time, they will say that they are gipsies. indeed, the intelligent english travelling gipsies say that there are an immense number of gipsies, of all countries, colours, and occupations, in america. there is even some resemblance between the formation of gipsydom and that of the united states. the children of emigrants, it is well known, frequently prove the most ultra americans. instead of the original colonists, at the declaration of independence, imagine the commencement of gipsydom as proceeding from the original stock of gipsies. the addition to their number, from without, differs from that which takes place among americans, in this way: that all such additions to gipsydom are made in such a manner, that the new blood gets innoculated, as it were, with the old, or part of the old; so that it may be said of the whole body, _one drop of blood makes all gipsydom akin._ the simple fact of a person having gipsy blood in his veins, in addition to the rearing of a gipsy parent, acts upon him like a shock of electricity; it makes him spring to his feet, and--"snap his teeth at other dogs!" a very important circumstance contributing to this state of things is the antipathy which mankind have for the very name of gipsy, which, as i have already said, they all take to themselves; insomuch that the better class will not face it. they imagine that, socially speaking, they are among the damned, and they naturally cast their lot with the damned. still, the antagonistic spirit which would naturally arise towards society, in the minds of such gipsies, remains, in a measure, latent; for they feel confident in their incognito, while moving among their fellow-creatures; which circumstance robs it of its sting. let a lowlander, in times that are past, but have cast up a highlander's blood to him, and what would have been the consequences? "her ainsel would have drawn her dirk, or whipped out her toasting-iron, and seen which _was_ the prettiest man." let the same have been done to a scottish gipsy, in comparatively recent times, and he would have taken his own peculiar revenge. see how the baillies, as mentioned under the chapter of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies, mounted on horseback, and with drawn swords in their hands, threatened death to all who opposed them, for an affront offered to their mother. twit a respectable gipsy with his blood, at the present day, and he would suffer in silence; for, by getting into a passion, he would let himself out. for this reason, it would be unmanly to hint it to him, in any tone of disparagement. the difference of feeling between the two races, at the present day, proceeds from positive ignorance on the part of the native towards the other; an ignorance in which the gipsy would rather allow him to remain; for, let him turn himself in whatever direction he may, he imagines he sees, and perhaps does see, nothing but a dark mountain of prejudice existing between him and every other of his fellow-creatures. he would rather retain his incognito, and allow his race to go down to posterity shrouded in its present mystery. the history of the gipsy race in scotland, more, perhaps, than in any other country, shows, to the eye of the world, as few traces of its existence as would a fox, in passing over a ploughed field. the farmer might see the foot-prints of reynard, but how is he to find reynard himself? he must bring out the dogs and have a hunt for him. as an indian of the prairie, while on the "war path," cunningly arranges the long grass into its natural position, as he passes through it, to prevent his enemy following him, so has the scottish gipsy, as he entered upon a settled life, destroyed, to the eye of the ordinary native, every trace of his being a gipsy. still, i cannot doubt but that he has misgivings that, some day, he will be called up to judgment, and that all about him will be exposed to the world. what is it that troubles the educated gipsies? nothing but the word gipsy; a word which, however sweet when used among themselves, conveys an ugly, blackguard, and vagabond meaning to other people. the poet asks, what is there in a name? and i reply, everything, as regards the name gipsy. for a respectable scottish gipsy to say to the public, that "his mother is a gipsy," or, that "his wife is a gipsy," or, that "he is a gipsy;" such a gipsy simply could not do it. these gipsies will hardly ever use the word among themselves, except in very select circles; but they will say "he's one of us;" "he's from yetholm;" "he's from the metropolis," (yetholm being the metropolis of scottish gipsydom;) or, "he's a traveller." if the company is not over classical, they will say "he's from the black quarry," or, "he's been with the cuddies." imagine a select party of educated scottish gipsies, all closely related. they will then chatter gipsy over their tea; but if a person should drop in, one of the party, who is not acquainted with him, will nudge and whisper to another, "is he one of the tribe?" or, "is he one of us?" the better class of scottish gipsies are very exclusive in matters of this kind. all things considered, in what other position could the gipsy race, in scotland especially, be, at the present day, than that described? how can we imagine a race of people to act otherwise than hide themselves, if they could, from the odium that attaches to the name of gipsy? and what estimate should we place on that charity which would lead a person to denounce a gipsy, should he deny himself to be a gipsy?[ ] as a race, what can they offer to society at large to receive them within its circle? they can offer little, as a race; but, if we consider them as individuals, we will find many of them whose eduction, character, and position in life, would warrant their admission into any ordinary society, and some of them into any society. notwithstanding all that, none will answer up to the name of gipsy. it necessarily follows, that the race must remain shrouded in its present mystery, unless some one, not of the race, should become acquainted with its history, and speak for it. in scotland, the prejudice towards the name of gipsy might be safely allowed to drop, were it only for this reason: that the race has got so much mixed up with the native blood, and even with good families of the country, as to be, in plain language, a jumble--a pretty kettle of fish, indeed. one's uncle, in seeking for a wife, might have stumbled over an egyptian woman, and, either known or unknown to himself, had his children brought up bitter gipsies; so that one's cousins may be gipsies, for anything one knows. a man may have a colony of gipsies in his own house, and know nothing about it! the gipsies _died_ out? oh, no. they commenced in scotland by wringing the necks of one's _chickens_, and now they sometimes . . . . . . ! but what is gipsydom, after all, but a "working in among other people?" [ ] mixed gipsies tell no lies, when they say that they are not gipsies; for, physiologically speaking, they are not gipsies, but only partly gipsies, as regards blood. in every other way they are gipsies, that is, _chabos_, _calos_, or _chals_. in seeking for gipsies among scotch people, i know where to begin, but it puzzles me where to leave off. i would pay no regard to colour of hair or eyes, character, employment, position, or, indeed, any outward thing. the reader may say: "it must be a difficult matter to detect such mixed and educated gipsies as those spoken of." it is not only difficult, but outwardly impossible. such gipsies cannot even tell each other, from their personal appearance; but they have signs, which they can use, if the others choose to respond to them. if i go into a company which i have reason to believe is a gipsy one, and it know nothing of me, so far as my pursuit is concerned, i will bring the subject of the gipsies up, in a very roundabout way, and mark the effect which the conversation makes, or the turn it takes. what i know of the subject, and of the ignorance of mankind generally in regard to it, enables me to say, in almost every instance, who they are, let them make any remark they like, look as they like, pretend what they like, wriggle about as they like, or keep dead silent. as i gradually glide into the subject, and expatiate upon the "greatness of the society," one remarks, "i know it;" upon the "respectability of some of its members," and another emphatically exclaims, "that's a fact;" and upon "its universality," and another bawls out, "that's so." indeed, by finding the gipsies, under such circumstances, completely off their guard, (for they do not doubt their secret being confined to themselves,) i can generally draw forth, in one way or other, as much moral certainty, barring their direct admission, as to their being gipsies, as a dog, by putting his nose into a hole, can tell whether a rat is there, or not. the principle of the transmutation of gipsy blood into white, in appearance, is illustrated, in the ninth chapter of mr. borrow's "bible in spain," by its changing into almost pure black. a gipsy soldier, in the spanish army, killed his sergeant, for "calling him _calo_, (gipsy,) and cursing him," and made his escape. his wife remained in the army, as a sutler, selling wine. two years thereafter, a strange man came to her wine shop. "he was dressed like a moor, (_corahano_,) and yet he did not look like one; he looked more like a black, and yet he was not a black, either, though he was almost black. and, as i looked upon him, i thought he looked something like the errate, (gipsies,) and he said to me, '_zincali, chachipé_,' (the gipsy salutation.) and then he whispered to me, in queer language, which i could scarcely understand,'your husband is waiting; come with me, my little sister, and i will take you to him.' about a league from the town, beneath a hill, we found four people, men and women, all very black, like the strange man; and we joined ourselves with them, and they all saluted me, and called me 'little sister.' and away we marched, for many days, amidst deserts and small villages. the men would cheat with mules and asses, and the women told baji. i often asked him (her husband) about the black men, and he told me that he believed them to be of the errate." her husband, then a soldier in the moorish army, having been killed, this gipsy woman married the black man, with whom she followed real gipsy life. she said to him: "sure i am amongst the errate; . . . . and i often said that they were of the errate; and then they would laugh, and say that it might be so; and that they were not moors, (_corahai_,) but they could give no account of themselves." from this it would seem that, while preserving their identity, wherever they go, there are gipsies who may not be known to the world, or to the tribe, in other continents, by the same name.[ ] [ ] the people above-mentioned are doubtless gipsies. according to grellmann, the race is even to be found in the centre of africa. mollien, in his travels to the sources of the senegal and gambia, in , says: "scattered among the joloffs, we find a people not unlike our gipsies, and known by the name of laaubés. leading a roving life, and without fixed habitation, their only employment is the manufacture of wooden vessels, mortars, and bedsteads. they choose a well-wooded spot, fell some trees, form huts with the branches, and work up the trunks. for this privilege, they must pay a sort of tax to the prince in whose states they thus settle. in general, they are both ugly and slovenly. "the women, notwithstanding their almost frightful faces, are covered with amber and coral beads, presents heaped on them by the joloffs, from a notion that the favours, alone, of these women will be followed by those of fortune. ugly or handsome, all the young laaubé females are in request among the negroes. "the laaubés have nothing of their own but their money, their tools, and their asses; the only animals on which they travel. in the woods, they make fires with the dung of the flocks. ranged round the fires, the men and women pass their leisure time in smoking. the laaubés have not those characteristic features and high stature which mark the joloffs, and they seem to form a distinct race. they are exempted from all military service. each family has its chief, but, over all, there is a superior chief, who commands a whole tribe or nation. he collects the tribute, and communicates with such delegates of the king as receive the imposts: this serves to protect them from all vexation. the laaubés are idolaters, speak the poula language, and pretend to tell fortunes." a word upon the universality of the gipsies. english gipsies, on arriving in america, feel quite taken aback, on coming across a tent or wigwam of indians. "didn't you feel," said i to some of them, "very like a dog when he comes across another dog, a stranger to him?" and, with a laugh, they said, "exactly so." after looking awhile at the indians, they will approach them, and "cast their sign, and salute them in gipsy;" and if no response is made, they will pass on. they then come to learn who the indians are. the same curiosity is excited among the gipsies on meeting with the american farmer, on the banks of the mississippi or missouri; who, in travelling to market, in the summer, will, to save expenses, unyoke his horses, at mid-day or evening, at the edge of the forest, light his fire, and prepare his meal. what with the "kettle and tented wagon," the tall, lank, bony, and swarthy appearance of the farmer, the gipsy will approach him, as he did the indian; and pass on, when no response is made to his sign and salutation. under such circumstances, the gipsy would cast his sign, and give his salutation, whether on the banks of the mississippi or the ganges. nay, a very respectable scottish gipsy boasted to me, that, by his signs alone, he could push his way to the wall of china, and even through china itself. and there are doubtless gipsies in china. mr. borrow says, that when he visited the tribe at moscow, they supposed him to be one of their brothers, who, they said, were wandering about in turkey, _china_, and other parts. it is very likely that russian gipsies have visited china, by the route taken by russian traders, and met with gipsies there.[ ] but it tickles the gipsy most, when it is insinuated, that if sir john franklin had been fortunate in his expedition, he would have found a gipsy tinkering a kettle at the north pole. [ ] bell, in an account of his journey to pekin, [ .] says that upwards of sixty gipsies had arrived at tobolsky, on their way to china, but were stopped by the vice-governor, for want of passports. they had roamed, during the summer season, from poland, in small parties, subsisting by selling trinkets, and telling fortunes. the particulars of a meeting between english and american gipsies are interesting. some english gipsies were endeavouring to sell some horses, in annapolis, in the state of maryland, to what had the appearance of being respectable american farmers; who, however, spoke to each other in the gipsy language, dropping a word now and then, such as "this is a good one," and so on. the english gipsies felt amazed, and at last said: "what is that you are saying? why, you are gipsies!" upon this, the americans wheeled about, and left the spot as fast as they could. had the english gipsies taken after the gipsy in their appearance, they would not have caused such a consternation to their american brethren, who showed much of "the blood" in their countenances; but as, from their blood being much mixed, they did not look like gipsies, they gave the others a terrible fright, on their being found out. the english gipsies said they felt disgusted at the others not owning themselves up. but i told them they ought rather to have felt proud of the americans speaking gipsy, as it was the prejudice of the world that led them to hide their nationality. on making enquiry in the neighbourhood, they found that these american gipsies had been settled there since, at least, the time of their grandfather, and that they bore an english name. there are scottish gipsies in the united states, following respectable callings, who speak excellent gipsy, according to the judgment of intelligent english gipsies. the english gipsies say the same of the gipsy families in scotland, with whom they are acquainted; but that some of their words vary from those spoken in england. there is, however, a rivalry between the english and scottish gipsies, as to whose pronunciation of the words is the correct one: in that respect, they somewhat resemble the english and scottish latinists. one intelligent gipsy gave it as his opinion, that the word great, _baurie_, in scotland, was softer than _boro_, in england, and preferable, indeed, the right pronunciation of the word. the german gipsies are said, by their english brethren, to speak gipsy backwards; from which i would conclude, that it follows the construction of the german language, which differs so materially, in that respect, from the english.[ ] it is a thing well-nigh impossible, to get a respectable scottish gipsy to own up to even a word of the gipsy language. on meeting with a respectable--scotchman, i will call him--in a company, lately, i was asked by him: "are ye a' tinklers?" "we're travellers," i replied. "but who is he?" he continued, pointing to my acquaintance. going up to him, i whispered "his _dade_ is a _baurie grye-femler_," (his father is a great horse-dealer;) and he made for the door, as if a bee had got into his ear. but he came back; oh, yes, he came back. there was a mysterious whispering of "pistols and coffee," at another time. [ ] mr. borrow says, with reference to the spanish gipsy language: "its grammatical peculiarities have disappeared, the entire language having been modified and subjected to the rules of spanish grammar, with which it now coincides in syntax, in the conjugation of verbs, and in the declension of its nouns." we might have naturally expected that of the gipsy language, in the course of four hundred years, from the people speaking it being so much scattered over the country, and coming so much in contact with the ordinary natives. but something different might be looked for, where the gipsies have not been persecuted, but allowed to live together in a body, as in hungary. of the hungarian gipsy language, mr. borrow says, that in no part of the world is the gipsy language better preserved than in hungary; and that the roving bands of gipsies from that country, who visit france and italy, speak the pure gipsy, with all its grammatical peculiarities. he estimates that the spanish gipsy language may consist of four or five thousand words; a sufficient number, one might suppose, to serve the purpose of everyday life. a late writer in the dublin university magazine estimates that five thousand words would serve the same purpose in the english language. four thousand words is a very large language for the gipsies of spain to possess, in addition to the ordinary one of the country. it is beyond doubt that the gipsy language in great britain is broken, but not so broken as to consist of words only; it consists, rather, of expressions, or pieces, which are tacked together by native words--generally small words--which are lost to the ordinary ear, when used in conversation. in that respect, the use of gipsy may be compared to the revolutions of a wheel: we know that the wheel has spokes, but, in its velocity, we cannot distinguish the colour or material of each individual spoke; it is only when it stands still that that can be done. in the same manner, when we come to examine into the british gipsy language, we perceive its broken nature. but it still serves the purpose of a speech. let any one sit among english gipsies, in america, and hear them converse, and he cannot pick up an idea, and hardly a word which they say. "i have always thought dutch bad enough," said an irishman, who has often heard english gipsies, in the state of new jersey, speak among themselves; "but gipsy is perfect gibble-gabble, like ducks and geese, for anything i can make of it." some gipsies can, of course, speak gipsy much better than others. it is most unlikely that the scottish gipsies, with the head, the pride, and the tenacity of native scotch, would be the first to forget the gipsy language. the sentiments of the people themselves are very emphatic on that head. "it will never be forgotten, sir; it is in our hearts, and, as long as a single tinkler exists, it will be remembered," (page .) "so long as there existed two gipsies in scotland, it would never be lost," (page .) the english gipsies admit that the language is more easily preserved in a settled life, but more useful to travelling and out-door gipsies; and that it is carefully kept up by both classes of gipsies. this information agrees with our author's, in regard to the settled scottish gipsies. there is one very strong motive, among many, for the gipsies keeping up their language, and that is, as i have already said, their self-respect. the best of them believe that it is altogether problematical how they would be received in society, were they to make an avowal of their being gipsies, and lay bare the history of their race to the world. the prejudice that exists against the race, and against them, they imagine, were they known to be gipsies, drives them back on that language which belongs exclusively to themselves; to say nothing of the dazzling hold which it takes of their imagination, as they arrive at years of reflection, and consider that the people speaking it have been transplanted from some other clime. the more intelligent the gipsy, the more he thinks of his speech, and the more care he takes of it. people often reprobate the dislike, i may say the hatred, which the more original gipsy entertains for society; forgetting that society itself has had the greatest share in the origin of it. when the race entered europe, they are not presumed to have had any hatred towards their fellow-creatures.[ ] that hatred, doubtless, sprang from the severe reception, and universal persecution, which, owing to the singularity of their race and habits, they everywhere met with. the race then became born into that state of things. what would subsequent generations know of the origin of the feud? all that they knew was, that the law made them outlaws and outcasts; that they were subject, as gipsies, to be hung, before they were born. such a gipsy might be compared to pascal's man springing up out of an island: casting his eyes around him, he finds nothing but a legal and social proscription hanging over his head, in whatever direction he may turn. whatever might be assumed to have been the original, innate disposition of a gipsy, the circumstances attending him, from his birth to his death, were certainly not calculated to improve him, but to make him much worse than he might otherwise have been. the worst that can be said of the scottish gipsies, in times past, has been stated by our author. with all their faults, we find a vein of genuine nobility of character running through all their actions, which is the more worthy of notice, considering that they were at war with society, and society at war with them. not the least important feature is that of gratitude for kind and hospitable treatment. in that respect, a true scottish gipsy has always been as true as steel; and that is saying a great deal in his favour. the instance given by our author, (pages - ,) is very touching, and to the point. i do not know how it may be, at the present day, in scotland, where are to be found so many irish gipsies, of whom the scottish and english gipsies have not much good to say, notwithstanding the assistance they render each other when they meet, (page .) if the english farmers are questioned, i doubt not that a somewhat similar testimony will be borne to the english gipsies, to this extent, at least, that, when civilly and hospitably treated, and personally acquainted, they will respect the farmers' property, and even keep others off it. indeed, both scottish and english gipsies call this "gipsy law." it is certainly not the scottish gipsies, or, i may venture to say, the english gipsies, to whom mr. borrow's words may be applied, when he says: "i have not expatiated on their gratitude towards good people, who treat them kindly, and take an interest in their welfare; for i believe, that, of all beings in the world, they are the least susceptible of such a feeling." such a character may apply to the spanish gipsies for anything i know to the contrary; and the causes to which it may be attributed must be the influences which the spanish character, and general deportment towards the tribe, have exercised over them. in speaking of the bloody and wolfish disposition which especially characterizes the gitanos, mr. borrow says: "the cause to which this must be attributed, must be their residence in a country, unsound in every branch of its civil polity, where right has ever been in less esteem, and wrong in less disrepute, than in any other part of the world." grellmann bears as poor testimony to the character of the hungarian gipsies, in the matter of gratitude, as mr. borrow does to the spanish gipsies, to whom i apprehend his remarks are intended to apply. but both of these authors give an opinion, unaccompanied by facts. their opinion may be correct, however, so far as it is applicable to the class of gipsies, or the individuals, to whom they refer. gratitude is even a characteristic of the lower animals. "for every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind," saith st. james; the means of attaining to which is frequently kindness. i doubt not that the same can be said of gipsies anywhere; for surely we can expect to find as much gratitude in them as can be called forth from things that creep, fly, or swim in the sea. it is unreasonable, however, to look for much gratitude from such gipsies as the two authors in question have evidently alluded to; for this reason: that it is a virtue rarely to be met with from those "to whom much has been given;" and, consequently, very little should be required of those to whom _nothing_ has been given, in the estimation of their fellow-creatures. in doing a good turn to a gipsy, it is not the act itself that calls forth, or perhaps merits, a return in gratitude; but it is the way in which it is done: for, while he is doubtless being benefited, he is, frequently if not generally, as little sympathized with, personally, as if he were some loathsome creature to which something had been thrown. [ ] i cannot agree with mr. borrow, when he says, that the gipsies "travelled three thousand miles into europe, _with hatred in their hearts towards the people among whom they settled_." in none of the earliest laws passed against them, is anything said of their being other than thieves, cheats, &c, &c. they seem to have been too politic to commit murder; moreover, it appears to have been foreign to their disposition to do aught but obtain a living in the most cunning manner they could. there is no necessary connection between purloining one's property and hating one's person. as long as the gipsies were not hardly dealt with, they could, naturally, have no actual hatred towards their fellow-creatures. mr. borrow attributes none of the spite and hatred of the race towards the community to the severity of the persecutions to which it was exposed, or to that hard feeling with which society has regarded it. these, and the example of the spaniards, doubtless led the gitanos to shed the blood of the ordinary natives. as regards the improvement of the gipsies, i would make the following suggestions: the facts and principles of the present work should be thoroughly canvassed and imprinted upon the public mind, and an effort made to bring, if possible, our high-class gipsies to own themselves up to be gipsies. the fact of these gipsies being received into society, and respected, as gipsies, (as it is with them, at present, as men,) could not fail to have a wonderful effect upon many of the humble, ignorant, or wild ones. they would perceive, at once, that the objections which the community had to them, proceeded, not from their being gipsies, but from their habits, only. what is the feeling which gipsies, who are known to be gipsies, have for the public at large? the white race, as a race, is simply odious to them, for they know well the dreadful prejudice which it bears towards them. but let some of their own race, however mixed the blood might be, be respected as gipsies, and it would, in a great measure, break down, at least in feeling, the wall of caste that separates them from the community at large. this is the first, the most important, step to be taken to improve the gipsies, whatever may be the class to which they belong. let the prejudice be removed, and it is impossible to say what might not follow. before attempting to reform the gipsies, we ought to reform, or, at least, inform, mankind in regard to them; and endeavour to reconcile the world to them, before we attempt to reconcile them to the world; and treat them as men, before we try to make them christians. the _poor_ gipsies know well that there are many of their race occupying respectable positions in life; perhaps they do not know many, or even any, of them, personally, but they believe in it thoroughly. still, they will deny it, at least hide it from strangers, for this reason, among others, that it is a state to which their children, or even they themselves, look forward, as ultimately awaiting them, in which they will manage to escape from the odium of their fellow-creatures, which clings to them in their present condition. the fact of the poor travelling gipsies knowing of such respectable settled gipsies, gives them a certain degree of respect in their own eyes, which leads them to repel any advance from the other race, let it come in almost whatever shape it may. the white race, as i have already said, is perfectly odious to them. this is exactly the position of the question. the more original kind of gipsies feel that the prejudice which exists against the race to which they belong is such, that an intercourse cannot be maintained between them and the other inhabitants; or, if it does exist, it is of so clandestine a nature, that their appearance, and, it may be, their general habits, do not allow or lead them to indulge in it. i will make a few more remarks on this subject further on in this treatise. what are the respectable, well-disposed scottish gipsies but scotch people, after all? they are to be met with in almost every, if not every, sphere in which the ordinary scot is to be found. the only difference between the two is, that, however mixed the blood of these gipsies may be, their associations of descent and tribe go back to those black, mysterious heroes who entered scotland, upwards of three hundred and fifty years ago; and that, with this descent, they have the words and signs of gipsies. the possession of all these, with the knowledge of the feelings which the ordinary natives have for the very name of gipsy, makes the only distinction between them and other scotchmen. i do not say that the world would have any prejudice against these gipsies, as gipsies, still, they are morbidly sensitive that it would have such a feeling. the light of reason, of civilization, of religion, and the genius of britons, forbid such an idea. what object more worthy of civilization, and of the age in which we live, than that such gipsies would come forward, and, by their positions in society, their talents and characters, dispel the mystery and gloom that hang over the history of the gipsy race! but will these gipsies do that? i have my misgivings. they may not do it now, but i am sanguine enough to think that it is an event that may take place at some future time. the subject must, in the meantime, be thoroughly investigated, and the mind of the public fully prepared for such a movement. the gipsies themselves, to commence with, should furnish the public with information, anonymously, so far as they are personally concerned, or confidentially, through a person of standing, who can guarantee the trustworthiness of the gipsy himself. i do not expect that they would give us any of the language; but they can furnish us with some idea of the position which the gipsies occupy in the world, and throw a great deal of light upon the history of the race in scotland, in, at least, comparatively recent times. in anticipation of such an occurrence, i would make this suggestion to them: that they must be very careful what they say, on account of the "court holding them interested witnesses;" and, whatever they may do, to deny nothing connected with the gipsies. they certainly have kept their secret well; indeed, they have considered the subject, so far as the public is concerned, as dead and buried long ago. it is of no use, however, gipsies; "murder will out;" the game is up; it is played out. i may say to you what the hunter said to the 'coon, or rather what the 'coon said to the hunter: "you may just as well come down the tree." yes! come down the tree; you have been too long up; come down, and let us know all about you.[ ] [ ] i accidentally got into conversation with an irishman, in the city of new york, about secret societies, when he mentioned that he was a member of a great many such, indeed, "all of them," as he expressed it. i said there was one society of which he was not a member, when he began to enumerate them, and at last came to the zincali. "what," said i, "are you a member of this society?" "yes," said he; "the zincali, or gipsy." he then told me that there are many members of this society in the city of new york; not all members of it, under that name, but of its outposts, if i may so express it. the principal or arch-gipsy for the city, he said, was a merchant, in ---- street, who had in his possession a printed vocabulary, or dictionary, of the language, which was open only to the most thoroughly initiated. in the course of our conversation, it fell out that the native american gipsy referred to at page was one of the thoroughly initiated; which circumstance explained a question he had put to me, and which i evaded, by saying that i was not in the habit of telling tales out of school. in spain, as we have seen, a gipsy taught her language to her son from a ms. i doubt not there are ms. if not printed, vocabularies of the gipsy language among the tribe in scotland, as well as in other countries. scottish gipsies! i now appeal to you as men. am i not right, in asserting, that there is nothing you hold more dear than your egyptian descent, signs, and language? and nothing you more dread than such becoming known to your fellow-men around you? do you not read, with the greatest interest, any and everything printed, which comes in your way, about the gipsies, and say, that you thank god all that is a thousand miles away from you? whence this inconsistency? ah! i understand it well. shall the prejudice of mankind towards the name of gipsy drive you from the position which you occupy? can it drive you from it? no, it cannot. the gipsies, you know, are a people; a "mixed multitude," no doubt, but still a people. you know you are gipsies, for your parents before you were gipsies, and, consequently, that you cannot be anything but gipsies. what effect, then, has the prejudice against the race upon you? does it not sometimes appear to you as if, figuratively speaking, it would put a dagger into your hands against the rest of your species, should they discover that you belonged to the tribe? or that it would lead you to immediately "take to your beds," or depart, bed and baggage, to parts unknown? but then, gipsies, what can you do? the thought of it makes you feel as if you were sheep. some of you may be bold enough to face a lion in the flesh; but who so bold as to own to the world that he is a gipsy? there is just one of the higher class that i know of, and he was a noble specimen of a man, a credit to human nature itself. although _you_ might shrink from such a step, would you not like, and cannot you induce, _some one_ to take it? take my word for it, respectable scottish gipsies, the thing that frightens you is, after all, a bug-bear--a scare-crow. but, failing some of you "coming out," would you not rather that the world should now know that much of the history of the gipsy race, as to show that it was no necessary disparagement in any of you to be a gipsy? would you not rather that a gipsy _might_ pass, anywhere, for a _gentleman_, as he _does_ now, everywhere, for a _vagabond_; and that you and your children might, if they liked, show their true colours, than, as at present, go everywhere _incog_, and carry within them that secret which they are as afraid of being divulged to the world, as if you and all your kin were conspirators and murderers? the secret being out, the incognito of your race goes for nothing. come then, scottish gipsy, make a clean breast of it, like a man. which of you will exclaim, "thus from the grave i'll rise, and save my love; draw all your swords, and quick as lightning move! when i rush on, sure none will dare to stay; 'tis love commands, and glory leads the way!" will none of you move? ah! gipsies, you are "great hens," and no wonder. american gipsies, descendants of the real old british stock! i make the same appeal to you. let the world know how you are getting on, in this land of "liberty and equality;" and whether any of your race are senators, congressmen, and what not. i have heard of a gipsy, a sheriff in the state of pennsylvania; and i know of a scottish gipsy, who was lately returned a member of the legislature of the state of new york. the reader may ask: is it possible that there is a race of men, residing in the british isles, to be counted by its hundreds of thousands, occupying such a position as that described? and i reply, alas! it is too true. exeter hall may hobnob with negroes, hottentots, and bosjesmen--always with something or other from a distance; but what has it ever done for the gipsies? nothing! it will rail at the american prejudice towards the negro, and entirely pass over a much superior race at its own door! the prejudice against the negro proceeds from two causes--his appearance and the servitude in which he is, or has been, held. but there can be no prejudice against the gipsy, on such grounds. it will not do to say that the prejudice is against the tented gipsies, only; it is against the race, root and branch, as far as it is known. what is it but that which compels the gipsy, on entering upon a settled life, to hide himself from the unearthly prejudice of his fellow-creatures? the englishman, the scotchman, and the irishman may rail at the american for his peculiar prejudices; but the latter, if he can but capitalize the idea, has, in all conscience, much to throw back upon society in the mother country. instead of a class of the british public spending so much of their time in an agitation against an institution thousands of miles away from home, and over which they have, and can expect to have, no control, they might direct their attention to an evil laying at their own doors--that social prejudice which is so much calculated to have a blasting influence upon the condition of so many of their fellow-subjects. it is beyond doubt that there cannot be less than a quarter of a million of gipsies in the british isles, who are living under a grinding despotism of caste; a despotism so absolute and odious, that the people upon whom it bears cannot, as in scotland, were it almost to save their lives, even say who they are! let the time and talents spent on the agitation in question be transferred, for a time, into some such channel as would be implied in a "british anti-gipsy-prejudice association," and a great moral evil may disappear from the face of british society. in such a movement, there would be none of that direct or indirect interest to be encountered, which lies on the very threshold of slavery, in whatever part of the world it exists; nor would there be any occasion to appeal to people's pockets.[ ] after the work mentioned has been accomplished, the british public might turn their attention to wrongs perpetrated in other climes. americans, however, must not attempt to seek, in the british gipsy-prejudice, an excuse for their excessive antipathy towards negroes. i freely admit that the dislike of white men, generally, for the negro, lies in something that is irremovable--something that is irrespective of character, or present or previous social condition. but it is not so with the gipsy, for his race is, physically, among the finest that are to be found on the face of the earth. americans ought also to consider that there are plenty of gipsies among themselves, towards whom, however, there are none of those prejudices that spring from local tradition or association, but only such as proceed from literature, and that towards the tented gipsy. [ ] among the various means by which the name of gipsy can be raised up, it may be mentioned, that beginning the word with a capital is one of no little importance. the almost invariable custom with writers, in that respect, has been as if they were describing rats and mice, instead of a race of men. what is to be the future of the gipsy race? a reply to this question will be found in the history of it during the past, as described; for it resolves itself into two very simple matters of fact. in the first place, we have a foreign race, deemed, by itself, to be, as indeed it is, universal, introduced into scotland, for example, taken root there, spread, and flourished; a race that rests upon a basis the strongest imaginable. on the other hand, there is the prejudice of caste towards the name, which those bearing it escape, only, by assuming an incognito among their fellow-creatures. these two principles, acting upon beings possessing the feelings of men, will, of themselves, produce that state of things which will constitute the history of the gipsies during all time coming, whatever may be the changes that may come over their character and condition. they may, in course of time, lose their language, as some of them, to a great extent, have done already; but they will always retain a consciousness of being gipsies. the language may be lost, but their signs will remain, as well as so much of their speech as will serve the purpose of pass-words. "there is something there," said an english gipsy of intelligence, smiting his breast, "there is something there which a gipsy cannot explain." and, said a scottish gipsy: "it will never be forgotten; as long as the world lasts, the gipsies will be gipsies." what idea can be more preposterous than that of saying, that a change of residence or occupation, or a little more or less of education or wealth, or a change of character or creed, can eradicate such feeling from the heart of a gipsy; or that these circumstances can, by any human possibility, change his descent, his tribe, or the blood that is in his body? how can we imagine this race, arriving in europe so lately as the fifteenth century, and in scotland the century following, with an origin so distinct from the rest of the world, and so treated by the world, can possibly have lost a consciousness of nationality in its descent, in so short a time after arrival; or, that that can happen in the future, when there are so many circumstances surrounding it to keep alive a sense of its origin, and so much within it to preserve its identity in the history of the human family? let the future history of the world be what it may, gipsydom is immortal.[ ] [ ] this sensation, in the minds of the gipsies, of the perpetuity of their race, creates, in a great measure, its immortality. paradoxical as it may appear, the way to preserve the existence of a people is to scatter it, provided, however, that it is a race thoroughly distinct from others, to commence with. when, by the force of circumstances, it has fairly settled down into the idea that it is a people, those living in one country become conscious of its existence in others; and hence arises the principal cause of the perpetuity of its existence as a scattered people. in considering the question of the gipsies being openly admitted, as a race, into the society of mankind, i ask, what possible reason could a british subject advance against such taking place with, at least, the better kind of scottish gipsies? society, generally, would not be over-ready to lessen the distance between itself and the tented gipsies, or those who live by means really objectionable; but it should have that much sense of justice, as to confine its peculiar feelings to the ways of life of these individuals, and not keep them up against their children, when they follow different habits. if, for example, i should have made the acquaintance of some scottish gipsies, associated with them, and acquired a respect for them, (as has happened with me,) how could i take exceptions to them, on account of it afterwards leaking out that they were gipsies? a sense of ordinary justice would forbid me doing so. i can see nothing objectionable in their conduct, as distinguished from that of other people; and as for their appearance, any person, on being asked to point out the gipsy, would, so far as colour of hair and eyes goes, pitch upon many a common native, in preference to them. a sense of ordinary justice, as i have said, would disarm me of any prejudice against them; nay, it would urge me to think the more of them, on account of their being gipsies. to the ordinary eye, they are nothing but scotch people, and pass, everywhere, for such. there is a scottish gipsy in the united states, with whom i am acquainted--a liberal-minded man, and good company--who carries on a wholesale trade, in a respectable article of merchandise, and he said to me: "i will not deny it, nor am i ashamed to say it--_i come from yetholm_." and i replied: "why should you be ashamed of it?" it is this hereditary prejudice of centuries towards the name, that constitutes the main difficulty in the way of recognition of these gipsies by the world generally. how long it may be since they or their ancestors left the tent, is a thing of no importance; personal character, education, and position in life, are the only things that should be considered. the gipsies to whom i allude do not require to be reformed, unless in that sense in which all men stand in need of reformation: what is wanted is, that the world should raise up the name of gipsy. and why should not that be done by the people of great britain, and scotland especially, in whose mouths are continually these words: "god hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth?" will the british public spend its hundreds of thousands, annually, on every other creature under heaven, and refuse to countenance the gipsy race? will it squander its tens of thousands to convert, perhaps, on an average, one jew, and refuse a kind word, nay, grudge a smile, towards that body, a member of which may be an official of that missionary society, or, it may be, the very chairman of it? i can conceive no liberal-minded scotchman, possessing a feeling of true self-respect, entertaining a prejudice against such gipsies. the only people in scotland in whose mind such a prejudice might be supposed to exist, are those miserable old women around the neighbourhood of stirling, who, under the influence of the old highland feud, will look with the greatest contempt upon a person, if he but come from the north of the ochils. i would class, with such old women, all of our scotch people who would object to the gipsies to whom i have alluded. a scotchman should even have that much love of country, as to take hold of his own gipsies, and "back them up" against those of other countries: and particularly should he do that, when the "gipsies" might be his cousins, nay, his own children, for anything that he might know to the contrary. scotch people should consider that the "tinklers," whom they see going about, at the present day, are, if not the very lowest kind of gipsies, at least those who follow the original ways of their race; and are greatly inferior, not only relatively, but actually, to many of those who have gone before them. they should also consider that gipsies are a race, however mixed the blood may be; subject, as a race, to be governed, in their descent, by those laws which regulate the descent of all races; and that a gipsy is as much a gipsy in a house as in a tent, in a "but and a ben" as in a palace. wherever a gipsy goes, he carries his inherent peculiarities with him; and the objection to him he considers to be to something inseparable from himself--that which he cannot escape; but the confidence which he has in his incognito neutralizes, as i have already said, the feelings which such a circumstance would naturally produce. but, to disarm him altogether of this feeling, all that is necessary is to state his case, and have it admitted by the "honourable of the earth;" so that his mind may be set at perfect rest on that point. he would, doubtless, still hide the fact of his being a gipsy, but he would enjoy, in his retreat, that inward self-respect, among his fellow-creatures, which such an admission would give him; and which is so much calculated to raise the people, generally, in every moral attribute. it is, indeed, a melancholy thing, to contemplate this cloud which hangs over such a man, as he mixes with other people, in his daily calling; but to dispel it altogether, the gipsy himself must, in the manner described, give us some information about his race. apart from the sense of justice which is implied in admitting these gipsies, as gipsies, to a social equality with others, a motive of policy should lead us to take such a step; for it can augur no good to society to have the gipsy race residing in its midst, under the cloud that hangs over it. let us, by a liberal and enlightened policy, at least blunt the edge of that antipathy which many of the gipsy race have, and most naturally have, to society at large. in receiving a gipsy, as a gipsy, into society, there should be no kind of officious sympathy shown him, for he is too proud to submit to be made the object of it. should he say that he is a gipsy, the remark ought to be received as a mere matter of course, and little notice taken of it; just as if it made no difference to the other party whether he was a gipsy or not. a little surprise would be allowable; but anything like condolence would be out of the question. and let the gipsy himself, rather, talk upon the subject, than a desire be shown to ask him questions, unless his remarks should allow them, in a natural way, to be put to him. as to the course to be pursued by the gipsy, should he feel disposed to own himself up, i would advise him to do it in an off-handed, hearty manner; to show not the least appearance that he had any misgivings about any one taking exceptions to him on that account. should he act otherwise, that is, hesitate, and take to himself shamefacedness, in making the admission, it would, perhaps, have been better for him not to have committed himself at all: for, in such a matter, it may be said, that "he that doubteth is damned." the simple fact of a man, in scotland, saying, after the appearance of this work there, that he is a gipsy, if he is conscious of having the esteem of his neighbours, would probably add to his popularity among them; especially if they were men of good sense, and had before their eyes the expression of good-will of the organs of society towards the gipsy race. such an admission, on the part of a gipsy, would presumptively prove, that he was a really candid and upright person; for few scottish gipsies, beyond those about yetholm, would make such a confession. having mentioned the subject, the gipsy should allude to it, on every appropriate occasion, and boast of being in possession of those words and signs which the other is entirely ignorant of. he could well say: "what was borrow to him, or he to borrow; that, for his part, he could traverse the world over, and, in the centre of any continent, be received and feasted, by gipsies, as a king." if but one respectable scottish gipsy could be prevailed upon to act in this way, what an effect might it not have upon raising up the name of this singular race! but there is a very serious difficulty to be encountered in the outset of such a proceeding, and it is this, that if a gipsy owns himself up, he necessarily "lets out," perhaps, all his kith and kin; a regard for whom would, in all probability, keep him back. but there would be no such difficulty to be met with in the way of the gipsy giving us information by writing. let us, then, gipsy, have some writing upon the gipsies. it will serve no good purpose to keep such information back; the keeping of it back will not cast a doubt upon the facts and principles of the present work; for rest assured, gipsy, that, upon its own merits, your secret is exploded. i would say this to you, young scottish gipsy; pay no regard to what that old gipsy says, when he tells you, that "he is too old a bird to be caught with chaff in that way." the history of the gipsies is the history of a people (mixed, in point of blood, as it is,) which exists; not the history of a people, like the aborigines of north america, which has ceased to exist, or is daily ceasing to exist.[ ] it is the history of a people within a people, with whom we come in contact daily, although we may not be aware of it. any person of ordinary intelligence can have little difficulty in comprehending the subject, shrouded as it is from the eye of the world. but should he have any such difficulty, it will be dispelled by his coming in contact with a gipsy who has the courage to own himself up to be a gipsy. it is no argument to maintain that the gipsy race is not a race, because its blood is mixed with other people. that can be said of all the races of western europe, the english more especially; and, in a much greater degree, of that of the united states of america. every gipsy has part of the gipsy blood, and more or less of the words and signs; which, taken in connection with the rearing of gipsies, act upon his mind in such a manner, that he is penetrated with the simple idea that he is a gipsy; and create that distinct feeling of nationality which the matters of territory, and sometimes dialect, government, and laws, do with most of other races. take a gipsy from any country in the world you may, and the feeling of his being a gipsy comes as naturally to him as does the nationality of a jew to a jew; although we will naturally give him a more definite name, to distinguish him; such as an english, welsh, scotch, or irish gipsy, or by whatever country of which the gipsy happens to be a native. [ ] the fact of these indians, and the aboriginal races found in the countries colonised by europeans, disappearing so rapidly, prevents our regarding them with any great degree of interest. this circumstance detracts from that idea of dignity which the perpetuity and civilization of their race would inspire in the minds of others. but i am afraid that what has been said is not sufficiently explanatory to enable some people to understand this subject. these people know what a gipsy, in the popular sense, means; they have either seen him, and observed his general mode of life, or had the same described to them in books. this idea of a gipsy has been impressed upon their minds almost from infancy. but it puzzles most people to form any idea of a gipsy of a higher order; such a gipsy, for example, as preaches the gospel, or argues the law: that seems, hitherto, to have been almost incomprehensible to them. they know intuitively what is meant by any particular people who occupy a territory--any country, tract of land, or isle. they also know what is meant by the existence of the jews. for the subject is familiar to them from infancy; it is wrapt up in their early reading; it is associated with the knowledge and practice of their religion, and the attendance, on the part of the jews, at a place of worship. they have likewise seen and conversed with the jews, or others who have done either or both; or they are acquainted with them by the current remarks of the world. but a people resembling, in so many respects, the jews, without having any territory, or form of creed, peculiar to itself, or any history, or any peculiar outward associations or residences, or any material difference in appearance, character, or occupation, is something that the general mind of mankind would seem never to have dreamt of, or to be almost capable of realizing to itself. we have already seen how a writer in blackwood's magazine gravely asserts, that, although "billy marshall left descendants numberless, the race, of which he was one, was in danger of becoming extinct;" when, in fact, it had only passed from its first stage of existence--the tent, into its second--tramping, without the tent; and after that, into its ultimate stage--a settled life. we have likewise seen how sir walter scott imagines that the scottish gipsies have decreased, since the time of fletcher, of saltoun, about the year , from , to , by "the progress of time, and encrease of the means of life, and the power of the laws." mr. borrow has not gone one step ahead of these writers; and, although i naturally enough excuse them, i am not inclined to let him go scot-free, since he has set himself forward so prominently as an authority on the gipsy question.[ ] [ ] a writer in the penny cyclopædia illustrates this absurd idea, in very plain terms, when he says: "in england, the gipsies have much diminished, of late years, in consequence of the enclosure of lands, and the laws against vagrants." sir walter scott's idea of the gipsies has been followed in a pictorial history of scotland, lately issued from the scottish press. in explaining this subject, it is by no means necessary to "crack an egg" for the occasion. there is doubtless a "hitch," but it is a hitch so close under our very noses, that it has escaped the observation of the world. still, the point can be readily enough realized by any one. take, for example, the walker family. walker knows well enough who his father, grandfather, and so forth were; and holds himself to be a walker. is it not so with the gipsies? what is it but a question of "folk?" a question more familiar to scotch people than any other people. if one's ancestors were all walkers, is not the present walker still a walker? if such or such a family was originally of the gipsy race, is it not so still? how did billy marshall happen to be a gipsy? was he a gipsy because he lived in a tent? or, did he live in a tent, like a gipsy of the old stock? if billy was a gipsy, surely billy's children must also have been gipsies! the error committed by writers, with reference to the so-called "dying-out" of the gipsy race, arises from their not distinguishing between the questions of race, blood, descent, and language, and a style of life, or character, or mode of making a living. suppose that a native scottish cobbler should leave his last, and take to peddling, as a packman, and ultimately settle again in a town, as a respectable tradesman. on quitting "the roads," he would cease to be a packman; nor could his children after him be called packmen, because the whole family were native scotch from the first; following the pack having been only the occupation of the father, during part of his life. should a company of american youths and maidens take to the swamp, cranberrying and gipsying, for a time, it could not be said that they had become gipsies; for they were nothing but ordinary americans. should the society of quakers dissolve into its original elements, it would just be english blood quakerized, returning to english blood before it was quakerized. but it is astonishing that intelligent men should conceive, and others retail, the ideas that have been expressed in regard to the destiny of the gipsy race. what avails the lessons of history, or the daily experience of every family of the land, the common sense of mankind, or the instinct of a hottentot, if no other idea of the fate of the gipsy race can be given than that referred to? upon the principle of the gipsies "dying out," by settling, and changing their habits, it would appear that, when at home, in the winter, they were not gipsies; but that they were gipsies, when they resumed their habits, in the spring! on the same principle, it would appear, that, if every gipsy in the world were to disappear from the roads and the fields, and drop his original habits, there would be no gipsies in the world, at all! what idea can possibly be more ridiculous?[ ] [ ] the following singular remarks appeared in a very late number of chambers' journal, on the subject of the gipsies of the danube: "as the wild cat, the otter, and the wolf, generally disappear before the advance of civilization, the wild races of mankind are, in like manner and degree, gradually coming to an end, and from the same causes(!) the waste lands get enclosed, the woods are cut down, the police becomes yearly more efficient, and the pariahs vanish with their means of subsistence. [where do they go to?] in england, there are, at most, , gipsies(!) before the end of the present century, they will probably be extinct over western europe(!)" it is perfectly evident that the world, outside of gipsydom, has to be initiated in the subject of the gipsies, as in the first principles of a science, or as a child is instructed in its alphabet. and yet, the above-mentioned writer takes upon himself to chide mr. borrow, in the matter of the gipsies. it is better, however, to compare the gipsy tribe in scotland, at the present day, to an ordinary clan in the olden time; although the comparison falls far short of the idea. we know perfectly well what it was to have been a member of this or that clan. sir walter scott knew well that he was one of the buccleuch clan, and a descendant of _auld beardie_; so that he could readily say that he was a scott. wherein, then, consists the difficulty in understanding what a scottish gipsy is? is it not simply that he is "one of them;" a descendant of that foreign race of which we have such notice in the treaty of , between james v. and john faw, the then head of the scottish gipsy tribe? a scottish gipsy has the blood, the words, and the signs, of these men, and as naturally holds himself to be "one of them," as a native scotchman holds himself to be one of his father's children. how, then, can a "change of habits" prevent a man from being his father's son? how could a "change of habits" make a mcgregor anything but a mcgregor? how could the effects of any just and liberal law towards the mcgregors lead to the decrease, and final extinction, of the mcgregors? every man, every family, every clan, and every people, are continually "changing their habits," but still remain the same people. it would be a treat to have a treatise from mr. borrow upon the gipsy race "dying out," by "changing its habits," or by the acts of any government, or by ideas of "gentility." i have already alluded to a resemblance between the position of the gipsy race, at the present day, and that of the english and american races. does any one say that the english race is not a race? or that the american is not a race? and yet the latter is a compost of everything that migrates from the old world. but take some families, and we will find that they are almost pure english, in descent, and hold themselves to be actually such. but ask them if they are english, and they will readily answer: "_english?_ no, siree!" the same principle holds still more with the gipsy race. it is not a question of country against country, or government against government, separated by an ocean; but the difference proceeds from a prejudice, as broad and deep as the ocean, that exists between two races--the native, and that of such recent introduction--dwelling in the same community. i have explained the effect which the mixing of native blood with gipsy has upon the gipsy race, showing that it only modifies its appearance, and facilitates its passing into settled and respectable life. i will now substantiate the principle from what is daily observed among the native race itself. take any native family--one of the scotts, for example. let us commence with a family, tracing its origin to a scott, in the year , and imagine that, in its descent, every representative of the name married a wife of another family, or clan, having no scotts' blood in her veins. in the seventh descent, there would be only one one-hundred and twenty-eighth part of the original scott in the last representative of the family. would not the last scott be a scott? the world recognizes him to be a scott; he holds himself to be a scott--"every inch a scott;" and doubtless he is a scott, as much as his ancestor who existed in the year . what difficulty can there, therefore, be, in understanding how a man can be a gipsy, whose blood is mixed, even "dreadfully mixed," as the english gipsies express it? gipsies are gipsies, let their blood be mixed as much as it may; whether the introduction of the native blood may have come into the family through the male or the female line. in the descent of a native family, in the instance given, the issue follows the name of the family. but, with the gipsy race, the thing to be transmitted is not merely a question of family, but a race distinct from any particular family. if a gipsy woman marries into a native family, the issue retains the family name of the husband, but passes into the gipsy tribe; if a gipsy man marries into a native family, the issue retains his name, in the general order of society, and likewise passes into the gipsy tribe; so that such intermarriages, which almost invariably take place unknown to the native race, always leave the issue gipsy. for the gipsy element of society is like a troubled spirit, which has been despised, persecuted, and damned; cross it out, to appearance, as much as you may, it still retains its gipsy identity. it then assumes the form of a disembodied spirit, that will enter into any kind of tabernacle, in the manner described, dispel every other kind of spirit, clean or unclean, as the case may be, and come up, under any garb, colour, character, occupation, or creed--gipsy. it is perfectly possible, but not very probable, to find a gipsy a jew, in creed, and, for the most part, in point of blood, in the event of a jew marrying a mixed gipsy. he might follow the creed of the jewish parent, and be admitted into the synagogue; but, although outwardly recognised as a jew, and having jewish features, he would still be a _chabo_; for there are gipsies of all creeds, and, like other people in the world, of no creed at all. but it is extremely disagreeable to a gipsy to have such a subject mentioned in his hearing; for he heartily dislikes a jew, and says that no one has any "chance" in dealing with him. a gipsy likewise says, that the two races ought not to be mentioned in the same breath, or put on the same footing, which is very true; for reason tells us, that, strip the gipsy of every idea connected with "taking bits o' things," and leading a wild life, and there should be no points of enmity between him and the ordinary native; certainly not that of creed, which exists between the jew and the rest of the world, to which question i will by and by refer. the subject of the gipsies has hitherto been treated as a question of natural history, only, in the same manner as we would treat ant-bears. writers have sat down beside them, and looked at them--little more than looked at them--described some of their habits, and reported their _chaff_. to get to the bottom of the subject, it is necessary to sound the mind of the gipsy, lay open and dissect his heart, identify one's self with his feelings, and the bearings of his ideas, and construct, out of these, a system of mental science, based upon the mind of the gipsy, and human nature generally. for it is the mind of the gipsy that constitutes the gipsy; that which, in reference to its singular origin and history, is, in itself, indestructible, imperishable and immortal. consider, then, this race, which is of such recent introduction upon the stage of the european world, of such a singular origin and history, and of such universal existence, with such a prejudice existing against it, and the merest impulse of reflection, apart from the facts of the case, will lead us to conclude, that, as it has settled, it has remained true to itself, in the various associations of life. in whatever position, or under whatever circumstances, it is to be found, it may be compared, in reference to its past history, to a chain, and the early gipsies, to those who have charged it with electricity. however mixed, or however polished, the metal of the links may have since become, they have always served to convey the gipsy fluid to every generation of the race. it is even unnecessary to enquire, particularly, how that has been accomplished, for it is self-evident that the process which has linked other races to their ancestry, has doubly linked the gipsy race to theirs. indeed, the idea of being gipsies never can leave the gipsy race. a gipsy's life is like a continual conspiracy towards the rest of the world; he has always a secret upon his mind, and, from his childhood to his old age, he is so placed as if he were, in a negative sense, engaged in some gunpowder plot, or as if he had committed a crime, let his character be as good as it possibly may. into whatever company he may enter, he naturally remarks to himself: "i wonder if there are any of us here." that is the position which the mixed and better kind of gipsy occupies, generally and passively. of course, there are some of the race who are always actually hatching some plot or other against the rest of the world. take a gipsy of the popular kind, who appears as such to the world, and there are two ideas constantly before him--that of the _gorgio_ and _chabo_: they may slumber while he is in his house, or in his tent, or when he is asleep, or his mind is positively occupied with something; but let any one come near him, or him meet or accost any one, and he naturally remarks, to himself, that the person "is _not_ one of us," or that he "_is_ one of us." he knows well what the native may be thinking or saying of him, and he as naturally responds in his own mind. this circumstance of itself, this frightful prejudice against the individual, makes, or at least keeps, the gipsy wild; it calls forth the passion of resentment, and produces a feeling of reckless abandon, that might otherwise leave him. to that is to be added the feeling, in the gipsy's mind, of his race having been persecuted, for he knows little of the circumstances attending the origin of the laws passed against his tribe, and attributes them to persecution alone. he considers that he has a right to travel; that he has been deprived of rights to travel, which were granted to his tribe by the monarchs of past ages; and, moreover, that his ancestors--the "ancient wandering egyptians"--always travelled. he feels perfectly independent of, and snaps his fingers at, everybody; and entertains a profound suspicion of any one who may approach him, inasmuch as he imagines that the stranger, however fair he may speak to him, has that feeling for him, as if he considered it pollution to touch him. but he is very civil and plausible when he is at home. it is from such material that all kinds of settled gipsies, at one time or other, have sprung. such is the prejudice against the race, that, if they did not hide the fact of their being gipsies from the ordinary natives, they would hardly have the "life of a dog" among them, because of their having sprung from a race which, in its original state, has been persecuted, and so much despised. by settling in life, and conforming with the ways of the rest of the community, they "cease to be gipsies," in the estimation of the world; for the world imagines that, when the gipsy conforms to its ways, there is an end of his being a gipsy. barring the "habits," such a gipsy is as much a gipsy as before, although he is one _incog_. the wonder is not that he and his descendants should be gipsies; but the real wonder is, that they should not be gipsies. neither he nor his descendants have any choice in the matter. does the settled gipsy keep a crockery or tin establishment, or an inn, or follow any other occupation? then his children cannot all follow the same calling; they must betake themselves to the various employments open to the community at large, and, their blood being mixed, they become lost to the general eye, amid the rest of the population. while this process is gradually going on, the gipsy population which always remains in the tent--the hive from which the tribe swarms--attracts the attention of the public, and prevents it from thinking anything about the matter. in england, alone, we may safely assume that the tented gipsy population, about the commencement of this century, must have encreased at least four-fold by this time, while, to the eye of the public, it would appear that "the gipsies are gradually decreasing, so that, by and by, they will become extinct." the world, generally, has never even thought about this subject. when i have spoken to people promiscuously in regard to it, they have replied: "we suppose that the gipsies, as they have settled in life, have got lost among the general population:" than which nothing can be more unfounded, as a matter of fact, or ridiculous, as a matter of theory. imagine a german family settling in scotland. the feeling of being germans becomes lost in the first generation, who do not, perhaps, speak a word of german. there is no prejudice entertained for the family, but, on the contrary, much good-will and respect are shown it by its neighbours. the parents identify themselves with those surrounding them; the children, born in the country, become, or rather are, scotch altogether; so that all that remains is the sense of a german extraction, which, but for the name of the family, would very soon be lost, or become a mere matter of tradition. in every other respect, the family, sooner or later, becomes lost amid the general population. in america, we daily see germans getting mixed with, and lost among, americans; but where is the evidence of such a process going on, or ever having taken place, in great britain, between the gipsy and the native races? the prejudice which the ordinary natives have for the very name of gipsy is sufficient proof that the gipsy tribe has not been lost in any such manner. still, it has not only got mixed, but "dreadfully mixed," with the native blood; but it has worked up the additional blood within itself, having thoroughly gipsyfied it. the original gipsy blood may be compared to liquid in a vessel, into which native liquid has been put: the mixture has, as a natural consequence, lost, in a very great measure, its original colour; but, inasmuch as the most important element in the amalgamation has been _mind_, the result is, that, in its descent, it has remained, as before, gipsy. instead, therefore, of the gipsies having become lost among the native population, a certain part of the native blood has been lost among them, greatly adding to the number of the body. we cannot institute any comparison between the introduction of the gipsies and the huguenots, the last body of foreigners that entered great britain, relative to the destiny of the respective foreign elements. for the huguenots were not a race, as distinguished from every other creature in the world, but a religious party, taking refuge among a people of cognate blood and language, and congenial religious feelings and faith; and were, to say the least of it, on a par, in every respect, with the ordinary natives, with nothing connected with them to prevent an amalgamation with the other inhabitants; but, on the contrary, having this characteristic, in common with the nations of europe, that the place of birth constitutes the fact, and, taken in connection with the residence, creates the feelings of nationality and race. many of my readers are, doubtless, conversant with the history of the huguenots. even in some parts of america, nothing is more common than for people to say that they are huguenots, that is, of huguenot descent, which is very commonly made the foundation of the connections and intimate associations of life. the peculiarity is frequently shown in the appearance of the individuals, and in such mental traits as spring from the contemplation of the huguenots as an historical and religious party, even when the individual now follows the catholic faith. but these people differ in no essential respect from the other inhabitants. but how different is the position always occupied by the gipsies! well may they consider themselves "strangers in the land;" for by whom have they ever been acknowledged? they entered scotland, for example, and have encreased, progressed, and developed, with so great a prejudice against them, and so separated in their feelings from others around them, as if none had almost existed in the country but themselves, while they were "dwelling in the midst of their brethren;" the native blood that has been incorporated with them having the appearance as if it had come from abroad. they, a people distinct from any other in the world, have sprung from the most primitive stage of human existence--the tent, and their knowledge of their race goes no further back than when it existed in other parts of the world, in the same condition, more or less, as themselves. they have been a migratory tribe, wherever they have appeared or settled, and have never ceased to be the same peculiar race, notwithstanding the changes which they have undergone; and have been at home wherever they have found themselves placed. the mere place of birth, or the circumstance under which the individual has been reared, has had no effect upon their special nationality, although, as citizens of particular countries, they have assimilated, in their general ideas, with others around them. and not only have they had a language peculiar to themselves, but signs as exclusively theirs as are those of freemasons. for gipsies stand to gipsies as freemasons to freemasons; with this difference--that masons are bound to respond to and help each other, while such associations, among the gipsies, are optional with the individual, who, however, is persuaded that the same people, with these exclusive peculiarities, are to be met with in every part of the world. a gipsy is, in his way, a mason born, and, from his infancy, is taught to hide everything connected with his race, from those around him. he is his own _tyler_, and _tyles_ his lips continually. imagine, then, a person taught, from his infancy, to understand that he is a gipsy; that his blood, (at least part of it,) is gipsy; that he has been instructed in the language, and initiated in all the mysteries, of the gipsies; that his relations and acquaintances in the tribe have undergone the same experience; that the utmost reserve towards those who are not gipsies has been continually inculcated upon him, and as often practised before his eyes; and what must be the leading idea, in that person's mind, but that he is a gipsy? his pedigree is gipsy, his mind has been cast in a gipsy mould, and he can no more "cease to be a gipsy" than perform any other impossibility in nature. thus it is that gipsydom is not a work of man's hand, nor a creed, that is "revealed from faith to faith;" but a work which has been written by the hand of god upon the heart of a family of mankind, and is reflected from the mind of one generation to that of another. it enters into the feelings of the very existence of the man, and such is the prejudice against his race, on the part of the ordinary natives, that the better kind of scottish gipsy feels that he, and more particularly she, would almost be "torn in pieces," if the public really knew all about them. these facts will sufficiently illustrate how a people, "resembling, in so many respects, the jews, without having any territory, or form of creed, peculiar to itself, or any history, or any peculiar outward associations or residences, or any material difference in appearance, character, or occupation," can be a people, living among other people, and yet be distinct from those among whom they live. the distinction consists in this people having _blood_, _language_, a _cast of mind_, and _signs_, peculiar to itself; the three first being the only elements which distinguish races; for religion is a secondary consideration; one religion being common to many distinct races. this principle, which is more commonly applied to people occupying different countries, is equally applicable to races, clans, families, or individuals, living within the boundary of a particular country, or dwelling in the same community. we can easily understand how two individuals can be two distinct individuals, notwithstanding their being members of the same family, and professing the same religion. we can still more easily understand the same of two families, and still more so of two septs or clans of the same general race. and, surely, there can be no difficulty in understanding that the gipsy tribe, whatever may be its habits, is something different from any native tribe: for it has never yet found rest for the sole of its foot among the native race, although it has secured a shelter clandestinely; and of the extent, and especially of the nature, of its existence, the world may be said to be entirely ignorant. the position which the gipsy race occupies in scotland is that which it substantially occupies in every other country--unacknowledged, and, in a sense, damned, everywhere. there is, therefore, no wonder that it should remain a distinct family among mankind, cemented by its language and signs, and the knowledge of its universality. the phenomenon rests upon purely natural causes, and differs considerably from that of the existence of the jews. for the jews are, everywhere, acknowledged by the world, after a sort; they have neither language nor, as far as i know, signs peculiar to themselves, (although there are secret orders among them,) but possess the most ancient history, an original country, to which they, more or less, believe they will be restored, and a religion of divine origin, but utterly superseded by a new and better dispensation. notwithstanding all that, the following remark, relative to the existence of the jews, since the dispersion, may very safely be recalled: "the philosophical historian confesses that he has no place for it in all his generalizations, and refers it to the mysteries of providence." for the history of the gipsies bears a very great resemblance to it; and, inasmuch as that is not altogether "the device of men's hands," it must, also, be referred to providence, for providence has a hand in everything. it is very true that the "philosophical historian has no place, in all his generalizations, for the phenomenon of the existence of the jews, since the dispersion," for he has never investigated the subject inductively, and on its own merits. it is poor logic to assert that, because the american indians are, to a great extent, and will soon be, extinct, therefore the existence of the jews, to-day, is a miracle. and it would be nearly as poor logic to maintain the same of the jews in connection with any of the ancient and extinct nations. there is no analogy between the history of the jews, since the dispersion, and that of any other people, (excepting the gipsies;) and, consequently, no comparison can be instituted between them.[ ] before asking how it is that the jews exist to-day, it would be well to enquire by what possible process they could cease to be jews. and by what human means the jews, as a people, or even as individuals, will receive christ as their messiah, and thereby become christian jews. this idea of the jews existing by a miracle has been carried to a very great length, as the following quotation, from an excellent writer, on the evidences of christianity, will show: "what is this," says he, "but a miracle? connected with the prophecy which it fulfills, it is a double miracle. whether testimony can ever establish the credibility of a miracle is of no importance here. this one is obvious to every man's senses. all nations are its eye-witnesses. . . . . the laws of nature have been suspended in their case." this writer, in a spirit of gambling, stakes the whole question of revelation upon his own dogma; and, according to his hypothesis, loses it. the laws of nature would, indeed, have been suspended, in their case, and a miracle would, indeed, have been wrought, if the jews had ceased to be jews, or had become anything else than what they are to-day. writers on the christian evidences should content themselves with maintaining that the jews have fulfilled the prophecies, and will yet fulfill them, and assert nothing further of them. [ ] i leave out of view various scattered nations in asia. the writer alluded to compares the history of the jews, since the dispersion, to the following phenomenon: "a mighty river, having plunged, from a mountain height, into the depths of the ocean, and been separated into its component drops, and thus scattered to the ends of the world, and blown about, by all winds, during almost eighteen centuries, is still capable of being disunited from the waters of the ocean; its minutest drops, never having been assimilated to any other, are still distinct, unchanged, and ready to be gathered." such language cannot be applied to the jews; for the philosophy of their existence, to-day, is so very simple in its nature, as to have escaped the observation of mankind. i will give it further on in this disquisition. the language in question is somewhat applicable to the gipsies, for they have become _worked into_ all other nations, in regard to blood and language, and are "still distinct and unchanged," as to their being gipsies, whatever their habits may be; and, although there is no occasion for them to be "gathered," they would yet, outwardly or inwardly, heartily respond to any call addressed to them.[ ] [ ] it is interesting to hear the gipsies speak of their race "taking of" this or the other race. said an english gipsy, to me, with reference to some gipsies of whom we were speaking: "they take of the arabians." there is, as i have already said, no real outward difference between many settled and educated scottish gipsies and ordinary natives; for such gipsies are as likely to have fair hair and blue eyes, as black. their characters and occupations may be the same; they may have intimate associations together; may be engaged in business as partners; may even be cousins, nay, half-brothers. but let them, on separate occasions, enter a company of gipsies, and the reception shown to them will mark the difference in the two individuals. the difference between two such scotchmen, (for they really are both scotch,) the reader may remark, makes the gipsy only a gipsy nominally, which, outwardly, he is; but he is still a gipsy, although, in point of colour, character, or condition, not one of the old stock; for he has "the blood," and has been reared and instructed as a gipsy. but such a gipsy is not fond of entering a company of gipsies, strangers to him, unless introduced by a friend in whom he has confidence, for he is afraid of being known to be a gipsy. he is more apt to visit some of the more original kind of the race, where he is not known. on sitting down beside them, with a friendly air, they will be sure to treat him kindly, not knowing but that they may be entertaining a gipsy unawares; for such original gipsies, believing that "the blood" is to be found well up in life, feel very curious when they meet with such a person. if he "lets out" an idea in regard to the race, and expresses a kindly feeling towards "the blood," the suspicions of his friends are at once excited, so that, if he, in an equivocal manner, remarks that he is "_not_ one of them," hesitates, stammers, and protests that he really is not one of them, they will as readily swear that he _is_ one of them; for well does the blackguard gipsy, (as the world calls him,) know the delicacy of such settled and educated gipsies in owning the blood. there is less suspicion shown, on such occasions, when the settled gipsy is scotch, and the _bush_ gipsy english; and particularly so should the occasion be in america; for, when they meet in america, away from the peculiar relations under which they have been reared, and where they can "breathe," as they express it, the respective classes are not so suspicious of each other. besides the difference just drawn between the gipsy and ordinary native--that of recognizing and being recognized by another gipsy--i may mention the following general distinction between them. the ordinary scot knows that he is a scot, and nothing more, unless it be something about his ancestors of two or three generations. but the gipsy's idea of scotland goes back to a certain time, indefinite to him, as it may be, beyond which his race had no existence in the country. where his ancestors sojourned, immediately, or at any time, before they entered scotland, he cannot tell; but this much he knows of them, that they are neither scottish nor european, but that they came from the east. the fact of his blood being mixed exercises little or no influence over his feelings relative to his tribe, for, mixed as it may be, he knows that he is one of the tribe, and that the origin of his tribe is his origin. in a word, he knows that he has sprung from the tent. substitute the word scotch for moor, as related of the black african gipsies, at page , and he may say of himself and tribe: "we are not scotch, but can give no account of ourselves." it is a little different, if the mixture of his blood is of such recent date as to connect him with native families; in that case, he has "various bloods" to contend for, should they be assailed; but his gipsy blood, as a matter of course, takes precedence. by marrying into the tribe, the connection with such native families gradually drops out of the memory of his descendants, and leaves the sensation of tribe exclusively gipsy. imagine, then, that the gipsy has been reared a gipsy, in the way so frequently described, and that he "knows all about the gipsies," while the ordinary native knows really nothing about them; and we have a general idea of what a scottish gipsy is, as distinguished from an ordinary scotchman. if we admit that every native scot knows who he is, we may readily assume that every scottish gipsy knows who _he_ is. but, to place the point of difference in a more striking light, it may be remarked, that the native scot will instinctively exclaim, that "the present work has no earthly relation either to him or his folk;" while the scottish gipsy will as instinctively exclaim: "it's us, there's no mistake about it;" and will doubtless accept it, in the main, with a high degree of satisfaction, as the history of his race, and give it to his children as such. a respectable, indeed, any kind of, scottish gipsy does not contemplate his ancestors--the "pilgrim fathers," and "pilgrim mothers," too--as robbers, although he could do that with as much grace as any highland or border scot, but as a singular people, who doubtless came from the pyramids; and their language, as something about which he really does not know what to think; whether it is egyptian, sanscrit, or what it is. still, he has part of it; he loves it; and no human power can tear it out of his heart. he knows that every intelligent being sticks to his own, and clings to his descent; and he considers it his highest pride to be an egyptian--a descendant of those swarthy kings and queens, princes and princesses, priests and priestesses, and, of course, thieves and thievesses, that, like an apparition, found their way into, and, after wandering about, settled down in, scotland. indeed, he never knew anything else than that he was an egyptian; for it is in his blood; and, what is more, it is in his heart, so that he cannot forget it, unless he should lose his faculties and become an idiot; and then he would be an egyptian idiot. how like a gipsy it was for mrs. fall, of dunbar, to "work in tapestry the principal events in the life of the founder of her family, from the day the gipsy child came to dunbar, in its mother's creel, until the same gipsy child had become, by its own honourable exertions, the head of the first mercantile establishment then existing in scotland." the scottish gipsies, when their appearance has been modified by a mixture of the white blood, have possessed, in common with the highlanders, the faculty of "getting out" of the original ways of their race, and becoming superior in character, notwithstanding the excessive prejudice that exists against the nation of which they hold themselves members. except his strong partiality for his blood and tribe, language, and signs, such a gipsy becomes, in his general disposition and ways, like any ordinary native. it is impossible that it should be otherwise. whenever a gipsy, then, forsakes his original habits, and conforms with the ways of the other inhabitants, he becomes, for all practical purposes, an ordinary citizen of the gipsy clan. if he is a man of good natural abilities, the original wild ambition of his race acquires a new turn; and his capacity fits him for any occupation. priding himself on being an egyptian, a member of this world-wide community, he acquires, as he gains information, a spirit of liberality of sentiment; he reads history, and perceives that every family of mankind has not only been barbarous, but very barbarous, at one time; and, from such reflections, he comes to consider his own origin, and very readily becomes confirmed in his early, but indistinct, ideas of his people, that they really are somebody. indeed, he considers himself not only as good, but better than other people. his being forced to assume an incognito, and "keep as quiet as pussy," chafes his proud spirit, but it does not render him gloomy, for his natural disposition is too buoyant for that. how, then, does such a scottish gipsy feel in regard to his ancestors? he feels exactly as highlanders do, in regard to theirs, or, as the scottish borderers do, with reference to the "border ruffians," as i have heard a gipsy term them. indeed, the gallows of perth and stirling, carlisle and jedburgh, could tell some fine tales of many respectable scottish people, in times that are past. the children of such a gipsy differ very much from those of the same race in their natural state, although they may have the same amount of blood, and the same eye. the eye of the former is subdued, for his passions, in regard to his race, have never been called forth; while the eye of the latter rolls about, as if he were conscious that every one he meets with is remarking of him, "there goes a vagabond of a gipsy." two fine specimens of the former kind of gipsies attended the high school of edinburgh, when i was at that institution. hearing the family frequently spoken of at home, my attention was often taken up with the boys, without understanding what a gipsy of _that_ kind could mean; although i had a pretty good idea of the common gipsy, or tinkler, as he is generally called in scotland. these two young gipsies were what might be called sweet youths; modest and shy, among the other boys, as young tamed wild turkeys; very dark in colour, with an eye that could be caught in whatever way i might look at them. they now occupy very honourable positions in life. there were other gipsies at the high school, at this time, but they were of the "brown sort." i have met, in the united states, with a scottish gipsy, taking greatly after the gipsy, in his appearance; a man very gentlemanly in his manner and bearing, and as neat and trim as if he had "come out of a box." it is natural, indeed, to suppose that there must be a great difference, in many respects, between a wild, original gipsy, and one of the tame and educated kind, whose descent is several, perhaps many, generations from the tent. in the houses of the former, things are generally found lying about, here-away, there-away, as if they were just going to be taken out and placed in the waggon, or on the ass's back. it is certainly a singular position which is occupied, from generation to generation, and century to century, by our settled scottish, as well as other, gipsies, who are not known to the world as such, yet maintain a daily intercourse with others not of their own tribe. it resembles a state of semi-damnation, with a drawn sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall upon them at any moment. but the matter cannot be mended. they are gipsies, by every physical and mental necessity, and they accommodate themselves to their circumstances as they best may. this much is certain, that they have the utmost confidence in their incognito, as regards their descent, personal feelings, and exclusively private associations. the word "gipsy," to be applied to them by strangers, frightens them, in contemplation, far more than it does the children of the ordinary natives; for they imagine it a dreadful thing to be known to their neighbours as gipsies. still, they have never occupied any other position; they have been born in it, and reared in it; it has even been the nature of the race, from the very first, always to "work in the dark." in all probability, it has never occurred to them to imagine that it will ever be otherwise: nor do they evidently wish it; for they can see no possible way to have themselves acknowledged, by the world, as gipsies. the very idea horrifies them. so far from letting the world know anything of them, as gipsies, their constant care is to keep it in perpetual darkness on the subject. of all men, these gipsies may say: ". . . . . . rather bear those ills we have, than fly to others we know not of." indeed, the only thing that worries such a gipsy is the idea that the public should know all about _him_; otherwise, he feels a supreme satisfaction in being a gipsy; as well as in having such a history of his race as i have informed him i proposed publishing, provided i do not in any way mix _him_ up with it, or "let _him_ out." by bringing up the body in the manner done in this work, by making a sweep of the whole tribe, the responsibility becomes spread over a large number of people; so that, should the gipsy become, by any means, known, personally, to the world, he would have the satisfaction of knowing that he had others to keep him company; men occupying respectable positions in life, and respected, by the world at large, as individuals. here, then, we have one of the principal reasons for everything connected with the gipsies being hidden from the rest of mankind. they have always been looked upon as arrant vagabonds, while they have looked upon their ancestors as illustrious and immortal heroes. how, then, are we to bridge over this gulf that separates them, in feeling, from the rest of the world? the natural reply is, that we should judge them, not by their condition and character in times that are past, but by what they are to-day. that the gipsies were a barbarous race when they entered europe, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, is just what could have been expected of any asiatic, migratory, tented horde, at a time when the inhabitants of europe were little better than barbarous, themselves, and many of them absolutely so. to speak of the highland clans, at that time, as being better than barbarous, would be out of the question; as to the irish people, it would be difficult to say what they really were, at the same time. even the lowland scotch, a hundred years after the arrival of the gipsies in europe, were, with some exceptions, divided into two classes--"beggars and rascals," as history tells us. is it, therefore, unreasonable to say, that, in treating of the gipsies of to-day, we should apply to them the same principles of judgment that have been applied to the ordinary natives? if we refer to the treaty between john faw and james v., in , we will very readily conclude that, three centuries ago, the leaders of the gipsies were very superior men, in their way; cunning, astute, and slippery oriental barbarians, with the experience of upwards of a century in european society generally; well up to the ways of the world, and the general ways of church and state; and, in a sense, at home with kings, popes, cardinals, nobility, and gentry. that was the character of a superior gipsy, in . in , we find the race represented by as fine a man as ever graced the church of scotland. "grand was the repose of his lofty brow, dark eye, and aspect of soft and melancholy meaning. it was a face from which every evil and earthly passion seemed purged. a deep gravity lay upon his countenance, which had the solemnity, without the sternness, of one of our old reformers. you could almost fancy a halo completing its apostolic character." some of the scottish gipsies of to-day could very readily exclaim: "and, if thou said'st i am not peer to any _one_ in scotland here, highland or lowland, far or near, _oh, donald_, thou hast lied!" but it is impossible for any one to give an account of the gipsies in scotland, from the year , down to the present time. this much, however, can be said of them, that they are as much gipsies now as ever they were; that is, the gipsies of to-day are the representatives of the race as it appeared in scotland three centuries and a half ago, and hold themselves to be gipsies now, as, indeed, they always will do. ever since the race entered scotland, we may reasonably assume that it has been dropping out of the tent into settled life, in one form or other, and sometimes to a greater extent at one time than another. it never has been a nomadic race, in the proper sense of the word; for a nomad is one who possesses flocks and herds, with which he moves about from pasturage to pasturage, as he does in asia to-day. mr. borrow says that there are gipsies who follow this kind of life, in russia; but that, doubtless, arises from the circumstances in which they have found themselves placed.[ ] "i think," said an english gipsy to me, "that we must take partly of the ancient egyptians, and partly of the arabs; from the egyptians, owing to our settled ways, and from the arabs, owing to our wandering habits." upon entering europe, they must have wandered about promiscuously, for some short time, before pitching upon territories, which they would divide among themselves, under their kings and chieftains. here we find the proper sphere of the gipsy, in his original state. in , anthonius gawino is represented, by james iv., to his uncle, the king of denmark, as having "sojourned in scotland in peaceable and catholic manner:" and john faw, by james v., in , during his "pilgrimage," as "doing a lawful business;" which evidently had some meaning, as we find that seven pounds were paid to the egyptians by the king's chamberlain. in , the gipsies made musket-balls for the king of hungary; and, in , cannon-balls for the turks. in short, they were travelling smiths, or what has since been called tinkers, with a turn for any kind of ordinary mechanical employment, and particularly as regards working in metals; dealers in animals, petty traders, musicians, and fortune-tellers, with a wonderful knack for "transferring money from other people's pockets into their own;" living representatively, but apparently not wholly, in tents, and "helping themselves" to whatever they stood in need of.[ ] [ ] there is scarce a part of the habitable world where they are not to be found; their tents are alike pitched on the heaths of brazil and the ridges of the himalayan hills; and their language is heard at moscow and madrid, in the streets of london and stamboul. they are found in all parts of russia, with the exception of the government of st. petersburg, from which they have been banished. in most of the provincial towns, they are to be found in a state of half civilization, supporting themselves by trafficking in horses, or by curing the disorders incidental to those animals. but the vast majority reject this manner of life, and traverse the country in bands, like the ancient hamaxobioi; the immense grassy plains of russia affording pasturage for their herds of cattle, on which, and the produce of the chase, they chiefly depend for subsistence.--_borrow._ [ ] considering what is popularly understood to be the natural disposition and capacity of the gipsies, we would readily conclude that to turn innkeepers would be the most unlikely of all their employments; yet that is very common. mahommed said, "if the mountain will not come to us, we will go to the mountain." the gipsies say, "if we do not go to the people, the people must come to us;" and so they open their houses of entertainment. speaking of the gipsy chiefs mentioned in the act of james v., our author, as we have seen, very justly remarks: "it cannot be supposed that the ministers of three or four succeeding monarchs would have suffered their sovereigns to be so much imposed on, as to allow them to put their names to public documents styling poor and miserable wretches, as we at the present day imagine them to have been, 'lords and earls of little egypt.' . . . . . i am disposed to believe that anthonius gawino, in , and john faw, in , would personally, as individuals, that is, as gipsy rajahs, have a very respectable and imposing appearance, in the eyes of the officers of the crown." (page .)[ ] we have likewise seen how many laws were passed, by the scots parliament, against "great numbers of his majesty's subjects, of whom some outwardly pretend to be famous and unspotted gentlemen," for encouraging and supporting the gipsies; and, in the case of william auchterlony, of cayrine, for receiving into their houses, and feasting them, their wives, children, _servants_, and companies. all this took place more than a hundred years after the arrival of the gipsies in scotland, and seventy-six years after the date of the treaty between james v. and john faw. we can very readily believe that the sagacity displayed by this chief and his folk, to evade the demand made upon them to leave the country, was likewise employed to secure their perpetual existence in it; for, from the first, their intention was evidently to possess it. hence their original story of being pilgrims, which would prevent the authorities from disturbing them, but which had no effect upon henry viii., whom, of all the monarchs of europe, they did not hoax. grellmann mentions their having obtained passports from the emperor sigismund, and other princes, as well as from the king of france, and the pope. [ ] the following is a description of a superior spanish gipsy, in , as quoted by mr. borrow, from the memoirs of a spaniard, who had seen him: "at this time, they had a count, a fellow who spoke the castilian idiom with as much purity as if he had been a native of toledo. he was acquainted with all the ports of spain, and all the difficult and broken ground of the provinces. he knew the exact strength of every city, and who were the principal people in each, and the exact amount of their property; there was nothing relative to the state, however secret, that he was not acquainted with; nor did he make a mystery of his knowledge, but publicly boasted of it." entering scotland with the firm determination to "possess" the country, the gipsies would, from the very first, direct their attention towards its occupation, and draw into their body much of the native blood, in the way which i have already described. and there was certainly a large floating population in the country, from which to draw it. it would little consist with the feelings of highland or lowland outlaws to exist without female society; nor was that female society easily to be found, apart from some kind of settled life; hence, in seeking for a home, which is inseparable from the society of a female, our native outlaw would very naturally and readily "haul up" with the gipsy woman; for, being herself quite "at home," in her tent, she would present just the desideratum which the other was in quest of. for, although "gipsies marry with gipsies," it is only as a rule, the exceptions being many, and, in all probability, much more common, in the early stage of their european history. the present "dreadfully mixed" state of gipsydom is a sufficient proof of this fact. the aversion, on the part of the gipsy, to intermarry with the ordinary natives, proceeds, in the first place, from the feelings which the natives entertain for her race. remove those feelings, and the gipsies, as a body, would still marry among themselves; for their pride in their peculiar sept, and a natural jealousy of those outside of their mystic circle, would, alone, keep the world from penetrating their secrets, without its being extended to him who, by intermarriage, became "one of them." there is no other obstacle in the way of marriages between the two races, excepting the general one, on the part of the gipsies, and which is inherent in them, to preserve themselves as a branch of a people to be found in every country. admitting the general aversion, on the part of the gipsies, to _marry_ with natives, and we at once see the unlikelihood of their women _playing the wanton_ with them. still, it is very probable that they, in some instances, bore children to some of the "unspotted gentlemen," mentioned, by act of parliament, as having so greatly protected and entertained the tribe. such illegitimate children would be put to good service by the gipsy chiefs. by one means or other, there is no doubt but the gipsies made a dead-set upon certain native families of influence. the capacity that could devise such a scheme for remaining in the country, as is contained in the act of , and influence the courts of the regency, and of queen mary, to reinstate them in their old position, after the severe order of , proclaiming banishment within thirty days, and death thereafter, even when the "lords understood, perfectly, the great thefts and _skaiths_, (damages,) done by the said egyptians," could easily execute plans to secure a hold upon private families. if to all this we add the very nature of gipsydom; how it always remains true to itself, as it gets mixed with the native blood; how it works its way up in the world; and how its members "stick to each other;" we can readily understand how the tribe acquired important and influential friends in high places. do not speak of the attachment of the jewess to her people: that of the gipsy is greater. a jewess passes current, anywhere, as a jewess; but the gipsy, as she gets connected with a native circle, and moves about in the world, does so clandestinely, for, as a gipsy, she is _incog._; so that her attachment remains, at heart, with her tribe, and is all the stronger, from the feelings that are peculiar to her singularly wild descent. i am very much inclined to think that mrs. baillie, of lamington, mentioned under the head of tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies, was a gipsy; and the more so, from having learned, from two different sources, that the present baillie, of ----, is a gipsy. considering that courts of justice have always stretched a point, to convict, and _execute_, gipsies, it looks like something very singular, that william baillie, a gipsy, who was condemned to death, in , should have had his sentence commuted to banishment, _and been allowed to go at large_, while others, condemned with him, were executed. and three times did he escape in that manner, till, at last, he was slain by one of his tribe. it also seems very singular, that james baillie, another gipsy, in , should have been condemned for the murder of his wife, and, also, had his sentence commuted to banishment, and been allowed to go at large: and that twice, at least. well might mclaurin remark: "few cases have occurred in which there has been such an expenditure of mercy." and tradition states that "the then mistress baillie, of lamington, and her family, used all their interest in obtaining these pardons for james baillie." no doubt of it. but the reason for all this was, doubtless, different from that of "james baillie, like his fathers before him, _pretending_ that he was a bastard relative of the family of lamington." a somewhat similar case of pardoning gipsies is related by a writer in blackwood's magazine, as having occurred towards the end of last century; the individual procuring the pardon being the excitable duchess of gordon, the same, i presume, whom burns' genius "fairly lifted off her feet." the following are the circumstances, as given by this writer: a berwickshire farmer had been missing sheep, and lay in wait, one night, with a servant, for the depredators. they seized upon tam gordon, the captain of the spittal gipsies, and his son-in-law, ananias faa, in the very act of stealing the sheep; when the captain drew a knife, to defend himself. they were convicted and condemned for the crime; "but afterwards, to the great surprise of their berwickshire neighbours, obtained a pardon, a piece of unmerited and ill-bestowed clemency, for which, it was generally understood, they were indebted to the interest of a noble northern family, of their own name. we recollect hearing a sort of ballad upon tam's exploits, and his deliverance from the gallows, through the intercession of a celebrated duchess, but do not recollect any of the words."[ ] [ ] i should suppose that this was captain gordon who behaved himself like a prince, at the north queensferry. _see page ._ a transaction like this must strike the reader as something very remarkable. sheep-stealing, at the time mentioned, was a capital offence, for which there was almost no pardon; and more especially in the case of people who were of notorious "habit and repute gipsies," caught in the very act, which was aggravated by their drawing an "invasive weapon." not only were they condemned, but we may readily assume that the "country-side" were crying, "hang and bury the vagabonds;" and death seemed certain; when in steps the duchess, and snatches them both from the very teeth of the gallows. what guarantee have we that the duchess was not a gipsy? it certainly was not likely that a gipsy woman would step out of her tent, and seize a coronet; but what cannot we imagine to have taken place, in "the blood" working its way up, during the previous years? what guarantee have we that professor wilson was not "taking a look at the old thing," when rambling with the gipsies, in his youth? there are gipsy families in edinburgh, to-day, of as respectable standing, and of as good descent, as could be said of him, or many others who have distinguished themselves in the world. we must not forget that, when the gipsies entered scotland, it was for better or for worse, just for what was to "turn up." very soon after their arrival, the country would become their country, as much as that of the ordinary natives; so that scotland became their home, as much as if it had always been that of their race, except their retaining a tradition of their recent arrival from some part of the east, and a singular sense of being part and parcel of "the egyptians that were scattered over the face of the earth;" neither of which the odious prejudice against "the blood" allowed them to forget; assuming that they were willing, and, moreover, that the cast of their minds allowed them, to do either. the idea which has been expressed by the world, generally, of the gipsy tribe gradually assimilating with the native race, and ultimately "getting lost among it," applies to the principle at issue; for, as i have already said, it _has_ got greatly lost, in point of appearance, and general deportment, among the ordinary natives, but has remained, heart and soul, gipsy, as before. even with the native race, we will find that the blood of the lowly is always getting mixed with that in the higher circles of life. we have the case of a girl going to service with a london brewer, then becoming his wife, then his widow, then employing a lawyer to manage her affairs, and afterwards marrying him, who, in his turn, became earl of clarendon, and father, by her, of the queen of james ii. towards the end of last, or beginning of the present, century, we hear of a poor actress, who commenced life in a provincial theatre, marrying one of the coutts, the bankers, and dying duchess of st. albans. such events have been of much more common occurrence in less elevated spheres of life; and the gipsy race has had its share of them. for this reason, it is really impossible to say, who, among the scotch, are, and who are not, of the gipsy tribe; such a thorough mess has the "mixing of the blood" made of the scottish population. notwithstanding all that, there is a certain definite number of "gipsies" in scotland, known to god only; while each gipsy is known in his or her conscience to belong to the tribe. this much is certain, that we need not consult the census returns for the number of the tribe in scotland. however easy, or however difficult, it may be, to define what a gipsy, in regard to external or internal circumstances, is, this much is certain, that the feeling in his mind as to his being a gipsy, is as genuine and emphatic as is the feeling in the mind of a jew being a jew. the circumstances connected with the perpetuation of the gipsy and jewish races greatly resemble each other. both races are scattered over the face of the earth. the jew has had a home; he has a strong attachment to it, and looks forward to enter it at some future day. the gipsy may be said never to have had a home, but is at home everywhere. "what part of england did you come from?" said i to an english semi-tented gipsy, in america. "what _part_ of england did i come from, did you say? i come from _all over england!_" the scottish race, as a race, is confined to people born in scotland; for the children of expatriated scots are not scotchmen. and so it is with people of other countries. the mere birth upon the soil constitutes their race or nationality, although subsequent events, in early life, may modify the feelings, or draw them into a new channel, by a change of domicile, in infancy. but the jew's nationality is everywhere; 'tis in his family, and his associations with others of his race. make the acquaintance of the jews, and you will find that each generation of them tell _their_ "wonderful story" to the following generation, and the story is repeated to the following, and the following. the children of jews are taught to know they are jews, before they can even lisp. soon do they know that much of the phenomenon of their race, as regards its origin, its history, and its universality, to draw the distinction between them and those around them who are not jews. soon do they learn how their race has been despised and persecuted, and imbibe the love which their parents have for it, and the resentment of the odium cast upon it by others. it has been so from the beginning of their history out of palestine, and even while there. were it only religion, considered in itself, that has kept the jews together as a people, they might have got lost among the rest of mankind; for among the jews there are to be found the rankest of infidels; even jewish priests will say that, "it signifies not what a man's religion may be, if he is only sincere in it." is it a feeling, or a knowledge, of religion that leads a jewish child, almost the moment it can speak, to say that it is a jew? it is simply the workings of the phenomena of race that account for this; the religion peculiar to jews having been introduced among them centuries after their existence as a people. being exclusively theirs in its very nature, they naturally follow it, as other people do theirs; but, although, from the nature of its origin, it presents infinitely greater claims upon their intelligent belief and obedience, they have yielded no greater submission to its spirit and morals, or even to its forms, than many other people have done to their religion, made up, as that has been, of the most fabulous superstition, on the principle, doubtless, that "the zealous crowds in ignorance adore, and still, the less they know, they fear the more." the jews being a people before they received the religion by which they are distinguished, it follows that the religion, in itself, occupies a position of secondary importance, although the profession of it acts and reacts upon the people, in keeping them separate from others. the most, then, that can be said of the religion of the jews is, that, following in the wake of their history as a people, it is only one of the pillars by which the building is supported.[ ] if enquiry is made of jewish converts to christianity, we will find that, notwithstanding their having separated from their brethren, on points of creed, they hold themselves as much jews as before. but the conversions of jews are, "like angels' visits, few and far between." [ ] the only part of the religion of the jews having an origin prior to the establishment of the mosaic law was circumcision, which was termed the covenant made by god with abraham and his seed. (gen. xvii. - .) the abolition of idols, and the worship of god alone, are presumed, although not expressed. the jews lapsed into gross idolatry while in egypt, but were not likely to neglect circumcision, as that was necessary to maintain a physical uniformity among the race, but did not enter into the wants, and hopes, and fears, inherent in the human breast, and stimulated by the daily exhibition of the phenomena of its existence. the second table of the moral law was, of course, written upon the hearts of the jews, in common with those of the gentiles. (rom. ii. , .) in the case of individuals forsaking the jewish, and joining the christian, church, that is, believing in the messiah having come, instead of to come, it is natural, i may say inevitable, for them to hold themselves jews. they have feelings which the world cannot understand. but beyond the nationality, physiognomy, and feelings of jews, there are no points of difference, and there ought to be no grounds of offense, between them and the ordinary inhabitants. while the points of antipathy between the jew and christian rest, not upon race, considered in itself, but mainly upon religion, and the relations proceeding from it, it has to be seen what is to be the feeling, on the part of the world, towards the gipsy race; such part of it, at least, whose habits are unexceptionable. this is one of the questions which it is the object of this disquisition to bring to an issue. substitute the language and signs of the gipsies for the religion of the jews, and we find that the rearing of the gipsies is almost identical with that of the jews; and in the same manner do they hold themselves to be gipsies. but the one can be gipsies, though ignorant of their language and signs, and the other, jews, though ignorant of their religion; the mere sense of tribe and community being sufficient to constitute them members of their respective nationalities. the origin of the gipsies is as distinct from that of the rest of the world, in three continents, at least, as is that of the jews; and, laying aside the matter of religion, their history, so far as it is known to the world, is as different. if they have no religion peculiar to themselves, to assist in holding them together, like the jews, they have that which is exclusively theirs--language and signs; about which there are no such occasions to quarrel, as in the affair of a religious creed. indeed, the gipsy race stands towards religions, as the christian religion does towards races. people are very apt to speak of the blood of the jews being "purity itself;" than which nothing is more unfounded. if a person were asked, what is a pure jew? he would feel puzzled to give an intelligent answer to the question. we know that abraham and sarah were the original parents of the jewish race, but that much blood has been added to it, from other sources, ever since. even four of the patriarchs, the third in descent from abraham, were the sons of concubines, who were, doubtless, bought with money, from the stranger, (gen. xvii. and ,) or the descendants of such, and were, in all probability, of as different a race from their mistresses, leah and rachel, as was the bondmaid, hagar, the egyptian, from her mistress, sarah. joseph married a daughter of the egyptian priest of on, and moses, a daughter of an ethiopian priest of midian. from a circumstance mentioned in the exodus, it would appear that egyptian blood, perhaps much of it, had been incorporated with that of the jews, while in egypt.[ ] and much foreign blood seems to have been added to the body, between the exodus and the babylonian captivity, through the means of proselytes and captives, strange women and bondmaids, concubines and harlots. we read of rahab, of jericho, an innkeeper, or harlot, or both, marrying salmon, one of the chief men in the tribe of judah, and becoming the mother of boaz, who married ruth, a moabitish woman, the daughter-in-law of naomi, and grandmother of david, from whom christ was lineally descended. indeed, the jews have always been receiving foreign blood into their body. we read of timothy having been a greek by the father's side, and a jew by the mother's; and of his having been brought up a jew. such events are of frequent occurrence. there is no real bar to marriages between jews and christians, although circumstances render them difficult. the children of such marriages sometimes resemble the jew, and sometimes the christian; sometimes they cast their lot with the jews, in the matter of religion, and sometimes with the christians; but they generally follow the mother in that matter. such, however, is the conceit which the jew displays in regard to his race, that he is very reserved in speaking about this "mixing of the blood." i once addressed a string of questions to a christian-jew preacher, on this subject, but he declined answering them. i am intimate with a family the parents of which are half-blood jews, all of whom belong to the jewish connexion, and i find that, notwithstanding the mixture of the blood, there is as little mental difference between them and the other jews, as there is between americans of six descents, by both sides of the house, and americans whose descent, through one parent, goes as far back, while, through the other parent, it is from abroad. purity of blood, as applicable to almost any race, and, among others, to the jewish, is a figment. there are many jews in the united states, and, doubtless, in other countries, who are not known to other people as jews, either by their appearance or their attendance at the synagogue. as a general principle, no jew will tell the world that he belongs to the race; he leaves that to be found out by other people. sir j. gardner wilkinson says that the jews of the east, to this day, often have red hair and blue eyes, and are quite unlike their brethren in europe. he found the large nose at jerusalem an invariable proof of mixture with a western family. it is singular, however, how easy it is to detect the generality of jews; the nose, the eyes, or the features, tell who they are, but not always so. what may be termed a "pure jew," is when the person has no knowledge of any other blood being in his veins than jewish blood; or when his feelings are entirely jewish as to nationality, although his creed may not be very strongly jewish. [ ] it is an unnecessary stretch upon the belief in the scriptures, to ask consent to the abstract proposition that the jews, while in egypt, encreased from seventy souls to "about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides children," at the time of the exodus. following a pastoral life, in a healthy and fertile country, and inspired with the prophecy delivered to abraham, as to his numberless descendants, the whole bent of the mind of the jews was to multiply their numbers; and polygamy and concubinage being characteristic of the people, there is no reason to doubt that the jews encreased to the number stated. the original emigrants, doubtless, took with them large establishments of bondmen and bondwomen, and purchased others while in egypt; and these being circumcised, according to the covenant made with abraham, would sooner or later become, on that account alone, part of the nation; and much more so by such amalgamation as is set forth by rachel and leah giving their maids to jacob to have children by them. abraham was, at best, the representative head of the jewish nation, composed, as that was originally, of elements drawn from the idolatrous tribes surrounding him and his descendants. i will now consider the relative positions which the jews and gipsies occupy towards the rest of mankind. i readily admit that, in their original and wild state, the gipsies have not been of any use to the world, but, on the contrary, a great annoyance. still, that cannot be said altogether; for the handy turn of the gipsies in some of the primitive mechanical arts, and their dealing in various wares, have been, in a measure, useful to a certain part of the rural population; and themselves the sources of considerable amusement; but, taking everything into account, they have been decidedly annoying to the world generally. in their wild state, they have never been charged by any one with an outward contempt for religion, whatever their inward feelings may have been for it; but, on the contrary, as always having shown an apparent respect for it. no one has ever complained of the gipsy scoffing at religion, or even for not yielding to its general truths; what has been said of him is, that he is, at heart, so heedless and volatile in his disposition, that everything in regard to religion passes in at the one ear, and goes out at the other. there are, doubtless, gipsies who will be "unco godly," when they can make gain by it; but it more frequently happens that they will assume such an air, in the presence of a person of respectable appearance, to show him that they are really not the "horrible vagabonds" which, they never doubt, he holds them to be. they are then sure to overdo their part. as a general thing, they wish people to believe that "they are not savages, but have feelings like other people," as "terrible" expressed it. this much is certain, that whenever the gipsy settles, and acquires an incognito, we hear of little or nothing of the canting in question. as regards the question of religion, it is very fortunate for the gipsy race that they brought no particular one with them; for, objectionable as they have been held to be, the feeling towards them would have been worse, if they had had a system of priestcraft and heathen idolatry among them. but this circumstance greatly worries a respectable gipsy; he would much rather have it said that his ancestors had some sort of religion, than that they none. it is generally understood that the gipsies did not bring any particular religion with them; still, the ceremony of sacrificing horses at divorces, and, at one time, at marriages, has a strange and unaccountable significance. then, as regards the general ways of the gipsies. if we consider them as those of a people who have emerged, or are emerging, from a state of barbarism, how trifling, how venial do they appear! scotch people have suffered, in times past, far more at the hands of each other, than ever they knowingly did at the hands of the gipsies. what was the nature of that system of black-mail which was levied by highland gentlemen upon southerners? was it anything but robbery? so common, so unavoidable was the payment of black-mail, that the law had to wink at it, nay, regulate it. but after all, it was nothing but compounding for that which would otherwise have been stolen. it gave peace and security to the farmer, and a revenue to the highland gentleman, whom it placed in the position of a nominal protector, but actually prevented from being a robber, in law or morals; for, let the payment of the black-mail but have been refused, and, perhaps the next day, the southerner would have been ruined; so that the highland gentleman would have obtained his rights, under any circumstances. for highland people, by a process of reasoning peculiar to a people in a barbarous state, held, as we have seen, that they had a right to rob the lowlanders, whenever it was in their power, and that two hundred years after the gipsies entered scotland. scottish gipsies are british subjects, as much as either highland or lowland scots; their being of foreign origin does not alter the case; and they are entitled to have that justice meted out to them that has been accorded to the ordinary natives. they are not a heaven-born race, but they certainly found their way into the country, as if they had dropped into it out of the clouds. as a race, they have that much mystery, originality, and antiquity about them, and that inextinguishable sensation of being a branch of the same tribe everywhere, that ought to cover a multitude of failings connected with their past history. indeed, what we do know of their earliest history is not nearly so barbarous as that of our own; for we must contemplate our own ancestors, at one time, as painted and skin-clad barbarians. what we do know, for certainty, of the earliest history of the scottish gipsies, is contained, more particularly, in the act of ; and we would naturally say, that, for a people in a barbarous state, such is the dignity and majesty, with all the roguishness, displayed in the conduct of the gipsies of that period, one could hardly have a better, certainly not a more romantic, descent; provided the person whose descent it is is to be found amid the ranks of scots, with talents, a character, and a position equal to those of others around him. for this reason, it must be said of the race, that whenever it shakes itself clear of objectionable habits, and follows any kind of ordinary industry, the cause of every prejudice against it is gone, or ought to disappear; for then, as i have already said, the gipsies became ordinary citizens, of the gipsy clan. it then follows, that in passing a fair judgment upon the gipsy race, we ought to establish a principle of progression, and set our minds upon the best specimens of it, as well as the worst, and not judge of it, solely, from the poorest, the most ignorant, or the most barbarous part of it.[ ] [ ] tacitus gives the following glowing account of the destruction of the druids, in the island of anglesey: "on the opposite shore stood the britons, closely embodied, and prepared for action. women were seen rushing through the ranks in wild disorder; their apparel funereal; their hair loose to the wind, in their hands flaming torches, and their whole appearance resembling the frantic rage of the furies. the druids were ranged in order, with hands uplifted, invoking the gods, and pouring forth horrible imprecations. the novelty of the sight struck the romans with awe and terror. they stood in stupid amazement, as if their limbs were benumbed, riveted to one spot, a mark for the enemy. the exhortation of the general diffused new vigour through the ranks, and the men, by mutual reproaches, inflamed each other to deeds of valour. they felt the disgrace of yielding to a troop of women, and a band of fanatic priests; they advanced their standards, and rushed on to the attack with impetuous fury. the britons perished in the flames which they themselves had kindled. the island fell, and a garrison was established to retain it in subjection. _the religious groves, dedicated to superstition and barbarous rites, were levelled to the ground. in those recesses, the natives imbrued their altars with the blood of their prisoners, and, in the entrails of men, explored the will of the gods._"--_murphy's translation._ what shall we say further of the relative positions which the jews and gipsies occupy towards the rest of the world? in the first place, the jews entered europe a civilized, and the gipsies a barbarous, people; so that, in instituting any comparison between them, we should select gipsies occupying positions in life similar to those of the jews. the settled scottish gipsy, we find, appears to the eye of the world as a scotchman, and nothing more. it is the weak position which the gipsy race occupies in the world, as it enters upon a settled life, and engages in steady pursuits, that compels it to assume an incognito; for it has nothing to appeal to, as regards the past; no history, except it be acts of legislation passed against the race. in looking into a dictionary or a cyclopædia, the gipsy finds his race described as vagabonds, always as vagabonds; and he may be said never to have heard a good word spoken of it, during the whole of his life. hence he and his descendants "keep as quiet as pussy," and pass from the observation of the world. besides this, there is no prominent feature connected with his race, to bring it before the world, such as there is with the jewish, viz., history, church, or literature. a history, the gipsy, as we see, doubtless has; but anything connected with him, pertaining to the church or literature, he holds as a member of ordinary society. still, it would not be incorrect to speak of gipsy literature, as the work of a gipsy, acquired from the sources common to other men; as we would say of the jews, relative to the literature which they produce under similar circumstances. as to the gipsy to whom i have alluded, it may be said that it is none of our business whether he is a gipsy or not; there is certainly no prejudice against him as an individual, and there can be none as a gipsy, except such as people may of their own accord conceive for him. many of the scottish gipsies whom i have met with are civil enough, sensible enough, decent enough, and liberal and honourable enough in their conduct; decidedly well bred for their positions in life, and rather foolish and reckless with their means, than misers; and, generally speaking, what are called "good fellows." it is no business of mine to ask them, how long it is since their ancestors left the tent, or, indeed, if they even know when that occurred; and still less, if they know when any of them ever did anything that was contrary to law. still, one feels a little irksome in such a gipsy's company, until the gipsy question has been fairly brought before the world, and the point settled, that a gipsy may be a gentleman, and that no disparagement is necessarily connected with the name, considered in itself. such scottish gipsies as i have mentioned are decidedly smart, and, yankee-like, more adaptable in turning their hands to various employments, than the common natives; and are a fair credit to the country they come from, and absolutely a greater than many of the native scotch that are to be met with in the new world. let the name of gipsy be as much respected, in scotland, as it is now despised, and the community would stare to see the civilized gipsies make their appearance; they would come buzzing out, like bees, emerging even from places where a person, not in the secret, never would have dreamt of. if we consider, in a fair and philosophical manner, the origin of these people, we will find many excuses for the position which their ancestors have occupied. they were a tribe of men wandering upon the face of the earth, over which they have spread, as one wave follows and urges on another. those that appeared in europe seem to have been impelled, in their migration, by the same irresistible impulse; to say nothing of the circumstances connected with their coming in contact with the people whose territories they had invaded. no one generation could be responsible for the position in which it found itself placed. in the case of john faw and his company, we find that, being on the face of the earth, they had to go somewhere, and invent some sort of excuse, to secure a toleration; and the world was bound to yield them a subsistence, of some kind, and in some way obtained. as a wandering, barbarous, tented tribe, with habits peculiar to itself, and inseparable from its very nature, great allowance ought to be made for the time necessary for its gradual absorption into settled society. that could only be the result of generations, even if the race had not been treated so harshly as it has been, or had such a prejudice displayed against it. the difficulties which a gipsy has to encounter in leaving the tent are great, for he has been born in that state, and been reared in it. to leave his tent forever, and settle in a town, is a greater trial to the innate feelings of his nature, than would be the change from highly polished metropolitan life to a state of solitude, in a society away from everything that had hitherto made existence bearable. but the gipsy will very readily leave his tent, temporarily, to visit a town, if it is to make money. it is astonishing how strong the circumstances are which bind him to his tent; even his pride and prejudices in being a "wandering egyptian," will, if it is possible to live by the tent, bind him to it. then, there is the prejudice of the world--the objection to receive him into any community, and his children into any school--that commonly prevails, and which compels him to _steal_ into settled life. it has always been so with the gipsy race. gipsies brought up in the tent have the same difficulties to encounter in leaving it to-day, that others had centuries ago. but, notwithstanding all that, they are always keeping moving out of the tent, and becoming settled and civilized. tented gipsies will naturally "take bits o' things;" many of them would think one simple if he thought they would not do it; some of them would even be insulted if he said they did not do it. after they leave the tent, and commence "tramping," they (i do not say all of them) will still "take bits o' things." from this stage of their history, they keep gradually dropping into unexceptionable habits; and particularly so if they receive education. but we can very readily believe that, independent of every circumstance, there will be gipsies who, in a great measure, always will be rogues. the law of necessity exercises a great influence over the destiny of the gipsy race; their natural encrease is such, that, as they progress and develop, they are always pushing others out of the sphere which those further advanced occupy; so that it would not pay for all gipsies to be rogues. there is, therefore, no alternative left to the gipsy but to earn his bread like other men. if every gipsy actually "helped himself" to whatever he stood in need of, it could hardly be said that the ordinary inhabitants would have anything that they could really call their own. notwithstanding the manner how the gipsies progress, or the origin from which they spring, it is quite sufficient for me to hold the race in respect, when i find them personally worthy of it. as a scotchman, as a citizen of the world, whether should my sympathies lay more with the gipsies than with the jews? with the gipsies, unquestionably. for, a race, emerging from a state of barbarism, and struggling upwards to civilization, surrounded by so many difficulties, as is the gipsy, is entitled to a world of charity and encouragement. of the jews, who, though blessed with the most exalted privileges, yet allowed themselves to be reduced to their present fallen and degraded estate, it may be said: "ephraim is joined to his idols; let him alone." the gipsies are, and have always been, a rising people, although the world may be said to have known little of them hitherto. the gipsy, as he emerges from his wild state, makes ample amends for his original offensiveness, by hiding everything relative to his being a gipsy from his neighbours around him. in approaching one of this class, we should be careful not to express that prejudice for him as a gipsy, which we might have for him as a man; for it is natural enough to feel a dislike for many people whom we meet with, and which, if the people were gipsies, we might insensibly allow to fall upon them, on account of tribe alone; so difficult is it to shake one's self clear of the prejudice of caste towards the gipsy name. the gipsy has naturally a happy disposition, which circumstances cannot destroy, however much they may be calculated to sour it. in their original state, they are, what grellmann says of them, "always merry and blithe;" not apt to be surly dogs, unless made such; and are capable of considerable attachment, when treated civilly and kindly, without any attempt being made to commiserate them, and after an acquaintance has been fairly established with them. but, what are properly called their affections must, in the position which they occupy, always remain with their tribe. as for the other part of the race--those whose habits are unexceptionable--it is for us to convince them that no prejudice is entertained for them on account of their being gipsies; but that it would rather be pleasing and interesting for us to know something of them as gipsies, that is, about their feelings as gipsies, and hear them talk some of this language which they have, or are supposed to have. but how different is the position which the jews occupy towards the rest of the world! they are, certainly, quiet and inoffensive enough as individuals, or as a community; whence, then, arises the dislike which most people have for them? the gipsies may be said to be, in a sense, strangers amongst us, because they have never been acknowledged by us; but the jews are, to a certain extent, strangers under any circumstances, and, more or less, look to entering palestine at some day, it may be this year, or the following. if a christian asks: "who are the jews, and what do they here?" the reply is very plain: "they are rebels against the majesty of heaven, and outcasts from his presence." they are certainly entitled to every privilege, social and political, which other citizens enjoy; they have a perfect right to follow their own religion; but other people have an equal right to express their opinion in regard to it and them. the jew is an enigma to the world, unless looked at through the light of the old and new testaments. in studying the history of the jews, we will find very little about them, as a nation, that is interesting, to the extent of securing our affections, whatever may be said of some of the members of it. what appears attractive, and, i may say, of personal importance, to the christian, in their history, is, not what they have been or done, but what has been done for them by god. "what more could i have done for my vine than i have done?" and "which of the prophets have they not persecuted?" "wherefore, behold! i send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city." and thus it always was. "elias saith of them, lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars, and i am left alone, and they seek my life." indeed, the whole history of the jews has given to infidels such occasion to rail at revelation, as has caused no little annoyance to christians. what concerns the christian in the jewish history is more particularly that which refers to the ways of god, in preserving to himself, in every generation, a seed who did not bow the knee to baal, till the appearance of him in whom all the nations of mankind were to be blessed. beyond this, we find that the jews, as a nation, have been the most rebellious, stiff-necked, perverse, ungrateful, and factious, of any recorded in history. how different from what might have been expected of them! viewing the history of the jews in this aspect, the mind even finds a relief in turning to profane history; but viewing their writings as the records of the dispensations of god to mankind, and they are worthy of universal reverence; although the most interesting part of them is, perhaps, that which reaches to the settlement of the race in palestine. and to sum up, to complete, and crown the history of this singularly privileged people, previous to the destruction of their city and temple, and their dispersion among the nations, we find that the prophet whom moses foretold them would be raised up to them, they wickedly crucified and slew; "delivering up and denying him in the presence of pilate, when he was determined to let him go. but they denied the holy one and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto them; and killed the prince of life, whom god hath raised from the dead." and pilate "washed his hands before the multitude, saying, i am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. then answered all the people, and said, his blood be on us and on our children." and his blood is on their children at the present day; for while he is acknowledged by three hundred millions of mankind as their lord and master, the jew teaches his children to regard him as an impostor, and spit at the very mention of his name. how great must be the infatuation of the poor jew, how dark the mind, how thick the veil that hangs over his heart, how terrible the curse that rests upon his head! but the jew is to be pitied, not distressed; he should be personally treated, in ordinary life, as his conduct merits. the manner in which the jew treats the claims of jesus christ disqualifies him for receiving the respect of the christian. he knows well that christianity is no production of any gentile, but an emanation from people of his own nation. and so conceited is the jew in this respect, that he will say: "jesus christ and his apostles were jews: see what jews have done!" he regards the existence of his race as a miracle, yet looks with indifference upon the history and results of christianity. people have often wondered that jews, as jews, have written so little on the inspiration of the old testament; but what else could have been expected of them? how could they throw themselves prominently forward, in urging the claims of moses, who was "faithful in all his house as a servant," and totally ignore those of christ, who was "a son over his own house?" so far from even entertaining the claims of the latter, the jew proper has the most bitter hatred for the very mention of his name; he would almost, if he dared, tear out part of his scriptures, in which the messiah is alluded to. does he take the trouble to give the claims of christianity the slightest consideration? he will spit at it, but it is into his handkerchief; so much does he feel tied up in the position which he occupies in the world. he cannot say that he respects, or can respect, christianity, whatever he may think of its morals; for, as a jew, he must, and does, regard it as an imposture, and blindly so regards it. but all jews are not of this description; for there are many of them who believe little in moses or any other, or give themselves the least trouble about such matters. the position which jews occupy among christians is that which they occupy among people of a different faith. they become obnoxious to people everywhere; for that which is so foreign in its origin, so exclusive in its habits and relations, and so conceited and antagonistic in its creed, will always be so, go where it may. besides, they will not even eat what others have slain; and hold other people as impure. the very conservative nature of their creed is, to a certain extent, against them; were it aggressive, like the christian's, with a genius to embrace _all_ within its fold, it would not stir up, or permanently retain, the same ill-will toward the people who profess it; for being of that nature which retires into the corner of selfish exclusiveness, people will naturally take a greater objection to them. then, the keen, money-making, and accumulating habits of the jews, make them appear selfish to those around them; while the greediness, and utter want of principle, that characterize some of them, have given a bad reputation to the whole body, however unjustly it is applied to them as a race. the circumstances attending the jews' entry into any country, to-day, are substantially what they were before the advent of christ; centuries before which era, they were scattered, in great numbers, over most part of the world; having synagogues, and visiting, or looking to, jerusalem, as their home, as catholics, in the matter of religion, have looked to rome. in going abroad, jews would as little contemplate forsaking their own religion, and worshipping the gods of the heathen, as do christians, to-day, in oriental countries; for they were as thoroughly persuaded that their religion was divine, and all others the inventions of man, as are christians of theirs. then, it was a religion exclusively jewish, that is, the people following it were, with rare exceptions, exclusively jews by nation. the ill-will which all these circumstances, and the very appearance of the people themselves, have raised against the jews, and the persecutions, of various kinds, which have universally followed, have widened the separation between them and other people, which the genius of their religion made so imperative, and their feelings of nationality--nay, _family_--so exclusive. before the dispersion, palestine was their home; after the dispersion, the position and circumstances of those abroad at the time underwent no change; they would merely contemplate their nation in a new aspect--that of exiles, and consider themselves, for the time being, at home wherever they happened to be. those that were scattered abroad, by the destruction of jerusalem, would, in their persons, confirm the convictions of the others, and reconcile them to the idea that the jewish nation, as such, was abroad on the face of the earth; and each generation of the race would entertain the same sentiments. after this, as before it, it can scarcely be said that the jews have ever been tolerated; if not actually persecuted, they have, at least, always been disliked, or despised. the whole nation having been scattered abroad, with everything pertaining to them as a nation, excepting the temple, the high-priesthood, and the sacrifices, with such an ancient history, and so unequivocally divine a religion, so distinct from, and obnoxious to, those of other nations, it is no wonder that they, the common descendants of abraham and sarah, should have ever since remained a distinct people in the world; as all the circumstances surrounding them have universally remained the same till to-day. a jew of to-day has a much greater aversion to forsake the jewish community than any other man has to renounce his country; and his associations of nationality are manifested wherever a jewish society is to be found, or wherever he can meet with another jew. this is the view which he takes of his race, as something distinct from his religion; for he contemplates himself as being of that people--of the same blood, features, and feelings, all children of abraham and sarah--that are to be found everywhere; that part of it to which he has an aversion being only such as apostatize from his religion, and more particularly such as embrace the christian faith. in speaking of jews, we are too apt to confine our ideas exclusively to a creed, forgetting that jews are a race; and that christian jews are jews as well as jewish jews. were it possible to bring about a reformation among the jews, by which synagogues would embrace the christian faith, we would see jewish christian churches; the only difference being, that they would believe in him whom their fathers pierced, and lay aside only such of the ceremonies of moses as the gospel had abrogated. if a movement of that kind were once fairly afoot, by which was presented to the jew, his people as a community, however small it might be, there would be a great chance of his becoming a christian, in one sense or other: he could then assume the position of a protesting jew, holding the rest of his countrymen in error; and his own christian-jewish community as representing his race, as it ought to exist. at present, the few christian jews find no others of their race with whom to form associations as a community; so that, to all intents and purposes, they feel as if they were a sort of outcasts, despised and hated by those of their own race, and separated from the other inhabitants by a natural law, over which neither have any control, however much they may associate with, and respect, each other. it requires a very powerful moral influence to constrain a jew in embracing the christian faith--almost nothing short of divine grace; and sometimes a very powerful immoral one in professing it--that which peculiarly characterizes jews--the love of money. were a community of christian jews firmly established, among whom were observed every tittle of the jewish ceremonial, excepting such as the dispensation of christ had positively abolished; or even observing most of that, (circumcision, for example,) as merely characteristic of a people, without attaching to it the meaning of a service recommending themselves, in any way, to the mercy of god; and many jews would doubtless join such a society. they could believe in christ as their messiah--as their prophet, priest, and king; receive baptism in his name; and depend on him for a place of happiness in a future state of existence. to such, the injunction, as declared by st. paul, is: "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that god hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (romans x. .) and when they contemplate death, they might lay their heads down in peace, with the further assurance, as also declared by st. paul: "for if we believe that jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in jesus will god bring with him." (i thess. iv. .) this is the kind of messiah which the jew should contemplate, and seek after. he will find his conception and birth more particularly recorded in the two first, and his death, resurrection, and ascension, more fully detailed in the two last, chapters of the gospel according to st. luke. a person would naturally think that a jew would have the natural curiosity to read this wonderful book called the "new testament;" since, at its very lowest estimate, it is, with the exception of the writings of st. luke, altogether a production of people of his own nation. among the jews, there are not a few who believe in christ, yet, more or less, appear at the synagogue. they have no objections to become "spectacles to angels;" but they are not willing to make themselves such to men, by placing themselves in that isolated position which a public profession of christianity would necessarily lead to. but, all things considered, one is rather apt to fall into utopian ideas in speaking of the conversion of jews, as a body, or even as individuals, unless the grace of god, in an especial degree, accompanies the means to that end. it is no elevated regard for the laws of moses, or any exalted sense of the principles contained in the old testament, that leads a jew to lend a deaf ear to the claims of christianity; for his respect for them has always been indifferent, even contemptible, enough. indeed, the talmud, which is the jew's gospel, may be characterized as being, in a very great part, a tissue of that which is silly and puerile, obscene and blasphemous. it is with the jew now, as it was at the advent of christ. "they have paid tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and omitted the weightier matters of the law--judgment, mercy, and faith." "laying aside the commandment of god, they have held the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such-like things;" "making the word of god of none effect through their traditions which they have delivered." "full well have they rejected the commandments of god, that they might keep their own traditions." "in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." the main prop of a jew for remaining a jew, in regard to religion, rests much more upon the wonderful phenomena connected with the history of his nation--its antiquity, its associations, its universality, and the length of time which it has existed, since its dispersion, distinct from the rest of the world, and so unique, (as he imagines,) that he at once concludes it must have the special approbation of god for the position which it occupies; which is very true, although it proceeds from a different motive than that which the jew so vainly imagines. the jew imagines that god approves of his conduct, in his stubborn rebellion to the claims of christianity, because he finds his race existing so distinct from the rest of the world; whereas, if he studies his own scriptures, he will see that the condition of his race is the punishment due to its rebellion. who knows but that the mark which is to be found upon the jew answers, in a sense, the purpose of that which every one found upon cain? did not his ancestors call a solemn imprecation upon his head, when they compelled pilate to crucify the "just person," when he was determined to let him go; with no other excuse than, "his blood be on us, and on our children?" will any genuine jew repudiate the conduct of his ancestors, and say that christ was not an impostor, that he was not a blasphemer, and that, consequently, he did not deserve, by the law of his nation, to be put to death? the history of the jews acts as a spell upon the unfortunate jew, and proves the greatest bar to his conversion to christianity. he vainly imagines that his race stands out from among all the races of mankind, by a miracle, wrought for that purpose, and with the special approbation of god upon it, for adhering to its religion; and that, therefore, christianity is a delusion. but we must break this spell that enchants the jew, and "provoke him to jealousy by them that are no people." and who are this people? the gipsies? yes, the gipsies! for they are numerous, though not as numerous, and ancient, though not as ancient, as the jews.[ ] [ ] it would almost seem that the gipsies are the people mentioned in deut. xxxii. , and rom. x. , where it is said: "i will provoke you, (the jews,) to jealousy, by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation i will anger you." for the history of the gipsy nation thoroughly burlesques that of the jews. but the jews will be very apt to ignore the existence of the present work, should the rest of the world allow them to do it. yet, excepting the gipsies themselves, none are so capable of understanding this subject as the jews, there being so much in it that is applicable to themselves. as to the gipsy population, scattered over the world, i think that the intelligent reader will agree with me, after all that has been said, in estimating it as very large. there seems no reason for thinking that the gipsies suffered so greatly, by the laws passed against them, as people have imagined; for the cunning of the gipsy, and the wild, or partly uncultivated, face of all the countries of europe would afford him many facilities to evade the laws passed against him. we have already seen what continental writers have said of the race, relative to the laws passed against it: "but, instead of passing the boundaries, they only slunk into hiding places, and, shortly after, appeared in as great numbers as before." and this seems to have been invariably the case over the whole of europe. mr. borrow, as we have already seen, speaks of every spanish monarch, on succeeding to the crown, passing laws against the gipsies. if former laws were put in force, there would be no occasion for making so many new ones; the very fact of so many laws having been passed against the gipsy race, in spain, is sufficient proof of each individual law never having been put to much execution, but rather, as has already been said, (page ,) of its having been customary for every king of spain to issue such against them. it does not appear that any force was employed to hunt the gipsies out of the country, but that matters were left to the ordinary local authorities, whom the tribe would, in many instances, manage to render passive, or beyond whose jurisdiction they would remove for the time being. the laws passed against the nobility and commonalty of spain, for protecting the gipsies, (page ,) is a very instructive commentary on those for the extermination of the body itself. but the case most in point is in the scottish laws passed against the gipsies. upon the passing of the act of james vi., in , we find that the gipsies "dispersed themselves in certain secret and obscure places of the country"; and that, when the storm was blown over, they "began to take new breath and courage, and unite themselves in infamous companies and societies, under commanders" (page ). the extreme bitterness displayed in scots acts of parliament against the best classes of the population, for protecting and entertaining the tribe, and, consequently, rendering the other acts nugatory, has a very important bearing upon the subject. we find that the gipsies wandered up and down france for a hundred years, unmolested; and that, so numerous had they become, that, in , the king of france entertained the idea of embodying four thousand of them, to act as pioneers in taking boulogne, then in possession of england. the last notice which we have of the french gipsies was that made by grellmann, when he says: "in france, before the revolution, there were but few, for the obvious reason, that every gipsy who could be apprehended, fell a sacrifice to the police." grellmann, however, had not studied the subject sufficiently deep to account for the destiny of the race. if they were so very numerous in france, in , the natural encrease, in whatever position in life it might be, must have been very great during the following years. i have learned, from the best of authority, that there are many gipsies in flanders.[ ] if the gipsies in england were estimated at above ten thousand, during the early part of the reign of queen elizabeth, how many may they not be now, including those of every kind of mixture of blood, character, and position in life? if there is one gipsy in the british isles, there cannot be less than a quarter of a million, and, possibly, as many as six hundred thousand; and, instead of there being sixty thousand in spain, and constantly _decreasing_, (_disappearing_ is the right word,) we may safely estimate them at three hundred thousand. the reader has already been informed of what becomes of all the gipsies. as a case in point, i may ask, who would have imagined that there was such a thing in edinburgh as a factory, filled, not merely with gipsies, but with _irish_ gipsies? the owner of the establishment was doubtless a gipsy; for how did so many gipsies come to work in it, or how did he happen to know that his workmen were _all_ gipsies, or that even _one_ of them was a gipsy? [ ] this information i obtained from some english gipsies. thereafter, the title of the following work came under my notice: "historical researches respecting the sojourn of the heathens, or egyptians, in the northern netherlands. by j. dirks. edited by the provincial utrecht society of arts and sciences. utrecht: . pp. viii. and ." indeed, the gipsies are scattered all over europe, and are to be found in the condition described in the present work. even to take grellmann's estimate of the gipsies in europe, at from , to , , and the race must be very numerous to-day. since his time, the negroes in the united states have encreased from , to , , , and this much is certain, that gipsies are, to say the least of it, as prolific as negroes. the encrease in both includes much white blood added to the respective bodies. some of the gipsies have, doubtless, been hanged; but, on the other hand, many of the negroes have been worked to death. there is a great difference, however, between the wild, independent gipsy race and the negroes in the new world. i should not suppose that the gipsy race in europe and america can be less than , , . it embraces, for certainty, as in scotland, men ranging in character and position from a pillar of the church down to a common tinker.[ ] [ ] there are, probably, , , of jews in the world. i have seen them estimated at from ten to twelve millions. it is impossible to obtain anything like a correct number of the jews, in almost _any_ country, leaving out of view the immense numbers scattered over the world, and living even in parts unexplored by europeans. christians not only flatter but delude the jew, when they say that his race is "purity itself;" they greatly flatter and delude him, when they say that the phenomenon of its existence, since the dispersion, is miraculous. there is nothing miraculous about it. there is nothing miraculous about the perpetuation of quakerdom; yet quakerdom has existed for two centuries. although quakerdom is but an artificial thing, that proceeded out from among common english people, it has somewhat the appearance of being a distinct race, among those surrounding it. as such, it appears, at first sight, to inexperienced youth, or people who have never seen, or perhaps heard, much of quakers. but how much greater is the difference between jews and christians, than between quakers and ordinary englishmen, and americans! and how much greater the certainty that jews will keep themselves distinct from christians, and all others in the world! it must be self-evident to the most unreflecting person, that the natural causes which keep jews separated from other people, during one generation, continue to keep them distinct during every other generation. a miracle, indeed! we must look into the old and new testaments for miracles. a jew will naturally delude himself about the existence of his race, since the dispersion, being a miracle; yet not believe upon a person, if he were even to rise from the dead! a little consideration of the philosophy of the jewish question will teach us that, perhaps, the best way for providence to preserve the jews, as they have existed since their dispersion, would have been merely to leave them alone--leave them to their impenitence and unbelief--and take that much care of them that is taken of ravens. the subject of the gipsies is a mine which christians should work, so as to countermine and explode the conceit of the jew in the history of his people; for that, as i have already said, is the greatest bar to his conversion to christianity. still, it is possible that some people may oppose the idea that the gipsies are the "mixed multitude" of the exodus, from some such motive as that which induces others not merely to disbelieve, but revile, and even rave at some of the clear points of revelation.[ ] what objection could any one advance against the gipsies being the people that left egypt, in the train of the jews? not, certainly, an objection as to race; for there must have been many captive people, or tribes, introduced into egypt, from the many countries surrounding it. pharaoh was a czar in his day, transplanting people at his pleasure. of one of his cities it was said, "that spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states, and pours her heroes through a hundred gates: two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, from each wide portal, issuing to the wars." [ ] it is astonishing how superficially some passages of scripture are interpreted. there is, for instance, the conduct of gamaliel, before the jewish council. (acts v. - .) the advice given by him, as a pharisee, was nothing but a piece of specious party clap-trap, to discomfit a sadducee. st. paul, who was brought up at the feet of this pharisee, and, doubtless, well versed in the factious tactics of his party, gives a beautiful commentary on the action of his old master, when, on being brought before the same tribunal, and perceiving that his enemies embraced both parties, he set them by the ears, by proclaiming himself a pharisee, and raising the question, (the "hope and resurrection of the dead,") on which they so bitterly disagreed. (acts xxiii. - .) there was much adroitness displayed by the apostle, in so turning the wrath of his enemies against themselves, after having inadvertently reviled the high priest, in their presence, and within one of the holy places, in such language as the following: "god shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten, contrary to the law." as it was, he was only saved from being "pulled in pieces" by his blood-thirsty persecutors--the one sect attacking, and the other defending him--by a company of roman soldiers, dispatched to take him by force from among them. nothing could be more specious than gamaliel's reasoning, for it could apply to almost anything, and was well suited to the feelings of a divided and excited assembly; or have less foundation, according to his theory, for the very steps which he advised the people against adopting, for the suppression of christians, were used to destroy the false messiahs to whom he referred. and yet people quote this recorded clap-trap of an old pharisee, as an inspiration, for the guidance of private christians, and christian magistrates! that the "mixed multitude" travelled into india, acquired the language of that part of asia, and, perhaps, modified its appearance there, and became the origin of the gipsy race, we may very safely assume. this much is certain, that they are not sudras, but a very ancient tribe, distinct from every other in the world. with the exception of the jews, we have no certainty of the origin of any people; in every other case it is conjecture; even the hungarians know nothing of their origin; and it is not wonderful that it should be the same with the gipsies. everything harmonizes so beautifully with the idea that the gipsies are the "mixed multitude" of the exodus, that it may be admitted by the world. even in the matter of religion, we could imagine egyptian captives losing a knowledge of their religion, as has happened with the africans in the new world, and, not having had another taught them, leaving egypt under moses, without any religion at all.[ ] after entering india, they would, in all probability, become a wandering people, and, for a certainty, live aloof from all others. [ ] tacitus makes caius cassius, in the time of nero, say: "at present, we have in our service whole nations of slaves, the scum of mankind, collected from all quarters of the globe; a race of men who bring with them foreign rites, and the religion of their country, _or, probably, no religion at all_."--_murphy's translation._ while the history of the jews, since the dispersion, greatly illustrates that of the gipsies, so does the history of the gipsies greatly illustrate that of the jews. they greatly resemble each other. jews shuffle, when they say that the only difference between an englishman and an english jew, is in the matter of creed; for there is a great difference between the two, whatever they may have in common, as men born and reared on the same soil. the very appearance of the two is palpable proof that they are not of the same race. the jew invariably, and unavoidably, holds his "nation" to mean the jewish people, scattered over the world; and is reared in the idea that he is, not only in creed, but in blood, distinct from other men; and that, in blood and creed, he is not to amalgamate with them, let him live where he may. indeed, what england is to an englishman, this universally scattered people is to the jew; what the history of england is to an englishman, the bible is to the jew; his nation being nowhere in particular, but everywhere, while its ultimate destiny he, more or less, believes to be palestine. now, an englishman has not only been born an englishman, but his mind has been cast in a mould that makes him an englishman; so that, to persecute him, on the ground of his being an englishman, is to persecute him for that which can never be changed. it is precisely so with the jew. his creed does not amount to much, for it is only part of the history of his race, or the law of his nation, traced to, and emanating from, one god, and him the true god, as distinguished from the gods and lords many of other nations: such is the nature of the jewish theocracy. to persecute a gipsy, for being a gipsy, would likewise be to persecute him for that which he could not help; for to prevent a person being a gipsy, in the most important sense of the word, it would be necessary to take him, when an infant, and rear him entirely apart from his own race, so that he should never hear the "wonderful story," nor have his mind filled with the gipsy electric fluid. an english gipsy went abroad, very young, as a soldier, and was many years from home, without having had a gipsy companion, so that he had almost forgotten that he was a gipsy; but, on his returning home, other gipsies applied their magnetic battery to him, and gipsyfied him over again. a town gipsy will occasionally send a child to a gipsy hedge-schoolmaster, for the purpose of being extra gipsyfied. the being a gipsy, or a jew, or a gentile, consists in birth and rearing. the three may be born and brought up under one general roof, members of their respective nationalities, yet all good christians. but the jew, by becoming a christian, necessarily cuts himself off from associations with the representative part of his nation; for jews do not tolerate those who forsake the synagogue, and believe in christ, as the messiah having come; however much they may respect their children, who, though born into the christian church, and believing in its doctrines, yet maintain the inherent affection for the associations connected with the race, and more especially if they also occupy distinguished positions in life. so intolerant, indeed, are jews of each other, in the matter of each choosing his own religion, extending sometimes to assassination in some countries, and invariably to the crudest persecutions in families, that they are hardly justified in asking, and scarcely merit, toleration for themselves, as a people, from the nations among whom they live. the present disraeli doubtless holds himself to be a jew, let his creed or christianity be what it may; if he looks at himself in his mirror, he cannot deny it. we have an instance in the cappadoce family becoming, and remaining for several generations, christians, then returning to the synagogue, and, in another generation, joining the christian church. the same vicissitude may attend future generations of this family. there should be no great obstacle in the way of it being allowed to pass current in the world, like any other fact, that a person can be a jew and, at the same time, a christian; as we say that a man can be an englishman and a christian, a mcgregor and a christian, a gipsy and a christian, or a jew and a christian, even should he not know when his ancestors attended the synagogue. christianity was not intended, nor is it capable, to destroy the nationality of jews, as individuals, or as a nation, any more than that of other people. we may even assume that a person, having a jew for one parent, and a christian for another, and professing the christian faith, and having the influences of the jew exercised over him from his infancy, cannot fail, with his blood and, it may be, physiognomy, to have feelings peculiar to the jews; although he may believe them as blind, in the matter of religion, as do other christians. but separate him, after the death of the jewish parent, from all associations with jews, and he may gradually lose those peculiarly jewish feelings that are inseparable from a jewish community, however small it may be. there are, then, no circumstances, out of and independent of himself and the other members of his family, to constitute him a jew; and still less can it be so with his children, when they marry with ordinary christians, and never come in intimate contact with jews. the jewish feeling may be ultimately crossed out in this way; i say ultimately, for it does not take place in the first descent, (and that is as far as my personal knowledge goes,) even although the mother is an ordinary christian, and the children have been brought up exclusively to follow her religion. gipsydom, however, goes with the individual, and keeps itself alive in the family, and the private associations of life, let its creed be what it may; the original cast of mind, words, and signs, always remaining with itself. in this respect, the gipsy differs from every other man. he cannot but know who he is to start life with, nor can he forget it; he has those words and signs within himself which, as he moves about in the world, he finds occasion to use. a jew may boast of the peculiar cast of countenance by which his race is generally characterized, and how his nation is kept together by a common blood, history, and creed. but the phenomenon connected with the history of the gipsy race is more wonderful than that which is connected with the jewish; inasmuch as, let the blood of the gipsy become as much mixed as it may, it always preserves its gipsy identity; although it may not have the least outward resemblance to an original gipsy. you cannot crush or cross out the gipsy race; so thoroughly subtle, so thoroughly adaptable, so thoroughly capable, is it to evade every weapon that can be forged against it. the gipsy soul, in whatever condition it may be found, or whatever may be the tabernacle which it may inhabit, is as independent, now, of those laws which regulate the disappearance of certain races among others, as when it existed in its wild state, roaming over the heath. the gipsy race, in short, absorbs, but cannot be absorbed by, other races. in my associations with gipsies and jews, i find that both races rest upon the same basis, viz.: a question of people. the response of the one, as to who he is, is that he is a gipsy; and of the other, that he is a jew. each of them has a peculiarly original soul, that is perfectly different from each other, and others around them; a soul that passes as naturally and unavoidably into each succeeding generation of the respective races, as does the soul of the english or any other race into each succeeding generation. for each considers his nation as abroad upon the face of the earth; which circumstance will preserve its existence amid all the revolutions to which ordinary nations are subject. as they now exist within, and independent of, the nations among whom they live, so will they endure, if these nations were to disappear under the subjection of other nations, or become incorporated with them under new names. many of the gipsies and jews might perish amid such convulsions, but those that survived would constitute the stock of their respective nations; while others might migrate from other countries, and contribute to their numbers. in the case of the gipsy nation, as it gets crossed with common blood, the issue shows the same result as does the shaking of the needle on the card--it always turns to the pole: that pole, among the gipsies, being a sense of its blood, and a sympathy with the same people in every part of the world. for this reason, the gipsy race, like the jewish, may, with regard to its future, be said to be even eternal. the gipsy soul is fresh and original, not only from its recent appearance in europe, without any traditional knowledge of its existence anywhere else, but from having sprung from so singular an origin as a tent; so that the mystery that attaches to it, from those causes, and the contemplation of the gipsy, in his original state, to-day, present to the gipsy that fascination for his own history which the jew finds in the antiquity of his race, and the exalted privileges with which it was at one time visited. the civilized gipsy looks upon his ancestors, as they appeared in europe generally, and scotland especially, as great men, as heroes who scorned the company of anything below a gentleman. and he is not much out of the way; for john faw, and towla bailyow, and the others mentioned in the act of , were unquestionably heroes of the first water. he pictures to himself these men as so many swarthy, slashing heroes, dressed in scarlet and green, armed with pistols and broad-swords, mounted on blood-horses, with hawks and hounds in their train. true to nature, every gipsy is delighted with his descent, no matter what other people, in their ignorance of the subject, may think of it, or what their prejudices may be in regard to it. one of the principal differences to be drawn between the history of the gipsies and that of the jews, is, as i have already stated, that the jews left palestine a civilized people, while the gipsies entered europe, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, in a barbarous state. but the difference is only of a relative nature; for when the gipsies emerge from their original condition, they occupy as good positions in the world as the jews; while they have about them none of those outward peculiarities of the jews, that make them, in a manner, offensive to other people. in every sense but that of belonging to the gipsy tribe, they are ordinary natives; for the circumstances that have formed the characters of the ordinary natives have formed theirs. besides this, there is a degree of dignity about the general bearing of such people, rough as it sometimes is, that plainly shows that they are no common fellows, at least that they do not hold themselves to be such. for it is to be remarked, that such people do not directly apply to themselves the prejudice which exists towards what the world understands to be gipsies; however much they may infer that such would be directed against them, should the world discover that they belonged to the tribe. in this respect, they differ from jews, all of whom apply to themselves the prejudice of the rest of their species; which exercises so depressing an influence upon the character of a people. indeed, one will naturally look for certain general superior points of character in a man who has fairly emerged from a wild and barbarous state, which he will not be so apt to find in another who has fallen from a higher position in the scale of nations, which the jew has unquestionably done. a jew, no matter what he thinks of the long-gone-by history of his race, looks upon it, now, as a fallen people; while the gipsy has that subdued but, at heart, consequential, extravagance of ideas, springing from the wild independence and vanity of his ancestors, which frequently finds a vent in a lavish and foolish expenditure, so as not to be behind others in his liberality. a very good idea of such a cast of character may be formed from that of the superior class of gipsies mentioned by our author, when the descendants of such have been brought up under more favourable circumstances, and enjoyed all the advantages of the ordinary natives of the country. in considering the phenomenon of the existence of the jews since the dispersion, i am not inclined to place it on any other basis than i would that of the gipsies; for, with both, it is substantially a question of people. they are a people, scattered over the world, like the gipsies, and have a history--the bible, which contains both their history and their laws; and these two contain their religion. it would, perhaps, be more correct to say, that the religion of the jews is to be found in the talmud, and the other human compositions, for which the race have such a superstitious reverence; and even these are taken as interpreted by the rabbis. a jew has, properly speaking, little of a creed. he believes in the existence of god, and in moses, his prophet, and observes certain parts of the ceremonial law, and some holidays, commemorative of events in the history of his people. he is a jew, in the first place, as a simple matter of fact, and, as he grows up, he is made acquainted with the history of his race, to which he becomes strongly attached. he then holds himself to be one of the "first-born of the lord," one of the "chosen of the eternal," one of the "lord's aristocracy;" expressions of amazing import, in his worldly mind, that will lead him to almost die for his _faith_; while his _religion_ is of a very low natural order, "standing only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances," suitable for a people in a state of pupilage. the jewish mind, in the matter of religion, is, in some respects, preëminently gross and material in its nature; its idea of a messiah rising no higher than a conqueror of its own race, who will bring the whole world under his sway, and parcel out, among his fellow-jews, a lion's share of the spoils, consisting of such things as the inferior part of human nature so much craves for. and his ideas of how this messiah is to be connected with the original tribes, as mentioned in the prophecies, are childish and superstitious in the extreme. writers do, therefore, greatly err, when they say, that it is only a thin partition that separates judaism from christianity. there is almost as great a difference between the two, as there is between that which is material, and that which is spiritual. a jew is so thoroughly bound, heart and soul, by the spell which the phenomena of his race exert upon him, that, humanly speaking, it is impossible to make anything of him in the matter of christianity. and herein, in his own way of thinking, consists his peculiar glory. such being the case with christianity, it is not to be supposed that the jew would forsake his own religion, and, of course, his own people, and believe in any religion having an origin in the spontaneous and gradual growth of superstition and imposture, modified, systematized, adorned, or expanded, by ambitious and superior minds, or almost wholly in the conceptions of these minds; having, for a foundation, an instinct--an intellectual and emotional want--as common to man, as instinct is to the brute creation, for the ends which it has to serve. we cannot separate the questions of race and belief, when we consider the jews as a people, however it might be with individuals among them. it was as unreasonable to persecute a jew, for not giving up his feelings as a jew, and his religion, for the superstitions and impostures of rome, as it was to persecute a gipsy, for not giving up his feelings of nationality, and his language, as was specially attempted by charles iii., of spain: for such are inherent in the respective races. the worst that can be said of any gipsy, in the matter of religion, is, when we meet with one who admits that all that he really cares for is, "to get a good belly-full, and to feel comfortable o' nights." here, we have an original soil to be cultivated; a soil that can be cultivated, if we only go the right way about doing it. out of such a man, there is no other spirit to be cast, but that of "the world, the flesh, and the devil," before another can take up its habitation in his mind. bigoted as is the jew against even entertaining the claims of christ, as the messiah, he is very indifferent to the practice, or even the knowledge, of his own religion, where he is tolerated and well-treated, as in the united states of america. of the growing-up, or even the grown-up, jews in that country, the ultra-jewish organ, the "jewish messenger," of new york, under date the th october, , says that, "with the exception of a very few, who are really taught their religion, the great majority, we regret to state, know no more of their faith than the veriest heathen:" and, i might add, practise less of it; for, as a people, they pay very little regard to it, in general, or to the sabbath, in particular, but are characterized as worldly beyond measure; having more to answer for than the gipsy, whose sole care is "a good meal, and a comfortable crib at night."[ ] [ ] the following extract from "leaves from the diary of a jewish minister," published in the above-mentioned journal, on the th april, , may not be uninteresting to the christian reader: "in our day, the conscience of israel is seldom troubled; it is of so elastic a character, that, like gutta percha, it stretches and is compressed, according to the desire of its owner. we seldom hear of a troubled conscience. . . . . not that we would assert that our people are without a conscience; we merely state that we seldom hear of its troubles. it is more than probable, that when the latent feeling is aroused on matters of religion, and for a moment they have an idea that 'their soul is not well,' they take a hom[oe]opathic dose of spiritual medicine, and then feel quite convalescent." amid all the obloquy and contempt cast upon his race, amid all the persecutions to which it has been exposed, the jew, with his inherent conceit in having abraham for his father, falls back upon the history of his nation, with the utmost contempt for everything else that is human; forgetting that there is such a thing as the "first being last." he boasts that his race, and his only, is eternal, and that all other men get everything from _him_! he vainly imagines that the majesty of heaven should have made his dispensations to mankind conditional upon anything so unworthy as his race has so frequently shown itself to be. if he has been so favoured by god, what can he point to as the fruits of so much loving-kindness shown him? what is his nation now, however numerous it may be, but a ruin, and its members, but spectres that haunt it? and what has brought it to its present condition? "its sins." doubtless, its sins; but what particular sins? and how are these sins to be put away, seeing that the temple, the high-priesthood, and the sacrifices no longer exist? or what effort, by such means as offer, has ever been made to mitigate the wrath of god, and prevail upon him to restore the people to their exalted privileges? or what could they even propose doing, to bring about that event? questions like these involve the jewish mind in a labyrinth of difficulties, from which it cannot extricate itself. the dispersion was not only foretold, but the cause of it given. the scriptures declare that the messiah was to have appeared before the destruction of the temple; and the time of his expected advent, according to jewish traditions, coincided with that event. it is eighteen centuries since the destruction of the temple, before which the messiah was to have come; and the jew still "hopes against hope," and, if it is left to himself, will do so till the day of judgment, for such a messiah as his earthly mind seems to be only capable of contemplating. has he never read the new testament, and reflected on the sufferings of him who was meek and lowly, or on those of his disciples, inflicted by his ancestors, for generations, when he has come complaining of the sufferings to which his race has been exposed? he is entitled to sympathy, for all the cruelties with which his race has been visited; but he could ask it with infinitely greater grace, were he to offer any for the sufferings of the early christians and their divine master, or were he, even, to tolerate any of his race following him to-day. what has the jew got to say to all this? he cannot now say that his main comfort and support, in his unbelief, consists in his contemplating what he vainly calls a miracle, wrapt up in the history of his people, since the dispersion. that prop and comfort are gone. no, o jew! the true miracle, if miracle there is, is your impenitent unbelief. no one asks you to disbelieve in moses, but, in addition to believing in moses, to believe in him of whom moses wrote. do you really believe in moses? you, doubtless, believe after a sort; you believe in moses, as any other person believes in the history of his own country and people; but your belief in moses goes little further. you glory in the antiquity of your race, and imagine that every other has perished. no, o jew! the "mixed multitude" which left egypt, under moses, separated from him, and passed into india, has come up, in these latter times, again to vex you. even it is entering, it may be, pressing, into the kingdom of god, and leaving you out of it. yes! the people from the "hedges and by-ways" are submitting to the authority of the true messiah; while you, in your infatuated blindness, are denying him. what may be termed the philosophy of the gipsies, is very simple in itself, when we have before us its main points, its principles, its bearings, its genius; and fully appreciated the circumstances with which the people are surrounded. the most remarkable thing about the subject is, that people never should have dreamt of its nature, but, on the contrary, believed that "the gipsies are gradually disappearing, and will soon become extinct." the gipsies have always been disappearing, but where do they go to? look at any tent of gipsies, when the family are all together, and see how prolific they are. what, then, becomes of this encrease? the present work answers the question. it is a subject, however, which i have found some difficulty in getting people to understand. one cannot see how a person can be a gipsy, "because his father was a respectable man;" another, "because his father was an old soldier;" and another cannot see "how it necessarily follows that a person is a gipsy, for the reason that his parents were gipsies." the idea, as disconnected from the use of a tent, or following a certain kind of life, may be said to be strange to the world; and, on that account, is not very easily impressed on the human mind. it would be singular, however, if a scotchman, after all that has been said, should not be able to understand what is meant by the scottish gipsy tribe, or that it should ever cease to be that tribe as it progresses in life. in considering the subject, he need not cast about for much to look at, for he should exercise his mind, rather than his eyes, when he approaches it. it is, principally, a mental phenomenon, and should, therefore, be judged of by the faculties of the mind: for a gipsy may not differ a whit from an ordinary native, in external appearance or character, while, in his mind, he may be as thorough a gipsy as one could well imagine. in contemplating the subject of the gipsies, we should have a regard for the facts of the question, and not be led by what we might, or might not, imagine of it; for the latter course would be characteristic of people having the moral and intellectual traits of children. the race might, to a certain extent, be judged analogously, by what we know of other races; but that which is pre-eminently necessary, is to judge of it by facts: for facts, in a matter like this, take precedence of everything. even in regard to the gipsy language, broken as it is, people are very apt to say that it _cannot_ exist at the present day; yet the least reflection will convince us, that the language which the gipsies use is the remains of that which they brought with them into europe, and not a make-up, to serve their purposes. the very genius peculiar to them, as an oriental people, is a sufficient guarantee of this fact; and the more so from their having been so thoroughly separated, by the prejudice of caste, from others around them; which would so naturally lead them to use, and retain, their peculiar speech. but the use of the gipsy language is not the only, not even the principal, means of maintaining a knowledge of being gipsies; perhaps it is altogether unnecessary; for the mere consciousness of the fact of being gipsies, transmitted from generation to generation, and made the basis of marriages, and the intimate associations of life, is, in itself, perfectly sufficient. the subject of two distinct races, existing upon the same soil, is not very familiar to the mind of a british subject. to acquire a knowledge of such a phenomenon, he should visit certain parts of europe, or asia, or africa, or the new world. since all (i may say all) gipsies hide the knowledge of their being gipsies from the other inhabitants, as they leave the tent, it cannot be said that any of them really deny themselves, even should they hide themselves from those of their own race. the ultimate test of a person being a gipsy would be for another to catch the internal response of his mind to the question put to him as to the fact; or observe the workings of his heart in his contemplations of himself. it can hardly be said that any gipsy denies, at heart, the fact of his being a gipsy, (which, indeed, is a contradiction in terms,) let him disguise it from others as much as he may. if i could find such a man, he would be the only one of his race whom i would feel inclined to despise as such. from all that has been said, the reader can have no difficulty in believing, with me, as a question beyond doubt, that the immortal john bunyan was a gipsy of mixed blood. he was a tinker. and who were the tinkers? were there any itinerant tinkers in england, before the gipsies settled there? it is doubtful. in all likelihood, articles requiring to be tinkered were carried to the nearest smithy. the gipsies are all tinkers, either literally, figuratively, or representatively. ask any english gipsy, of a certain class, what he can do, and, after enumerating several occupations, he will add: "i can tinker, of course," although he may know little or nothing about it. tinkering, or travelling-smith work, is the gipsy's representative business, which he brought with him into europe. even the intelligent and respectable scottish gipsies speak of themselves as belonging to the "tinker tribe." the gipsies in england, as in scotland, divided the country among themselves, under representative chiefs, and did not allow any other gipsies to enter upon their walks or beats. considering that the gipsies in england were estimated at above ten thousand during the early part of the reign of queen elizabeth, we can readily believe that they were much more numerous during the time of bunyan. was there, therefore, a pot or a kettle, in the rural parts of england, to be mended, for which there was not a gipsy ready to attend to it? if a gipsy would not tolerate any of his own race entering upon his district, was he likely to allow any native? if there were native tinkers in england before the gipsies settled there, how soon would the latter, with their organization, drive every one from the trade by sheer force! what thing more like a gipsy? among the scotch, we find, at a comparatively recent time, that the gipsies actually murdered a native, for infringing upon what they considered one of their prerogatives--that of gathering rags through the country. lord macaulay says, with reference to bunyan: "the tinkers then formed a hereditary caste, which was held in no high estimation. they were generally vagrants and pilferers, and were often confounded with the gipsies, whom, in truth, they nearly resembled." i would like to know on what authority his lordship makes such an assertion; what he knows about the origin of this "_hereditary_ tinker caste," and if it still exists; and whether he holds to the purity-of-gipsy-blood idea, advanced by the edinburgh review and blackwood's magazine, but especially the former. how would he account for the existence of a hereditary caste of any kind, in england, and that just one--the "tinker caste"? there was no calling at that time hereditary in england, that i know of; and yet bunyan was born a tinker. in scotland, the collier and salter castes were hereditary, for they were in a state of slavery to the owners of these works.[ ] but who ever heard of any native occupation, so free as tinkering, being hereditary in england, in the seventeenth century? was not this "tinker caste," at that time, exactly the same that it is now? if it was then hereditary, is it not so still? if not, by what means has it ceased to be hereditary? the tinkers existed in england, at that time, exactly as they do now. and who are they now but mixed gipsies? it is questionable, very questionable indeed, if we will find, in all england, a tinker who is not a gipsy. the class will deny it; the purer and more original kind of gipsies will also deny it; still, they are gipsies. they are all _chabos_, _calos_, or _chals_; but they will play upon the word gipsy in its ideal, purity-of-blood sense, and deny that they are gipsies. we will find in lavengro two such gipsies--the flaming tinman, and jack slingsby; the first, a half-blood, (which did not necessarily imply that either parent was white;) and the other, apparently, a very much mixed gipsy. the tinman termed slingsby a "mumping villain." now, "mumper," among the english gipsies, is an expression for a gipsy whose blood is very much mixed. when mr. borrow used the word _petulengro_,[ ] slingsby started, and exclaimed: "young man, you know a thing or two." i have used the same word with english gipsies, causing the same surprise; on one occasion, i was told: "you must be a scotch gipsy yourself." "well," i replied, "i may be as good a gipsy as any of you, for anything you may know." "that may be so," was the answer i got. then slingsby was very careful to mention to lavengro that his _wife_ was a white, or christian, woman; a thing not necessarily true because he asserted it, but it implied that _he_ was different. these are but instances of, i might say, all the english tinkers. almost every old countrywoman about the scottish border knows that the scottish tinkers are gipsies.[ ] [ ] see pages and . [ ] _petul_, according to mr. borrow, means a horse-shoe; and _petulengro_, a lord of the horse-shoe. it is evidently a very high catch-word among the english gipsies. [ ] various of the characters mentioned in mr. borrow's "lavengro," and "romany rye," are, beyond doubt, gipsies. old fulcher is termed, in a derisive manner, by ursula, "a _gorgio_ and basket-maker." she is one of the hernes; a family which _gorgio_ and basket-maker gipsies describe as "an ignorant, conceited set, who think nothing of other gipsies, owing to the quality and quantity of their own blood." this is the manner in which the more original and pure and the other kind of english gipsies frequently talk of each other. the latter will deny that they are gipsies, at least hide it from the world; and, like the same kind of scottish gipsies, speak of the others, exclusively, as gipsies. i am acquainted with a fair-haired english gipsy, whose wife, now dead, was a half-breed. "but i am not a gipsy," said he to me, very abruptly, before i had said anything that could have induced him to think that i took him for one. he spoke gipsy, like the others. i soon caught him tripping; for, in speaking of the size of gipsy families, he slipped his foot, and said: "for example, there is our family; there were (so many) of us." there is another gipsy, a neighbour, who passes his wife off to the public as an irish woman, while she is a fair-haired irish gipsy. both, in short, played upon the word gipsy; for, as regards fullness of blood, they really were not gipsies. the dialogue between the romany rye and the horncastle jockey clearly shows the gipsy in the latter, when his attention is directed to the figure of the hungarian. the romany rye makes indirect reference to the gipsies, and the jockey abruptly asks: "who be they? come, don't be ashamed. i have occasionally kept queerish company myself." "romany _chals_! whew! i begin to smell a rat." the remainder of the dialogue, and the _spree_ which follows, are perfectly gipsy throughout, on the part of the jockey; but, like so many of his race, he is evidently ashamed to own himself up to be "one of them." he says, in a way as if he were a stranger to the language: "and what a singular language they have got!" "do you know anything of it?" said the romany rye. "only a very few words; they were always chary in teaching me any." he said he was brought up with the _gorgio_ and basket-maker fulcher, who followed the caravan. he is described as dressed in a coat of green, (a favourite gipsy colour,) and as having curly brown or black hair; and he says of mary fulcher, whom he married: "she had a fair complexion, and nice red hair, both of which i liked, being a bit of a black myself." how much this is in keeping with the gipsies, who so frequently speak of each other, in a jocular way, as "brown and black rascals!" i likewise claim isopel berners, in lavengro, to be a _thumping_ gipsy lass, who travelled the country with her donkey-cart, taking her own part, and _wapping_ this one, and _wapping_ that one. it signifies not what her appearance was. i have frequently taken tea, at her house, with a young, blue-eyed, english gipsy widow, perfectly english in her appearance, who spoke gipsy freely enough. it did not signify what isopel said of herself, or her relations. how did she come to speak gipsy? do gipsies _teach_ their language to _strangers_, and, more especially, to strange women? assuredly not. suppose that isopel was not a gipsy, but had married a gipsy, then i could understand how she might have known gipsy, and yet not have been a gipsy, except by initiation. but it is utterly improbable that she, a strange woman, should have been taught a word of it. in england are to be found gipsies of many occupations; horse-dealers, livery stable-keepers, public-house keepers, sometimes grocers and linen-drapers; indeed, almost every occupation from these downwards. i can readily enough believe an english gipsy, when he tells me, that he knows of an english squire a gipsy. to have an english squire a gipsy, might have come about even in this way: imagine a rollicking or eccentric english squire taking up with, and marrying, say, a pretty mixed gipsy bar or lady's maid, and the children would be brought up gipsies, for certainty. there are two gipsies, of the name of b----, farmers upon the estate of lord lister, near massingham, in the county of norfolk. they are described as good-sized, handsome men, and swarthy, with long black hair, combed over their shoulders. they dress in the old gipsy stylish fashion, with a green cut-away, or newmarket, coat, yellow leather breeches, buttoned to the knee, and top boots, with a gipsy hat, ruffled breast, and turned-down collar. they occupy the position of any natives in society; attend church, take an interest in parish matters, dine with his lordship's other tenants, and compete for prizes at the agricultural shows. they are proud of being gipsies. i have also been told that there are gipsies in the county of kent, who have hop farms and dairies. the prejudice against the name of gipsy was apparently as great in bunyan's time as in our own; and there was, evidently, as great a timidity, on the part of mixed, fair-haired gipsies, to own the blood then, as now; and great danger, for then it was hangable to be a gipsy, by the law of queen elizabeth, and "felony without benefit of clergy," for "any person, being fourteen years, whether natural born subject or stranger, who had been seen in the fellowship of such persons, or disguised like them, and remained with them one month, at once, or at several times." when the name of gipsy, and every association connected with it, were so severely proscribed by law, what other name would the tribe go under but that of tinkers--their own proper occupation? those only would be called gipsies whose appearance indicated the pure, or nearly pure, gipsy. although there was no necessity, under any circumstances, for bunyan to say that he was a gipsy, and still less in the face of the law proscribing, so absolutely, the race, and every one countenancing it, he evidently wished the fact to be understood, or, i should rather say, took it for granted, that part of the public knew of it, when he said: "for my descent, it was, as is well known to many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all the families of the land." of whom does bunyan speak here, if not of the gipsies? he says, of _all_ the families of the land. and he adds: "after i had been thus for some considerable time, another thought came into my mind, and that was, whether we, (his family and relatives,) were of the israelites or no? for, finding in the scriptures, that they were once the peculiar people of god, thought i, if i were one of this race, (how significant is the expression!) my soul must needs be happy. now, again, i found within me a great longing to be resolved about this question, but could not tell how i should; at last, i asked my father of it, who told me, no, we, (his father included,) were not."[ ] i have heard the same question put by gipsy lads to their parent, (a very much mixed gipsy,) and it was answered thus: "we must have been among the jews, for some of our ceremonies are like theirs." the best commentary that can be passed on the above extracts from bunyan's autobiography, will be found in our author's account of his visit to the old gipsy chief, whose acquaintance he made at st. boswell's fair, and to which the reader is referred, (pages - .) when did we ever hear of an _ordinary englishman_ taking so much trouble to ascertain whether he was a _jew_, or not? no englishman, it may be safely asserted, ever does that, or has ever done it; and no one in england could have done it, during bunyan's time, but a gipsy. bunyan seems to have been more or less acquainted with the history of the jews, and how they were scattered over the world, though not publicly known to be in england, from which country they had been for centuries banished. about the time in question, the re-admission of the jews was much canvassed in ecclesiastical as well as political circles, and ultimately carried, by the exertions of manasseh ben israel, of amsterdam. under these circumstances, it was very natural for bunyan to ask himself whether he belonged to the jewish race, since he had evidently never seen a jew; and that the more especially, as the scottish gipsies have even believed themselves to be ethiopians. such a question is entertained, by the gipsies, even at the present day; for they naturally think of the jews, and wonder whether, after all, their race may not, at some time, have been connected with them. how trifling it is for any one to assert, that bunyan--a common native of england--while in a state of spiritual excitement, imagined that he was a jew, and that he should, at a mature age, have put anything so absurd in his autobiography, and in so grave a manner as he did! [ ] bunyan adds: "but, notwithstanding the meanness and inconsiderableness of my parents, it pleased god to put it into their hearts to put me to school, to learn me both to read and write; the which i also attained, according to the rate of other poor men's children." he does not say, "according to the rate of poor men's children," but of "_other_ poor men's children:" a form of expression always used by the gipsies when speaking of themselves, as distinguished from others. the language used by bunyan, in speaking of his family, was in harmony with that of the population at large; but he, doubtless, had the feelings peculiar to all the tribe, with reference to their origin and race. southey, in his life of bunyan, writes: "wherefore this (tinkering) should have been so mean and despised a calling, is not, however, apparent, when it was not followed as a vagabond employment, but, as in this case, exercised by one who had a settled habitation, and who, mean as his condition was, was nevertheless able to put his son to school, in an age when very few of the poor were taught to read and write." the fact is, that bunyan's father had, apparently, a town beat, which would give him a settled residence, prevent him using a tent, and lead him to conform with the ways of the ordinary inhabitants; but, doubtless, he had his pass from the chief of the gipsies for the district. the same may be said of john bunyan himself. how little does a late writer in the dublin university magazine know of the feelings of a mixed gipsy, like bunyan, when he says: "did he belong to the gipsies, we have little doubt that he would have dwelt on it, with a sort of spiritual exultation; and that of his having been called out of egypt would have been to him one of the proofs of divine favour. we cannot imagine him suppressing the fact, or disguising it." where is the point in the reviewer's remarks? his remarks have no point. how could the fact of a man being a gipsy be made the grounds of any kind of spiritual exultation? and how could the fact of the tribe originating in egypt be a proof of divine favour towards the individual? what occasion had bunyan to mention he was a gipsy? what purpose would it have served? how would it have advanced his mission as a minister? considering the prejudice that has always existed against that unfortunate word gipsy, it would have created a sensation among all parties, if bunyan had said that he was a gipsy. "what!" the people would have asked, "a _gipsy_ turned priest? we'll have the devil turning priest next!" considering the many enemies which the tinker-bishop had to contend with, some of whom even sought his life, he would have given them a pretty occasion of revenging themselves upon him, had he said he was a gipsy. they would have put the law in force, and stretched his neck for him.[ ] the same writer goes on to say: "in one passage at least--and we think there are more in bunyan's works--the gipsies are spoken of in such a way as would be most unlikely if bunyan thought he belonged to that class of vagabonds." i am not aware as to what the reviewer alludes; but, should bunyan even have denounced the conduct of the gipsies, in the strongest terms imaginable, would that have been otherwise than what he did with sinners generally? should a clergyman denounce the ways and morals of every man of his parish, does that make him think less of being a native of the parish himself? should a man even denounce his children as vagabonds, does that prevent him being their father? this writer illustrates what i have said of people generally--that they are almost incapable of forming an opinion on the gipsy question, unaided by facts, and the bearings of facts, laid before them; so thoroughly is the philosophy of race, as it progresses and develops, unknown to the public mind, and so absolute is the prejudice of caste against the gipsy race.[ ] [ ] justice keeling threatened bunyan with this fate, even for preaching; for said he: "if you do not submit to go to hear divine service, and leave your preaching, you must be banished the realm: and if, after such a day as shall be appointed you to be gone, you shall be found in this realm, or be found to come over again, without special license from the king, you must stretch by the neck for it. i tell you plainly." sir matthew hale tells us that, on one occasion, at the suffolk assizes, no less than thirteen gipsies were executed, under the old gipsy statutes, a few years before the restoration. [ ] perhaps the following passage is the one alluded to by this writer: "i often, when these temptations had been with force upon me, did compare myself to the case of such a child, whom some gipsy hath by force took up in her arms, and is carrying from friend and country." _grace abounding._ the use of a simile like this confirms the fact that bunyan belonged to the tribe, rather than that he did not; unless we can imagine that gipsies, when candid, do not what every other race has done--admit the peculiarities of theirs, while in a previous and barbarous state of existence. his admission confirms a fact generally believed, but sometimes denied, as in the case of the writer in blackwood's magazine, mentioned at page . bunyan, doubtless, "dwelt on it with a sort of spiritual exultation," that he should have been "called"--not "out of egypt," but--"out of the tribe," when, possibly, no others of it, to his knowledge, had been so privileged; but it was, certainly, "most unlikely" he would say that "he belonged to that class of vagabonds." i need hardly say anything further to show that bunyan was a gipsy. the only circumstance that is wanting to complete the evidence, would be for him to have added to his account of his descent: "in other words, i am a gipsy." but i have given reasons for such verbal admission being, in a measure, impossible. i do not ask for an argument in favour of bunyan not being a gipsy, but a common englishman; for an argument of that kind, beyond such remarks as i have commented on, is impracticable; but what i ask for is, an exposition of the animus of the man who does not wish that he should have been a gipsy; assuming that a man can be met with, who will so far forget what is due to the dignity of human nature, as to commit himself in any such way. that bunyan was a gipsy is beyond a doubt. that he is a gipsy, now, in abraham's bosom, the christian may readily believe. to the genius of a gipsy and the grace of god combined, the world is indebted for the noblest production that ever proceeded from an uninspired man. impugn it whoso list. of the pilgrim's progress, lord macaulay, in his happy manner, writes: "for magnificence, for pathos, for vehement exhortation, for subtle disquisition, for every purpose of the poet, the orator, and the divine, this homely dialect--the dialect of plain working men--was perfectly sufficient. there is no book in our literature on which we would so readily stake the fame of the old, unpolluted, english language," as the pilgrim's progress; "no book which shows, so well, how rich that language is in its own proper wealth, and how little it has been improved by all that it has borrowed." "though there were many clever men in england, during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two great creative minds. one of these minds produced the paradise lost; the other, the pilgrim's progress"--the work of an english tinkering gipsy. it is very singular that religious writers should strive to make out that bunyan was not a gipsy. if these writers really have the glory of god at heart, they should rather attempt to prove that he was a member of this race, which has been so much despised. for, thereby, the grace of god would surely be the more magnified. have they never heard that jesus christ came into the world to preach the gospel to the poor, to break the chains of the oppressed, and raise up the bowed-down? have they never heard that the poor publican who, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast, and exclaimed: "god be merciful to me, a sinner," went down justified rather than him who gave thanks for his not being like other men, or even as that publican? have they never heard that god hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and things which are despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence? i shall wait, with considerable curiosity, to see whether the next editor, or biographer, of this illustrious gipsy will take any notice of the present work; or whether he will dispose of it somewhat in this strain: "one of bunyan's modern reviewers, by a strange mistake, construes his self-disparaging admissions to mean that he was the offspring of gipsies!" sir walter scott admits that bunyan was most probably a "gipsy reclaimed;" and mr. offor, that "his father must have been a gipsy."[ ] but, with these exceptions, i know not if any writer upon bunyan has more than hinted at the possibility of even a connexion between him and the gipsies. it is very easy to account for all this, by the ignorance of the world in regard to the gipsy tribe, but, above all, by the extreme prejudice of caste which is entertained against it. does caste exist nowhere but in india? does an englishman feel curious to know what caste can mean? in few parts of the world does caste reign so supreme, as it does in great britain, towards the gipsy nation. what is it but the prejudice of caste that has prevented the world from acknowledging bunyan to have been a gipsy? the evidence of the fact of his having been a gipsy is positive enough. will any one say that he does not believe that bunyan meant to convey to the world a knowledge of the fact of his being a gipsy? or that he does not believe that the tinkers are gipsies? has any writer on bunyan ever taken the trouble to ascertain who the tinkers really are; and that, in consequence of his investigations, he has come to the conclusion that they are _not_ gipsies? if no writer on the subject of the illustrious dreamer has ever taken that trouble, to what must we attribute the fact but the prejudice of caste? it is caste, and nothing but caste. what is it but the prejudice of caste that has led lord macaulay to invent his story about the tinkers? for what he says of the tinkers is a pure invention, or, at best, a delusion, on his part. what is it but the prejudice of caste that has prevented others from saying, plainly, that bunyan was a gipsy? it would be more manly if they were to leave bunyan alone, than receive his works, and damn the man, that is, his blood. it places them on the level of boors, when they allow themselves to be swayed by the prejudices that govern boors. when they speak of, or write about, bunyan, let them exercise common honesty, and receive both the man and the man's works: let them not be guilty of petit larceny, or rather, great robbery, in the matter. [ ] it is interesting to notice what these two writers say. if bunyan's father was a gipsy, we may reasonably assume that his mother was one likewise; and, consequently, that bunyan was one himself, or as sir walter scott expresses it--a "gipsy reclaimed." a gipsy being a question of race, and not a matter of habits, it should be received as one of the simplest of elementary truths, that once a gipsy, always a gipsy. we naturally ask, why has not the fact of bunyan having been a gipsy stood on record, for the last two centuries? and, echo answers, why? southey, in his life of bunyan, writes: "john bunyan has faithfully recorded his own spiritual history. had he dreamed of being 'forever known,' and taking his place among those who may be called the immortals of the earth, he would probably have introduced more details of his temporal circumstances, and the events of his life. but, glorious dreamer as he was, this never entered into his imagination.[ ] less concerning him than might have been expected has been preserved by those of his own sect; and it is not likely that anything more should be recovered from oblivion." remarks like these come with a singular grace from a man with so many prejudices as southey. john bunyan has told us as much of his history _as he dared to do_. it was a subject upon which, in some respects, he doubtless maintained a great reserve; for it cannot be supposed that a man occupying so prominent and popular a position, as a preacher and writer, and of so singular an origin, should have had no investigations made into his history, and that of his family; if not by his friends, at least, by his enemies, who seemed to have been capable of doing anything to injure and discredit him. but, very probably, his being a tinker was, with friends and enemies, a circumstance so altogether discreditable, as to render any investigation of the kind perfectly superfluous. in mentioning that much of himself which he did, bunyan doubtless imagined that the world understood, or would have understood, what he meant, and would, sooner or later, acknowledge the race to which he belonged. and yet it has remained in this unacknowledged state for two centuries since his time. how unreasonable it is to imagine that bunyan should have said, in as many words, that he was a gipsy, when the world generally is so apt to become fired with indignation, should we _now_ say that he was one of the race. how applicable are the words of his wife, to sir matthew hale, to the people of the present day: "because he is a tinker, and a poor man, he is despised, and cannot have justice." [ ] although bunyan probably never anticipated being held in high estimation by what are termed the "great ones" of the earth, yet what southey has said cannot be predicated of him, if we consider the singularity of his origin and history, and the popularity which he enjoyed, as author of the pilgrim's progress; a work affecting the mind of man in every age of the world. of this work bunyan writes: "my pilgrim's book has travelled sea and land, yet could i never come to understand that it was slighted, or turned out of door, by any kingdom, were they rich or poor. in france and flanders, where men kill each other, my pilgrim is esteemed a friend, a brother. in holland, too, 'tis said, as i am told, my pilgrim is, with some, worth more than gold. highlanders and wild irish can agree my pilgrim should familiar with them be. 'tis in new england under such advance, receives there so much loving countenance, as to be trimmed, new clothed, and decked with gems, that it may show its features, and its limbs. yet more, so public doth my pilgrim walk, that of him thousands daily sing and talk." had southey exercised that common sense which is the inheritance of most of englishmen, and divested himself of this prejudice of caste, which is likewise their inheritance, he never could have had any difficulty in forming a proper idea of bunyan, and everything concerning him. and the same may be said of any person at the present day. john bunyan was simply a gipsy of mixed blood, who must have spoken the gipsy language in great purity; for, considering the extent to which it is spoken in england, to-day, we can well believe that it was very pure two centuries ago, and that bunyan might have written works even in that language. but such is the childish prejudice against the name of gipsy, such the silly incredulity towards the subject, that, in great britain, and, i am sorry to say, with some people in america, one has nearly as much difficulty in persuading others to believe in it, as st. paul had in inducing the greeks to believe in the resurrection of the dead. why seemeth it unto thee incredible that bunyan was a gipsy? or that bunyan's race should now be found in every town, in every village, and, perhaps, in every hamlet, in scotland, and in every sphere of life?[ ] [ ] bunsen writes: "sound judgment is displayed rather in an aptness for believing what is historical, than in a readiness at denying it. . . . . . shallow minds have a decided propensity to fall into the latter error. incapability of believing on evidence is the last form of the intellectual imbecility of an enervated age." a writer who contributes frequently to "notes and queries," after stating that he has read the works of grellmann and hoyland on the gipsies, adds: "my conclusion is that the tribes have no more right to nationality, race, blood, or language, than the london thieves have--with their slang, some words of which may have their origin in the hebrew, from their dealings with the lowest order of jews." to a candid and unprejudiced person, it should afford a relief, in thinking of the immortal dreamer, that he should have been a member of this singular race, emerging from a state of comparative barbarism, and struggling upwards, amid so many difficulties, rather than he should have been of the very lowest of our own race; for in that case, there is an originality and dignity connected with him personally, that could not well attach to him, in the event of his having belonged to the dregs of the common natives. beyond being a gipsy, it is impossible to say what his pedigree really was. his grandfather might have been an ordinary native, even of fair birth, who, in a thoughtless moment, might have "gone off with the gipsies;" or his ancestor, on the native side of the house, might have been one of the "many english loiterers" who joined the gipsies on their arrival in england, when they were "esteemed and held in great admiration;" or he might have been a kidnapped infant; or such a "foreign tinker" as is alluded to in the spanish gipsy edicts, and in the act of queen elizabeth, in which mention is made of "strangers," as distinguished from natural born subjects, being with the gipsies. the last is most probable, as the name, _bunyan_, would seem to be of foreign origin. it is, therefore, very likely, that there was not a drop of common english blood in bunyan's veins. john bunyan belongs to the world at large, and england is only entitled to the credit of the formation of his character. be all that as it may, bunyan's father seems to have been a superior, and therefore important, man in the tribe, from the feet, as southey says, of his having "put his son to school in an age when very few of the poor were taught to read and write." the world never can do justice to bunyan, unless it takes him up as a gipsy; nor can the christian, unless he considers him as being a gipsy, in abraham's bosom. his biographers have not, even in one instance, done justice to him; for, while it is altogether out of the question to call him the "wicked tinker," the "depraved bunyan," it is unreasonable to style him a "blackguard," as southey has done. he might have been a blackguard in that sense in which a youth, in a village, is termed a "young blackguard," for being the ringleader among the boys; or on account of his wearing a ragged coat, and carrying a hairy wallet on his shoulder, which, in a conventional sense, constitute any man, in great britain, a blackguard. bunyan's sins were confined to swearing, cursing, blaspheming, and lying; and were rather intensely manifested by the impetuosity of his character, or vividly described by the sincerity of his piety, and the liveliness of his genius, than deeply rooted in his nature; for he shook off the habit of swearing, (and, doubtless, that of lying,) on being severely reproved for it, by a loose and ungodly woman. three of the kindred vices mentioned, (and, we might add the fourth, lying,) more frequently proceed from the influence of bad example and habit, than from anything inherently vicious, in a youth with so many of the good points which characterized bunyan. his youth was even marked by a tender conscience, and a strong moral feeling; for thus he speaks of himself in "grace abounding:" "but this i well remember, that though i could myself sin, with the greatest delight and ease, and also take pleasure in the vileness of my companions, yet, even then, if i had, at any time, seen wicked things in those who professed goodness, it would make my spirit tremble. as, once above all the rest, when i was in the height of vanity, yet hearing one swear that was reckoned for a religious man, it had so great a stroke upon my spirit, that it made my heart ache." he was the subject of these experiences before he was ten years of age. it is unnecessary to speak of his dancing, ringing bells, and playing at tip-cat and hockey. now, let us see what was bunyan's _moral_ character. he was not a drunkard; and he says: "i know not whether there be such a thing as a woman breathing, under the copes of heaven, but by their apparel, their children, or by common fame, except my wife." and he continues: "had not a miracle of precious grace prevented, i had laid myself open even to the stroke of those laws which bring some to disgrace and open shame, before the face of the world." the meaning of this is, evidently, that he never stole anything; but that it was "by a miracle of precious grace" he was prevented from doing it. in what sense, then, was bunyan a blackguard? there was never such occasion for him to say of himself, what john newton said of himself, as a criminal passed him, on the way to the gallows: "there goes john bunyan, but for the grace of god." but such was the depth of bunyan's piety, that hardly any one thought and spoke more disparagingly of himself than he did; although he would defend himself, with indignation, against unjust charges brought against him; for, however peaceable and humble he might be, he would turn most manfully upon his enemies, when they baited or badgered him. "it began, therefore, to be rumoured, up and down among the people, that i was a witch, a jesuit, a highwayman, and the like. . . . . i also call those fools and knaves that have thus made it anything of their business to affirm any of these things aforesaid of me, namely, that i have been naught with other women, or the like. . . . my foes have missed their mark in this their shooting at me. i am not the man. i wish that they themselves be guiltless. if all the fornicators and adulterers in england were hanged up by the neck till they be dead, john bunyan, _the object of their envy_, would be still alive and well." the style of his language even indicated the gipsy; for english gipsies, as mr. borrow justly remarks, speak the english language much better than the natives of the lower classes; for this apparent reason, that they have not the dialect of any particular part of england, which would be, were they always to have resided in a particular place. it must have been more so before the middle of the seventeenth century, upwards of a hundred years after the arrival of the gipsies in england; for, in acquiring the english language, they would keep clear of many of the rude dialects that so commonly prevail in that country. but bunyan's language was, doubtless, drawn principally from the scriptures. the illustrious pilgrim had many indignities cast upon him, by the lower and unthinking classes of the population, and by quakers and strict baptists. 'twas a man like john owen who knew how to appreciate and respect him; for, said he to charles ii.: "i would readily part with all my learning, could i but preach like the tinker." and what was it that supported bunyan, amid all the abuse and obloquy to which he was exposed, as he obeyed the call of god, and preached the gospel, in season and out of season, to every creature around him? when they sneered at his origin, and the occupation from which he had risen, he said: "such insults i freely bind unto me, as an ornament, among the rest of my reproaches, till the lord shall wipe them off at his coming." and again: "the poor christian hath something to answer them that reproach him for his ignoble pedigree, and shortness of the glory of the wisdom of this world. i fear god. this is the highest and most noble; he hath the honour, the life, and glory that is lasting."[ ] [ ] that the rabble, or "fellows of the baser sort," should have pelted bunyan with all sorts of offensive articles, when he commenced to preach the gospel, is what could naturally have been expected; but it sounds strange to read what he has put on record of the abuse heaped upon him, by people professing to be the servants of him "in whom there is neither jew nor greek, bond nor free, male nor female." see with what christian humility he alludes to such treatment, as contrasted with the manly indignation which he displayed in repelling slanders. he speaks of "the lord wiping off such insults at his coming;" when his enemies, with the utmost familiarity and assurance, may approach the judgment-seat, and demand their crowns. "lord, lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" and it may be answered unto them: "i never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." in great britain, the off-scourings of the earth can say who they are, and no prejudices are entertained against them. half-caste hindoos, malays, hottentots, and negroes, are "sent home," to be educated, and made pets of, and have the choice of white women given to them for wives; but the children of a scottish christian gipsy gentleman, or of a scottish christian gipsy gentlewoman, dare not say who they are, were it almost to save their lives. scottish people will wonder at what caste in india can mean, deplore its existence, and pray to god to remove it, that "the gospel may have free course and be glorified;" yet scowl--silently and sullenly scowl--at the bare mention of john bunyan having been a gipsy! scottish religious journals will not tolerate the idea to appear in their columns! to such people i would say, offer up no more prayers to almighty god, to remove caste from india, until they themselves have removed from the land this prejudice of caste, that hangs like an incubus upon so many of their fellow-subjects at home. it is quite time enough to carry such petitions to the deity, when every scottish gipsy can make a return of himself in the census, or proclaim himself a gipsy at the cross, or from the house-top, if need be; or, at least, after steps have been taken by the public to that end. but some of my countrymen may say: "what are we to do, under the circumstances?" and i reply: "endeavour to be yourselves, and judge of this subject as it ought to be judged. you can, at least, try to guard against your children acquiring your own prejudices." to the rising town generation, i would look with more hope to see a better feeling entertained for the name of gipsy. but i look with more confidence to the english than scottish people; for this question of "folk" is very apt to rankle and fester in the scottish mind. i wish, then, that the british, and more especially the scottish, public should consider itself as cited before the bar of the world, and not only the bar of the world, but the bar of posterity, to plead on the gipsy question, that it may be seen if this is the only instance in which justice is not to be done to a part of the british population. with the evidence furnished in the present work, i submit the name of bunyan, as a case in point, to test the principle at issue. let british people beware how they approach this subject, for there are great principles involved in it. the social emancipation of the gipsies is a question which british people have to consider for the future. the day is gone by when it cannot be said who john bunyan was. in cowper's time, his _name_ dare not be mentioned, "lest it should move a sneer." let us hope that we are living in happier times. tinkering was bunyan's _occupation_; his _race_ the gipsy--a fact that cannot be questioned. his having been a gipsy adds, by contrast, a lustre to his name, and reflects an immortality upon his character; and he stands out, from among all the men of the latter half of the seventeenth century, in all his solitary grandeur, a monument of the grace of god, and a prodigy of genius. let us, then, enroll john bunyan as the first (that is known to the world) of eminent gipsies, the prince of allegorists, and one of the most remarkable of men and christians. what others of this race there may be who have distinguished themselves among mankind, are known to god and, it may be, some of the gipsies. the saintly doctor to whom i have alluded was one of this singular people; and one beyond question, for his admission of the fact cannot be denied by any one. any life of john bunyan, or any edition of his works, that does not contain a record of the fact of his having been a gipsy, lacks the most important feature connected with the man that makes everything relating to him personally interesting to mankind. it should even contain a short dissertation on the gipsies, and have, as a frontispiece, a gipsy's camp, with all its appurtenances. the reader may believe that such a thing may be seen, and that, perhaps, not before long. it strikes me as something very singular, that mr. borrow, "whose acquaintance with the gipsy race, in general, dates from a very early period of his life;" who "has lived more with gipsies than scotchmen;" and than whom "no one ever enjoyed better opportunities for a close scrutiny of their ways and habits," should have told us so little about the gipsies. in all his writings on the gipsies, he alludes to two mixed gipsies only--the spanish half-pay captain, and the english flaming tinman--in a way as if these were the merest of accidents, and meant nothing. he has told us nothing of the gipsies but what was known before, with the exception, as far as my memory serves me, of the custom of the spanish gipsy, dressing her daughter in such a way as to protect her virginity; the existence of the tribe, in a civilized state, in moscow; and the habit of the members of the race possessing two names; all of which are, doubtless, interesting pieces of information. the spanish gipsy marriage ceremony was described, long before him, by dr. bright; and twiss, as far back as , bears testimony to the virtue of gipsy females, inasmuch as they were not to be procured in any way. twiss also bears very positive testimony on a point to which mr. borrow has not alluded, viz.: the honesty of spanish gipsy innkeepers, in one respect, at least, that, although he frequently left his linen, spoons, &c., at their mercy, he never lost an article belonging to him. he alludes, in his travels, to the subject of the gipsies incidentally; and his testimony is, therefore, worthy of every credit, on the points on which he speaks. in mr. borrow's writings upon the gipsies, we find only sketches of certain individuals of the race, whom he seems to have fallen in with, and not a proper account of the nation. these writings have done more injury to the tribe than, perhaps, anything that ever appeared on the subject. i have met with gipsies--respectable young men--who complained bitterly of mr. borrow's account of their race; and they did that with good reason; for his attempt at generalization on the subject of the people, is as great a curiosity as ever i set my eyes upon. how unsatisfactory are mr. borrow's opinions on the gipsy question, when he speaks of the "decadence" of the race, when it is only passing from its first stage of existence--the tent. this he does in his appendix to the romany rye; and it is nearly all that can be drawn from his writings on the gipsies, in regard to their future history. i do not expect to meet among american people, generally, with the prejudice against the name of gipsy that prevails in europe; for, in europe, the prejudice is traditional--a question of the nursery--while, in america, it is derived, for the most part, from novels. american people will, of course, form their own opinion upon the tented or any other kind of gipsies, as their behaviour warrants; but what prejudice can they have for the gipsy race as such? as a race, it is, physically, as fine a one as ever came out of asia; although, at the present day, it is so much mixed with the white blood, as hardly to be observable in many, and absolutely not so in others, who follow the ordinary vocations of other men. what prejudice can americans have against gipsy blood as such? what prejudice can they have to the maryland farmers who have been settled, for at least two generations, near annapolis, merely because they are gipsies and speak gipsy? if there is any people in the world who might be expected to view the subject of the gipsies dispassionately, it ought to be the people of america; for surely they have prejudices enough in regard to race; prejudices, the object of which is independent of character or condition--something that stares them in the face, and cannot be got rid of. if they have the practical sagacity to perceive the bearings of the gipsy question, they should at once take it up, and treat it in the manner which the age demands. they have certainly an opportunity of stealing a march upon english people in this matter. part of what i have said in reference to bunyan, i was desirous of having inserted in a respectable american religious journal, but i did not succeed in it. "it would take up too much room in the paper, and give rise to more discussion than they could afford to print."--"perhaps you would not wish it to be said that john bunyan was a gipsy?"--"oh, not at all," replied the editor, colouring up a little. i found that several of these papers devoted a pretty fair portion of their space to such articles as funny monkey stories, and descriptions of rat-trap and cow-tail-holder patents; but for anything of so very little importance as that which referred to john bunyan, they could afford no room whatever. who cared to know who john bunyan was? what purpose could it serve? who would be benefited by it? but funny monkey stories are pleasant reading; every housewife should know how to keep down her rats; and every farmer should be taught how to keep his cows' tails from whisking their milk in his face, while it is being drawn into the pail. not succeeding with the religious papers, i found expression to my sentiments in one of the "ungodly weeklies," which devote their columns to rats, monkeys, and cows, and a little to mankind; and there i found a feeling of sympathy for bunyan. let it not be said, in after times, that the descendants of the puritans allowed themselves to be frightened by a scare-crow, or put to flight by the shake of a rag. i am afraid that the native-born quarrelsomeness of disposition about "folk," and things in general, which characterizes scottish people, will prove a bar to the gipsies owning themselves up in scotland. go into any scottish village you like, and ascertain the feelings which the inhabitants entertain for each other, and you will find that such a one is a "poor grocer body;" that another belongs to a "shoemaker pack," another to a "tailor pack," another to a "cadger pack," another to a "collier pack," and another to a "low tinkler pack;" another to a "bad nest," and another to a "very bad nest." and it is pretty much the same with the better classes. now, how could the gipsy tribe live amid such elements, if it did not keep everything connected with itself hidden from all the other "packs" surrounding it? and is it consonant with reason to say, that a scotchman should be rated as standing at the bottom of all the various "packs" and "nests," simply because he has gipsy blood in his veins? yet, i meet with scotchmen in the new world, who express such a feeling towards the gipsies. this quarrelling about "folk" reigns supreme in scotland; and, what is worse, it is brought with the people to america. it is inherent in them to be personal and intolerant, among themselves, and to talk of, and sneer at, each other, and "cast up things." in that respect, a community of scotch people presents a peculiarity of mental feeling that is hardly to be found in one of any other people. when they come together, in social intercourse, there is frequently, if not generally, a hearty, if not a boisterous, flow of feeling, and, if the bottle contributes to the entertainment, a foam upon the surface; but the under-tow and ground-swell are frequently long in subsiding. even in america, where they are reputed to have the clanishness of jews, we will find within their respective circles, more heart-burnings, jealousies, envyings, and quarrellings, (but little or no irish fighting, for they are rather given to "taking care of their characters,") than is to be found among almost any other people. at the best, there may be said to be an armed truce always to be found existing among them. still, all that is not known to people outside of these circles; for those within them are animated by a common national sentiment, which leads them to conceal such feelings from others, so as to "uphold the credit of their country," wherever they go. it will be a difficult matter to get the gipsies heartily acknowledged among such elements as equals; for it makes many a native scot wild, to tell him that there are scottish gipsies as good, if not better, men than he is, or any kith or kin that belongs to him. and yet, it is not the scottish gentleman--the gentleman by birth, rearing, education, mind, or manners--who will be backward to assist in raising up, and dignifying, the name of gipsy. no; it will be the low-minded and ignorant scots; people who are always either fawning upon, or sneering at, those above them, or trampling, or attempting to trample, upon those below them. it is very apt to be that class which lord jeffrey describes as "having a double allowance of selfishness, with a top-dressing of pedantry and conceit," and some of the "but and ben" gentry, who will sneer most at the word gipsy. it is the flunkey, who lives and brings up his family upon the cast-off clothes and broken victuals of others, and out for whom such things would find their way to the rag-basket and the pigs; 'tis he and his children who are too often the most difficult to please in the matter of descent, and the most likely to perpetuate the prejudice against the gipsy tribe. i have taken some trouble to ascertain the feelings of scotchmen in america towards the scottish gipsies, such as they are represented in these pages; and i find that, among the really educated and liberally brought up classes, there are not to be discovered those prejudices against them, that are expressed by the lower classes, and especially those from country places. it is natural for the former kind of people to take the most liberal view of a question like the present; for they are, in a measure, satisfied with their position in life; while, with the lower classes, it is a feeling of restless discontentment that leads them to strive to get some one under them. no one would seem to like to be at the bottom of any society; and nowhere less so than in scotland. a good education and up-bringing, and a knowledge of the world, likewise give a person a more liberal cast of mind, wherewith to form an opinion upon the subject of the gipsies; and it is upon such that i would mainly rely in an attempt to raise up the name of gipsy. among the lower classes of my own countrymen, i find individuals all that could be desired in the matter of esteeming the gipsies, according to the characters they bear, and the positions they occupy in life; but they are exceptions to the classes to which they belong. here is a specimen of the kind of scot the most difficult to break in to entertaining a proper feeling upon the subject of the gipsies: by birth, he is a child of that dependent class that gets a due share of the broken victuals and cast-off clothes of other people. his parents are decent and honest enough people, but very conceited and self-sufficient. any person in the shape of a mechanic, a labourer, or a peasant, appears as nobody to them; although, in independence, and even circumstances, they are not to be compared to many a peasant. the "oldest bairn" takes his departure for the new world, "with the firm determination to show to the world that he is a man," and "teach the yankees something." the first thing he does to "show the world that he is a man," is to sneer, behave rudely, and attempt to pick quarrels with a better class of his own countrymen, when he comes in contact with them. providence has not been over-indulgent with him in the matters of perceptors or reflectors; for, what little he knows, he has acquired in the manner that chickens pick up their food, when it is placed before them. but he has been gifted with a wonderful amount of self-conceit, which nothing can break down in him, however much it may be abashed for the moment. no one boasts more of his "family," to those who do not know who his family are, although his family were brought up in a cage, and so small a cage, that some of them must have roosted on the spars overhead at night. no one is more independent, none more patriotic; no one boasts more of wallace and bruce, burns and scott, and all the worthies; to him there is no place in the world like "auld scotland yet;" no one glories more in "the noble qualities of the scot;" and none's face burns with more importance in upholding, unchallenged, what he claims to be his character; yet the individual is a compound of conceit and selfishness, meanness and sordidness, and is estimated, wherever he goes, as a "perfect sweep." although no one is more given to toasting, "brithers a' the world o'er," and, "a man's a man for a' that," yet speak of the gipsies to him, and he exclaims: "thank god! there's no a drap o' gipsy blood in me; no one drap o't!" not only is he unable to comprehend the subject, but he is unwilling to hear the word gipsy mentioned. in short, he turns up his nose at the subject, and howls like a dog.[ ] [ ] it is interesting to compare this feeling with that of the lowest order of spaniards, as described by mr. borrow. "the outcast of the prison and the _presidio_, who calls himself spaniard, would feel insulted by being termed gitano, and would thank god that he is not." _page ._ it is the better kind of scottish people, in whatever sphere of life they are to be found, on whom the greatest reliance is to be placed in raising up and dignifying the word gipsy. this peculiar family of mankind has been fully three centuries and a half in the country, and it is high time that it should be acknowledged, in some form or other; high time, certainly, that we should know something about it. to an intelligent people it must appear utterly ridiculous that a prejudice is to be entertained against any scotchman, without knowing who that scotchman is, merely on account of his blood. nor will any intelligent scotchman, after the appearance of this work, be apt to say that he does not understand the subject of the gipsies; or that they cease to be gipsies by leaving the tent, or by a change of character or habits, or by their blood getting mixed. it will not do for any one to snap at the heels of this question: he must look at it steadily, and approach it with a clear head, a firm hand, and a christian heart, and remove this stigma that has been allowed to attach to his country. no one in particular can be blamed for the position which the gipsies occupy in the country: let by-gones be by-gones; let us look to the future for that expression of opinion which the subject calls for. this much i feel satisfied of, that if the gipsy subject is properly handled, it would result in the name becoming as much an object of respect and attachment in many of the race, as it is now considered a reproach in others. there is much that is interesting in the name, and nothing necessarily low or vulgar associated with it; although there is much that is wild and barbarous connected with the descent, which is peculiar to the descent of all original tribes. it is unnecessary to say, that in a part of the race, we still find much that is wild, and barbarous, and roguish. the latter part of the gipsy nation, whether settled or itinerant, must be reached indirectly, for reasons which have already been given; for it does not serve much purpose to interfere too directly with them, as gipsies. we should bring a reflective influence to bear upon them, by holding up to their observation, some of their own race in respectable positions in life, and respected by the world, as men, though not known to be gipsies. i could propose no better plan to be adopted, with some of these people, than to give them a copy of the present work, along with the pilgrim's progress, containing a short account of the gipsies, and a gipsy's encampment for a frontispiece. the world may well believe that the gipsies would read both of them, and be greatly benefited by the pilgrim's progress; for, as a race, they are exceedingly vain about anything connected with themselves. said i to some english gipsies: "you are the vainest people in the world; you think a vast deal of yourselves." "there is good reason for that," they replied; "if we do not think something of ourselves, there are no others to do it for us." now since john bunyan has become so famous throughout the world, and so honoured by all sects and parties, what an inimitable instrument providence has placed in our hands wherewith to raise up the name of gipsy! through him we can touch the heart of christendom! i am well aware that the church of scotland has, or at least had, a mission among the itinerant scottish gipsies. in addition to the means adopted by this mission, to improve these gipsies, it would be well to take such steps as i have suggested, so as to raise up the name of gipsy. for, in this way, the gipsies, of all classes, would see that they are not outcasts; but that the prejudices which people entertain for them are applicable to their ways of life, only, and not to their blood or descent, tribe or language. their hearts would then become more easily touched, their affections more readily secured; and the attempt made to improve them would have a much better chance of being successful. a little judgment is necessary in conducting an intercourse with the wild gipsy, or, indeed, any kind of gipsy; it is very advisable to speak well of "the blood," and never to confound the race with the conduct of part of it. there is hardly anything that can give a poor gipsy greater pleasure than to tell him something about his people, and particularly should they be in a respectable position in life, and be attached to their nation. it serves no great purpose to appear too serious with such a person, for that soon tires him. it is much better to keep him a little buoyant and cheerful, with anecdotes and stories, for that is his natural character; and to take advantage of occasional opportunities, to slip in advices that are to be of use to him. what is called long-facedness is entirely thrown away upon a gipsy of this kind. i am very much inclined to believe that a gipsy, well up in the scale of scottish society, experiences, in one respect, nearly the same feelings in coming in contact with a wild gipsy, that are peculiar to any other person. these are of a very singular nature. at first, we feel as if we were going into the lair of a wild animal, or putting our finger into a snake's mouth; such is the result of the prejudice in which we have been reared from infancy; but these feelings become greatly modified as we get accustomed to the people. the world has never had the opportunity of fairly contemplating any other kind of gipsy; hence the extreme prejudice against the name. but when we get accustomed to meet with other kinds of gipsies, and have associations with them, the feeling of prejudice changes to that of decided interest and attachment. i have met with various scottish gipsies of the female sex, in america, and, among others, one who could sit any day for an ideal likeness of the mother of burns. she takes little of the gipsy in her appearance. there is another, taking greatly after the gipsy, born in scotland, and reared in america; a very fine motherly person, indeed. i cannot, at the present stage of matters, mention the word gipsy to her, but i know very well that she is a gipsy. it takes some time for the feeling of prejudice for the word gipsy to wear off, when contemplating even a passable kind of gipsy. that object would be much more easily attained, were the people to own "the blood," unreservedly and cheerfully; for the very reserve, to a great extent, creates, at least keeps alive, the prejudice. but that cannot well take place till the word "gipsy" bears the signification of gentleman, in some of the race, as it does of vagabond, in others. some of my readers may still ask: "what is a gipsy, after all that has been said upon the subject? since it is not necessarily a question of colour of face, or hair, or eyes, or of creed, or character, or of any outward thing by which a human being can be distinguished; what is it that constitutes a gipsy?" and i reply: "let them read this work through, and thoroughly digest all its principles, and they can _feel_ what a gipsy is, should they stumble upon one, it may be, in their own sphere of life, and hear him, or her, admit the fact, and speak unreservedly of it. they will then feel their minds rubbing against the gipsy mind, their spirits communing with the gipsy spirit, and experience a peculiar mental galvanic shock, which they never felt before."[ ] it is impossible to say where the gipsy soul may not exist at the present day, for there is this peculiarity about the tribe, as i have said before, that it always remains gipsy, cross it out to the last drop of the original blood; for where that drop goes, the gipsy soul accompanies it.[ ] [ ] let us suppose that a person, who has read all the works that have hitherto appeared on the gipsies, and noticed the utter absence, in them, of everything of the nature of a philosophy of the subject, thoroughly masters all that is set forth in the present work. the knowledge which he _then_ possesses puts him in such a position, that he approximates to being one of the tribe, himself; that is, if all that is contained therein be known to him and the tribe, only, it would enable him to pass current, in certain circles of gipsydom, as one of themselves. [ ] there is a point which i have not explained so fully as i might have done, and it is this: "is any of the blood _ever lost_? that is, does it _ever cease to be gipsy_, in knowledge and feeling?" that is a question not easily answered in the affirmative, were it only for this reason: how can it ever be ascertained that the knowledge and feeling of being gipsies become lost? let us suppose that a couple of gipsies leave england, and settle in america, and that they never come in contact with any of their race, and that their children never learn anything of the matter from any quarter. (page .) in such an extreme, i may say, such an unnatural, case, the children would not be gipsies, but, if born in america, ordinary americans. the only way in which the gipsy blood--that is, the gipsy feeling--can possibly be lost, is by a gipsy, (a man especially,) marrying an ordinary native, (page ,) and the children never learning of the circumstance. but, as i have said before, how is that ever to be ascertained? the question might be settled in this way: let the relatives of the gipsy interrogate the issue, and if it answers, _truly_, that it knows nothing of the gipsy connexion, and never has its curiosity in the matter excited, it holds, beyond dispute, that "the blood" has been lost to the tribe. for any loss the tribe may sustain, in that way, it gains, in an ample degree, by drawing upon the blood of the native race, and transmuting it into that of its own fraternity. it is the christian who should be the most ready to take up and do justice to this subject; for he will find in it a very singular work of providence--the most striking phenomenon in the history of man. in europe, the race has existed, in an unacknowledged state, for a greater length of time than the jews dwelt in egypt. and it is time that it should be introduced to the family of mankind, in its aspect of historical development; embracing, as in scotland, members ranging from what are popularly understood to be gipsies, to those filling the first positions in christian and social society. after perusing the present work, the reader will naturally pass on to reconsider the subject of the jews; and he will perceive that, instead of its being a miracle by which the jews have existed since the dispersion, it would have been a miracle had they been lost among the families of mankind. it is quite sufficient for the christian to know that the jews now exist, and that they have fulfilled, and will yet fulfill, the prophecies that have been delivered in regard to them, without holding that any miracle has been wrought for that end. a christian ought to be more considerate in his estimate of what a miracle is: he ought to know that a miracle is something that is contrary to natural laws; and that the existence of the jews, since the dispersion, is in exact harmony with every natural law. he should not maintain that it is a miracle, for nothing having the decent appearance of an argument can be advanced in support of any such theory; and far less should he, with his eyes open, do what the writer on the christian evidences, alluded to, (page ,) did, with his shut--gamble away both law and gospel.[ ] he might give his attention, however, to a prophecy of moses, quoted by st. paul, in rom. x. , from deut. xxxii. , wherein it is said of the jews: "i will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation i will anger you;" and lend his assistance towards its fulfillment.[ ] the subject of the gipsies is certainly calculated to do all that the prophet said would happen to the jews; if christians will only do their duty to them, and, by playing them off against the jews, _provoke_ and _anger_ israel beyond measure. that the jews have existed, since the dispersion, by the providence of god, is what can be said of any other people, and more especially of the gipsies for the last four centuries and a half in europe. it is as natural for the gipsies to exist in their scattered state, as for other nations by the laws that preserve their identity; and although their history may be termed remarkable, it is in no sense of the word miraculous, notwithstanding the superstitious ideas held by many of the gipsies on that head, in common with the jews regarding their history. a thousand years hence the gipsies will be found existing in the world; for, as a people, they cannot die out; and the very want of a religion peculiar to themselves is one of the means that will contribute to that end.[ ] it is the christian who should endeavour to have the prejudice against the name of gipsy removed, so that every one of the race should freely own his blood to the other, and make it the basis of a kindly feeling, and a bond of brotherhood, all around the world. [ ] it was the nature of man, in ancient times, as it is with the heathen to-day, to _worship_ what could not be understood; while modern civilization seems to attribute such phenomena to _miracles_. it is even presumptuous to have recourse to such an alternative, for the enquirer may be deficient in the intellect necessary to prosecute such investigations, or he may not be in possession of sufficient data. if the european will, for example, ask himself, stly: what is the idea which he has of a gipsy? ndly: what are the feelings which he entertains for him personally? and dly: what must be the response of the gipsy to the sentiments of the other? he cannot avoid coming to the conclusion, that the race should "marry among themselves," and that, "let them be in whatever situation of life they may, they all" should "stick to each other." (_page ._) [ ] viewing the gipsies as they are described in this work, and contrasting their history with that of the nations of the world in general, and the jews in particular, and considering that they have no religion peculiar to themselves, yet are scattered among, and worked into, all nations, but not acknowledged by, or even known to, others, we may, with the utmost propriety, call them, in the language of the prophet, "no people," and a "foolish nation;" yet by no means a nation of fools, but rather more rogues than fools. of all the ways in which the gipsies have hoaxed other people, the manner in which they have managed to throw around themselves a sense of their non-existence to the minds of others, is the most remarkable. [ ] the prejudice of their fellow-creatures is a sufficiently potent cause, in itself, to preserve the identity of the gipsy tribe in the world. it has made it to resemble an essence, hermetically sealed. keep it in that position, and it retains its inherent qualities undiminished; but uncork the vessel containing it, and it might (i do not say it _would_) evaporate among the surrounding elements. i may be allowed to say a word or two to the gipsies, and more especially the scottish gipsies. i wish them to believe, (what they, indeed, believe already,) that their blood and descent are good enough; and that providence may reasonably be assumed to look upon both with as much complacency and satisfaction, as he does on any other blood and descent. all that they have to do is to "behave themselves;" for, after all, it is behaviour that makes the man. by all means "stick to the ship," but sail her as an honourable merchantman. they need not be afraid at being discovered to be gipsies; they should feel as much assured on the subject now, as before the publication of this work, and never entertain the least misgiving on that score. they will have an occasion to cultivate a proper degree of confidence in respect to themselves, and be so prepared as never to commit themselves, if they wish not to be known as gipsies. i know there are few people who have nerve enough so to deport themselves, as to prevent moral detection, who have committed murder, when they are confronted with the objects of it; but if the individuals are perfectly satisfied of there being no evidence against them, they may confidently assume an appearance of innocence. it is so with the gipsies in settled life, as to their being gipsies. generally speaking, their blood is so much mixed as almost to defy detection; although, for the future, some of them will be very apt to look at themselves in their mirrors, to see whether there is much of the "black deil" in their faces. but it rests with themselves to escape detection, and particularly so as regards the fair, brown, and red gipsies. i may also be allowed to say a word or two to the church, and people generally. it says little for them, that, although two centuries have elapsed since bunyan's time, no one has acknowledged him. it surely might have occurred to them to ask, _ stly_: what was that particular family, or tribe, of which bunyan said he was a member? _ ndly_: who are the tinkers? _ dly_: what was the meaning of bunyan entertaining so much solicitude, and undergoing so much trouble, to ascertain whether he, (a _common englishman_, forsooth!) was a jew, or not? _ thly_: was john bunyan a gipsy? let my reader reply to these questions, like a man of honour. aye or nay, was john bunyan a gipsy? "he _was_ a gipsy." in modern times people will preach the gospel "around about illyricum," compass sea and land, and penetrate every continent, to bring home christian trophies; while in bunyan they have a trophy--a real case of "grace abounding;" and yet no one has acknowledged him, although his fame will be as lasting as the pyramids. john bunyan was evidently a man who was raised up by god for some great purposes. one of these purposes he has served, and will yet serve; and it becomes us to enquire what further purpose he is destined to serve. it is showing a poor respect for bunyan's memory, to deny him his nationality, to rob him of his birth-right, and attempt to make him out to have been that which he positively was not. to gratify their own prejudices, people would degrade the illustrious dreamer, from being this great original, into being the off-scourings of all england. people imagine that they would degrade bunyan by saying that he was a gipsy. they degrade themselves who do not believe he was a gipsy; they doubly degrade themselves who deny it. jews may well taunt christians in the matter of evidences, and that on a simple matter of fact, affecting no one's interests, temporal or eternal, and as clear as the sun at mid-day; for by bunyan's own showing he was a gipsy; but if any further evidence was wanted, how easily could it not have been collected, any time during the last two hundred years! i have hitherto got the "cold shoulder" from the organs of most of the religious denominations on this subject: time will show whether it is always to be so. the church should know what is its mission: it rests on evidence itself, and it should be the first to follow out its own principles. it should fight its own battles, and give the enemy no occasion to speak reproachfully of it. in approaching this subject, it would be well to do it cheerfully, and gracefully, and manfully, and not as if the person were dragged to it, with a rope around his neck. no one need imagine that by keeping quiet, this matter will blow over. for the gipsy race cannot die out; nor is this work likely to die out soon; for unless it is superseded by some other, it will come up centuries hence, to judge the present generation on the gipsy question. may such as have written on the great dreamer never lift up their heads, may his works turn to hot coals in their fingers, may their memories be outlawed, if they allow this unchristian, this unmanly, this silly, this childish, prejudice of caste to prevent them from doing justice to their hero. nor need any one utter a murmur at the prospect of seeing the pilgrim's progress prefaced by a dissertation on the gipsies, with a gipsy's camp for a frontispiece. such a feeling may be expressed by boors, snobs, and counterfeit religionists; but better things are to be expected from other people. let the reader now pause, and reflect upon the prejudice of caste that exists against the name of gipsy, and he will fully realize how it is that we should know so little about the gipsies, and why it is that the gipsies, as they leave the tent, should hide their nationality from the rest of the world, and "stick to each other." in bringing this disquisition on the gipsies to a close, i may be allowed to say a word or two to some of the critics. in the first place, i may venture to assert, that the _subject_ is worthy of a criticism the most disinterested and profound. i am well aware that the publication of the work places me in a position antagonistic alike to authors and critics who have written on the subject, as well as to the prejudices of mankind generally. if critics call in question any of the facts contained in the production, they must give their authorities; if they controvert any of the principles, they must give their reasons. it will not do to play the ostrich instead of the critic. for as the ostrich is said to hide its head in the sand, or in a bush, or, it may be, under its wing, and imagine that because it sees no one, so no one sees it; so there are people, sometimes to be met with, who will not only imagine, but assert, that because they know nothing of a thing, or because they do not understand it, therefore, the thing itself does not exist. this was the way in which bruce's travels in africa were received. but we are not living in those times. procedure such as that described, is playing the ostrich, not the critic. i refer more particularly, however, to what is contained in this disquisition. taking the work all through, i think there are sufficient materials contained in it, to enable the critics to settle the various questions among themselves. to place myself in a position a little independent of publishers, (for i have had great difficulty in finding a publisher,) i had the introduction, (pages - ), printed, and circulated among some acquaintances in canada, for subscribers.[ ] a copy of it fell into the hands of an intelligent scottish newspaper editor, in a small community, where every one knows every other's business nearly as well as his own, and where all about the prospectus was explained to those to whom it was given. it seems to have frightened and enraged the editor to such an extent, that i entertain little doubt he did not sleep comfortably, for nights in succession, on finding that subject brought to light at his own door, which has been considered, by some, as well-nigh dead and buried long ago. he imagines the circulation of the prospectus to be confined pretty much to his own neighbourhood; and so he must crush the horrible thing out. but what can he say about it? how put it down? a capital idea occurs to him; he will father it upon barnum! let the reader glance again at the introduction, and imagine how a scotchman, well posted up on scotch affairs, past and present, should credit barnum with the production. he heads his criticism, "the science of humbug," and, in some long and bitter paragraphs, pitches into what he calls american literary quackery; the substance of which is, that the work represented by the prospectus, is a rare tit-bit of genuine, barnumized, american humbug! [ ] the ms. of this work has undergone many vicissitudes. among others, it may be mentioned that, in the state in which it was left by the author, it was twice lost, and once stolen; on which last occasion it was recovered, at an expense of one shilling! then the original copy, in its present form, was stolen, and never recovered. in both instances did that happen under circumstances that such a fate was most unlikely to befall it. then a copy of it was sent to scotland, and never acknowledged, although i am in hopes it is now on its return, after a lapse of nearly three years; in which case, i will be more fortunate than the author, who gave the ms. to an individual and never got, and never could get, it back. he finds, however, that he has gone much too far in his description of the prospectus; so he comes tumbling down a long way from the high position which he took at the start, and continues: "now, we do not, at present, venture the assertion that the forthcoming 'scottish gipsies' is a yankee get-up, a mere american humbug; but we say the prospectus savours strongly of the barnum school; and our reasons for so saying are the following: _firstly_: it would be nothing less than a literary miracle, that a scottish work of sufficient merit to command the highest commendations of sir walter scott, and blackwood's magazine, should be published, first of all in america, thirty years afterwards--published, by subscription, at one dollar, in a book of pages. we assert, positively, that of such a work william blackwood, alone, could have disposed of five thousand copies, at double the proposed price. [he is well acquainted with the prices of books in the two countries.] _secondly_: there is no evidence to connect sir walter scott's note to quentin durward with walter simson, or any other particular individual; and the same may be said of the _jingle_ of professor wilson, and the other allusions in blackwood's magazine. _thirdly_: there is neither danger nor difficulty in writing anything you please, and telling the public it is an extract of a private letter you had from some particular man of eminence, thirty years ago, provided your eminent friend has been many years in his grave. such a fraud is not easily detected. and _fourthly_: the reason assigned for publishing the 'scottish gipsies' . . . . . is totally upset by the simple fact, that _there are no such people in existence, in so far as scotland is concerned_. [what an audacity he displays here! what a liberty he takes with the scotch settlers in his neighbourhood! he is evidently afraid that he has gone too far; so he qualifies what he has said, by adding:] there are, it is true, a few families of itinerant tinkers, or _tinklers_, according to our peculiar vernacular, who stroll the country, and subsist by making horn-spoons and sauce-pans, which they barter with the rural peasantry, for potatoes and other eatables. they are generally wild, reckless, and dishonest, and are a terror to children and old women. in nineteen cases out of twenty, they are natives of ireland; and were any person idle enough to trace their genealogy, he would discover that their ancestors, not more than three generations back, were honest brogue-makers, pig-drovers, or, it may be, members of some more elevated occupation. [he has been 'idle enough' to give us a very odd account of the descent, in two senses of the word, of the irish tinkering gipsies now in scotland.] the writer of these remarks is well acquainted with almost the whole lowlands, and a portion of the west highlands. he has been familiar with the shires of fife and linlithgow, with annandale, the upper ward of lanarkshire, and the other fabulously reputed haunts of the gipsies [he seems to have done a little _tramping_ in his time]; and he never saw twenty scottish _tinklers_ in his whole life, nor _one single individual_ corresponding to the description we have received of the gipsies. [he has told us who the _irish tinklers_ in scotland were originally, but does not venture to say anything of the _scottish_ ones. he will not admit that there is a _gipsy_ in scotland, or ever has been; and virtually denies that there are gipsies in england; for he continues:] the nearest approach to the character is the hawkers from the staffordshire potteries, who are found living in tents by the way-side, throughout the north riding of yorkshire, and the five northern counties of england. these are a kind of savages, who live in families, strolling the country, in large caravans, consisting frequently of half a dozen canvas-covered wagons and twice that number of horses. . . . . . these characters often cross the border, at langholm and gretna green, and infest annandale, roxburghshire, dumfries-shire, and the stewartry of kirkcudbright. [he will not allude to the _tented gipsies_ in england.] "these two classes of foreign vagrants [why does he call them _foreign_ vagrants? why not say _gipsies_?] which we mention, are to be found, occasionally, in certain localities of scotland, [still nothing said of the _scottish tinklers_,] and are to be found as a dreaded, dangerous nuisance. but the idea of a race of scottish tinklers, or scottish gipsies, existing as a distinct and separate people, possessing a native, independent language, and peculiar habits, rites, and ceremonies, and bearing, in many features of their barbarous customs, and outcast destiny, a resemblance to the vagabond jews; such an idea, we say, has as little foundation in fact, as has swift's story of the lilliputians, or the romance of guy mannering itself! [it is astonishing what he would not attempt to palm upon the public. still, he is evidently afraid that the subject will, somehow or other, bite him; and, after all that he has said, he concludes:] still, we do not, _at present_, assert that the prospectus we have received is another 'cute move of american humbug; but we do say, if there is a james simson in existence, who possesses such a manuscript, and such commendations of it as are set forth in this prospectus, he has already erred sufficiently far to ensure his identification with yankee quackery. he has been barnumized into an egregious blunder." [he is bound to discredit the whole affair, under any circumstances, even at the expense of the plainest consistency.] well might a brother editor reply to the foregoing, thus: "the bile of our excellent friend has just been agitated after a pestilent fashion. . . . . . the announcement [of the intended publication] hath all the ungenial effects upon our gossip that the exhibition of a pair of scarlet decencies produces upon a cranky bull. . . . . . now, just listen to us quietly for a little. more than two years ago, the manuscript of the above-mentioned treatise on the scoto-egyptians came under our ken. we perused the affair with special appetite, and were decidedly of opinion that its publication would be a grateful and important boon to the republic of letters. mr. simson is neither a myth nor a disciple of barnum." upon the back of this, the first editor writes: "we are pleased to be informed that the work is a _bona fide_ production, and that mr. simson is no yankee fiction. [as if he did not know that from the first.] and albeit he, [the other editor,] furnisheth neither facts nor arguments to satisfy us that our notions of the gipsies of scotland are heretical, we willingly accept his recommend that the 'scottish gipsies' will be, at least, an entertaining book, and reserve all further remarks till we see it."[!] the foregoing is a very curious criticism; and although i could say a great deal more about it, i refrain from doing so. index. page africans. comparison between africans, in america, and gipsies generally , how they lost their language and superstitions in america the prejudice against africans in america , african gipsies , _n_ american gipsies. many arrived during the revolution, as impressed soldiers, and volunteers english gipsies married to native americans a gitano has a cigar store in virginia. egyptians in louisiana _n_ _see disquisition on the gipsies_ - meeting between english and american gipsies, in maryland the zincali society in the city of new york, _n_ --address to the american gipsies there should be no prejudices against gipsies in america , american indians. comparison between them and the gipsies generally , , american reader, to the , , , , amusements of gipsies , , , , antiquaries. prejudices of, against the gipsies _n_ the profession of, , zeal in the calling of _n_ arabs. english gipsies say they are a cross between arabs and egyptians , how arabs protect shipwrecked christians _n_ they strip people of their clothes in the desert baillies of lamington. their influence of great service to the scottish gipsies , , , the connexion between them and the gipsy tribe of baillie baird, rev. john. his report on the gipsy mission to the church of scotland his collection of gipsy words, collated with those of the author on the absence of slang in the gipsy language _n_ his plan for improving the gipsies , _n_ battles, gipsy. at stirling, , romanno, , hawick, , eskdale moor, , dumblane biggar. the face of the country about biggar gipsy turbulence in biggar fair birth of the original kind of gipsies , _n_ blackwood's magazine. the author's articles in, , , --poetical notice of them hints at a philosophical account of the gipsies extracts of scottish public records, taken from unintentional attempt of a gipsy to rob his own clergyman _n_ chase after john young, a gipsy, resembling a fox hunt _n_ the unabashed hardihood of gipsies under suspicion _n_ old will of phaup's five years' warfare with the gipsies _n_ assault of the gipsies on pennicuik house _n_ the slaughter of william baillie, a gipsy chief how the gipsies acquired a foothold in yetholm _n_ will faa's twenty-four children, and pompous christenings _n_ the language spoken by the gipsies in the highlands _n_ the nuts or bazegurs of india supposed to be the parent stock of the gipsies the purity of gipsy blood, and child stealing--mr. borrow's "gipsies in spain" the numberless descendants of billy marshall, a gipsy chief _n_ the duchess of gordon saves two gipsies from the gallows blackwood, william. his four letters to the author he originates the idea of a history of the gipsies _n_ letter to him, describing the escapes and execution of peter young, a gipsy his contribution on the gipsies in tweed-dale , on the border border gipsies. the district in which the faas travelled the tribes of faa and baillie in a state of hostility quarrel in an english gipsy family, in america: "the faas and baillies over again" _n_ henry faa sits at the tables of people in public office, and receives blackmail from men of considerable fortune the mercantile house of fall, of dunbar, founded by gipsies captain fall a member of parliament--the family rule the political interests of dunbar mrs. fall works, in tapestry, a group of the founders of the family, with their asses, &c. anecdotes of the falls with reference to their tribe and origin _n_ the extensive nature of the fall firm, and the cause of its ruin miss fall marries sir john anstruther, of elie, baronet the rabble insult her at an election, in which sir john is a candidate the song of "johnny faa, the gipsy laddie" the earl of cassilis the husband of her who absconded with the "gipsy laddie" adventure of a relative of sir walter scott among the gipsies the original of meg merrilies, --the execution of her sons, --she is drowned by the rabble, at carlisle, for being a jacobite the grandfather of sir walter scott is feasted by the gipsies, on charter-house moor contribution of baillie smith, of kelso, to hoyland's "survey of the gipsies" attachment of the yetholm gipsies to their mode of life, their independence, peculiar points of honour, honesty when trusted, the number of the tribe in the county, --their employment given to hunting and fishing, --the nature of their leases, the late proprietor calls them his body-guard, his successor grants no more leases to the tribe, they stay at home during the winter months only, they seldom marry out of the tribe, --their physical peculiarities, occasional migrations, burials, education, church attendance and baptism, --un- steadiness of disposition, they will pay their rents only when it suits themselves, --they resent an interference with the debatable lands, --sir walter scott points out a gipsy, --will faa, the gipsy king, claims kin with the messrs. fall, merchants, of dunbar, will's death and burial, -- report on the gipsies by the sheriffs _n_ contribution from mr. blackwood, towards a history of the gipsies yetholm first occupied by the faas and the youngs, tradition of their first settlement, _n_ --will faa and the falls of dunbar, will thrice married, his twenty-four children, and pompous christenings, has charge of marlfield house, the sheriff becomes his security, his corpse escorted by asses, --his son and successor, his brother a lieutenant in the east india company's service, gipsy fights, recovery of a stolen mare, quarrels among the tribe, --the walker family, and civilized gipsies about yetholm, gipsy connexions, education, no female gipsy educated, the colony free of imputed crime for fifty years the author's visit to yetholm--handling the cudgel a smuggling adventure of will faa--his appearance--a lament on his death his relations in new york--a great many of the tribe scattered over the world _n_ borrow, george. his publications on the gipsies, since this work was written , in error on the subject of gipsies stealing children _n_ , _n_ on the gipsy language, , _n_ , _n_ , _n_ , _n_ --on timour overrunning india in error in saying that the gipsies obtained the name of egyptians from others description of english gipsies, and the english dialect spoken by them _n_ spanish gipsy counts, _n_ , , _n_ --act of charles ii. against spaniards, for protecting the gipsies _n_ gipsies poison swine, and eat their flesh _n_ english gipsy surnames--travelling gipsies have two names _n_ chastity among young spanish gipsy females, _n_ --spanish gipsy marriage ceremony _n_ the character of spanish gipsy women _n_ on the law of charles iii., ameliorating the condition of the spanish gipsies _n_ , song of a female gipsy, at moscow, _n_ --on the sclavonic in the gipsy language _n_ he meets with a rich gipsy in spain, _n_ --how gipsies resist cold weather _n_ meeting between a french and spanish gipsy, in the heat of a battle _n_ on the education of the spanish gipsies _n_ religion among the moscow gipsies--he preaches to the tribe in spain _n_ a half-blood spanish gipsy captain, , _n_ , --civilized gipsies in moscow , , _n_ shuffling of the gipsies regarding marriage with ordinary natives _n_ characters in lavengro and the romany rye _n_ , , _n_ the spanish gipsies generally; _see disquisition on the gipsies_ - the natural capacity of gipsies--different classes in spain, turkey, and russia no washing will turn the gipsy white, --moorish gipsies in africa he is taken for a gipsy in spain, , and at moscow on the grammatical peculiarities of the gipsy language _n_ on the hatred entertained by the gipsies for other people _n_ on gipsy ingratitude--lawlessness in spain mr. borrow as an authority on the gipsies , , on the russian gipsies owning flocks and herds description of a superior spanish gipsy, in _n_ bright, dr. (travels in hungary.) the phenomenon of the existence of the gipsies the existence of the gipsy language little short of the miraculous he hopes to see a satisfactory account of the gipsies description of gipsy life in england description of gipsy dwellings, and their locations, in hungary _n_ spanish gipsy marriage ceremony, _n_ --spanish gipsy widows _n_ the difficulties in acquiring the gipsy language _n_ he suggests that the gipsy language should be collated with vulgar hindostanee an hungarian nobleman's opinion on the civilization of the gipsies bruce, james, (travels in africa.) account of the arabs protecting shipwrecked christians _n_ method of selling cargoes, at jedda, to the turks _n_ his discoveries discredited bunsen, chevalier, on sound judgment and shallow minds _n_ bunyan, john. he alludes to gipsy women stealing children, _n_ --he is bred to the business of a brazier _n_ his family history illustrated by the author's visit to a gipsy, met with at st. boswell's his wife before judge hale, _n_ , --his description of his early habits, or "youthful vanities" _n_ his nationality, and that of his tribe; _see disquisition on the gipsies._ - the name of bunyan calculated to raise up that of the gipsies he is still unacknowledged, though his fame will be as lasting as the pyramids some people imagine it would degrade bunyan, to say he was a gipsy burns, robert. his "jolly beggars;" "my bonny lass, i work in brass" _n_ he alludes to the falls, of dunbar, in his tour _n_ canada. a scottish gipsy family in, --gipsies in a criticism on this work, while in prospect, by a scotch editor in cappadoce family, vicissitudes in the religious history of the carlyle, dr. alexander. execution of jock johnstone, _n_ --jenny fall, afterwards lady anstruther _n_ cassilis, the countess of. elopes with john faa, a gipsy chief, --the song of "johnny faa, the gipsy laddie," composed thereon caste. in india, --in great britain, , , , , , --in america , , chambers' gazetteer. description of yetholm, _n_ --gipsy scenes at st. boswell's fair _n_ chambers' journal--on the disappearance of the gipsies _n_ chambers' miscellany--an account of peter young, a gipsy _n_ child stealing by the gipsies , , _n_ , , church of scotland. mission among the scottish gipsies , , , _n_ a gipsy one of the committee of the missionary society gipsies clergymen in the scottish church , mission of enquiry to the jews; the gipsies of wallachia _n_ church, the. religious journals decline entertaining the question, "was john bunyan a gipsy?", , --the church should do its duty to the gipsy race generally , , , , clarke, dr., (travels in russia, &c.) characters or the gipsies in wallachia, --gipsy dances in moscow colliers, gipsy--in the lothians, _n_ --in the english mines colliers, scotch, slaves _n_ , _n_ , constables. a gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and a third banished - gipsies formerly employed as county constables--their peculiarities gipsy constables at the present day a mixed gipsy makes a good constable and thief-catcher _n_ continental gipsies. the times at which the tribe appeared in the different countries in europe the appellations given to them, in various countries notice of the gipsies, as they appeared at paris, in their original country unknown--at first, they receive passports as pilgrims persecutions in spain, france, and italy, in denmark, sweden, the netherlands, and germany a general extermination never took place theft and robbery, and "sorning," or masterful begging, the causes of these persecutions the habits of the gipsies everywhere the same, --they have no religion peculiar to themselves the condition and classes of the gipsies in the danubian principalities allusion to these gipsies, in a mission of enquiry to the jews, in _n_ remarks on the slavery of these gipsies--gipsies as spies, in the late russian war _n_ the gipsies in the turkish empire, in italy, poland, lithuania, germany, and france remarks on grellmann's alleged disappearance of the gipsies from france _n_ the gipsies in spain, according to dr. bright the gipsies of syria, the crimea, persia, and india the population of the gipsies in europe, and the world generally the imposing titles and equipage of the leaders of the gipsies, on their arrival in europe the nature and form of government among the continental gipsies an account of german gipsy bands, translated by sir walter scott, for blackwood's magazine baron trenck, in his wanderings, falls in with a german gipsy band the gipsies of the pyrenees--their resemblance to the inferior class of scottish gipsies cooking among the gipsies , , counterfeiting among the gipsies , crabb, rev. james. the gipsies, as they become civilized, avoid the barbarous part of the tribe _n_ the hindostanee and the gipsy languages, _n_ --his plan for improving the gipsies critics. a word or two to--a criticism on this work, while in prospect, by a scotch editor in canada dancing among the gipsies , , dead, the burial of the, among the gipsies _n_ disguises of the gipsies , , , , , , , , _n_ , , disquisition on the past, present, and future of gipsydom. points omitted by the author--the philosophy of the gipsy subject gipsydom a _terra incognita_--its origin, language, and habits strange to other people natural perpetuation of the tribe--mixed gipsies hold by the connexion the prejudice of caste--a half-blood spanish gipsy captain an iron-master marries a cinderella, --civilized gipsies in moscow, and scotland the gipsies mix their blood--no full-blood gipsies in scotland the edinburgh review and blackwood's magazine on the purity of gipsy blood how gipsies shuffle on the point--the case of ursula, in the romany rye _n_ the physical peculiarities of mixed gipsies , and other mixed races appearance of the half-blood captain--the gipsies partial to fair hair mixed gipsies common everywhere--grellmann on the colour of gipsies _n_ american mixed gipsies, --the gipsies receive males rather than females into their tribe how female gipsies "manage" natives, when they marry them how gipsies are brought up to adhere to their race remarks of mr. george offor on young female gipsies generally _n_ little difference if the father is a native--town gipsies visit the tent in their youth _n_ fair-haired gipsies, --they are superior to the others--the two kinds will readily marry _n_ the peculiarities of black and fair gipsies--the _pons assinorum_ of the gipsy question the destiny of european-like gipsies, and of the tribe generally the philosophy of the mixture of gipsy blood--the issue always gipsy mr. borrow on the spanish gipsies generally. if no laws are passed against them their social position, intermarriages, the law of charles iii. on the prejudice against the tribe gipsyism like freemasonry, _n_ --mrs. fall's ancestral group of gipsies a scotchman on the destiny of the gipsies, --nothing interferes with the question of tribe scottish _literati_ on the destiny of the gipsies--a cloud of ignorance protects the tribe _n_ the gipsies "declining," according to mr. borrow, --his singular inconsistencies change in the habits of gitanos--they are to be found in cuba, mexico, and the united states mr. borrow leaves the question of the spanish gipsies where he found it the gipsies "decreasing," by changing their habits, and intermarriages gipsies ashamed of the name before the world--two kinds of gipsies in badajoz the law of charles iii., --its real meaning--causes of spanish gipsy civilization the law of charles iii. little more than nominal, --the church did not annoy the gitanos mr. borrow's spanish gipsy authorities--the tribe the same in spain as in great britain "strangers" among english gipsies, "foreign tinkers" among those in spain mixed gipsies in spain--persecutions against the spanish and scottish gipsies the tinkers and rothwelsh in the austrian dominions the natural capacity of gipsies--opinions of grellmann, bischoff, borrow various classes of gipsies, according to mr. borrow, spanish, turkish, and russian the original scottish gipsies, how they encreased, mixed their blood, and spread their internal polity and numbers, style of life, --how english gipsies leave the tent the natural vicissitudes of an english gipsy, after leaving the tent gipsy ambition, --john bunyan's early habits as described by himself _n_ the character of scottish gipsies, and their opinion of themselves and tribe phases of history through which the scottish gipsies have passed the vicissitudes in the history of a respectable scottish gipsy family, settling in a town gipsies among the best edinburgh families--an eminent scottish gipsy clergyman the falls, of dunbar, gipsies--burns visits them, _n_ , they are noticed in the statistical account of scotland _n_ they divulge their tribe, over their cups--will faa their relative--the scottish gipsies claim them their ancestors gipsy kings--the gipsy language in the family miss fall, afterwards lady anstruther, her feelings--the other connexions of the falls mr. borrow's visit to, and description of, the gipsies of moscow _n_ the gipsies proud of their ancestors, though thieves and robbers border and highland thieves and robbers, --sir walter scott's ancestors _n_ gipsy and highland thieving--the mcgregors and the gipsies fitz-james' address to roderick dhu, in the "lady of the lake" _n_ a gipsy is a gipsy, whether barbarous, civilized, educated, or christianized pritchard on the hungarian race, past and present civilized scottish gipsies--what they say of themselves the gipsies should be judged by a standard different from that applicable to ordinary natives the circumstances attending a wild gipsy make him only half responsible the race, in its development, should be more leniently treated than others the antiquity of the gipsies, they are probably the descendants of the shepherd kings the confession of the scotch clergyman unintelligible, unless fully explained what might be expected of the gipsy tribe, the scottish gipsies especially population of the scottish gipsies, and the british gipsies generally the gipsies are afraid of strange gipsies, when at home--a french and german gipsy in new york _n_ scottish vagabonds, noticed by fletcher of saltoun, in , were doubtless gipsies _n_ scottish gipsy encrease, since , sir walter scott's opinion on the destiny and number of the scottish gipsies, letter of james iv. to the king of denmark in favour of anthonius gawino, gipsy trials, gipsies banished and hanged, the descendants of the gipsies "prodigiously numerous" _n_ america, gipsies banished to, --a gipsy colony in new england--colonial gipsies would not likely take to the tent--their occupations european gipsies in america, --arrival and modes of life of english gipsies fortune-tellers: their mode of travelling, tricks, captures, and escapes the slave states naturally suitable to the gipsies--travelling gipsies in canada scottish gipsies in the united states and canada--gipsies everywhere resemblance between the formation of gipsydom and that of the united states the peculiar feelings of gipsies--highland and lowland feuds--gipsy resentment the prejudice against the gipsies compels them to hide their nationality what is it that frightens the educated gipsies? the word gipsy in what other than a hidden state could we expect to find the gipsies? the difficulty in discovering who are, and who are not, gipsies, at the present day gipsy blood changed into almost pure black, in africa, as well as white, in europe gipsies found near the sources of the senegal and gambia _n_ the universality of the gipsies--meeting between english and american gipsies language of the gipsies in england and scotland--rivalry in its pronunciation the construction of german and spanish gipsy, --the purity of hungarian gipsy _n_ respectable scottish gipsies, and the gipsy language: "are ye a' tinklers?" the gipsy language in america--in spain _n_ the number of words sufficient for every-day use in any language _n_ the gipsy language in great britain mixed, but still serves the purposes of a speech the scottish gipsies the last to forget the language--the causes of its perpetuation hatred of the gipsies for other people--mr. borrow on that hatred _n_ the treatment of the gipsies made them worse than they might have been gipsy gratitude, --gipsy law--borrow and grellmann on gipsy ingratitude unreasonableness of expecting much gratitude from gipsies gratitude among mankind generally--the nature of benefits conferred on gipsies means of improving the gipsies--the feeling between them and the ordinary natives the name of gipsy should be raised up, and the tribe respected according to merit respectable scottish gipsies are scotch people, and should come forward, and own themselves up the zincali society in the city of new york _n_ an appeal to the scottish gipsies, , and to those in america the prejudices of british people against gipsies, , and americans against negroes what is to be the future of the gipsy race?--gipsydom immortal the introduction of the gipsies to the society of mankind, --the hereditary prejudice of centuries missions among heathen and jews, --the gipsies should, at least, be countenanced the gipsies are gipsies everywhere, and under all circumstances the way in which the gipsies should be received into the society of other people the gipsies are a people that exist, and not such as disappear, like the american indians the popular idea of gipsies and jews--gipsies that preach the gospel, and argue the law erroneous ideas of writers generally as to the gipsies--mr. borrow the gipsies a question of people--billy marshall and his descendants no distinction has been made between race and habits, --chambers' journal _n_ the gipsies compared to a clan, in the olden time--the mcgregor clan english, american, and gipsy races mixed, --mixed races illustrated by individual families, the mixture of gipsy blood always leaves the issue gipsy--jewish gipsies possible how the subject of the gipsies has hitherto been treated--it is necessary to sound the mind of the gipsy the life of a superior gipsy compared to a continual conspiracy against society the position occupied by the popular kind of gipsy--his ideas on the persecutions of his race the condition from which all gipsies have sprung--popular prejudices and ideas the introduction of german blood into great britain and america how the gipsies have encreased and spread--native blood has been lost among them the introduction of huguenot blood into great britain and america the gipsies have hitherto been "strangers in the land," unacknowledged by others the principles of gipsy nationality--gipsies like free-masons gipsydom is not a creed, but a work stamped by providence on the heart of the tribe blood, language, a cast of mind, and signs specially constitute the gipsy nationality the possession of a special religion not necessary to constitute a people distinct from others the same principle illustrated in races, clans, families, or individuals, living in the same community the existence of the gipsies is natural, it resembles that of the jews; neither is miraculous philosophical historians on the existence of the jews since the dispersion by what human means can jews cease to be jews, individually or nationally? a writer on the christian evidences, in describing the existence of the jews, gambles away revelation his language on the subject of the jews very applicable to the existence of the gipsies no outward difference between many gipsy and native scotch how scottish gipsies deport themselves on meeting--civilised and _bush_ gipsies the general difference between gipsy and native scotch people a mixed gipsy has sometimes "various bloods" to contend for what scottish gipsies think of their ancestors and language the scottish gipsies, as they acquire education, become superior in character the children of civilised and barbarous gipsies compared the singular position of the gipsies, from generation to generation, and century to century how the gulf between the gipsies and the native race is to be bridged the gipsies, on their arrival in europe, were barbarous, like other races a superior scottish gipsy in , and the gipsies never were a nomadic race, in the ordinary sense of the word general description of the occupations and characters of the original gipsies the superior characters of the early scottish gipsy chiefs--their treatment by the natives the character of a superior spanish gipsy, in , _n_ mixture of "the blood" on arrival, --intermarriages under certain circumstances the plans of the gipsies to secure their position in the country--illegitimate children the attachment of jewesses and gipsies to their respective races the protection of the baillies, of lamington, to the gipsies of that name two gipsies pardoned through the intercession of the duchess of gordon scotland became the home of the tribe, as much as that of the ordinary natives effects of the mixture of gipsy blood--intermarriages among natives of different ranks the census need not be consulted for the number of the gipsy population how the jewish race is perpetuated--their religion of secondary importance christian jews--their feelings of nationality--no prejudices against them, or civilized gipsies the rearing of gipsies and jews, in what respect they resemble each other the gipsies stand towards religions, as christianity does towards races the purity of jewish blood a figment, --what may be termed a "pure jew" the relative positions of jews and gipsies: gipsies troublesome, but not scoffers at religion the want of a religion among the gipsies--their feelings in regard thereto the ways of scottish gipsies and highland scotch scottish gipsies are british subjects--their romantic descent tacitus' account of the destruction of the druids, in the island of anglesey _n_ the weak position of the gipsies--jewish and gipsy literature the being a gipsy, as distinguished from objectionable habits, immaterial to the world the probable result of the word gipsy being as much respected as it is now despised the gipsies originally a wandering, tented tribe, with habits peculiar to itself the difficulties in the way of the tribe becoming settled and civilized the manner in which the gipsies gradually acquire honest habits public sympathy for the gipsies, in preference to the jews no prejudice should be entertained for well-behaved gipsies the jews are disliked, and are, to a certain extent, strangers everywhere they are rebels against heaven--"which of the prophets have they not persecuted?" the interest of the christian in their history--their crucifixion of the messiah--how they treat his mission their antagonistic position towards every people and religion, --their personal characters the destruction of jerusalem confirmed the jews in the idea that theirs was a scattered people the existence of the jews, since the dispersion, not in itself wonderful the jew's nationality is everywhere--his aversion to forsake his own race or community the jews are a race--a christian jewish church possible--its position and aspects the present position of christian jews, --the relation of a christian jewish church to the mosaic law the scriptural idea of a messiah--christian jews _incog._--the conversion of jews generally it is no elevated regard for moses that prevents jews entertaining the claims of jesus christ but rather the phenomena connected with the history of their race the jews exist under a spell--the prophecy of moses regarding the gipsies _n_ the jews are not apt to notice the present work _n_ the population of the gipsies scattered over the world how the laws passed against the gipsies were generally rendered nugatory grellmann's estimate--the probable number of gipsies in europe and america the population of the jews scattered over the world _n_ christians delude the jews in regard to the existence of their race being a miracle the jew's idea of the existence of his race is the greatest bar to his conversion to christianity the "mixed multitude" of the exodus was doubtless the origin of the gipsies the meaning of gamaliel's advice--st. paul before the jewish council _n_ the history of the gipsies and the jews greatly illustrate each other the distinction between an englishman and an english jew persecutions of races generally--how to prevent a gipsy being a gipsy tacitus on the religion of slaves _n_ birth and rearing constitute jews, gipsies, and gentiles christian jews persecuted by their own race--the disraeli and cappadoce families christianity was not intended, nor is it capable, to destroy the nationality of jews the jew may be crossed out by intermarriage--the gipsy absorbs other races gipsies and jews have each a peculiarly original and distinct soul of nationality each race maintains its identity in the world, and may be said to be even eternal comparison and contrast between gipsies and jews the existence of the jews, like that of the gipsies, rests upon a question of people the religion or the jews, --their idea of a messiah difference between judaism and christianity the position of jews towards christianity and other religions the persecutions of jews and gipsies--the extent of a gipsy's wants the jews show little regard for their religion, when tolerated and well treated the prejudice against jews--their ideas of their race, as distinguished from others the treatment of christians by jews what has the jew got to say to this subject generally? the philosophy of the gipsies--popular ideas in regard to them--a mental phenomenon a regard to facts--the gipsy language--two races living on the same soil the gipsies hide their race--the kind of them that should be despised john bunyan a gipsy, whose blood was mixed all the gipsies tinkers, either literally, figuratively, or representatively lord macaulay on bunyan: "the tinkers a hereditary caste" in what respect are the tinkers a _native_ "hereditary caste?" characters in mr. borrow's lavengro and romany rye--english gipsies , _n_ prejudice against gipsies--the legal responsibility--the act of queen elizabeth bunyan's tribe--his great desire to ascertain whether he was an israelite a gipsy family ( - ) that illustrates that of bunyan the reason why bunyan imagined he was a jew the jews not then tolerated in england--the curiosity of the gipsies regarding the jews southey on tinkering and bunyan's education--bunyan had doubtless a gipsy pass the dublin university magazine on bunyan's nationality the philosophy of race, and the prejudice of caste against the gipsies justice keeling threatens to have bunyan hanged for preaching _n_ bunyan a gipsy beyond question--lord macaulay on the pilgrim's progress religious writers averse to it being said that bunyan was a gipsy sir walter scott and mr. george offor on bunyan's tribe or nationality bunyan's nationality unacknowledged, owing to popular ignorance and prejudice southey on bunyan's family and fame--the popularity of the pilgrim's progress bunyan's reserve--his friends and enemies--he cannot get justice done to him bunyan and the gipsy language--he was perhaps capable of writing in it the prejudice of the present day--bunsen on sound judgment and shallow minds _n_ the world should feel relieved by it being shown that bunyan was a gipsy bunyan's pedigree--he had very probably no english blood in his veins the world claims bunyan as a man; england, the formation of his character bunyan's biographers unjust to his memory--his general as well as moral character though pious and peaceable, he yet repelled slanders with indignation the style of bunyan's language indicates the gipsy in some degree the indignities cast upon bunyan--the way in which he treated them remarks upon bunyan's enemies, who professed themselves to be servants of christ _n_ the prejudice of caste in great britain exists against the gipsies exclusively the day is gone by when it cannot be said who john bunyan was scantiness of information in mr. borrow's works on the subject of the gipsies american people are not expected to indulge in the popular prejudice against the gipsies american religious journals decline to entertain the question: "was john bunyan a gipsy?" the peculiarities of scottish people unfavourable to the gipsies owning themselves up in scotland the nature of scottish quarrelsomeness, --the classes favourable and unfavourable to the gipsies a "model scot," after his kind, --no one in particular to blame for the position occupied by the gipsies the gipsy subject interesting, and not necessarily low or vulgar, though more or less barbarous the wild gipsies should be reached indirectly--their high opinion of themselves john bunyan's celebrity--his name of great use in raising up that of the gipsies a little judgment is necessary in dealing with wild or any kind of gipsies the peculiar sensations felt in coming in contact with wild gipsies gipsies are gipsies to the last drop of the original blood the history of the gipsies a singular work of providence it would have been a miracle had the jews been lost among mankind what a miracle is--the existence of the jews is in exact harmony with every natural law a prophecy of moses regarding a people who are to provoke and anger the jews a thousand years hence the gipsies will be found existing in the world a word or two to the gipsies, and especially the scottish gipsies a word or two to the church, and people generally: "was john bunyan a gipsy?" the reason why we know so little about the gipsies a word or two to some of the critics a criticism on the present work, while in prospect disraeli, the present, a jew, though a christian divorce ceremonies of the gipsies, and sacrifice of horses. the gipsies not licentious in their personal morals--they are strict with their wives, in the matter of chastity divorces among the gipsies are attended with much grief and mourning natural that the gipsies should have as singular a form of divorce as that of marriage the nature of sacrifices--their universality among mankind why was the gipsy sacrifice of the horse not known in scotland before? the gipsies have a great affection for the horse--they will not eat of that animal _n_ writers have made no discovery, among the gipsies, of a religious nature the gipsy sacrifice of the horse a proof that the people come from hindostan the idea of gipsies being tartars strengthened by their sacrifice of the horse other nations who have sacrificed horses--the jews in the time of josiah _n_ popular tradition, among the natives, that gipsies separated over dead horses instances accidentally and partially noticed by the natives "patricos" performed ceremonies over dead horses, in england, prior to preliminary remarks on the sacrifice of horses--"the sun must be at its height" a description of the ceremony of sacrifice and divorce the horse considered in the place of the woman, --sometimes both are sacrificed the woman dismissed, with a bill of divorce--the husband and his friends then eat the heart of the horse the husband may marry again, but the wife never her fate, if she loses her bill of divorce, or passes herself off as never having been married spanish gipsy widows, according to dr. bright _n_ a gipsy, in a passion, shoots his horse, and performs the ceremony of divorce, forthwith the sacrifice of the horse observed by the gipsies in russia they do it in the woods, under night, for fear of the police the gipsies, of yetholm, knock down their asses, when they separate from their wives the sacrifice of the horse in ancient india, known as the _assummeed jugg_ the explanation of the mystic meaning contained in that sacrifice the very acme and enthusiasm of allegory in an asiatic genius the ancient hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat of the jews compared the gipsy and ancient hindoo sacrifice of the horse compared both offered to the sun--travelling gipsies change their names at noon robert southey and colonel tod on the sacrifice of the horse in india the sacrifice of the horse by the gipsies, a proof that the people came from india dress of the gipsies , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , druids, destruction of the, in the island of anglesey _n_ dublin university magazine. the number of words sufficient for every-day use, in any language _n_ bunyan's nationality: "was john bunyan a gipsy?" edinburgh review, the, on the purity of gipsy blood--mr. borrow's "gipsies in spain" editor's introduction. the discovery and history of barbarous races illustrate the history of man, and natural and revealed religion barbarism within, and barbarism without, the circle of civilization the gipsies an anomaly in the history of civilization, and merit great consideration european civilization progressive, and homogeneous in its nature asiatic civilization stationary and, in some countries, divided into castes the nature of caste in india the natives of certain parts of oceanic asia the condition of the most original kind of gipsies, in great britain--their secrecy description of gipsy life in england, by dr. bright the first appearance of the gipsies in europe--attempts at elucidating their history the political state of europe at the beginning of the fifteenth century the great schism in the church--three popes reigning at one time the educational end social condition of europe about that time the manner in which the gipsies stole into europe the influx of the greeks into europe--the literary pursuits of the age, --english travellers the gipsies not sudras--timour--the gipsies at samarcand previous to his invasion of india the gipsies did not obtain the name of egyptians from others, as mr. borrow supposes the gipsies are not the egyptians mentioned by the prophet ezekiel what misleads writers in their ideas that the gipsies are not egyptians the relative position borne by the early gipsies to the various classes of society the travelling gipsies much fallen below those of the olden times the dread always entertained for the tribe, --fire-raising and child-stealing the gipsies frighten children, --and act as police, or scare- crows, for farmers the ferocity of gipsy women, --sir walter scott's recollections of the original of meg merrilies the intercourse between the tribe and the farmers, in pastoral districts the timidity of the gipsies, when accosted under certain circumstances comparison between africans, in america, and the gipsy race generally some of the causes of the isolation of the gipsies from the rest of the world the history of the gipsies somewhat illustrated by that of the american indians the prejudice against africans and gipsies contrasted editor's preface. when this work should have been published--it has been brought down to the present time inducements to hazard a publication of it at one time sir walter scott's judicious advice regarding the publication of the work the abuse of reviewers and the ire of wandering egyptians deprecated mr. borrow's publications since this work was written scottish church gipsy mission--scottish gipsy clergyman of eminence the gipsies have encreased since the peace of , but have retired from observation the reason for this work being published in america--popular prejudice against the gipsies scottish antiquaries--their apathy and contempt for the subject of the gipsies _n_ the present work illustrates the gipsies everywhere--the subject hardly known to the world tinkler the name generally applied to the scottish gipsies--tinker a gipsy word _n_ the subject interesting--observation necessary to solve the problem professor wilson travels with the gipsies--the author's associations with them the nomadic gipsies only a part of the race, --the blood of the tribe much mixed--causes thereof persecutions--children stolen and incorporated with the tribe--mr. borrow's remarks thereon _n_ prejudices against the gipsies--their love of race and language the primitive state of the tribe--causes and manner of leaving the tent associations after leaving the tent, and feelings towards the community their resentment of the popular prejudice--their boast of ancestry ideas and feelings of the natives, --the gipsy's love of language--his associations speculations on the origin of the gipsies, --they are the "mixed multitude" of the exodus mode of escape from egypt, --entrance into india, and formation of their character as s people their present language acquired in india--mr. borrow's remarks on its antiquity the philosophy of the preservation of the gipsy language in europe till now sir walter scott's intended account of the gipsies--the difficulty as to their language he urges the publication of the present work--its character as a history of the tribe it is a contribution towards the filling up of a void in literature education among the gipsies , , , , , , egypt. the gipsies originated in, , --they are the "mixed multitude" of the exodus , english gipsies. their arrival about the year --a description of them in a work, published in act of d henry viii.--burnet's allusion to english gipsies, in , act of th henry viii.--a fine of forty pounds for every gipsy imported act of queen elizabeth--felony for strangers to associate with the gipsies last of the executions under charles ii.--the gipsies still liable under the vagrant act number of gipsies in england during the time of queen elizabeth estimate of their present number, by mr. hoyland, and a member of parliament author's remarks, and editor's comments thereon _n_ mr. borrow's description of the english gipsies, and the english dialect spoken by them _n_ english gipsies travel in scotland--a description of a camp of them adventure of a scotchman among the gipsies in england crime among the english gipsies--report on the prisons in northumberland sketch of an english gipsy family arriving in scotland, by sir walter scott executions among the gipsies , , , , , falls, merchants, of dunbar, gipsies , - , , , will faa, the gipsy king, claims them as his relatives _n_ , farmers. their property protected by the gipsies , , how they sometimes treat the gipsies , , , , _n_ , , , , , fife and stirlingshire gipsies. the county of fife contained, at one time, a great many nomadic gipsies the tribe, at one time, possessed a foundry near st. andrews, called "little carron" lochgellie gipsies more particularly described description of lochgellie and other places, illustrative of gipsy quarters, in olden times description of falkland "scrapies" _n_ principal names of lochgellie gipsies and their connexions the tribe feared all over the shires of fife, kinross, perth, angus, and aberdeen old charles graham--"the auld thing again, my lord, but nae proof" his wife banished to botany bay--marries a gipsy there, and returns rich young charles graham apprehended--his irritation at the crowd staring at him--he steals a farmer's horse, sells it, steals it again, and returns it to the original owner, --robs a factor, and gives the money to a needy widow--he is apparently penitent at the gallows, --but kicks off his shoes, and addresses the people hugh graham stabbed by john young, who is hunted like a fox, before he is apprehended jenny graham leaves her protector, to follow the gang, and take care of its stolen articles margaret graham, a woman of uncommon bodily strength john young, who stabbed hugh graham, although five feet ten inches in height, is called by his mother, "the dwarf o' a' my bairns" peter young, a generous man--he breaks out of many prisons before he is hanged old john young, on being asked where his sons were, replied, "they are all hanged" charles brown, killed in a gipsy battle at raploch, near stirling alexander brown steals and carries off an ox in disguise billy marshall robs the laird of bargally, and saves an innocent man from the gallows _n_ he is nearly frightened out of his wits, under very ludicrous circumstances _n_ alexander brown's capture and audacious escape--his style when in full dress, --his disguise as a mounted man of quality, --his capture by highlanders, and desperate resistance, and execution martha, mother of alexander brown, steals sheets while attending his execution william brown is run down by the military--his threatened rescue by the tribe--he sets fire to the jail, but is put in irons by a soldier--his execution lizzie brown, in a gipsy fray--"in the middle o' the meantime, where's my nose?" the connexions of the gipsies, and the ramifications of their society charles stewart--his royal blood, style of dress, and audacity of conduct grellmann's description of the attire of a gipsy _n_ the unabashed hardihood of gipsies in the face of suspicion _n_ jamie robertson, a great musician--he resents an imagined affront to an absent friend his wife sentenced to botany bay, but, owing to her advanced age, set at liberty joyce robertson's daring robbery while in prison--his deliberate escape--he steals a watch, and has the crowd at his heels charles wilson, very respectable in his appearance and character, as a horse-dealer, --received and vended stolen goods through the country--was chief of his tribe, and, as such, issued passes, --he returns money stolen from a young countryman--becomes reduced to poverty in his old age, and dies in full communion with the church charles wilson's daughters--one of them kept by an adjutant--their disguises and pilferings--the brae laird of kinross-shire stirlingshire gipsies contributed their full share to the gallows the gipsies a predatory tribe originally--two kinds of them at the present day other people robbers besides the gipsies--spartans, abyssinians, moors, east indians, coords, kamtschadales, scotch _n_ training of the gipsies to theft by the women, --a gipsy picks a countryman's pocket with great dexterity thieves formed into bands--modes of operation, and division of the spoil vidocq on the pilfering habits of the continental gipsies _n_ male gipsies cut purses with palms, the females with rings mode of thieving among the gipsies in hungary a magistrate, in the west of fife, locks up the gipsies during the fair stylish habits of the gipsies at the inn or the north queensferry fashionable cavalcade of female gipsies departing from the ferry intimacy between the boatmen and their friends--"the lads that take the purses" trick of a gillie of a gipsy horse-dealer, played upon an highlander counterfeiting--an audacious gipsy counterfeiter the gipsies not murderers--they are accurate in their journeys and halting places pursuit, capture, escape, and recapture of a gipsy murderer indecent trick of a gipsy woman to obtain clothes from the natives a handsomely dressed female gipsy, from gratitude, saves a native from destruction old will of phaup's five years' war with the gipsies _n_ gipsy dances--charles stewart, --george drummond--gipsy dance at moscow afghan dance _n_ --george drummond a singular gipsy james robertson, his wife, and sisters dance like bacchanalians occupations, amusements, cock-fighting, dress, and generous habits of the gipsies the gipsies sometimes attend church, and baptize their own children their disputes with clergymen on points of morals--government-- division of property a landed gentleman went off with the gipsies, --his daughters common gipsies fighting among the gipsies--(_see also battles._) , , , _n_ , _n_ , , , fletcher of saltoun on scottish vagabonds, in _n_ , _n_ fortune-telling. fortune-telling women frighten the natives of the other sex _see tweed-dale gipsies_ - fortune-telling in america--_see disquisition on the gipsies_ freemasonry and the gipsies , _n_ , _n_ , gentoo code of laws in ancient india. division of plunder among thieves the elder married before the younger, --sacrifice of the horse, --the scape-goat among the jews germans, how they become lost in the population of great britain and america germany, gipsy bands in gitano, modification of the term _n_ gordon, the duchess of, saves two gipsies from the gallows government among the gipsies , _n_ , , , , , _n_ , gratitude of the gipsies for other people , , , , , , , , , , , , , , grellmann. children frightened by the gipsies _n_ , on the destiny of the french gipsies , he divides the gipsies in transylvania into four classes, --the population of the gipsies , gipsy government, --attire, _n_ --plundering, --fighting _n_ gipsies under and after punishment _n_ the habit of gipsy women after childbirth _n_ gipsy working in iron--gipsy smiths in hungary _n_ the gipsies will eat of any animal but a horse _n_ the secrecy of the gipsies in the matter of their language _n_ the gipsy language unintelligible to the common natives _n_ on the education of hungarian gipsies _n_ the origin of the idea that the gipsies came from india on the variations in the gipsy language in different countries _n_ how the gipsies resist the extremes of the weather _n_ the circumstances under which gipsy women are confined _n_ the physical properties of the gipsy race _n_ gipsies as soldiers, _n_ --as spies _n_ the religion of the gipsies, _n_ --their civilization _n_ on the colour and appearance of gipsies who change their habits _n_ the natural capacity of gipsies, --gipsy ingratitude gipsies "always merry and blithe" hale, sir matthew. his touching interview with bunyan's wife _n_ he mentions the execution of thirteen gipsies, at the suffolk assizes _n_ hatred of the gipsies for other people , , , _see disquisition_ - heber, bishop, notices the gipsies in india, persia, russia, and england. hindostan, the gipsies supposed to originate in , , , , , , , hogg, james. motto--_title page._ he notices a gipsy scuffle and murder in blackwood's magazine he says that lochmaben is "stocked" with gipsies _n_ hoyland, john. the religious character of the gipsies the capacity of the early gipsies, _n_ --english gipsy surnames _n_ baillie smith, of kelso--report on the yetholm gipsies the difficulty in gipsies acquiring settled habits _n_ mr. george offor says he was led captive by a gipsy girl _n_ huguenots introduced into england and america hume, baron. scots acts of , and , against the gipsies executions among the gipsies, under these sanguinary laws , _n_ trial of two gipsies, in , --baillie, in , --and pinkerton, in he would make the black eyes evidence against the gipsies hungarians, past and present, --they know nothing of their origin hurd, dr. the appearance of the gipsies when they first arrived in paris the gipsies called spies of the turks _n_ marriage customs among the russians, and christians of mesopotamia and chaldea _n_ improvement of the gipsies , , , , , , , , introduction. attention directed towards the gipsies by the publication of guy mannering the classes interested--a mission founded by the scottish church among the gipsies articles sent to blackwood's magazine--letters from mr. blackwood article by sir walter scott on the buckhaven fishermen--the zeal of an antiquary _n_ letters from sir walter scott, and william laidlaw - the scottish gipsies a branch of the same tribe to be found in every country comparisons between the gipsies and jews--the jews' letters to voltaire discontinuation of articles in blackwood's magazine--the author's authorities the difficulties in the way of a research into the subject of the gipsies a "blowing up" from a gipsy chief notice from professor wilson, in blackwood's magazine, and sir walter scott, in quentin durward inverkeithing, gipsy scenes at , , , , , , , , , , , irish gipsies in scotland , , - , , jews, the. the gipsies the "mixed multitude" that left egypt with the jews , circumstances under which the jews left egypt - they were separated from the egyptians by the prejudice of caste they termed jesus christ "beelzebub"--the prince of devils their reception of christ as the messiah their condition while in egypt their contemptuous description of the "mixed multitude" that followed them their circumstances after leaving egypt, --the destiny that awaited them comparisons between the jews and the gipsies , , letters of the jews to voltaire--the universality and differences in the jews _n_ they change their names in various countries _n_ the elder sister married before the younger, --jewish marriages when they blow rams' horns in september, they imagine they drive away the devil _n_ they dedicated horses to the sun, in the time of josiah _n_ hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat in leviticus compared the language of the jews during the seventy years' captivity _n_ the gipsies dislike the jews, _n_ , --jews during time of war _n_ neglect of women among jews--a jew's morning prayer _n_ jews and gipsies compared in a sermon by mr. borrow _n_ they marry among themselves, like the gipsies the money that is squandered on the conversion of jews the subject of the jews more or less familiar to people from infancy the gipsies, without any necessary outward peculiarities, have yet a nationality, like the jews , the mixture of gipsy and jewish blood--a jewish gipsy possible in what respect the existence of the gipsies differs from that of the jews philosophical historians on the existence of the jews since the dispersion no analogy between the jews and any other people but the gipsies a christian writer on the existence of the jews since the dispersion his description thereof, though erroneous, very applicable to the gipsies the attachment of jewesses and gipsies to their respective races how the jewish race is perpetuated--religion of secondary importance jewish christians--their feelings of nationality, and social position the rearing of gipsies resembles that of jews--the purity of jewish blood a figment half-blood jews sometimes follow the synagogue, and sometimes the christian church many jews who are not known to the world as such jewish physiognomy--what may be termed a "pure jew" the relative position of jews and gipsies - the jews have a church, a history, and a literature public sympathy for the gipsies, in preference to the jews the philosophy of the existence of the jews since the dispersion _see disquisition on the gipsies_ - john bunyan asked himself whether he was of the israelites the jews readmitted into england, under cromwell--manasseh ben israel the natural curiosity of the gipsies regarding the jews the gipsies have existed, in europe, a greater length of time than the jews dwelt in egypt it would have been a miracle had the jews been lost among mankind a prophecy of moses regarding a people who are to provoke and anger the jews _n_ , laidlaw, william. his letter to the author, --a gipsy "blowing up," alluded to by him , language of the gipsies. the love of gipsies for their language, , --they keep it a profound secret , , it is for the most part hindostanee--mr. borrow's remarks on its antiquity the philosophy of the preservation of the gipsy language , , the scottish gipsies very reserved and tenacious in the matter of their language its existence, but as slang, scarcely credited by people of the greatest intelligence grellmann, bright, and borrow on the difficulties in acquiring the gipsy language _n_ the gipsies have excellent memories, but shuffle when bored by people of whom they expect money _n_ the causes of the reserve among the scottish gipsies: st. the sanguinary laws. d. the popular prejudice. d. their natural secrecy a scottish gipsy works all his life in a shop, and no one discovers him to be a gipsy two gipsy women nearly killed by colliers, for not explaining the meaning of two gipsy words as the gipsies become civilized, they avoid intercourse with the barbarous part of the race _n_ the scottish peasantry, in some places, do not greatly despise the gipsies _n_ the use of the gipsy language in markets--the pride of the people as linguists seven years' trouble in getting a gipsy woman to own up to her language she is afraid the public would treat her with horror and contempt, for knowing the language the character of spanish gipsy women, according to mr. borrow _n_ a gipsy woman maintains she was speaking latin, when discovered conversing in gipsy the general difficulties in the way of acquiring the gipsy language the way in which the author learned what he knew of the gipsy language how the use of gipsy affected the tribe--ludicrous scenes how old gipsy women were affected--"you are no gentleman, sir, otherwise you would not insult us in that way" a woman, in a dreadful passion, threatens the author with apprehension, as the head of a band of thieves, for asking her, if her _chavo_ (son) was a _chor_ (thief) a female gipsy "blabs" with the author, but expresses great surprise, when addressed in gipsy, before a third party these people afraid of the sanguinary laws passed against the tribe sir walter scott's advice in prosecuting an enquiry into the gipsy language the scottish gipsies a branch of the tribe to be found everywhere a gipsy as distinguished from his language--the race comes before the speech _n_ an old woman and her two daughters--"no harm in the least, sir, in speaking the gipsy language" _specimens_ two girls, of the name of jamieson--"you gentlemen understand all languages now-a-days" _specimens_ four or five children--"you are a gipsy, yourself, sir, or you never could have got these words" _specimens_ ruthven addresses her child in gipsy--"i know that the public are trying to find out the secrets of the gipsies, but it is in vain" the threats of the tribe against those teaching the language to "strangers" _n_ a female gipsy, with three or four children, begging--"curse you, take the road"--"mother, mother, come away"--an innkeeper anxious to learn the words that dismiss importunate beggars young andrew steedman, of lochgellie, communicative--old andrew shakes and trembles in his stable--"rob that person" _specimens_ the woman who baffled the author for seven years--"it is in our hearts, and as long as a single tinkler exists, it will be remembered" _specimens_ a women and four children--"you know quite well what he says"--"i am sure he is a tramper, and can speak as good cant as any of us" _specimens_ a brother and a cousin of the jamieson girls--"so i saw, for he understood what i said"--"to show you i am no impostor, i will give you the names of everything in your house"--"my speech is not the cant of packmen, nor the slang of common thieves" gipsy-hunting like deer-stalking--modern gipsy-hunting jamieson returns--"i have been bred in that line all my life"-- "you are welcome to as many as you please"--"we can converse and have a word for everything in our speech"--he sings a song in english, and turns it into gipsy--"had i, at first, been aware you did not know my speech, i would not have given you a word of it" _specimens_ the songs composed by the gipsies illustrate their plunderings, robberies and sufferings, and quarrels among themselves the gipsies very fond of the border marauding songs--"hughie the græme," as a specimen sophia scott, afterwards mrs. lockhart, sings "hughie the græme" to the author, at abbotsford _n_ sir walter scott interested in the gipsies--he is afraid they might injure his plantations _n_ the author visits st. boswell's fair, and becomes acquainted with a gipsy family there he introduces himself by saying who his ancestors were--"god bless you! ay, those days are gone; christian charity has now left the land" the head of the family a very superior man; merry and jocular, like many of his race their language--"the tinklers have no language of their own, except a few cant words" the author addresses them in gipsy--"preserve me, he kens a' about us!" he enumerates their clan--"say not another word, but call at ----" the surprise among the natives--"yon was queer looking wark wi' the tinklers" an innkeeper ashamed, or afraid, of a customer that is a gentleman a little factory of horn-spoons--"no such language exists, except a few cant words" gipsy obstinacy--the word "gipsy" a terror to the tribe--the gipsy forfeits his promise laughter from another apartment--the gipsy starts to his feet, and takes hold of the author--"farewell, i will know you when i see you again" revisit to the factory of horn-spoons--the gipsy ashamed to give his language a promise or secrecy--the gipsy cheerful, he hesitates, but at last fulfills his oath _specimens_ circumstances illustrative of the history of the family of john bunyan _n_ the gipsies a tribe of ethiopian thieves and robbers, --the pronunciation of their speech--it is copious, but not written-- "so long as there exist two gipsies in scotland, it will never be lost" gipsy horse-dealers--"several thousand in scotland acquainted with the gipsy tongue" the children of gipsies instructed in gipsy, from their infancy--their pride in their language the character of an intelligent gipsy chief the gipsy sings a song in gipsy--the gipsies have doubtless an oral literature _n_ a great alarm in the family, --"give to the world what had been theirs for years" smith on the language of the jews during the captivity--how the gipsy tribe will relish the present work _n_ a tinker at grangemouth--"yes, the dog is not bad"--"what do you mean? i don't understand you--yes, the dog is hairy" thimbling gipsies--"_chee, chee,_" (hold your tongue)--"but, sir, what was that you said to them, for they seem afraid?" the author taken for a thimbler--"i tell ye, woman, the man you spoke to was nothing but one of these villains" _n_ a thimbler's sign--"where can you find a shop without a sign? and where's the other person that gets a sign from the public for nothing?" _n_ thimblers' traps, --a victim drowns himself thimblers' conversation--"bloody swells"--"i will require three men to take care of that boat" is that man a gipsy?--"ask himself, sir" an old thimbling gipsy attempts to inveigle some youths on arthur's seat--"wasn't he a slippery old serpent, after all?" _n_ the science of thimbling, _n_ --thimble-riggers, and their ancestry--ancient egyptian thimbling _n_ english, scottish, and irish gipsies speak the same language, and assist each other, when they meet an irish gipsy family--an ass bearing a "bundle of bones"-- "good-day, sir, god bless you" two irish gipsies in court--"three days, and be banished the town" a gipsy wife a go-between--"the scoundrel shall lie in prison till the last hour of his sentence" an escape, and a "banishing the town," --"a fight for the sake of friendship" _specimens_ a horde of irish gipsies--the town-clerk ashamed of his company a gipsy quizzes his friend--"you will put me out, by speaking to me in that language" _specimens_ irish gipsies in scotland--their number, appearance, and occupations the origin of the idea that the gipsies came from india scottish gipsy words collated with vulgar hindostanee john lobbs, a low caste native of bombay, examined _specimens_ rev. mr. crabb's annual gipsy festival--the hindostanee and gipsy languages _n_ gipsy words sent to sir walter scott, collated with the rev. mr. baird's collection scottish gipsy words that bear a relation to sanscrit a comparison between gipsy and various oriental languages the language of the gipsies mixed--how it has got corrupted rev. mr. baird's remarks thereon--the language of the gipsies in the scottish highlands _n_ the sclavonic in the gipsy language--variations in the gipsy of different countries _n_ the gipsies supposed to originate in india--the tribe originally thieves and robbers the nuts, or bazegurs, supposed to be the parent stock of the gipsies _see disquisition on the gipsies_ - linlithgowshire gipsies. the gipsies of this county more daring than the other bands in scotland they take up their quarters near the bridge of linlithgow their sagacity--the district populous--much business passes through it the names of the tribe--they have no connection with native vagrants their occupations--horses, music, feasting, and dancing the gipsies very civil and honest with their neighbours, but plunder others at a distance a gipsy unintentionally attempts to rob his own clergyman _n_ the tribe form strong attachments to individuals of the community terrific fighting among themselves, on dividing their spoil their children attend school--none dare taunt them, or their parents, though thieves and robbers the magistrates of linlithgow dare not interfere with the tribe they play with them at golf, and admit them to social meetings and dinner parties the authorities being passive, the gipsies plunder at pleasure the chief of the tribe taken off, when attempting highway robbery his funeral attended by the magistrates, and other people of respectability the gipsy mode of burying the dead the deceased chieftain succeeded by his son, who exceeds him in audacity and daring the band very numerous, having lieutenants, like a military company appearance, acquirements, and habits of the new chieftain, and his brother-in-law by means of trained horses, the chief plays many tricks description of his wife, and for what she was greatly respected , the gipsies protect their friends, but vindictively torment their enemies peculiarities of the gipsies in the matter of robbing people-- gipsy passports the chief and his brother-in-law condemned to be hung threatened rescue by the tribe--precautions taken, --execution of the criminals the chief's wife before, and after, the execution--touching and terrible scenes , attempted resuscitation of the bodies--they are interred in the church-yard of linlithgow they are torn up by the populace, and buried in a moor, in the neighbourhood the chief divorced from his first wife, over a horse, sacrificed for the occasion her character, and that of her successor, who continues her old practices she returns to a friend a purse, stolen by the tribe in a fair her two nephews pursued, tried, and executed for robbing the mail sizes of these two gipsies--mixed gipsies a strong race of men _n_ lochgellie once the headquarters of gipsies, --description of the neighbourhood, --scenes among the lochgellie gipsies , , lochmaben is said, by james hogg, to be stocked with gipsies _n_ macaulay, lord. john bunyan's tribe and nationality, , --the pilgrim's progress mclaurin's criminal trials. he speaks of john faw, "earl of little egypt," as "this peer" on the trial of william baillie, in , --on the mercy shown to james baillie marriage ceremonies of the gipsies. the gipsies all marry young--few or no illegitimate children among them a gipsy stabs another, for seducing his sister, who is afterwards married to him the virtue of young spanish gipsy females--they are dressed in a kind of drapery _n_ gipsy courtships--the younger sister not married before the elder the gipsy multiplication table--the gipsies obey one of the divine laws at least _n_ a parallel between the ancient hindoos and the jews during the time of laban the nuptial ceremony of the gipsies of great antiquity, and one the longest to be observed marriage customs generally--those of the gipsies should be made public sir walter scott not squeamish about delicacies, when knowledge is to be acquired the ideas of prudes and snobs on this chapter _n_ the scottish gipsy marriage ceremony described - the spanish gipsy marriage ceremony, according to bright, _n_ --and borrow _n_ singular marriage customs among other tribes--"hand-fasting" among scottish highland chiefs _n_ recent instances of scottish gipsy marriages, --a gipsy on the presbyterian form of marriage _n_ description of peter robertson, a famous celebrator of gipsy marriages in his will, he gives away, during his life, more than a county, but reserves to himself a "pendicle," and the town of dunfermline remarks on rams and rams' horns _n_ the gipsy priest given to good ale, and chastising his tribe without mercy miller, hugh, on the slavery of scotch colliers and salters _n_ minstrelsy of the scottish border. the scott clan agree to give up all friendship with common thieves, &c. song of "johnny faa, the gipsy laddie,"[ ] --of "hughie the græme" miracles. there is no miracle in the existence of the jews since the dispersion , , , they are to be found in the old and new testaments only they are things that are contrary to natural laws it would have been a miracle had the jews been lost among mankind mixture of gipsy blood , _n_ , _n_ , , , , - , , mixed gipsies, peculiarities of , _n_ , , , , , - , , , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , _n_ , moses. his difficulties in inducing the jews to undertake the exodus the difference between his rank and that of jesus christ , the character of moses, --his troubles after leaving egypt how he apparently got rid of the "mixed multitude" that followed him occupations of the gipsies generally , , , , , , , , , , , offor, george, (editor of bunyan's works). he avoids the gipsies--his advice to the editor--he says mr. hoyland was led captive by a gipsy girl _n_ what he says about john bunyan owen, john, how he respected and appreciated john bunyan park, mungo, marriage customs among the natives of africa _n_ passes. the system of passes among the gipsies the use of passes granted to the friends of the gipsies among the community , , , , pennecuik, dr. alexander. he alludes to the gipsies in his poems and history of tweed-dale he gives a description of a gipsy battle, at romanno he erects a dove-cot on the spot, to commemorate the battle philologists and the gipsy language , , , , , pilgrim's progress, the. what lord macaulay says of it, --what bunyan himself wrote of it pons assinorum, the, of the gipsy question _n_ population of the gipsies , , , , , , , present condition and number of the gipsies in scotland. every author represents the gipsies as all remarkably dark in their appearance the scottish gipsies of all colours--fair-haired gipsies in finland and arabia children stolen and incorporated with the tribe--how its appearance has been changed peculiarity of mixing "the blood" with native, in england _n_ gipsies formerly employed in scotland as constables, peace- officers, and "country-keepers" the peculiarities of the tribe in such capacities--they make matters a great deal worse impressments during the american and french wars greatly break up the gipsy bands the tribe desert the ranks on landing in america _n_ the gipsies prefer self-mutilation to impressment sir walter scott meets a prussian gipsy soldier, a sentinel in paris _n_ the gipsies accept the bounty and desert--burns' "jolly beggars:" "my bonny lass, i work in brass." _n_ the gipsies are now crockery-dealers, horse-dealers, and innkeepers; coopers, shoemakers, plumbers, and masons; tinsmiths, braziers, cutlers, bell-hangers, umbrella-menders, and chimney- sweeps, --constables in large and small towns, female servants, lady's maids and housekeepers; ginger-bread dealers, crockery, japan, and white-iron hawkers, &c., english gipsy constables--a scottish clergyman married to a gipsy _n_ a travelling gipsy jeweller, disguised as a sailor, offers for sale "a valuable gold watch, that cost him not less than ten francs."--"do not attempt to cheat us in this manner"--the "sailor" makes his exit dancing, and twirling his bludgeon, in the manner of his tribe thimble-riggers, tinkers, dealers in horn spoons--"did you ever make horn spoons?" popular ideas of gipsies, and their numbers--sir walter scott's opinion "tinklers and vagabonds," since the peace of the gipsies at st. boswell's, --an asiatic camp to be seen after the fair description of the _tinkering_ gipsies, at present in scotland the hardy constitution of the gipsy race in resisting the elements _n_ itinerant gipsies--difficulty in pleasing them with hot rolls-- gipsy beggars in towns travelling singing gipsy impostors, --gipsy mock country labourers irish gipsies in scotland--a gipsy woman gives birth to a child in the open fields irish gipsies in england--they are disliked by their english and scottish brethren _n_ irish gipsy mechanics in edinburgh, england, and the untied states infanticide among the gipsies--the tribe physically, _n_ -- female gipsy recklessness _n_ the gipsies charged with cowardice--the scottish gipsies make excellent soldiers the gipsies employed by european governments, as soldiers, _n_ ,--and spies _n_ an interesting meeting between a french and spanish gipsy, in the heat of a battle _n_ supposed danger from gipsies in time of war equally applicable to jews and freemasons _n_ scottish gipsies distinguished for gratitude, in return for civility and kindness "terrible," a gipsy chief, offers to sell his all, to get a farmer out of prison terrible's opinion of "writers" and lairds, but especially of the writers the feelings of the gipsies in regard to the prejudice that exists against them _n_ terrible's character--his mother a witch--he believed she could have set the farmer free the character of gipsy chiefs generally--education among the scottish gipsies how a gipsy child became "spoiled," --education among the spanish gipsies, _n_ --female gipsies _n_ neglect of females among the jews--a jew's morning prayer _n_ religion among the scottish gipsies, --their general political sentiments grellmann on the religion of the gipsies--mr. borrow preaches to them in spain _n_ the number of the gipsies in scotland--gipsies in all the towns, and many of the villages few gipsies now hanged--their present punishment--they cannot fail to encrease _n_ the civilization and improvement of the gipsies--an hungarian nobleman's opinion the restless nature of the gipsies--how it is manifested _n_ the language of the gipsies should be published, and the tribe encouraged to speak it openly the plan of the rev. mr. crabb, _n_ , and the rev. mr. baird for the civilization of the gipsies _n_ the difficulty in distinguishing some of the tribe from common natives _n_ the gipsies marry among themselves, like the jews, and "stick to each other." principal gipsy families in scotland. faw , _n_ , , , , _n_ , , , , , , , , baillie , _n_ , , , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , pritchard on the hungarian race, past and present prophecies. "scattering of the egyptians," ezek. xxix. - , and xxx. , and "a people that are to provoke and anger the jews," deut. xxxii. , and rom. x. _n_ , pyrenees, the gipsies of the, resemble the inferior class of scottish gipsies quakers. gipsy-quakers, or quaker-gipsies _n_ the result of their society being dissolved the nature of the perpetuation of their existence queensferry, north. stylish habits of gipsy plunderers at the inn at fashionable cavalcade of female gipsies departing from the boatmen and their friends--"the lads that take the purses" gipsy scenes at , queensferry, south. adventure of a gipsy with an ox at gipsy scenes at religion among the gipsies , , _n_ , , _n_ , , , , , , _n_ , , , , rome, the church of. the seventy years schism--three popes anathematizing each other the gipsies tolerated in the dominions of the church, for the sake of gain the gipsies despised and tolerated by the church, in spain the attempted conversion of the jews to the superstitions and impostures of rome st. boswell's, the author's visits to the fairs at--gipsy scenes , , st. james on the gratitude of wild animals st. paul before the jewish council--gamaliel's advice on the persecution of christians _n_ "scotsman" newspaper, lament on the death of will faa, king of the scottish gipsies, in october, scott, sir walter. his judicious advice to the author regarding this work , , , , the gipsy language a "great mystery," , --his intended publication on the gipsies he urges an enquiry into the subject of the gipsies , the original of meg merrilies, in guy mannering , , an article on the buckhaven fishermen--the zeal of an antiquary _n_ his three letters to the author, - --his opinion of the gipsy language , in a note to quentin durward, he urges a publication of the present work his translated article, in blackwood's magazine, on the gipsies in germany his article in blackwood's magazine--an english gipsy family arriving in scotland billy marshall the gallowayshire gipsy chief _n_ in a letter to captain adam ferguson, he alludes to the trial of kennedy, a tinker _n_ he notices a scuffle and a murder among gipsies his description of a gipsy feast adventure of a relative among gipsies--the original of meg merrilies his grandfather feasted by the gipsies on charter-house moor he discovers a gipsy, when in the company of baillie smith, of kelso he is not squeamish about delicacies when knowledge is to be acquired , his idea of the scottish gipsy population greatly erroneous _n_ , , _n_ he causes his eldest daughter to sing "hughie the græme" to the author _n_ he is interested in the gipsies, but afraid they might injure his plantations _n_ a list of gipsy words sent to him for inspection , he meets a prussian gipsy soldier, in paris _n_ feudal robbers--extract from his life by lockhart _n_ highland robbers--fitz-james and roderick dhu, in the "lady of the lake," _n_ on the disappearance of the scottish gipsies _n_ what he says about john bunyan scottish gipsies, down to the year . gipsies supposed to be in scotland before the year mclellan of bombie kills a gipsy chief, and recovers the barony of bombie the gipsies enter scotland, from spain, by way of ireland _n_ armorial bearings--act of james ii. against vagabonds letter of james iv., in , to the king of denmark, in favour of anthonius gawino, earl of little egypt capacity of the early gipsies in passing for pilgrims and men of consequence _n_ treaty between james v. and john faw, "lord and earl of little egypt," in policy of the gipsies--the act of james v. the starting point in the history of the scoto-egyptians _n_ the gipsies insult james v., and, for that reason, are ordered to leave scotland, in faw's diplomacy on the occasion _n_ death of james v.--the gipsies recover their position with his successors remission of gipsies for the slaughter of ninian small scottish gipsy captains, and spanish gipsy counts _n_ the gipsies, at that time, men of importance, and allowed to live under their own laws the countess of cassilis elopes with john faa the gipsies tolerated from till , when james vi. assumes the government act of james vi. against vagabonds in general, and the gipsies in particular mode prescribed for punishing the gipsies and the other vagabonds mentioned statute confirmed in , when the gipsies are again referred to act of against "strong beggars, vagabonds, and egyptians" coal and salt masters might apprehend and put such to labour _n_ origin of the slavery in scotland which was abolished during last century _n_ gipsies now colliers in the lothians _n_ fletcher of saltoun's estimate of the beggars and vagabonds in scotland, in _n_ act of declares previous ones ineffectual acts of and banish the gipsies forever, on pain of death act of directs the authorities how to proceed against the gipsies condition of the scottish people generally, at this time acts against "famous and unspotted gentlemen" for protecting the gipsies similar acts passed against the nobility and commonalty in spain _n_ gipsy policy and cunning--modifications of the term gitano _n_ great outward change in the gipsies at that time--surnames and general policy english and german gipsy and jewish surnames _n_ the gipsies claim bastard kindred with the scottish aristocracy and gentry they have a profound regard for aristocracy _n_ trials and executions of the gipsies in scotland--baron hume's account the faas and baillies the principal gipsy tribes in scotland the influence of the baillies, of lamington, of great service to the scottish gipsies proscription of gipsies, and enslavement of colliers and salters, in scotland _n_ shepherd kings, gipsies probably the descendants of the , sheriffs of scotland, their reports on the gipsies in scotland _n_ skene, wm. f. "hand-fasting," previous to marriage, practised among scottish highland chiefs _n_ the plundering principles and habits of scottish highlanders slang, in connexion with the gipsy language , _n_ , , , , _n_ , slaves, the religion of , , , , _n_ smith, adam, author of the "wealth of nations," carried off by the gipsies, when a child smith, baillie, of kelso. his contribution to hoyland's "survey of the gipsies," smith's hebrew people. history of their language during the seventy years' captivity _n_ soldiers, gipsies as , , , , , , _n_ , southey, robert. he says bunyan was bred to the business of a brazier _n_ on tinkering and bunyan's education bunyan's family history and fame he is unreasonable in styling bunyan a "blackguard," spies, gipsies as _n_ , _n_ statistical account of scotland. description of lochgellie, fifeshire, and the gipsies settled there description of the gipsies at middleton, mid-lothian allusion to the falls, merchants, at dunbar _n_ stealing among the gipsies , , , , _n_ , , , - , , , , , , , , , surnames among the gipsies , , , , , , , , , , _n_ tacitus on the destruction of the druids, _n_ --on the religion of slaves _n_ thimble-riggers and thimble-rigging - timour's cruelties on over-running india titles among the gipsies , , , , , , , _n_ , , , , , , _n_ trenck, baron. in his wanderings, comes in contact with a band of german gipsies twiss, richard, on the religious character of the gipsies on the virtue of gipsy females, and honesty of gipsy innkeepers, in spain tweed-dale and clydesdale gipsies. description of tweed-dale, in the time of queen mary dr. pennecuik's works--the gipsies never had a permanent habitation in the county the tribe attached to the district for three reasons: st, the baillies claimed it as their own, -- d, plenty of provisions-- d, freedom from the laws alleged relation of the gipsies to the baillies of lamington _n_ braxy--mr. borrow on the gipsies poisoning and eating swine _n_ fashionable appearance and mounting of the baillie tribe--their children left in huts the gipsies well treated by the tenantry, who accept dinners from them the baillies specially mentioned--they give kings and queens to the tribe the quarrelsome disposition of the gipsies--"a shower of horns, hammers, knives, files, and fiery peats," dr. pennecuik's account of a gipsy battle at romanno he erects a dove-cot on the spot, to illustrate, by contrast, the nature of the gipsy the same battle noticed by lord fountainhall, in his ms a gipsy battle at hawick--terrific wounds, but no slain sir walter scott's allusion to this battle _n_ another and decisive battle between the hostile tribes, at eskdale moor the country people horrified at the sight of the wounded gipsies grellmann's description of hungarian gipsies fighting _n_ female gipsies fight as well as males--'becca keith, the heroine of dumblane the trifling occasions of gipsies fighting, and agreeing among themselves _n_ the fencibles and the clergy called out to quell and disperse the gipsies _n_ assault of the gipsies on pennicuik house _n_ an insult offered to the mother of the baillies resented, with drawn swords contribution from mr. blackwood towards a history of the gipsies pickpockets at dumfries, headed by will baillie--how he and his tribe travelled to fairs--he returns a farmer his purse, --the farmer, when intoxicated, goes to visit him--baillie pays a widow's rent, and saves her from ruin, --he borrows money, and gives the lender a pass of protection, --the pass, after scrutiny by two of the tribe, protects its bearer --baillie repays his loan with a large interest--the "jock johnstone" gang of gipsies, --jock, in a drunken squabble, kills a country ale-wife--his jack-daw proves a bird of bad omen to him, and he a bird of bad omen to his executioner jock's execution, as described by dr. alexander carlyle _n_ william baillie, a handsome, well-dressed, good-looking, well- bred man, and an excellent swordsman like a wild arab, he distributes the wares of a trembling packman, who extols, wherever he goes, "the extraordinary liberality of captain baillie," bruce on the protection given by arabs to shipwrecked christians _n_ in indulging his sarcastic wit, baillie insults the judge on the bench the deportment of hungarian gipsies during and after punishment _n_ baillie's numerous crimes and sentences the nature of "sorning," _n_ --gipsies carried arms in the olden times _n_ baillie's policy in claiming kin with honourable families he is slain by one of the tribe while in the arms of his wife his murderer pursued by the tribe over the british isles, till he is apprehended and executed legal enquiry regarding the slaughter of baillie, --the trial of his murderers william baillie succeeded by matthew baillie--his descendants mary yorkston, wife of matthew baillie, a gipsy queen and priestess her appearance and costume, on gala days, when advanced in years old gipsy women strip people of their clothes, like the arabs of the desert mary yorkston restores a stolen purse to a friend--her husband first counts its contents--"there is your purse, sir; you see what it is, when honest people meet!" a gipsy chief chastises his wife for want of diligence or success at a fair mary yorkston and her particular friend, the good-man of coulter-park she scorns alms, but demands and takes by force a "boontith," her son, james baillie, condemned and pardoned again and again the baillies of lamington's influence successful in his case stylish dress of the male head of the ruthvens--the gipsy costume generally disguises of the tribe when plundering in fairs vidocq on the disguises of the continental gipsies, on a similar occasion _n_ a couple of mounted gipsies taken for men almost of the first quality straggling gipsies--their suspicious characters--a tinker and a tinker's wife a quarrel among three gipsy constables, --a murder, a capture, and a lamentation one gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and the third banished great falling off in the condition of the scottish nomadic gipsies the internal polity of the gipsies--their general system of passes the country divided into districts, under a king and provincial chieftains--the pass of a baillie conducts its bearer over all scotland surnames among the tweed-dale gipsies--surnames among the english gipsies _n_ travelling gipsies possess two and sometimes several names-- superstitious ideas when travelling present condition of the tweed-dale gipsies--they dispense with tents, but occupy kilns and outhouses the number of the tribe sometimes collected together, --how they are sometimes treated how the gipsies approach the farmers' premises, --how they disguise their numbers their honesty, while on the farm--the resemblance between gipsies and ravens _n_ personal habits of the tribe while in their encampment the males remain aloof, tinkering and manufacturing--the women vend the goods athletic amusements of the gipsies, --they despise the peasantry, but boast of their own tribe their peaceable behaviour, --they do not attend church, or worship any thing whatever the musical talents of the gipsies--their pretensions to surgery --dr. duds how gipsy women vend their wares, --they sometimes take, by force, a "boontith," habits of the hungarian gipsy after child-birth _n_ mary yorkston and her "boontith," --her terrible prediction recent instances of "sorning," or masterful begging, among the scottish gipsies _n_ gipsy fortune-tellers, --how they frequently obtain important information travelling gipsies--gipsy fiddlers at parties--gipsy lady's maids fortune-telling by palmistry and the divining cup, --by the corn riddle and scissors fortune-telling in kamtachatka and the ancient eastern nations _n_ fortune-telling punishable by act of parliament _n_ anecdote of a gipsy woman telling fortunes by the divining cup gipsies' meals--sir walter scott's description of a gipsy feast the gipsy mode of cooking poultry and butcher-meat the gipsy mode of working in iron--its antiquity--hungarian gipsy smiths _n_ vidocq. on the disguises and plundering habits of the continental gipsies _n_ , _n_ wilkinson, sir j. gardner. thimble-rigging among the ancient egyptians _n_ the appearance of the jews in the east differs from that in europe wilson, professor. he strolls with the gipsies in his youth, --was he then looking at the "old thing?" he notices the articles of the author in blackwood's magazine yetholm. description of its situation _n_ the gipsies of yetholm--baillie smith's account, --mr. blackwood's contribution tradition of the first settlement of the gipsies at yetholm _n_ the author's visit to yetholm the gipsies at yetholm knock down their asses, when they separate from their wives yetholm the metropolis of scottish gipsydom, --"i come from yetholm" [ ] the song of "johnny faa, the gipsy laddie," appears in the waverly anecdotes. it might have been included in the minstrelsy of the scottish border. +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's notes | | | | the spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation of the original work | | have been maintained, including inconsistencies (also in the lists | | of words), except when mentioned below. | | examples of such inconsistencies are o/ou (as in colour/color), | | d/ nd, clannish/clanishness/clanism, couter-park/coulter-park, | | tschingenes/tschengenes, depot/depôt, wagon/waggon, inconsistent | | use of periods after the name of monarchs (charles ii/charles ii.),| | (john) lobbs'/lobb's, etc. | | | | the lay-out of the index has not been changed. | | | | doubtful issues have been verified with another scan of the same | | edition of the book. | | | | textual remarks: the author uses "barrier" in several places where | | "barrio" might possibly be more appropriate. this has not been | | changed. the same applies to the author's use of "pons assinorum". | | | | changes made to the original text: | | some minor obvious typographical errors (including punctuation) | | have been corrected silently; | | footnote [ ]: abbè changed to abbé; | | page : tereros changed to toreros; | | footnote [ ]: annals changed to annales; | | page : young laid changed to young lad; | | footnote [ ]: the gipsy women changed to the gipsy woman; | | footnote [ ]: hudegger changed to heidegger; | | page (table): doooe changed to dooce as in hoyland's work; | | index: | | several page numbers inserted where they were lacking; | | references to footnotes standardised as _n_xxx (spaces deleted); | | spelling changed to conform to spelling in text: graeme to græme; | | charterhouse moor to charter-house moor; esk-dale moor to eskdale | | moor, fitz james to fitz-james; free-masons to freemasons; | | the philosophy of the preservation ...: page number changed to | | ; | | mixed gipsies ...: page number moved to proper place. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ gypsy sorcery and fortune telling illustrated by numerous incantations, specimens of medical magic, anecdotes and tales by charles godfrey leland president of the gipsy-lore society, &c., &c. copiously illustrated by the author new york charles scribner's sons mdcccxci dedication. this work is respectfully dedicated to my colleagues of the congrÈs des traditions populaires, held at paris, july, ; and especially to the french members of that body, in grateful remembrance of their generous hospitality, and unfailing kindness and courtesy, by charles g. leland. contents. chap. page i. the origin of witchcraft, shamanism, and sorcery.-- vindictive and mischievous magic ii. charms and conjurations to cure the disorders of grown people.--hungarian gypsy magic iii. gypsy conjurations and exorcisms--the cure of children-- hungarian gypsy spells--a curious old italian "secret"-- the magic virtue of garlic--a florentine incantation learned from a witch--lilith, the child-stealer, and queen of the witches iv. south slavonian and other gypsy witch-lore.--the words for a witch--vilas and the spirits of earth and air-- witches, egg-shells, and egg-lore--egg proverbs--ova de crucibus v. charms or conjurations to cure or protect animals vi. of pregnancy and charms, or folk-lore connected with it--boars' teeth and charms for preventing the flow of blood vii. the recovery of stolen property--love-charms--shoes and love-potions, or philtres viii. roumanian and transylvanian sorceries and superstitions, connected with those of the gypsies ix. the rendezvous or meetings of witches, sorcerers, and vilas.--a continuation of south slavonian gypsy-lore x. of the haunts, homes, and habits of witches in the south slavic lands.--bogeys and humbugs xi. gypsy witchcraft.--the magical power which is innate in all men and women--how it may be cultivated and developed--the principles of fortune-telling xii. fortune-telling (continued).--romance based on chance, or hope, as regards the future--folk- and sorcery-lore --authentic instances of gypsy prediction xiii. proverbs referring to witches, gypsies, and fairies xiv. a gypsy magic spell.--hokkani baro--lellin dudikabin, or the great secret--children's rhymes and incantations --ten little indian boys and ten little acorn girls of marcellus burdigalensis xv. gypsy amulets xvi. gypsies, toads, and toad-lore preface. this work contains a collection of the customs, usages, and ceremonies current among gypsies, as regards fortune-telling, witch-doctoring, love-philtering, and other sorcery, illustrated by many anecdotes and instances, taken either from works as yet very little known to the english reader or from personal experiences. within a very few years, since ethnology and archæology have received a great inspiration, and much enlarged their scope through folk-lore, everything relating to such subjects is studied with far greater interest and to much greater profit than was the case when they were cultivated in a languid, half-believing, half-sceptical spirit which was in reality rather one of mere romance than reason. now that we seek with resolution to find the whole truth, be it based on materialism, spiritualism, or their identity, we are amazed to find that the realm of marvel and mystery, of wonder and poetry, connected with what we vaguely call "magic," far from being explained away or exploded, enlarges before us as we proceed, and that not into a mere cloudland, gorgeous land, but into a country of reality in which men of science who would once have disdained the mere thought thereof are beginning to stray. hypnotism has really revealed far greater wonders than were ever established by the fascinatores of old or by mesmerists of more modern times. memory, the basis of thought according to plato, which was once held to be a determined quantity, has been proved, (the word is not too bold), by recent physiology, to be practically infinite, and its perfect development to be identical with that of intellect, so that we now see plainly before us the power to perform much which was once regarded as miraculous. not less evident is it that men of science or practical inventors, such as darwin, wallace, huxley, tyndale, galton, joule, lockyer, and edison, have been or are all working in common with theosophists, spiritualists, folk-lorists, and many more, not diversely but all towards a grand solution of the unknown. therefore there is nothing whatever in the past relating to the influences which have swayed man, however strange, eccentric, superstitious, or even repulsive they may seem, which is not of great and constantly increasing value. and if we of the present time begin already to see this, how much more important will these facts be to the men of the future, who, by virtue of more widely extended knowledge and comparison, will be better able than we are to draw wise conclusions undreamed of now. but the chief conclusion for us is to collect as much as we can, while it is yet extant, of all the strange lore of the olden time, instead of wasting time in forming idle theories about it. in a paper read before the congrès des traditions populaires in paris, , on the relations of gypsies to folk-lore, i set forth my belief that these people have always been the humble priests of what is really the practical religion of all peasants and poor people; that is their magical ceremonies and medicine. very few have any conception of the degree to which gypsies have been the colporteurs of what in italy is called "the old faith," or witchcraft. as regards the illustrative matter given, i am much indebted to dr. wlislocki, who has probably had far more intimate personal experience of gypsies than any other learned man who ever lived, through our mutual friend, dr. anthon herrmann, editor of the ethnologische mitteilungen, budapest, who is also himself an accomplished romany scholar and collector, and who has kindly taken a warm interest in this book, and greatly aided it. to these i may add dr. friedrich s. krauss, of vienna, whose various works on the superstitions and folk-lore of the south slavonians--kindly presented by him to me--contain a vast mine of material, nearly all that of which he treats being common property between peasants and the romany, as other sources abundantly indicate. with this there is also much which i collected personally among gypsies and fortune-tellers, and similar characters, it being true as regards this work and its main object, that there is much cognate or allied information which is quite as valuable as gypsy-lore itself, as all such subjects mutually explain one of the others. gypsies, as i have said, have done more than any race or class on the face of the earth to disseminate among the multitude a belief in fortune-telling, magical or sympathetic cures, amulets and such small sorceries as now find a place in folk-lore. their women have all pretended to possess occult power since prehistoric times. by the exercise of their wits they have actually acquired a certain art of reading character or even thought, which, however it be allied to deceit, is in a way true in itself, and well worth careful examination. matthew arnold has dwelt on it with rare skill in his poem of "the gypsy scholar." even deceit and imposture never held its own as a system for ages without some ground-work of truth, and that which upheld the structure of gypsy sorcery, has never been very carefully examined. i trust that i have done this in a rational and philosophic spirit, and have also illustrated my remarks in a manner which will prove attractive to the general reader. there are many good reasons for believing that the greatest portion of gypsy magic was brought by the romany from the east or india. this is specially true as regards those now dwelling in eastern europe. and it is certainly interesting to observe that among these people there is still extant, on a very extended scale indeed, a shamanism which seems to have come from the same tartar-altaic source which was found of yore among the accadian-babylonians, etruscan races, and indian hill-tribes. this, the religion of the drum and the demon as a disease--or devil doctoring--will be found fully illustrated in many curious ways in these pages. i believe that in describing it i have also shown how many fragments of this primitive religion, or cult, still exist, under very different names, in the most enlightened centres of civilization. and i respectfully submit to my reader, or critic, that i have in no instance, either in this or any other case, wandered from my real subject, and that the entire work forms a carefully considered and consistent whole. to perfect my title, i should perhaps have added a line or two to the effect that i have illustrated many of the gypsy sorceries by instances of folk-lore drawn from other sources; but i believe that it is nowhere inappropriate, considering the subject as a whole. for those who would lay stress on omissions in my book, i would say that i have never intended or pretended to exhaust gypsy superstitions. i have not even given all that may be found in the works of wlislocki alone. i have, according to the limits of the book, cited so much as to fully illustrate the main subject already described, and this will be of more interest to the student of history than the details of gypsy chiromancy or more spells and charms than are necessary to explain the leading ideas. what is wanted in the present state of folk-lore, i here repeat, is collection from original sources, and material, that is from people and not merely from books. the critics we have--like the poor--always with us, and a century hence we shall doubtless have far better ones than those in whom we now rejoice--or sorrow. but material abides no time, and an immense quantity of it which is world-old perishes every day. for with general culture and intelligence we are killing all kinds of old faiths, with wonderful celerity. the time is near at hand when it will all be incredibly valuable, and then men will wish sorrowfully enough that there had been more collectors to accumulate and fewer critics to detract from their labours and to discourage them. for the collector must form his theory, or system great or small, good or bad, such as it is, in order to gather his facts; and then the theory is shattered by the critic and the collection made to appear ridiculous. and so collection ends. there is another very curious reflection which has been ever present to my mind while writing this work, and which the reader will do well carefully to think out for himself. it is that the very first efforts of the human mind towards the supernatural were gloomy, strange, and wild; they were of witchcraft and sorcery, dead bodies, defilement, deviltry, and dirt. men soon came to believe in the virtue of the repetition of certain rhymes or spells in connection with dead men's bones, hands, and other horrors or "relics." to this day this old religion exists exactly as it did of yore, wherever men are ignorant, stupid, criminal, or corresponding to their prehistoric ancestors. i myself have seen a dead man's hand for sale in venice. according to dr. block, says a writer in the st. james's gazette, january , , the corpse-candle superstition is still firmly enshrined among the tenets of thieves all over europe. in reality, according to the standard, we know little about the strange thoughts which agitate the minds of the criminal classes. their creeds are legends. most of them are the children and grandchildren of thieves who have been brought up from their youth in the densest ignorance, and who, constantly at war with society, seek the aid of those powers of darkness in the dread efficacy of which they have an unshaken confidence. "fetishism of the rudest type, or what the mythologists have learned to call 'animism' is part and parcel of the robber's creed. a 'habit and repute' thief has always in his pocket, or somewhere about his person, a bit of coal, or chalk, or a 'lucky stone,' or an amulet of some sort on which he relies for safety in his hour of peril. omens he firmly trusts in. divination is regularly practised by him, as the occasional quarrels over the bible and key, and the sieve and shears, testify. the supposed power of witches and wizards make many of them live in terror, and pay blackmail, and although they will lie almost without a motive, the ingenuity with which the most depraved criminal will try to evade 'kissing the book,' performing this rite with his thumb instead, is a curious instance of what may be termed perverted religious instincts. as for the fear of the evil eye, it is affirmed that most of the foreign thieves of london dread more being brought before a particular magistrate who has the reputation of being endowed with that fatal gift than of being summarily sentenced by any other whose judicial glare is less severe." this is all true, but it tells only a small part of the truth. not only is fetish or shamanism the real religion of criminals, but of vast numbers who are not suspected of it. there is not a town in england or in europe in which witchcraft (its beginning) is not extensively practised, although this is done with a secrecy the success of which is of itself almost a miracle. we may erect churches and print books, but wherever the prehistoric man exists--and he is still to be found everywhere by millions--he will cling to the old witchcraft of his remote ancestors. until you change his very nature, the only form in which he can realize supernaturalism will be by means of superstition, and the grossest superstition at that. research and reflection have taught me that this sorcery is far more widely and deeply extended than any cultivated person dreams--instead of yielding to the progress of culture it seems to actually advance with it. count angelo de gubernatis once remarked to one of the most distinguished english statesmen that there was in the country in tuscany ten times as much heathenism as christianity. the same remark was made to me by a fortune-teller in florence. she explained what she meant. it was the vecchia religione--"the old religion"--not christianity, but the dark and strange sorceries of the stregha, or witch, the compounding of magical medicine over which spells are muttered, the making love-philters, the cursing enemies, the removing the influence of other witches, and the manufacture of amulets in a manner prohibited by the church. it would seem as if, by some strange process, while advanced scientists are occupied in eliminating magic from religion, the coarser mind is actually busy in reducing it to religion alone. it has been educated sufficiently to perceive an analogy between dead man's hands and "relics" as working miracles, and as sorcery is more entertaining than religion, and has, moreover, the charm of secrecy, the prehistoric man, who is still with us, prefers the former. because certain forms of this sorcery are no longer found among the educated classes we think that superstition no longer exists; but though we no longer burn witches or believe in fairies, it is a fact that of a kind and fashion proportionate to our advanced culture, it is, with a very few exceptions, as prevalent as ever. very few persons indeed have ever given this subject the attention which it merits, for it is simply idle to speculate on the possibility of cultivating or sympathizing with the lowest orders without really understanding it in all its higher forms. and i venture to say that, as regards a literal and truthful knowledge of its forms and practices, this work will prove to be a contribution to the subject not without value. i have, in fact, done my best to set forth in it a very singular truth which is of great importance to every one who takes any real interest in social science, or the advance of intelligence. it is that while almost everybody who contributes to general literature, be it books of travel or articles in journals, has ever and anon something clever to say about superstition among the lower orders at home or abroad, be it in remote country places or in the mountains of italy, with the usual cry of "would it be believed--in the nineteenth century?" &c.; it still remains true that the amount of belief in magic--call it by what name we will--in the world is just as great as ever it was. and here i would quote with approbation a passage from "the conditions for the survival of archaic customs," by g. l. gomme, in the archæological review of january, :-- "if folk-lore has done nothing else up to this date it has demonstrated that civilization, under many of its phases, while elevating the governing class of a nation, and thereby no doubt elevating the nation, does not always reach the lowest or even the lower strata of the population. as sir arthur mitchell puts it, 'there is always a going up of some and a going down of others,' and it is more than probable that just as the going up of the few is in one certain direction, along certain well-ascertained lines of improvement or development, so the going down of the many is in an equally well-ascertained line of degradation or backwardness. the upward march is always towards political improvement, carrying with it social development; the downward march is always towards social degradation, carrying with it political backwardness. it seems difficult indeed to believe that monarchs like Ælfred, eadward, william, and edward, could have had within their christianized kingdom groups of people whose status was still that of savagery; it seems difficult to believe that raleigh and spenser actually beheld specimens of the irish savage; it seems impossible to read kemble and green and freeman and yet to understand that they are speaking only of the advanced guard of the english nation, not of the backward races within the boundary of its island home. the student of archaic custom has, however, to meet these difficulties, and it seems necessary, therefore, to try and arrive at some idea as to what the period of savagery in these islands really means." which is a question that very few can answer. there is to be found in almost every cheap book, or "penny dreadful" and newspaper shop in great britain and america, for sale at a very low price a book of fate--or something equivalent to it, for the name of these works is legion--and one publisher advertises that he has nearly thirty of them, or at least such books with different titles. in my copy there are twenty-five pages of incantations, charms, and spells, every one of them every whit as "superstitious" as any of the gypsy ceremonies set forth in this volume. i am convinced, from much inquiry, that next to the bible and the almanac there is no one book which is so much disseminated among the million as the fortune-teller, in some form or other. [ ] that is to say, there are, numerically, many millions more of believers in such small sorcery now in great britain than there were centuries ago, for, be it remembered, the superstitions of the masses were always petty ones, like those of the fate-books; it was only the aristocracy who consulted cornelius agrippa, and could afford la haute magie. we may call it by other names, but fry, boil, roast, powder or perfume it as we will, the old faith in the supernatural and in "occult" means of getting at it still exists in one form or another--the parable or moral of most frequent occurrence in it being that of the mote and the beam, of the real and full meaning of which i can only reply in the ever-recurring refrain of the edda: "understand ye this--or what?" chapter i. the origin of witchcraft, shamanism, and sorcery.--vindictive and mischievous magic. as their peculiar perfume is the chief association with spices, so sorcery is allied in every memory to gypsies. and as it has not escaped many poets that there is something more strangely sweet and mysterious in the scent of cloves than in that of flowers, so the attribute of inherited magic power adds to the romance of these picturesque wanderers. both the spices and the romany come from the far east--the fatherland of divination and enchantment. the latter have been traced with tolerable accuracy, if we admit their affinity with the indian dom and domar, back to the threshold of history, or well-nigh into prehistoric times, and in all ages they, or their women, have been engaged, as if by elvish instinct, in selling enchantments, peddling prophecies and palmistry, and dealing with the devil generally in a small retail way. as it was of old so it is to-day-- ki shan i romani adoi san' i chov'hani. wherever gypsies go, there the witches are, we know. it is no great problem in ethnology or anthropology as to how gypsies became fortune-tellers. we may find a very curious illustration of it in the wren. this is apparently as humble, modest, prosaic little fowl as exists, and as far from mystery and wickedness as an old hen. but the ornithologists of the olden time, and the myth-makers, and the gypsies who lurked and lived in the forest, knew better. they saw how this bright-eyed, strange little creature in her elvish way slipped in and out of hollow trees and wood shade into sunlight, and anon was gone, no man knew whither, and so they knew that it was an uncanny creature, and told wonderful tales of its deeds in human form, and to-day it is called by gypsies in germany, as in england, the witch-bird, or more briefly, chorihani, "the witch." just so the gypsies themselves, with their glittering indian eyes, slipping like the wren in and out of the shadow of the unknown, and anon away and invisible, won for themselves the name which now they wear. wherever shamanism, or the sorcery which is based on exorcising or commanding spirits, exists, its professors from leading strange lives, or from solitude or wandering, become strange and wild-looking. when men have this appearance people associate with it mysterious power. this is the case in tartary, africa, among the eskimo, lapps, or red indians, with all of whom the sorcerer, voodoo or medaolin, has the eye of the "fascinator," glittering and cold as that of a serpent. so the gypsies, from the mere fact of being wanderers and out-of-doors livers in wild places, became wild-looking, and when asked if they did not associate with the devils who dwell in the desert places, admitted the soft impeachment, and being further questioned as to whether their friends the devils, fairies, elves, and goblins had not taught them how to tell the future, they pleaded guilty, and finding that it paid well, went to work in their small way to improve their "science," and particularly their pecuniary resources. it was an easy calling; it required no property or properties, neither capital nor capitol, shiners nor shrines, wherein to work the oracle. and as i believe that a company of children left entirely to themselves would form and grow up with a language which in a very few years would be spoken fluently, [ ] so i am certain that the shades of night, and fear, pain, and lightning and mystery would produce in the same time conceptions of dreaded beings, resulting first in demonology and then in the fancied art of driving devils away. for out of my own childish experiences and memories i retain with absolute accuracy material enough to declare that without any aid from other people the youthful mind forms for itself strange and seemingly supernatural phenomena. a tree or bush waving in the night breeze by moonlight is perhaps mistaken for a great man, the mere repetition of the sight or of its memory make it a personal reality. once when i was a child powerful doses of quinine caused a peculiar throb in my ear which i for some time believed was the sound of somebody continually walking upstairs. very young children sometimes imagine invisible playmates or companions talk with them, and actually believe that the unseen talk to them in return. i myself knew a small boy who had, as he sincerely believed, such a companion, whom he called bill, and when he could not understand his lessons he consulted the mysterious william, who explained them to him. there are children who, by the voluntary or involuntary exercise of visual perception or volitional eye-memory, [ ] reproduce or create images which they imagine to be real, and this faculty is much commoner than is supposed. in fact i believe that where it exists in most remarkable degrees the adults to whom the children describe their visions dismiss them as "fancies" or falsehoods. even in the very extraordinary cases recorded by professor hale, in which little children formed for themselves spontaneously a language in which they conversed fluently, neither their parents nor anybody else appears to have taken the least interest in the matter. however, the fact being that babes can form for themselves supernatural conceptions and embryo mythologies, and as they always do attribute to strange or terrible-looking persons power which the latter do not possess, it is easy, without going further, to understand why a wild indian gypsy, with eyes like a demon when excited, and unearthly-looking at his calmest, should have been supposed to be a sorcerer by credulous child-like villagers. all of this i believe might have taken place, or really did take place, in the very dawn of man's existence as a rational creature--that as soon as "the frontal convolution of the brain which monkeys do not possess," had begun with the "genial tubercule," essential to language, to develop itself, then also certain other convolutions and tubercules, not as yet discovered, but which ad interim i will call "the ghost-making," began to act. "genial," they certainly were not--little joy and much sorrow has man got out of his spectro-facient apparatus--perhaps if it and talk are correlative he might as well, many a time, have been better off if he were dumb. so out of the earliest time, in the very two o'clock of a misty morning in history, man came forth believing in non-existent terrors and evils as soon as he could talk, and talking about them as fast as he formed them. long before the conception of anything good or beneficent, or of a heavenly father or benevolent angels came to him, he was scared with nightmares and spirits of death and darkness, hell, hunger, torture, and terror. we all know how difficult it is for many people when some one dies out of a house-hold to get over the involuntary feeling that we shall unexpectedly meet the departed in the usual haunts. in almost every family there is a record how some one has "heard a voice they cannot hear," or the dead speaking in the familiar tones. hence the belief in ghosts, as soon as men began to care for death at all, or to miss those who had gone. so first of all came terrors and spectres, or revenants, and from setting out food for the latter, which was the most obvious and childlike manner to please them, grew sacrifices to evil spirits, and finally the whole system of sacrifice in all its elaboration. it may therefore be concluded that as soon as man began to think and speak and fear the mysterious, he also began to appease ghosts and bugbears by sacrifices. then there sprung up at once--quite as early--the magus, or the cleverer man, who had the wit to do the sacrificing and eat the meats sacrificed, and explain that he had arranged it all privately with the dead and the devils. he knew all about them, and he could drive them away. this was the shaman. he seems to have had a tartar-mongol-mongrel-turanian origin, somewhere in central asia, and to have spread with his magic drum, and songs, and stinking smoke, exorcising his fiends all over the face of the earth, even as his descendant, general booth, with his "devil-drivers" is doing at the present day. but the earliest authentic records of shamanism are to be found in the accadian, proto-chaldæan and babylon records. according to it all diseases whatever, as well as all disasters, were directly the work of evil spirits, which were to be driven away by songs of exorcism, burning of perfumes or evil-smelling drugs, and performing ceremonies, many of which, with scraps of the exorcisms are found in familiar use here and there at the present day. most important of all in it was the extraordinary influence of the shaman himself on his patient, for he made the one acted on sleep or wake, freed him from many apparently dire disorders in a minute, among others of epilepsies which were believed to be caused by devils dwelling in man--the nearest and latest explanation of which magic power is given in that very remarkable book, "psycho-therapeutics, or treatment by sleep and suggestion," by c. lloyd tuckey, m.d. (london: bailliere and co., ), which i commend to all persons interested in ethnology as casting light on some of the most interesting and perplexing problems of humanity, and especially of "magic." it would seem, at least among the laplanders, finns, eskimo, and red indians, that the first stage of shamanism was a very horrible witchcraft, practised chiefly by women, in which attempts were made to conciliate the evil spirits; the means employed embracing everything which could revolt and startle barbarous men. thus fragments of dead bodies and poison, and unheard-of terrors and crimes formed its basis. i think it very probable that this was the primitive religion among savages everywhere. an immense amount of it in its vilest conceivable forms still exists among negroes as voodoo. after a time this primitive witchcraft or voodooism had its reformers--probably brave and shrewd men, who conjectured that the powers of evil might be "exploited" to advantage. there is great confusion and little knowledge as yet as regards primitive man, but till we know better we may roughly assume that witch-voodooism was the religion of the people of the paleolithic period, if they could talk at all, since language is denied to the men of the neanderthal, canstadt, egnisheim, and podhava type. all that we can declare with some certainty is that we find the advanced shamanism the religion of the early turanian races, among whose descendants, and other people allied to them, it exists to this day. the grandest incident in the history of humanity is the appearance of the man of cromagnon. he it was who founded what m. de quatrefages calls "a magnificent race," probably one which speedily developed a high civilization, and a refined religion. but the old shamanism with its amulets, exorcisms, and smoke, its noises, more or less musical, of drums and enchanted bells, and its main belief that all the ills of life came from the action of evil spirits, was deeply based among the inferior races and the inferior scions of the cromagnon stock clung to it in forms more or less modified. just as the earlier witchcraft, or the worship and conciliation of evil, overlapped in many places the newer shamanism, so the latter overlapped the beautiful nature-worship of the early aryans, the stately monotheism of the shemites, and the other more advanced or ingenious developments of the idea of a creative cause. there are, in fact, even among us now, minds to whom shamanism or even witchcraft is deeply, or innately adapted by nature, and there are hundred of millions who, while professing a higher and purer doctrine, cling to its forms or essentials, believing that because the apparatus is called by a different name it is in no respect whatever the same thing. finally there are men who, with no logical belief whatever in any kind of supernaturalism, study it, and love it, and are moved by it, owing to its endless associations with poetry, art, and all the legends of infancy or youth. heine was not in his reasoning moments anything more or less than a strict deist or monotheist, but all the dreams and spectres, fairies and goblins, whether of the middle ages or the talmud, were inexpressibly dear to him, and they move like myriad motes through the sunshine of his poetry and prose, often causing long rays when there were bars at the window--like that on which the saint hung his cloak. it is probable or certain that shamanism (or that into which it has very naturally developed) will influence all mankind, until science, by absorbing man's love of the marvellous in stupendous discoveries shall so put to shame the old thaumaturgy, or wonder-working, that the latter will seem poor and childish. in all the "arabian nights" there is nothing more marvellous than the new idea that voices and sounds may be laid aside like real books, and made to speak and sing again years afterwards. and in all of that vast repertory of occult lore, "isis unveiled," there is nothing so wonderful as the simple truth that every child may be educated to possess an infinitely developed memory of words, sights, sounds, and ideas, allied to incredible quickness of perception and practice of the constructive faculties. these, with the vast fields of adjusting improved social relations and reforms--all of which in a certain way opens dazzling vistas of a certain kind of enchantment or brilliant hope--will go fast and far to change the old romance to a radically different state of feeling and association. it is coming--let it come! doubtless there was an awful romance of darkness about the old witchcraft which caused its worshippers to declare that the new lights of shamanism could never dissipate it. just so many millions of educated people at present cannot be brought to understand that all things to which they are used are not based on immutable laws of nature, and must needs be eternal. they will find it hard to comprehend that there can ever be any kind of poetry, art, or sentiment, utterly different from that to which they and their ancestors have been accustomed. yet it is clear and plain before them, this new era, looking them directly in the face, about to usher in a reformation compared to which all the reformations and revolutions, and new religions which the world has ever seen were as nothing; and the children are born who will see more than the beginning of it. in the next chapter i will examine the shamanic spells and charms still used among certain gypsies. for, be it observed, all the gypsy magic and sorcery here described is purely shamanic--that is to say, of the most primitive tartar type--and it is the more interesting as having preserved from prehistoric times many of the most marked characteristics of the world's first magic or religion. it treats every disease, disorder, trouble, or affliction as the work of an evil spirit; it attempts to banish these influences by the aid of ceremonies, many of which, by the disgusting and singular nature of the ingredients employed, show the lingering influences of the black witchcraft which preceded shamanism; and it invokes favourable supernatural agencies, such as the spirits of the air and mashmurdalo', the giant of the forests. in addition to this there will be found to be clearly and unmistakably associated with all their usages, symbols and things nearly connected with much which is to be found in greek, roman, and indian mythology or symbolism. now whether this was drawn from "classic" sources, or whether all came from some ancient and obscure origin, cannot now be accurately determined. but it certainly cannot be denied that folk-lore of this kind casts a great deal of light on the early history of mankind, and the gradual unfolding or evolution of religion and of mind, and that, if intelligently studied, this of the gypsies is as important as any chapter in the grand work. the gypsies came, historically speaking, very recently from india. it has not been so carefully observed as it might that all indians are not of the religion of brahma, much less of buddha or of mahommed, and that among the lower castes, the primæval altaic shamanism, with even earlier witchcraft, still holds its own. witchcraft, or voodoo, or obi, relies greatly on poisoning for its magic, and the first gypsies were said to poison unscrupulously. even to this day there is but one word with them as with many hindoos for both medicine and poison--id est drab. how exactly this form of witchcraft and shamanism exists to-day in india appears from the following extract from the st. james's gazette, september , :-- the hindoo priest. in india, the jadoo-wallah, or exorcist, thrives apace; and no wonder, for is not the lower-caste hindoo community bhut, or demon-ridden? every village, graveyard, burning-ghat, has its special bhut or bhuts; and the jadoo-wallah is the earthly mediator between their bhutships and the common folk. the exorcist is usually the spiritual adviser to the population of a low-caste village, and is known as a gooroo, or priest: that is to say, he professes to hold commune with the spirits of defunct hindoos which have qualified for their unique position in the other world--by their iniquity in this one, perhaps. every hindoo has a guardian bhut that requires propitiating, and the gooroo is the medium. amongst the jaiswars and other low-caste hindoos, caste is regulated by carnal pice, and a man is distinguished amongst them by a regulated monetary scale. one person may be a -anna caste man while another may only be a -anna caste man. does the -anna caste man wish to supersede the -anna caste man, then he consults the gooroo, who will, in consideration of a certain contribution, promote him to a higher-caste grade. a moneyed man having qualms about his future state should join the jaiswars, where at least he would have an opportunity of utilizing his spare cash for the good of his soul. the average gooroo will be only too glad to procure him everlasting glory for a matter of a few rupees. the gooroo, then, serves as regulator of the lower-caste hindoo system. but it is our intention to exhibit him in his peculiar position of exorcist-general to the people. this will perhaps be best explained by an account of the case of one kaloo. kaloo was a grass-cutter, and had been offended by kasi, a brother grass-cutter. kasi, it appears, had stolen kaloo's quilt one night during his temporary absence at a neighbouring liquor-shop. kaloo, on his return, finding his quilt gone, raised the hue-and-cry; and mooloo, the village policeman, traced the robbery to kasi's hut. yet, in spite of this damning proof, the village panchayet, or bench of magistrates, decided that, as kaloo could not swear to the exact colour of his lost quilt--kaloo was colour-blind--it could not possibly be his. anyhow, kaloo kept kasi in view and hit upon a plan to do him a grievous bodily injury. scraping together a few rupees, he went to the village gooroo and promised that worthy a reward if he would only exorcise the bhuts and get them to "make kasi's liver bad." the gooroo, in consideration of five rupees cash, promised compliance. so that night we find the gooroo busy with sandal-wood and pig's blood propitiating the neighbouring bhuts. needless to say that kasi had in a very short space of time all the symptoms of liver complaint. whether the bhuts gave kasi a bad liver or the gooroo gave him a few doses of poison is a question. anyhow, kasi soon died. another case in point is that of akuti. akuti was a retired courtesan who had long plied a profitable trade in the city. we find her, however, at her native village of ramghur, the wife of one balu. balu soon got tired of his akuti, and longed for the contents of her strong box wherein she kept her rupees, bracelets, nose-rings, and other valuables. this was a rather awkward matter for balu, for akuti was still in the prime of life. balu accordingly visits the gooroo and wants akuti's liver made bad. "nothing easier," says the gooroo: "five rupees." balu has reckoned without his host, however: for the gooroo, as general spiritual adviser to the ramghur community, visits akuti and tells her of balu's little scheme. naturally balu's liver is soon in a decline, for akuti's ten rupees were put in the opposite side of the gooroo's scales. knaves of the gooroo genus flourish in india, and when their disposition is vicious the damage they can do is appalling. that these priests exist and do such things as i have illustrated is beyond question. ask any native of india his views on the bhut question, and he will tell you that there are such things, and, further, that the gooroo is the only one able to lay them, so to speak. according to the low-caste hindoo, the bhut is a spiteful creature which requires constant supplies of liquor and pork; otherwise it will wreak its vengeance on the forgetful votary who neglects the supply. a strange idea, too, is this of pork being pleasing to the bhuts; but when it is remembered that the jaiswars, chamars, and other low-caste hindoos are inordinately fond of that meat themselves, they are right in supposing pig to be the favourite dish of the bhuts, who, after all, are but the departed spirits of their own people. naturally bhai (brother) kaloo, or bahin (sister, english gypsy pen) akuti, the quondam grass-cutter and courtesan of ramghur village, who in this life liked nothing better than a piece of bacon and a dram of spirits, will, in their state of bhuthood hanker after those things still. acting on these notions of the people, the gooroo lives and thrives exceedingly. yet of all this there is nothing "hindoo," nothing of the vedas. it is all pre-aryan, devil-worshipping, poisoning, and turanian; and it is exactly like voodooing in philadelphia or any other city in america. it is the old faith which came before all, which existed through and under brahminism, buddhism, and mahommedanism, and which, as is well known, has cropped out again and flourishes vigorously under british toleration. and this is the faith which forms the basis of european gypsy sorcery, as it did of yore that of the chaldæan and etrurian, which still survive in the witchcraft of the tuscan romagna. every gypsy who came to europe a few centuries ago set up as a gooroo, and did his sorceries after the same antique fashion. even to-day it is much the same, but with far less crime. but the bhut or malignant spirit is, under other names, still believed in, still doctored by gypsies with herbs and smoke, and "be-rhymed like an irish rat," and conjured into holes bored in trees, and wafted away into running streams, and naïvely implored to "go where he is wanted," to where he was nursed, and to no longer bother honest folk who are tired of him. and for all this the confiding villager must pay the gypsy wise-woman "so much monies"--as it was in the beginning and is now in good faith among millions in europe who are in a much better class of society. and from this point of view i venture to say that there is not a charm or spell set down in this work or extant which will not be deeply interesting to every sincere student of the history of culture. let me, however, say in this beginning once for all that i have only given specimens sufficient to illustrate my views, for my prescribed limits quite forbid the introduction of all the gypsy cures, spells, &c., which i have collected. chapter ii. charms and conjurations to cure the disorders of grown people. hungarian gypsy magic. though not liable to many disorders, the gypsies in eastern europe, from their wandering, out-of-doors life, and camping by marshes and pools where there is malaria, suffer a great deal from fevers, which in their simple system of medicine are divided into the shilale--i.e., chills or cold--and the tate shilalyi, "hot-cold," or fever and ague. for the former, the following remedy is applied: three lungs and three livers of frogs are dried and powdered and drunk in spirits, after which the sick man or woman says:-- "cuckerdya pal m're per cáven save miseçe! cuckerdya pal m're per den miseçeske drom odry prejiál!" "frogs in my belly devour what is bad! frogs in my belly show the evil the way out!" by "the evil" is understood evil spirits. according to the old shamanic belief, which was the primæval religion of all mankind, every disease is caused by an evil spirit which enters the body and can only be driven out by magic. we have abundant traces of this left in our highest civilization and religion among people who gravely attribute every evil to the devil instead of the unavoidable antagonisms of nature. nothing is more apparent in the new testament than that all diseases were anciently regarded as coming from devils, or evil occult, spiritual influences, their negative or cure being holiness in some form. this the jews, if they did not learn it from the assyrians in the first place, had certainly studied deeply in babylon, where it formed the great national cult. "it was the devil put it into my head," says the criminal; and there is not a point of this old sorcery which is not earnestly and seriously advocated by the roman catholic church and the preachers of the salvation army. among the american red indians the idea of evil spirits is carried to logical extremes. if a pen drops from our fingers, or a penny rolls from our grasp, the former of course falls on our new white dress, while the latter nine times out of ten goes directly to the nearest grating, or crack or rat-hole. i aver that it is literally true, if i ever search for a letter or paper it is almost always at the bottom of the rest, while ink-wipers and pens seem to be endowed with more than mere instinct or reason--they manifest genius in concealing themselves. the indians having observed this have come to the conclusion that it is all the work of certain busy little mischievous goblins, in which i, to a certain extent, agree with them, holding, however, that the dwelling-place of these devilkins, is in our own brain. what are our dreams but the action of our other mind, or a second me in my brain? certainly it is with no will or effort, or act of mine, that i go through a diabolical torturing nightmare, or a dreadful dream, whose elaborate and subtle construction betrays very often more ingenuity than i in my waking hours possess. i have had philosophical and literary dreams, the outlines of which i have often remembered waking, which far transcended anything of the kind which i could ever hope to write. the maker of all this is not i or my will, and he is never about, or on hand, when i am self-conscious. but in the inadvertent moments of oblivion, while writing, or while performing any act, this other i, or i's, (for there may be a multitude of them for aught i know) step in and tease--even as they do in dreams. now the distinction between this of subjective demons acting objectively, and objective or outside spirits, is really too fine to be seen even by a darwinian-carpenterian-häeckelite, and therefore one need not be amazed that piel sabadis or tomaquah, of the passamaquoddy tribe, or obeah gumbo of new orleans, should, with these experiences, jump at ghosts and "gobblers," is not to be wondered at; still less that they should do something to conciliate or compel these haunting terrors, or "buggs," as they were once called--whence bogeys. it is a fact that if one's ink-wipers get into the habit of hiding all we have to do is to deliberately destroy them and get others, or at least watch them carefully, and they will soon be cured of wandering. on the other hand, sacrifices to conciliate and please naturally occur, and the more expensive these are the better are they supposed to be. and as human beings were of old the most valuable property, they were as naturally supposed to be most acceptable to the gods, or, by the monotheists, to god. a west indian voodoo on being reproached for human sacrifices to the serpent, and for eating the bodies slain, replied, "do you believe that the son of god was sacrificed to save man, and do you not eat what your priests say is his very body?" so difficult is it to draw distinctions between that which is spiritual and the mockeries which appear to be such! the scape-goat, or sufferer, who is martyred that many may escape--or in other words, the unfortunate minority--is a natural result of sacrifice. there is a curious trace of it in hungarian gypsy shamanism. on easter monday they make a wooden box or receptacle which is called the bicápen, pronounced like the english gypsy word bitchapen and meaning the same, that is--a sending, a thing sent or gift. in this, at the bottom, are two sticks across, "as in a cradle," and on these are laid herbs and other fetish stuff which every one touches with the finger; then the whole is enveloped in a winding of white and red wool, and carried by the oldest person of the tribe from tent to tent; after which it is borne to the next running stream and left there, after every one has spat upon it. by doing this they think that all the diseases and disorders which would have befallen them during the coming year are conjured into the box. but woe to him who shall find the box and open it, instead of throwing it at once into the stream! all the diseases exorcised by the gypsy band will fall upon him and his in full measure. it would be an interesting question to know how many good people there are, let us say in london, who, if they had an opportunity to work off all their colds, gouts, scarlet-fevers, tooth- head- and stomach-aches, with the consequent doctors' bills, or all suffering and expenses, on some other family by means of secret sorcery, would or would not "try it on"? it is curious to observe the resemblance of the gypsy ceremony, with its box full of mischief, and the jewish goat; not forgetting the red wool handed down from heathen sacrifice and sorcery of old. in the bible white wool is the symbol of purification (isaiah i. ). the feet of the statues of the gods were enveloped in wool--dii laneos habent pedes--to signify that they are slow to avenge, if sure. it is altogether an interesting object, this gypsy casket, and one would like to know what all the channels were through which the magic ran ere it came to them. another cure against the fever is to go to a running stream and cast pieces of wood nine times backwards into the running water, repeating the rhymes:-- "shilályi prejiá, páñori me tut 'dáv! náñi me tut kámáv; andakode prejiá, odoy tut cuciden, odoy tut ferinen, odoy tut may kámen! mashurdalo sástyár!" "fever go away from me, i give it, water, unto thee! unto me thou art not dear, therefore go away from here to where they nursed thee, where they shelter thee, where they love thee, mashurdalo--help!" this is a very remarkable invocation which takes us into true heathenism. mashurdálo, or, correctly speaking, mashmurdálo (it would be masmérdo in english gypsy), means meat-killer. he is a sylvan giant--he has his hold by wode and wolde as outlawes wont to do, in far-away forests and lonely rocky places, where he lurks to catch beast and men in order to devour them. it is needless to say to those who are aware that the taste of white people's flesh is like that of very superior chicken, and a negro's something much better than grouse, that mashmurdálo prefers, like a simple, unsophisticated savage as he is, men to animals. like the german peasant who remarked, "it's all meat, anyhow," when he found a mouse in his soup, mashmurdálo is not particular. he is the guardian of great treasures; like most men in the "advance business" he knows where the "money" is to be found--unlike them he is remarkably stupid, and can be easily cheated of his valuables. but if anybody does this morgante a service he is very grateful, and aids his benefactor either with a loan or with his enormous strength. in many respects he bears a remarkable resemblance to two giants in the american algonkin mythology, especially to at-was-kenni ges--the spirit of the forest--who is equally powerful, good-natured, and stupid, and to the chenoo, who is a cannibal giant and yet grateful to friends, and also to several hindoo gods. the gypsies have here evidently fused several oriental beings into one. this is a process which occurs in the decline of mythologies as in languages. in the infancy of a speech, as in its old age, many words expressing different ideas, but which sound somewhat alike, become a single term. in english gypsy i have found as many as eight or ten hindi words thus concentrated into one. another cure for a fever. the sufferer goes in the forest and finds a young tree. when the first rays of the rising sun fall on it the patient shakes it with all his might and exclaims:-- "shilályi, shilályi prejia káthe tu beshá, káthe tu beshá!" "fever, fever, go away! here shalt thou stay. here shalt thou stay!" it is here plain that the shaking the sapling is intended to transfer the shakes, as the chill and shuddering of the fever is called in america, to the tree. "then the fever passes into the tree." perhaps it was in this way that the aspen learned to tremble. but among the gypsies in the south of hungary, among whom the vaccination or inoculation of trees is greatly the fashion, a hole is bored into the wood, into which the patient spits thrice, repeats the spell, and then stops the hole with a plug. the boring of holes in trees or transferring illness to them is also practised without formulas of speech. thus, if while a man is lying down or sitting in the spring he hears the song of the cuckoo he believes that he will be ill all the time for a year to come, especially with fevers, unless he goes nine times to a tree, bores a hole in it, and spits into it three times. then he is safe. in german mythology "the cuckoo is a bird which brings bad luck" (friedrich), and the inhabitants of haiterbach were so persuaded of this that they introduced a prayer against it into their church service, whence they got the name of cuckoos (wolf, "zeitschrift für deutsche myth.," vol. i. p. ). it announces to men the infidelity of wives, and tells listeners how many years they have to live. it is possible that this is a relic of an old form of sacrifice, or proof that the idea occurs to all men of thus making a casket of a tree. the occasional discovery of stone axe-heads in very old trees in america renders this probable. and where the wood grows up and encloses the object it would very rarely happen that it would ever be discovered. it should be added to the previous instance that when they have closed the hole, the transylvanian gypsies eat some of the bark of the next tree. another cure for fever is effected by going in the morning before sunrise to the bank of a stream, and digging a hole with some object--for instance, a knife--which has never been used. into this hole the patient makes water, then fills up the hole, saying:-- "shilályi ác kathe ná ává kiyá mánge! sutyárá andré cik! avá kiyá mánge káná káthe ná hin páñi!" "fever stay here! do not come to me! dry up in dust, come unto me when no water is here." dr. wlislocki translates this last line, "when there is no more water in the river," which is certainly what is meant. "while water runs or grass grows," &c. is a formula common to all countries. another cure for fever is this: the patient must take a kreutzer, an egg, and a handful of salt, and before sunrise go with them to a cross-road, throw them away backwards, and repeat:-- "káná ádálá kiyá mánge áven ava tu kiya mánge shilályi." "when these things again i see, fever then return to me." or literally, "when these things to me come." for the next three days the invalid must not touch money, eggs, or salt. there is an old ms. collection of english charms and ceremonies, professedly of "black witchcraft," in which we are told that if a girl will walk stark-naked by the light of the full moon round a field or a house, and cast behind her at every step a handful of salt, she will get the lover whom she desires. salt, says moresinus, was sacred to the infernal deities, and it was a symbol of the soul, or of life, because it preserved the body while in it (pitiscus, "leg. ant. rom." ii. p. ). the devil never eats salt. once there was in germany a peasant who had a witch for a wife, and the devil invited them to supper. but all the dishes were without any seasoning, and the peasant, despite all nudges and hints to hold his tongue kept crying for salt. and when it was brought and he said, "thank god, here is salt at last!" the whole spuck, or ghastly scene, vanished (horst, "dæmonomagie," frankfurt, , vol. ii. p. ). for a great deal of further information and symbolism on and of salt, including all the views of the ancient rabbis and modern rationalists on the subject of lot's wife, the reader may consult "symbolik und mythologie der natur," by j. b. friedrich, würzburg, : "salt is put into love-philtres and charms to ensure the duration of an attachment; in some eastern countries it is carried in a little bag as an amulet to preserve health." another cure for fever. the patient must drink, from a new jug, water from three brooks, and after every drink throw into the running stream a handful of salt. then he must make water into the first and say:-- "káthe hin t'ro sherro!" "here is thy head!" at the second he repeats the sacred ceremony and murmurs:-- "káthe hin t'ro perá!" "here is thy belly!" and again at the third he exclaims:-- "te kathehin t're punrá. já átunci ándre páñi!" "and here are thy feet. go now into the water!" but while passing from one stream to another he must not look back once, for then he might behold the dread demon of the fever which follows him, neither must he open his mouth, except while uttering the charm, for then the fever would at once enter his body again through the portal thus left unclosed. this walking on in apprehension of beholding the ugly spectre will recall to the reader a passage in the "ancient mariner," of the man who walks in fear and dread, "nor turns around his head, for well he knows a frightful fiend doth close behind him tread." the wise wives among the gypsies in hungary have many kinds of miraculous salves for sale to cure different disorders. these they declare are made from the fat of dogs, bears, wolves, frogs, and the like. as in all fetish remedies they are said to be of strange or revolting materials, like those used by canidia of yore, the witches of shakespeare and ben jonson, and of burns in tam o'shanter. when a man has been "struck by a spirit" there results a sore, swelling or boil, which is cured by a sorceress as follows: the patient is put into a tent by himself, and is given divers drinks by his attendant; then she rubs the sufferer with a salve, the secret of which is known only to her, while she chants:-- "prejiá, prejiá, prejiá, kiyá miseçeske, ác odoy; trianda sapa the çaven tut, trianda jiuklá tut cingeren, trianda káçná tut cunáven!" "begone, begone, begone to the evil one; stay there. may thirty snakes devour thee, thirty dogs tear thee, thirty cocks swallow thee!" after this she slaughters a black hen, splits it open, and lays it on the boil. then the sufferer must drink water from three springs or rivulets, and throw wood nine times into the fire daily until he is well. but black hens cost money, according to wlislocki; albeit the gypsies, like the children of the mist in "waverley," are believed to be acquainted with a far more economical and direct method of obtaining such commodities. therefore this expensive and high-class cure is not often resorted to, and when it is the sorceress generally substitutes something cheaper than poultry. it may be here observed that the black hen occurs frequently in mediæval witch-lore and legend as a demon-symbol (wolf, "niederländische sagen," pp. , ). thus the bones of sorcerors turn into black hens and chickens, and it is well if your black hen dies, for if she had not you would have perished in her place. black hens were walled up in castles as sacrifices to the devil, that the walls might long endure; hence the same fowl occurs in the arms of the family of henneberg (nork, "mythologie der volkssagen," p. ). the lore on this subject is very extensive. the following remedy against headache is in general use among transylvanian gypsies. the patient's head is rubbed, and then washed, with vinegar or hot water while the following charm is repeated:-- "oh duk ándro m'ro shero the o dád miseçescro, adá dikhel ákáná, man tu máy dostá, márdyás, miro shero tu márdyás! tu ná ac tu ándre me. já tu, já tu, já kere. káy tu miseç cucides, odoy, odoy sikoves! ko jál pro m'ro ushályin, adáleske e duk hin!" "oh, pain in my head, the father of all evil, look upon thee now! thou hast greatly pained me, thou tormentest my head, remain not in me! go thou, go thou, go home, whence thou, evil one, didst suck, thither, thither hasten! who treads upon my shadow, to him be the pain!" it will be seen that the principle of treading on the tail of the coat practised in ireland is much outdone by the gypsies who give a headache to any one who so much as treads on their shadows. and it is not difficult to understand that, as with children, the rubbing the head, the bathing it with warm water or vinegar, and, finally, the singing a soothing song, may all conduce to a cure. the readers of "helen's babies" will remember the cures habitually wrought on budge by singing to him, "charley boy one day." gypsies are in many respects mere children, or little budges. there can be no doubt that where faith is very strong, and imagination is lively, cures which seem to border on the miraculous are often effected--and this is, indeed, the basis of all miracle as applied to relieving bodily afflictions. all of this may be, if not as yet fully explained by physiology, at least shown to probably rest on a material basis. but no sound system of cure can be founded on it, because there is never any certainty, especially for difficult and serious disorders, that they can ever be healed twice in succession. the "faith" exacted is sometimes a purely hereditary gift, at other times merely a form of blind ignorance and credulity. it may vividly influence all the body, and it may fail to act altogether. but the "faith healer" and "christian scientist," or "metaphysical doctor," push boldly on, and when they here and there heal a patient once, it is published to the four winds as a proof of invariable infallibility. and as everybody believes that he has "faith," so he hopes to be cured. in popular custom for a man to say he believes in anything, and to be sure that he really has nothing against it, constitutes as much "faith" as most men understand. a man may be utterly destitute of any moral principle and yet live in a constant state of "faith" and pious conviction. here the capacity for cure by means of charms is complete. in connection with these charms for the head we may find not less interesting those in reference to the hair, as given by the same authority, dr. von wlislocki. the greatest pains are taken to ensure even for the new-born child what is called a full head, because every one who dies bald is turned into a fish, and must remain in this form till he has collected as many hairs as would make an ordinary wig. but this lasts a long time, since he can find but a single hair every month or moon. the moon is in many ways connected in gypsy faith with the hair. he who sleeps bare-headed in its light will lose his hair, or else it will become white. to have a heavy growth a man must scoop up with his left hand water from a running brook, against the current, and pour it on his head. immediately after the first bathing of a newly-born child, and its anointing, its forehead and neck are marked with a semicircle--perhaps meant to indicate the moon--made with a salve called barcali, intended to promote the growth of the hair. a brew, or mess, is made from beans and the blood of a cow. hairs are taken from the heads of the father and mother, which hairs are burnt to a powder and mixed with the brew. it is remarkable that the beans are only used for a boy, their object being to insure for him great virile or sexual power. "the bean," says friedrich ("sym. d. n."), "is an erotic symbol, or one signifying sexual pleasure." hence it was forbidden to the egyptian priests, the pythagoreans, the priests of jupiter in rome, and to the jewish high priests on certain festivals. but if the child is a girl, the seeds of the pumpkin or sunflower are substituted for beans, because the latter would make her barren. it is an old belief, and one widely spread, that if the witches or the devil can get a lock of anybody's hair, they can work him evil. the gypsies have the following articles of faith as regards hairs:-- should birds find any, and build them into their nests, the man who lost them will suffer from headaches until, during the wane of the moon, he rubs his head with the yolk of eggs and washes it clean in running water. it would be very curious if this method of cleaning the hair and giving it a soft gloss, so much in vogue among english ladies, should have originated in sorcery. beyond this, the sufferer must mix some of his hairs with food and give them to a white dog to eat. if hairs which have fallen or been cut away are found by a snake and carried into its hole, the man from whom they came will continue to lose more until those in the snake's nest are quite decayed. if you see human hairs in the road do not tread on them, since, in that case, if they came from a lunatic, you, too, will go mad. according to marcellus burdigalensis, if you pick up some hairs in the road just before entering a city gate, tie one to your own head, and, throwing the rest away, walk on without looking behind you, you can cure a headache. i have found nearly the same charm for the same purpose in florence, but accompanied by the incantation which is wanting in marcellus. also his cure for headache with ivy from the head of a statue, which is still used in tuscany with the incantation which the roman omits. finding a hair hanging to your coat, carefully burn it, since you may by so doing escape injury by witchcraft. and we may remark in confirmation of this, that when you see a long hair on a man's coat it is an almost certain sign that he has been among the witches, or is bewitched; as the countess thought when she found one clinging to the button of her lover, von adelstein, as set forth in "meister karl's sketch-book." but to bewitch your enemy get some of his combed-out hair, steep it in your own water, and then throw it on his garments. then he will have no rest by night or day. i have observed that in all the tuscan charms intended to torment a foe, the objects employed are like this of a disgusting nature. if a wife will hold her husband to her in love, she must take of her own hair and bind it to his. this must be done three times by full moonlight. or if a maid will win the love of a young man, she must take of her own hair, mix it with earth from his footsteps--"und mischt diese mit dem speichel einer läufigen hundinn auf"--burn the whole to powder, and so manage that the victim shall eat it--which, it is needless to say, it is not likely that he will do, knowing what it is. earth from the footsteps of any one is regarded as a very powerful means of bewitching him in italian and ancient sorcery. if a man bind the combings of his hair to the mane of a strange horse it will be wild and shy till the hairs are removed. for easy childbirth red hair is sewed in a small bag and carried on the belly next the skin during pregnancy. red hair indicates good luck, and is called bálá kámeskro, or sun-hairs, which indicates its indian origin. if any one dreams much of the dead, let him sew some of his hair into an old shoe, and give it to any beggar. thereby he will prevent evil spirits from annoying him. if a child suffers from sleeplessness, some of its mother's hair should be sewed into its wrappings, and others pulverized, mixed with a decoction of elderberries, be given it to drink. in german folk-lore, as i shall show more fully anon, the elder often occurs as a plant specially identified with sorcery. in gypsy it is called yakori bengeskro, or the devil's eye, from its berries. nails cut on friday should be burned, and the ashes mingled with the fodder of cattle, who are thus ensured against being stolen or attacked by wild beasts. if children are dwarfish, the same ashes in their food will make them grow. if a child suffers from pains in the stomach, a bit of nail must be clipped from its every finger; this is mixed with the dried dung of a foal, and the patient exposed to the smoke while it is burned. a child's first tooth must, when it falls out, be thrown into a hollow tree. those which come out in the seventh year are carefully kept, and whenever the child suffers from toothache, one is thrown into a stream. teeth which have been buried for many years, serve to make a singular fetish. they are mingled with the bones of a tree-frog, and the whole then sewed up in a little bag. if a man has anything for sale, and will draw or rub this bag over it, he will have many offers or customers for the articles thus enchanted. the bones are prepared by putting the frog into a glass or earthen receptacle full of small holes. this is buried in an ant-hill. the ants enter the holes and eat away all the flesh, leaving the bones which after a few weeks are removed. [ ] to bear healthy and strong children women wear a string of bears' claws and children's teeth. dr. von wlislocki cites, apropos of this, a passage from jacobus rueff, "von empfengnussen": "etlich schwanger wyber pflägend einen bären klauen von einem bären tapen yngefaszet am hals zuo tragen" (some women when with child are accustomed to wear mounted bears' claws on their necks). in like manner boars' teeth, which much resemble them, are still very commonly worn in austria and italy and almost over all europe and the east. it is but a few days since i here, in florence, met with a young english lady who had bought a very large one mounted in silver as a brooch, but who was utterly unaware that there was any meaning attached to it. [ ] i have a very ancient bear's tooth and whistle in silver, meant for a teething child. it came from munich. pain in the eyes is cured with a wash made of spring or well water and saffron. during the application the following is recited:-- "oh dukh ándrál yákhá já ándré páñi já andrál páñi andré safráne andré pçuv. já andrál pçuv kiyá pçuvusheske.-- odoy hin cerçá, odoy ja te ça." "oh, pain from the eyes go into the water, go out of the water into the saffron, go out of the saffron into the earth. to the earth-spirit. there's thy home. there go and eat." this incantation casts light upon the earliest shamanic remedies. when it was discovered that certain herbs really possessed curative qualities, this was attributed to inherent magic virtues. the increase of their power by combining them with water, or mingling them, was due to mystic affinities by which a spirit passed from one to another. the spirit of earth went into saffron, that of saffron into water. the magician thus by a song sent the pain into its medical affinity, and so on back to the source whence it came. from early times saffron, as one of the earliest flowers of spring, owing to its colour, was consecrated to magic and love. eos, the goddess of the aurora, was called krokotieplos, the one with the saffron garment. therefore the public women wore a yellow robe. even in christian symbolism it meant love, as portalis declares: "in the christian religion the colours saffron and orange were the symbols of god embracing the heart and illuminating the souls of the faithful" ("des couleurs symboliques," paris, , p. ). so we can trace the chain from the prehistoric barbarous shamanism, preserved by the gypsies, to the greek, and from the greek to the mediæval form still existent. the same sympathetic process of transmission may be traced in the remedy for the erysipelas. the blood of a bullfinch is put into a new vessel with scraped elder-bark, and then laid on a cloth with which the eyes are bound up overnight. meanwhile the patient repeats:-- "duy yákhá hin mánge duy punrá hin mánge dukh ándrál yákhá já ándre punrá já ándrál punrá. já ándre pçuv, já ándrál pçuv andro meriben!" "i have two eyes, i have two feet, pain from my eyes go into my feet! go from my feet, go into the earth! go from the earth into death!" we have here in the elder-bark associations of magic which are ancient and widely spread, and which still exist; for at the present day country people in new england attribute to it curative virtues which it really does not possess. from the earliest times among the northern races the lady elder, as we may learn from the edda, or fin magnusen ("priscæ veterum borealium mythologiæ lexicon," pp. , ), and nyerup ("worterbuch der scandinavischen mythologie"), had an unearthly, ghostly reputation. growing in lonely, gloomy places its form and the smell of its flowers seemed repulsive, so that it was associated with death, and some derived its name from frau holle, the sorceress and goddess of death. but schwenki ("mythologie der slaven") with more probability traces it from hohl, i.e., hollow, and as spirits were believed to dwell in all hollow trees, they were always in its joints. the ancient lithuanians, he informs us, worshipped their god puschkeit, who was a form of pluto, in fear and trembling at dusk, and left their offerings under the elder-tree. everybody has seen the little puppets made of a piece of elder-pith with half a bullet under them, so that they always stand upright, and jump up when thrown down. among the slovaks these seem to have had some magical application. perhaps their priests persuaded them that these jumping jacks were miraculous, for they called them pikuljk, a name derived from peklo, the under-world. they still believe in a pikuljk, who is a servant of the evil one. he does all kinds of favours for men, but ends by getting their souls. the ancestors of the poles were accustomed to bury all their sins and sorrows under elder-trees, thinking that they thereby gave to the lower world what properly belonged to it. this corresponds accurately to the gypsy incantation which passes the disease on from the elder bark into the earth, and from earth unto death. frau ellhorn, or ellen, was the old german name for this plant. "frau, perhaps, as appropriate to the female elf who dwelt in it" (friedrich, "symbolik," p. ). when it was necessary to cut one down, the peasant always knelt first before it and prayed: "lady ellhorn, give me of thy wood, and i will give thee of mine when it shall grow in the forest." grimm ("deutsche mythologie," cxvi.) cites from a ms. of the following: "paga nismo ortum debet superstitio, sambucam non esse exscindendum nisi prius rogata permissione his verbis: mater sambuci permitte mihi tuæ coedere sylvam!" on the other hand, elder had certain protective and healing virtues. hung before a stable door it warded off witchcraft, and he who planted it conciliated evil spirits. and if a twig of it were planted on a grave and it grew, that was a sign that the soul of the deceased was happy, which is the probable reason why the very old jewish cemetery in prague was planted full of elders. in a very curious and rare work, entitled "blockesberge berichtung" (leipzig, ), by john prætorius, devoted to "the witch-ride and sorcery-sabbath," the author tells us that witches make great use of nine special herbs--"nam in herbis, verbis et lapidibus magna vis est." among these is elder, of which the peasants make wreaths, which, if they wear on walpurgis night, they can see the sorceresses as they sweep through the air on their brooms, dragons, goats, and other strange steeds to the infernal dance. or when they anderswo herumvagiren--"go vagabonding anywhere else." "yea, and i know one fellow who sware unto men, that by means of this herb he once saw certain witches churning butter busily, and that on a roof, but i mistrust that this was a sell (schnake), and that the true name of this knave was butyrolambius" ("blocksberg," p. ). the same author informs us that hollunder (or elder) is so called from hohl, or hollow, or else is an anagram of unholden, unholy spirits, and some people call it alhuren, from its connection with witches and debauchery, even as cordus writes:-- "when elder blossoms bloom upon the bush, then women's hearts to sensual pleasure rush." he closes his comments on this subject with the dry remark that if the people of leipzig wear, as is their wont, garlands of elder with the object of preventing breaches of the seventh commandment among them, it has in this instance, at least, utterly failed to produce the expected effect. "quasi! creadt judæus apella!" it should be mentioned that in the gypsy spell the next morning the cloth with the elder-bark must be thrown into the next running water. to cure toothache the transylvanian gypsies wind a barley-straw round a stone, which is thrown into a running stream, while saying:-- "oh dukh ándre m're dándá, tu ná báres cingerá! ná ává kiyá mánge, mire muy ná hin kere! tut ñikáná me kámáv, ac tu mánge pál pácá; káná e pçus yárpakri avel tele páñori!" "oh, pain in my teeth, trouble me not so greatly! do not come to me, my mouth is not thy house. i love thee not all, stay thou away from me; when this straw is in the brook go away into the water!" straw was anciently a symbol of emptiness, unfruitfulness, and death, and it is evidently used in this sense by the gypsies, or derived by them from some tradition connected with it. a feigned or fruitless marriage is indicated in germany by the terms strohwittwer and strohwittwe. from the earliest times in france the breaking a straw signified that a compact was broken with a man because there was nothing in him. thus in the barons of charles the simple, in dethroning him, broke the straws which they held (charlotte de la tour, "symbols of flowers"). still, straws have something in them. she who will lay straws on the table in the full moonlight by an open window, especially on saturday night, and will repeat-- "straw, draw, crow craw, by my life i give thee law"-- then the straws will become fairies and dance to the cawing of a crow who will come and sit on the ledge of the window. and so witches were wont to make a man of straw, as did mother gookin, in hawthorne's tale, and unto these they gave life, whence the saying of a man of straw and straw bail, albeit this latter is deemed by some to be related to the breaking of straws and of dependence, as told in the tale of charles the simple. straw-lore is extensive and curious. as in elder-stalks, small fairies make their homes in its tubes. to strew chopped straw before the house of a bride was such an insult to her character, in germany, and so common that laws were passed against it. i possess a work printed about , entitled "de injuriis quæ haud raro novis nuptis inferri solent. i. per sparsionem dissectorum culmorum frugum. germ. dusch das werckerling streuen," &c. an immense amount of learned quotation and reference by its author indicates that this custom which was influenced by superstition, was very extensively written on in its time. it was allied to the binding of knots and other magic ceremonies to prevent the consummation of marriages. there is a very curious principle involved in curing certain disorders or afflictions by means of spells or verses. a certain word is repeated many times in a mysterious manner, so that it strikes the imagination of the sufferer. there is found in the slavonian countries a woolly caterpillar called wolos, whose bite, or rather touch, is much dreaded. i have myself, when a boy, been stung by such a creature in the united states. as i remember, it was like the sting of a bee. the following (malo russian) spell against it was given me by prof. dragomanoff in geneva. it is supposed that a certain kind of disorder, or cutaneous eruption, is caused by the wolos:-- "wolosni--wolosnicéh! holy wolos. once a man drove over empty roads with empty oxen, to an empty field, to harvest empty corn, and gather it in empty ricks. he gathered the empty sheaves, laid them in empty wagons, drove over empty roads, unto an empty threshing-floor. the empty labourers threshed it, and bore it to the empty mill. the empty baker (woman) mixed it in an empty trough, and baked it in an empty oven. the empty people ate the empty bread. so may the wolos swallow this disorder from the empty ---- (here the name of the patient.) what is here understood by "empty" is that the swelling is taken away, subtracted, or emptied, by virtue of the repetition of the word, as if one should say, "be thou void. depart! depart! depart! avoid me!" there is a very curious incantation also apparently of indian-gypsy origin, since it refers to the spirits of the water who cause diseases. in this instance they are supposed to be exorcised by saint paphnutius, who is a later slavonian-christian addition to the old shamanic spell. in the accadian-chaldæan formulas these spirits are seven; here they are seventy. the formula in question is against the fever:-- "in the name of god and his son and the holy ghost. amen! "seventy fair maids went up out of the ocean. "they met the saint paphnutius, who asked: "'whence come ye, oh maidens?' "they answered, 'from the ocean-sea. "'we go into the world to break the bones of men. "'to give them the fever. (to make hot and cold).'" then the holy paphnutius began to beat them, and gave them every one seventy-seven days:-- "they began to pray, 'o holy paphnutius! "'forgive us, (and) whoever shall bear with him (thy) name, or write it, him we will leave in peace. "'we will depart from him "over the streams, over the seas. "'over the reeds (canes) and marshes. "'o holy paphnutius, sua misericordia, of thy mercy, "'have pity on thy slave, even on the sick man ---- (the name is here uttered), "'free him from fever!'" it is remarkable that, as a certain mysterious worm, caterpillar, or small lizard (accounts differ) among the algonkin indians is supposed to become at will a dragon, or sorcerer, or spirit, to be invoked or called on, so the wolos worm is also invoked, sometimes as a saint or sorcerer, and sometimes as a spirit who scatters disease. the following gypsy-slavonian incantation over an invalid has much in common with the old chaldæan spells:-- "wolosni, wolosnicéh! thou holy wolos! god calls thee unto his dwelling, unto his seat. thou shalt not remain here, to break the yellow bones. to drink the red blood, to dry up the white body. go forth as the bright sun goes forth over the mountains, out from the seventy-seven veins, out from the seventy limbs (parts of the body). before i shall recognize thee, before i did not name thee (call on thee). but now i know who thou art; i began to pray to the mother of god, and the mother of god began to aid me. go as the wind goes over the meadows or the shore (or banks), as the waves roll over the waters, so may the wolos go from ---- the man who is born, who is consecrated with prayer." the shamanic worship of water as a spirit is extremely ancient, and is distinctly recognized as such by the formulas of the church in which water is called "this creature." the water spirits play a leading part in the gypsy mythology. the following gypsy-slav charm, to consecrate a swarm of bees, was also given to me by prof. dragomanoff, who had learned it from a peasant:-- "one goes to the water and makes his prayer and greets the water thus:-- "hail to thee, water! thou water, oliana! created by god, and thou, oh earth, titiana! and ye the near springs, brooks and rivulets, thou water, oliana, thou goest over the earth, over the neighbouring fountains and streams, down unto the sea, thou dost purify the sea, the sand, the rocks, and the roots-- i pray thee grant me of the water of this lake, to aid me, to sprinkle my bees. i will speak a word, and god will give me help, the all-holy mother of god, the mother of christ, will aid me, and the holy father the holy zosimos, sabbateus and the holy friday parascabeah! "when this is said take the water and bear it home without looking back. then the bees are to be sprinkled therewith." the following malo-russian formula from the same authority, though repointed and gilt with greek christianity, is old heathen, and especially interesting since prof. dragomanoff traces it to a finnic shaman source:-- "charm against the bite of a serpent. "the holy virgin sent a man unto mount sion, upon this mountain is the city of babylon, and in the city of babylon lives queen volga. oh queen volga, why dost thou not teach this servant of god (here the name of the one bitten by a serpent is mentioned) so that he may not be bitten by serpents?" (the reply of queen volga) "not only will i teach my descendants but i also will prostrate myself before the lord god." "volga is the name of a legendary heathen princess of kief, who was baptized and sainted by the russian church. the feminine form, olga, or volga, corresponds to the masculine name oleg, or olg, the earliest legendary character of kief. his surname was viechtchig--the sage or sorcerer" (i.e., wizard, and from a cognate root). "in popular songs he is called volga, or volkh, which is related to volkv, a sorcerer. the russian annals speak of the volkv of finland, who are represented as shamans." niya predania i raskazi ("traditions and popular tales of lesser russia," by m. dragomanoff, kief, ) in russian. i have in the chapter on curing the disorders of children spoken of lilith, or herodias, who steals the new-born infants. she and her twelve daughters are also types of the different kinds of fever for which the gypsies have so many cures of the same character, precisely as those which were used by the old bogomiles. the characteristic point is that this female spirit is everywhere regarded as the cause of catalepsy or fits. hence the invocation to st. sisinie is used in driving them away. this invocation written, is carried as an amulet or fetish. i give the translation of one of these from the roumanian, in which the holy virgin is taken as the healer. it is against cramp in the night:-- "spell against night-cramp. "there is a mighty hill, and on this hill is a golden apple-tree. "under the golden apple-tree is a golden stool. "on the stool--who sits there? "there sits the mother of god with saint maria; with the boxes in her right hand, with the cup in her left. "she looks up and sees naught, she looks down and sees my lord and lady disease. "lords and ladies cramp, lord and lady vampire--lord wehrwolf and his wives. "they are going to ---- (the sufferer), to drink his blood and put in him a foul heart. "the mother of god, when she saw them, went down to them, spoke to them, and asked them, 'whither go ye, lord and lady disease, lords and ladies cramp, &c.?' "'we go to ---- to drink his blood, to change his heart to a foul one.' "'no, ye shall return; give him his blood back, restore him his own heart, and leave him immediately.' "cramps of the night, cramps of the midnight, cramps of the day, cramps wherever they are. from water, from the wind, go out from the brain, from the light of the face, from the hearing of the ears, from his heart, from his hands and feet, from the soles of his feet. "go and hide where black cocks never crow, [ ] where men never go, where no beast roars. "hide yourself there, stop there, and never show yourself more! "may ---- remain pure and glad, as he was made by god, and was fated by the mother of god! "the spell is mine--the cure is god's." in reference to the name herodias (here identified with lilith, the hebrew mother of all devils and goblins); it was a great puzzle to the writers on witchcraft why the italian witches always said they had two queens whom they worshipped--diana and herodias. the latter seems to have specially presided at the witch-dance. in this we can see an evident connection with the herodias of the new testament. i add to this a few more very curious old slavonian spells from dr. gaster's work, as they admirably illustrate one of the principal and most interesting subjects connected with the gypsy witchcraft; that is to say, its relation to early shamanism and the forms in which its incantations were expressed. in all of these it may be taken for granted, from a great number of closely-allied examples, that the christianity in them is recent and that they all go back to the earliest heathen times. the following formula, dating from , against snake-bites bears the title:-- "prayer of st. paul against snakes. "in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost. i once was a persecutor, but am now a true follower; and i went from my dwelling-place in sicily, and they set light to a trunk, and a snake came therefrom and bit my right hand and hung from it. but i had in me the power of god, and i shook it off into the burning fire and it was destroyed, and i suffered no ill from the bite. i laid myself down to sleep; then the mighty angel said: 'saul, paul, stand up and receive this writing'; and i found in it the following words: "'i exorcise you, sixty and a half kinds of beasts that creep on the earth, in the name of god, the creator of heaven and earth, and in the name of the immovable throne. "'serpent of evil, i exorcise thee in the name of the burning river which rises under the footstool of the saviour, and in the name of his incorporeal angels! "'thou snake of the tribe of basilisks, thou foul-headed snake, twelve-headed snake, variegated snake, dragon-like snake, that art on the right side of hell, whomsoever thou bitest thou shalt have no power to harm, and thou must go away with all the twenty-four kinds. if a man has this prayer and this curse of the true, holy apostle, and a snake bites him, then it will die on the spot, and the man that is bitten shall remain unharmed, to the honour of the father, the son, and the holy ghost, now and for all time. amen.'" it is not improbable that we have in paul and the serpent and the formula for curing its bite (which is a common symbol for all disease) a souvenir of esculapius, the all-healer, and his serpent. the following is "a prayer against the toothache, to be carried about with one," i.e., as an amulet prayer:-- "spell for the toothache. "saint peter sat on a stone and wept. christ came to him and said, 'peter, why weepest thou?' peter answered, 'lord, my teeth pain me.' the lord thereupon ordered the worm in peter's tooth to come out of it and never more go in again. scarcely had the worm come out when the pain ceased. then spoke peter, 'i pray you, o lord, that when these words be written out and a man carries them he shall have no toothache.' and the lord answered, ''tis well, peter; so may it be!'" it will hardly be urged that this slavonian charm of eastern origin could have been originated independently in england. the following, which is there found in the north, is, as gaster remarks, "in the same wording":-- "peter was sitting on a marble stone, and jesus passed by. peter said, 'my lord, my god, how my tooth doth ache!' jesus said, 'peter art whole! and whosoever keeps these words for my sake shall never have the toothache.'" the next specimen is a-- "charm against nose-bleeding. "zachariah was slain in the lord's temple, and his blood turned into stone. then stop, o blood, for the lord's servant, ----. i exorcise thee, blood, that thou stoppest in the name of the saviour, and by fear of the priests when they perform the liturgy at the altar." those who sell these charms are almost universally supposed to be mere quacks and humbugs. if this were the case, why do they so very carefully learn and preserve these incantations, transmitting them "as a rich legacy unto their issue." but they really do believe in them, and will give great prices for them. prof. dragomanoff told me that once in malo-russia it became generally known that he had made a ms. collection of such spells. a peasant who was desirous of becoming a sorcerer, but who had very few incantations of his own, went whenever he could by stealth into the professor's library and surreptitiously copied his incantations. and when prof. dragomanoff returned the next year to that neighbourhood, he found the peasant doing a very good business as a conjuring doctor, or faith-healer. i have a lady correspondent in the united states who has been initiated into voodoo and studied indian-negro witchcraft under two eminent teachers, one a woman, the other a man. the latter, who was at the very head of the profession, sought the lady's acquaintance because he had heard that she possessed some very valuable spells. in the fourth or highest degree, as in slavonian or hungarian gypsy-magic, this indian-voodoo deals exclusively with the spirits of the forest and stream. m. kounavine, as set forth by dr. a. elysseeff (gypsy-lore journal, july, ), gives a russian gypsy incantation by which the fire is invoked to cure illness. it is as follows:-- "great fire, my defender and protector, son of the celestial fire, equal of the sun who cleanses the earth of foulness, deliver this man from the evil sickness that torments him night and day!" the fire is also invoked to punish, or as an ordeal, e.g.:-- "fire, who punishest the evil-doer, who hatest falsehood, who scorchest the impure, thou destroyest offenders; thy flame devoureth the earth. devour ---- if he says what is not true, if he thinks a lie, and if he acts deceitfully." these are pronounced by the gypsy sorcerer facing the burning hearth. there is another in which fire is addressed as jandra, and also invoked to punish an offender:-- "jandra, bearer of thunderbolts, great periani (compare parjana, an epithet of indra, slavonic perun), bearer of lightning, slay with thy thunderbolt and burn with thy celestial fire him who dares to violate his oath." chapter iii. gypsy conjurations and exorcisms--the cure of children--hungarian gypsy spells--a curious old italian "secret"--the magic virtue of garlic--a florentine incantation learned from a witch--lilith, the child-stealer, and queen of the witches. in all the schools of shamanic sorcery, from those of the assyrian-accadian to the widely-spread varieties of the present day, the exorcism forms the principal element. an exorcism is a formula, the properties or power of which is that when properly pronounced, especially if this be done with certain fumigations and ceremonies, it will drive away devils, diseases, and disasters of every description; nay, according to very high, and that by no means too ancient, authority, it is efficacious in banishing bugs, mice, or locusts, and it is equal to persian powder as a fuge for fleas, but is, unfortunately, too expensive to be used for that purpose save by the very wealthy. it has been vigorously applied against the grape disease, the colorado beetle, the army worm, and the blizzard in the united states, but, i believe, without effect, owing possibly to differences of climate or other antagonistic influences. closely allied to the exorcism is the benediction, which soon grew out of it as a cure. the former being meant to repel and drive away evil, the latter very naturally suggested itself, by a law of moral polarity, as a means of attracting good fortune, blessings, health, and peace. as the one was violently curative, the other was preventive. the benediction would keep the devils and all their works away from a man or his home--in fact, if stables be only well blessed once a year, no mishaps can come to any of the animals who inhabit them; and i myself have known a number of donkeys to receive a benediction in rome, the owner being assured that it would keep them safe from all the ills which donkeys inherit. and in the year , in one of the principal churches of philadelphia, blessed candles were sold to a congregation under guarantee that the purchase of one would preserve its possessor for one year against all disorders of the throat, on which occasion a sermon was preached, in the which seven instances were given in which people had thus been cured. between blessing and banning it soon became evident that many formulas of words could be used to bring about mysterious results. it is probable that the exorcism in its original was simply the angry, elevated tone of voice which animals as well as men instinctively employ to repel an enemy or express a terror. for this unusual language would be chosen, remembered, and repeated. with every new utterance this outcry or curse would be more seriously pronounced or enlarged till it became an ernulphian formula. the next step would be to give it metric form, and its probable development is very interesting. it does not seem to have occurred to many investigators that in early ages all things whatever which were remembered and repeated were droned and intoned, or sing-sung, until they fell of themselves into a kind of metre. in all schools at the present day, where boys are required to repeat aloud and all together the most prosaic lessons, they end by chanting them in rude rhythm. all monotone, be it that of a running brook, falls into cadence and metre. all of the sagas, or legends, of the algonkin-wabanaki were till within even fifty years chants or songs, and if they are now rapidly losing that character it is because they are no longer recited with the interest and accuracy which was once observed in the narrators. but it was simply because all things often repeated were thus intoned that the exorcisms became metrical. it is remarkable that among the aryan races it assumed what is called the staff-rhyme, like that which shakespeare, and ben jonson, and byron, and many more employ, as it would seem, instinctively, whenever witches speak or spells or charms are uttered. it will not escape the reader that, in the hungarian gypsy incantations in this work, the same measure is used as that which occurs in the norse sagas, or in the scenes of macbeth. it is also common in italy. this is intelligible--that its short, bold, deeply-marked movement has in itself something mysterious and terrible. if that wofully-abused word "weird" has any real application to anything, it is to the staff-rhyme. i believe that when a man, and particularly a woman, does not know what else to say, he or she writes "lurid," or "weird," and i lately met with a book of travels in which i found the latter applied seventy-six times to all kinds of conundrums, until i concluded that, like the coachman's definition of an idea in heine's "reisebilder," it meant simply "any d----d nonsense that a man gets into his head." but if weird really and only means that which is connected with fate or destiny, from the anglo-saxon weordan, to become, german, werden, then it is applicable enough to rhymes setting forth the future and spoken by the "weird sisters," who are so-called not because they are awful or nightmarish, or pokerish, or mystical, or bug-a-boorish, but simply because they predict the future or destiny of men. "the athenians as well as gentiles excelled in these songs of sorcery, hence we are told (varro, "q. de fascin") that in achaia, when they learned that a certain woman who used them was an athenian they stoned her to death, declaring that the immortal gods bestowed on man the power of healing with stones, herbs, and animals, not with words" ("de rem. superstit. cognos cendis"). truly, doctors never agree. it was in that i learned from a girl in florence two exorcisms or invocations which she was accustomed to repeat before telling fortunes by cards. this girl, who was of the tuscan romagna and who looked etruscan with a touch of gypsy blood, was a repertory of popular superstitions, especially witch-lore, and a maker and wearer of fetishes, always carrying a small bag full of them. bon sang ne peut mentir. the two formulas were as follows. i omit a portion from each:-- "venti cinque carte siete! venti cinque diavoli diventerete, diventerete, anderete nel' corpo, nel' sangue nell' anima, nell' sentimenti del corpo; del mio amante non posso vivere, non passa stare ne bere, ne mangiare ne ... ne con uomini ne con donne non passa favellare, finche a la porta di casa mia non viene picchiare!" "ye are twenty-five cards, become twenty-five devils! enter into the body, into the blood, into the soul; into the feelings of the body of my lover, from whom i cannot live. for i cannot stand (exist), or drink, or eat ... nor can i converse with men or women till at the door of my house he shall come to knock." the second incantation was the same, but beginning with these words:-- "i put five fingers on the wall, i conjure five devils, five monks and five friars, that they may enter the body into the blood, into the soul," &c. if the reader will take le normant's "magie chaldaienne," and carefully compare these italian spells with those of ancient nineveh, he will not only find a close general resemblance, but all the several details or actual identity of words. and it is not a little curious that the same formulas which were repeated-- "once on a time when babylon was young"-- should still be current in italy. so it passed through the ages--races came and went--and among the people the old sorcery was handed across and adown, so that it still lives. but in a few years more the folk-lorist will be its only repository. this chapter is devoted to conjuring diseases of children by gypsies. it bears a great likeness to one in the very devout work of peter pipernus, "de pueris affectis morbis magicis" ("of boys who have been bewitched into disease"), only that pipernus uses catholic incantations, which he also employs "pro ligatis in matrimonio," "pro incubo magico," "de dolóribus stomachi magicis," &c., for to him, as he declares, all disease is of magic origin. the magic of the gypsies is not all deceit, though they deceive with it. they put faith themselves in their incantations, and practise them on their own account. "and they believe that there are women, and sometimes men, who possess supernatural power, partly inherited and partly acquired." the last of seven daughters born in succession, without a boy's coming into the series, is wonderfully gifted, for she can see hidden treasure or spirits, or enjoy second sight of many things invisible to men. and the same holds good for the ninth in a series of boys, who may become a seer of the same sort. such a girl, i.e., a seventh daughter, being a fortune in herself, never lacks lovers. in the young vojvode, or leader, of the kukaya gypsy tribe, named danku niculai, offered the old gypsy woman, pale boshe, one hundred ducats if she would persuade her seventh daughter to marry him. in the united states of america there are many women who advertise in the newspapers that they also are seventh daughters of seventh daughters at that, and who make a good thing of it as fortune-tellers; but they have a far more speedy, economical, and effective way of becoming the last note in an octave, than by awaiting the slow processes of being begotten or born, inasmuch as they boldly declare themselves to be sevenths, which i am assured answers every purpose, as nobody ever asks to see their certificates of baptism any more than of marriage. [ ] most of these witch-wives--also known in hungary as cohalyi, or "wise women," or gule romni, "sweet" or "charming women"--are trained up from infancy by their mothers in medicine and magic. a great part of this education consists in getting by heart the incantations or formulas of which specimens will be given anon, and which, in common with their fairy tales, show intrinsic evidence of having been drawn at no very distant period from india, and probably in common with the lower or shamanic religion of india from turanian sources. but there is among the hungarian gypsies a class of female magicians who stand far above their sisters of the hidden spell in power. these are the lace romni, or "good women," who draw their power directly from the nivasi or pchuvusi, the spirits of water and earth, or of flood and fell. for the hungarian gypsies have a beautiful mythology of their own which at first sight would seem to be a composition of the rosicrucian as set forth by paracelsus and the comte de gabalis, with the exquisite indo-teutonic fairy tales of the middle ages. in fact, in some of the incantations used we find the urme, or fairies, directly appealed to for help. with the gypsies, as among the early accadians, diseases are supposed to be caused by evil supernatural influences. this is more naturally the case among people who lead very simple lives, and with whom sickness is not almost a natural or normal condition, as it is with ladies and gentlemen, or the inhabitants of cities, who have "always something the matter with them." nomadic life is conducive to longevity. "our grandfathers died on the gallows--we die from losing our teeth," said an old gypsy to doctor von wlislocki, when asked what his age was. therefore among all people who use charms and spells those which are devoted to cure occupy the principal position. however, the hungarian romany have many medicines, more or less mysterious, which they also apply in connection with the "healing rhymes." and as in the struggle for life the weakest go first to the wall, the remedies for the diseases of children are predominant. when a mother begins to suffer the pangs of childbirth, a fire is made before her tent, which is kept up till the infant is baptized, in order to drive away evil spirits. certain women feed this fire, and while fanning it (fans being used for bellows) murmur the following rhyme:-- "oh yakh, oh yakh pçabuva, pçabuva, te cavéstár tu trádá, tu trada, pçúvushen te nivashen tire tçuva the traden! lace urmen ávená, caves báçtáles dena, káthe hin yov báçtáles, andre lime báçtáles! motura te ráná, te átunci but' ráná, motura te ráná, te átunci, but' ráná, me dav' andre yákherá! oh yákh, oh yákh pçabuva, rovel cavo: áshuna!" it may here be remarked that the pronunciation of all these words is the same as in german, with the following additions. c = teh in english, or to ch in church. c = ch in german as in buch. j = azs, or the english j, in james; n, as in spanish, or nj in german, while sh and y are pronounced as in english. Á is like ah. the literal translation is:-- "oh fire, oh fire, burn! burn! and from the child (do) thou drive away drive away! pçuvuse and nivashi and drive away thy smoke (pl.) (let) good fairies come (and) give luck to the child, here it is lucky (or fortunate) in the world fortunate brooms and twigs (fuel) and then more twigs, and then yet more twigs i put (give) to the fire. oh fire, oh fire--burn! the child weeps: listen!" in south hungary the gypsy women on similar occasions sing the following charm:-- "eftá pçuvushá, efta niváshá andré mal avená pçabuven, pçabuven, oh yákhá! dáyákri punro dindálen, te gule caves mudáren; pçabuven, pçabuven, oh yákhá; ferinen o caves te daya!" "seven pçuvushe, seven nivasi come into the field, burn, burn, oh fire! they bite the mother's foot, they destroy the sweet child; fire, fire, oh burn! protect the child and the mother!" when the birth is very difficult, the mother's relations come to help, and one of them lets an egg fall, zwischen den beinen derselben. on this occasion the gypsy women in southern hungary sing:-- "Ánro, ánro in obles, te e pera in obles: ava cavo sástávestes! devlá, devlá, tut akharel!" "the egg, the egg is round, and the belly is round, come child in good health! god, god calls thee!" if a woman dies in child-bed two eggs are placed under her arms and the following couplet is muttered:-- "kana anro kirnes hin, kathe nañi tçudá hin!" "when this egg is (shall be) decayed, here (will be) is no milk!" when the after-pains begin it is the custom with some of the gypsy tribes in the siebenburgen to smoke the sufferer with decayed willow-wood which is burned for the purpose while the women in attendance sing:-- "sik te sik o tçu urál, te urál o con urál! kana len hádjináven sascipená tut' áven; káná o tçu ná urál-- tute náñi the dukhal, tute náñi the dukhal." "fast and fast the smoke flies, and flies, the moon flies, when they find (themselves) health (yet) will come to thee, "when the smoke no (longer) flies thou wilt feel pain no more!" there is a strange, mysterious affinity between gypsies and the moon. a wonderful legend, which they certainly brought from india since in it mekran is mentioned as the place where its incident occurred, details that there, owing to the misrepresentations of a sorcerer, the gypsy leader, chen, was made to marry his sister guin, or kan, which brought the curse of wandering upon his people. hence the romany are called chen-guin. it is very evident that here we have chon and kan, or kam, the moon and sun, which is confirmed by another gypsy legend which declares that the sun, because he once violated or still seeks to seduce his sister, the moon, continually follows her, being destined to wander for ever. and as the name chen-kan, or zingan, or zigeuner, is known all over the east, and, as this legend shows, is of indian origin, it is hardly worth while to believe with miklosich that it is derived from an obscure greek heretical sect of christians--the more so as it is most difficult to believe that the romany were originally either greeks or christians or christian heretics. when a gypsy woman is with child she will not, if she can help it, leave her tent by full moonshine. a child born at this time it is believed will make a happy marriage. so it is said of birth in the western world:-- "full moon, high sea, great man thou shalt be; red dawning, cloudy sky, bloody death shalt thou die. "pray to the moon when she is round, luck with you will then abound, what you seek for shall be found on the sea or solid ground." moon-worship is very ancient; it is alluded to as a forbidden thing in the book of job. from early times witches and other women worked their spells when stark-naked by the light of the full moon, which is evidently derived from the ancient worship of that planet and the shameless orgies connected with it. dr. wlislocki simply remarks on this subject that the moon has, in the gypsy incantation, "eine phallische bedeutung." in ancient symbolism the horns of the moon were regarded as synonymous with the horns of the ox--hence their connection with agriculture, productiveness, and fertility, or the generative principle, and from this comes the beneficent influence not only of the horns, but of horse-shoes, boars' tusks, crabs' claws, and pieces of coral resembling them. the great love of gypsy mothers for their children, says wlislocki, induces their friends to seek remedies for the most trifling disorders. at a later period, mother and child are left to mother nature--or the vis medicatrix naturæ. what is greatly dreaded is the berufen, or being called on, "enchanted," in english "overlooked," or subjected to the evil eye. an universal remedy for this is the following:-- a jar is filled with water from a stream, and it must be taken with, not against, the current as it runs. in it are placed seven coals, seven handfuls of meal, and seven cloves of garlic, all of which is put on the fire. when the water begins to boil it is stirred with a three-forked twig, while the wise woman repeats:-- "miseç' yakhá tut dikhen, te yon káthe mudáren! te átunci eftá coká te çaven miseçe yakhá; miseç' yakhá tut dikhen, te yon káthe mudáren! but práhestár e yakhá atunci kores th'ávená; miseç' yakhá tut dikhen te yon káthe mudáren! pçábuvená pçábuvená andre develeskero yakhá!" "evil eyes look on thee, may they here extinguished be! and then seven ravens pluck out the evil eyes; evil eyes (now) look on thee, may they soon extinguished be! much dust in the eyes, thence may they become blind, evil eyes now look on thee; may they soon extinguished be! may they burn, may they burn in the fire of god!" dr. wlislocki remarks that the "seven ravens" are probably represented by the seven coals, while the three-pointed twig, the meal and the garlic, symbolize lightning. he does not observe that the stick may be the triçula or trident of siva--whence probably the gipsy word trushul, a cross; but the connection is very obvious. it is remarkable that the gypsies assert that lightning leaves behind it a smell like that of garlic. as garlic forms an important ingredient in magic charms, the following from "the symbolism of nature" ("die symbolik und mythologie der natur"), by j. b. friedrich, will be found interesting:-- "we find in many forms spread far and wide the belief that garlic possesses the magic power of protection against poison and sorcery. this comes, according to pliny, from the fact that when it is hung up in the open air for a time, it turns black, when it is supposed to attract evil into itself--and, consequently, to withdraw it from the wearer. the ancients believed that the herb which mercury gave to ulysses to protect him from the enchantment of circe, and which homer calls moly, was the alium nigrum, or garlic, the poison of the witch being a narcotic. among the modern greeks and turks, garlic is regarded as the most powerful charm against evil spirits, magic, and misfortune. for this reason they carry it with them, and hang it up in their houses as a protection against storms and bad weather. so their sailors carry with them a sack of it to avert shipwreck. if any one utters a word of praise with the intention of fascinating or of doing harm, they cry aloud 'garlic!' or utter it three times rapidly. in aulus persius flaccus (satyr. v.) to bite garlic averts magic and the evils which the gods send to those who are wanting in reverence for them. according to a popular belief the mere pronunciation of 'garlic!' protects one from poison." it appears to be generally held among them and the poles that this word prevents children from "beschreien werden" that is, from being banned, or overlooked, or evil-eyed. and among the poles garlic is laid under children's pillows to protect them from devils and witches. (bratraneck, "beiträge zur Æsthetik der pflanzenwelt," p. ). the belief in garlic as something sacred appears to have been very widely spread, since the druids attributed magic virtues to it; hence the reverence for the nearly allied leek, which is attached to king david and so much honoured by the welsh. "tell him i'll knock his leek about his pate upon saint david's day."--shakespeare. the magic virtues of garlic were naturally enough also attributed to onions and leeks, and in a curious italian work, entitled "il libro del comando," attributed (falsely) to cornelius agrippa, i find the following:-- "segreto magico d'indovinare, colle cipole, la salute d'una persona lontana. a magic secret to divine with onions the health of a person far distant. gather onions on the eve of christmas and put them on an altar, and under every onion write the name of the persons as to whom one desires to be informed, ancorche non scrivano, even if they do not write. "the onion (planted) which sprouts the first will clearly announce that the person whose name it bears is well. "and in the same manner we can learn the name of the husband or wife whom we should choose, and this divination is in use in many cantons of germany." very much allied to this is the following love charm from an english gypsy:-- "take an onion, a tulip, or any root of the kind (i.e. a bulbous root?), and plant it in a clean pot never used before; and while you plant it repeat the name of the one whom you love, and every day, morning and evening, say over it:-- "'as this root grows and as this blossom blows, may her heart be turned unto me!' "and it will come to pass that every day the one whom you love will be more and more inclined to you, till you get your heart's desire." a similar divination is practised by sowing cress or lettuce seed in the form of names in gardens. if it grows well the one who plants it will win the love of the person indicated. as regards the use of coals in incantations, marcellus burdigalensis, [ ] a latin physician of the third century, who has left us a collection of latin and gaelic charms, recommends for a cure for toothache: "salis granum, panis micam, carbonem mortuum in phoenicio alligabis," i.e., to carry a grain of salt, a crumb of bread, and a coal, in a red bag. when the witch-brew of coals, garlic, and meal is made, and boiled down to a dry residuum, it is put into a small three-cornered bag, and hung about the child's neck, on which occasion the appropriate rhyme is repeated nine times. "and it is of special importance that the bag shall be made of a piece of linen, which must be stolen, found, or begged." to learn whether a child has been overlooked, or evil-eyed, or enchanted, the "wise woman" takes it in her arms, and goes to the next running stream. there she holds the face of the babe as nearly as she can to the water, and repeats:-- "páñi, páñi sikova, dikh the upré, dikh télé! buti páñi sikovel buti pál yákh the dikhel te ákáná mudárel." "water, water, hasten! look up, look down! much water hastens (may) as much come into the eye which looked evil on thee, and may it now perish." if the running brook makes a louder sound than usual then it is supposed to say that the child is enchanted, but if it runs on as before then something else is the matter, and to ascertain what it is other charms and ceremonies are had recourse to. this incantation indicates, like many others, a constant dwelling in lonely places, by wood and stream, as gypsies wont to do, and sweet familiarity with nature, until one hears sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and voices in the wind. [ ] civilized people who read about red indian sorcerers and gypsy witches very promptly conclude that they are mere humbugs or lunatics--they do not realize how these people, who pass half their lives in wild places watching waving grass and falling waters, and listening to the brook until its cadence speaks in real song, believe in their inspirations, and feel that there is the same mystical feeling and presence in all things that live and move and murmur as well as in themselves. now we have against this the life of the clubs and family, of receptions and business, factories and stock-markets, newspapers and "culture." absolutely no one who lives in "the movement" can understand this sweet old sorcery. but nature is eternal, and while grass grows and rivers run man is ever likely to fall again into the eternal enchantments. and truly until he does he will have no new poetry, no fresh art, and must go on copying old ideas and having wretchedly worn-out exhibitions in which there is not one original idea. if it appears that the child is overlooked, or "berufen," many means are resorted to, "one good if another fails," but we have here to do only with those which are connected with incantations. a favourite one is the following: three twigs are cut, each one from a different tree, and put into a pipkin which has been filled with water dipped or drawn with, not against, the current of a stream. three handfuls of meal are then put in and boiled down to a brei, or pudding. a horse hair is then wound round a needle, which is stuck not by the point but by the head into the inner bottom of a tub, which is filled with water, and placed upon this is the pipkin with the pudding. then the "overlooked," or evil-seen child is held over the tub while the following rhyme is chanted:-- "páñi, páñi lunjárá, páñi, páñi isbiná; te náshválipen çucá náshválipen mudárá, mudára te ákáná, káthe beshá ñikáná, sár práytiña sutyárel, káthe ándre piri, ándre piri, nivasheshe les dávás!" "water, water, spread! water, water, stretch! and sickness disappear, sickness be destroyed, be destroyed now. remain not here at all! who ever has overlooked this child as this leaf in the pot (maybe) be given to the nivashi!" this is repeated nine times, when the water in the tub, with the pipkin and its contents, are all thrown into the stream from which the water was drawn. this is a widely-spread charm, and it is extremely ancient. the pipkin placed across the tub or trough--trog--here signifies a bridge, and wlislocki tells us that no transylvanian tent-gypsy will cross a bridge without first spitting thrice over the rails into the water. the bridge plays an important part in the mythology and folk-lore of many races. the ancient persians had their holy mountain, albordi, or garotman, the abode of gods and blessed souls, to which they passed by the bridge cin-vat, or chinevad, whence the creed: "i believe in the resurrection of the dead; that all bodies shall live renewed again, and i believe that by the bridge cin-vat all good deeds will be rewarded, and all evil deeds punished." the punishment is apparent from the parallel of the bridge al sirat, borrowed by the mahommedans from the persians, over which the good souls passed to reward, and from which the wicked tumbled down into hell. when i first met emerson in i happened to remark that a bridge in a landscape was like a vase in a room, the point on which an eye trained to the picturesque involuntarily rested. nearly thirty years after, when we were both living at shepherd's hotel in cairo, he reminded me of this one day when by the nile we were looking at a bridge. as a bridge must cross a stream, or a torrent which is generally beautiful by itself, and as the cross or span has the effect of defining and framing the picture, as a circlet or tiara sets off a beautiful head, it is not remarkable that in all ages men have made such objects subjects of legend and song. hence the oft-repeated devil's bridge, so-called because it seemed to simple peasants impossible for mere mortals to build, although bridges are habitually and more naturally connected with salvation and saints. he who in early ages built a bridge, did a great deed in times when roads were rare; hence the great priest was called the pontifex. another spell for the purpose of averting the effects of the evil eye is as follows: the mother of the overlooked child fills her mouth with salt water, and lets it drop or trickle on the limbs of the infant, and when this has been done, repeats:-- "miseç yákhá tut dikhen sár páñori-- mudaren! náshvalipen prejia: andral t'ro shero andral t're kolyin, andral t're por andral t're punrá andral t're vástá kathe prejánen,-- andre yákhá yon jánen!" "false (evil) eyes see thee, like this water may they perish! sickness depart from thy head, from thy breast, from thy belly, from thy feet, from thy hands, may they go hence into the evil eyes!" it may be observed that meal forms an ingredient in several of these sorceries. it is a very ancient essential to sacrifices, and is offered to the spirits of the stream to appease them, as it was often given for the same purpose to the wind. the old germans, says prætorius, imagined the storm-wind as a starving, ravenous being, and sought to appease it by throwing meal to it. so it happened once even of later years near bamberg when a mighty wind was raging one night that an old woman took her meal-bag and threw its contents out of the window, saying:-- "lege dich, lieber wind, bringe dies deinem kind!" "dear wind, be not so wild, take that unto thy child!" "in which thing," adds the highly protestant prætorius ("anthropodemus plutonicus," p. ), "she was like the papists who would fain appease the donnerwetter, or thunderstorms, with the sound of baptized bells, as though they were raging round like famished lions, or grim wolves, or a soldier foraging, seeking what they may devour." the wind here represents the wild hunter, or the storm, the leader of the wüthende heer, or "raging army," who, under different names, is the hero of so many german legends. that the voice of the wind should seem like that of wild beasts roaring for food would occur naturally enough to any one who was familiar with both. when a child refuses the breast the gypsies believe that a pçuvus-wife, or a female spirit of the earth has secretly sucked it. in such a case they place between the mother's breasts onions, and repeat these words:-- "pçuvushi, pçuvushi, ac tu náshvályi tiro tçud ac yakhá, andre pçuv tu pçábuvá! thávdá, thávdá miro tçud, thávdá, thávdá, parno tçud, thávdá, thávdá, sár kámáv,-- mre cáveske bokhale!" "earth-spirit! earth-spirit! be thou ill. let thy milk be fire! burn in the earth! flow, flow, my milk! flow, flow, white milk! flow, flow, as i desire to my hungry child!" the same is applied when the milk holds back or will not flow, as it is then supposed that a pçuvus-wife has secretly suckled her own child at the mother's breast. it is an old belief that elves put their own offspring in the place of infants, whom they sometimes steal. this subject of elf-changelings is extensively treated by all the writers on witchcraft. there is even a latin treatise, or thesis, devoted to defining the legal and social status, rights, &c., of such beings. it is entitled, "de infantibus supposititiis, vulgo wechsel-bälgen," dresden, . "such infants," says the author (john valentine merbitz), "are called cambiones, vagiones (à continuo vagitu), germanis küllkräpfe, wechselkinder, wechselbälge, all of which indicates, in german belief, children which have nothing human about them except the skin." when the child is subject to convulsive weeping or spasms, and loses its sleep, the mother takes a straw from the child's sleeping-place and puts into her mouth. then, while she is fumigated with dried cow-dung, into which the hair of the father and mother have been mingled, she chants:-- "bala, bálá pçubuven, cik te bálá pçubuven, cik te bálá pçubuven, pçábuvel náshvályipen!" "hair, hair, burn! dirt and hair burn! dirt and hair burn! illness be burned!" this bears manifest mark of hindoo origin, and i have no doubt that the same ceremony in every detail is practised in india at the present day. in southern hungary convulsive weeping in children is cured as follows: in the evening, when the fire burns before the tent, the mother takes her child in her arms and carries it three times around the fire, putting on it a pipkin full of water, into which she puts three coals. with this water she washes the head of her child, and pours some of it on a black dog. then she goes to the next stream or brook, and lets fall into it a red twist, saying:-- "lává niváshi ádá bolditori te láhá m're caveskro rovipen! káná sástavestes ánáv me tute pçábáyá te yándrá." "nivashi take this twist, and with it the weeping of my child. when it is well i will bring thee apples and eggs." when a child "bumps" its head the swelling is pressed with the blade of a knife, and the following spell is muttered thrice, seven, or nine times, according to the gravity of the injury:-- "ac tu, ac tu, ac kovles, the may sik tu mudarés! andre pcuv tu jiá, dikav tut me ñikáná! shuri, shuri, áná, de pal pçuv!" "be thou, be thou, be thou weak (i.e., soft) and very soon perish! go thou into the earth, may i see thee never more! bring knives, knives, give (i.e., put) into the earth." then the knife is stuck three, seven, or nine times into the earth. if the child or a grown person has a bleeding at the nose, some of the blood is covered with earth, and the following verse repeated:-- "pçuvush, dáv tute pçuvush, lává mánge, de tre cáveske hin may táte! sik lava!" "pcuvus, i give to thee, pcuvus, oh take from me, give it to thy child, it is very warm, take it quickly!" if the child has pains in the stomach, the hair of a black dog is burned to powder and kneaded with the mother's milk and some of the fæces of the child into a paste. this prescription occurs in the magical medical formulas of marcellus burdigalenis, the court-physician at rome in the fourth century: "cape mel atticum et stercus infantis quod primum demittit, statim ex lacte mulieris quoe puerum allactat permiscebis et sic inunges," &c. most of the prescriptions of marcellus were of ancient etrurian origin, and i have found many of them still in use in the romagna toscana. this is put into a cloth and bound on the belly of the child. when it falls asleep a hole is bored in a tree and the paste put into it. the hole is then stopped up with a wooden plug, and while this is being done the following is repeated:-- "andrál por prejiá, andré selene beshá! beshá beshá tu káthe! penáv, penáv me tute!" "depart from the belly live in the green! (tree) remain, remain thou here! i say, i say to thee!" the black dog is in many countries associated with sorcery and diabolical influences, and "in european heathendom it was an emblem of the evil principle. the black demon cernobog was represented by the slavs as a black dog. among the wallachians there is a horrible vampire-like creature called priccolitsh, or priculics, who appears as a man in fine healthy condition, but by night he becomes a dog, kills people by the mere touch, and devours them." the black dogs of faust and of cornelius agrippa will occur to most readers. gypsies have always been regarded as sorcerers and child-stealers, and it is remarkable that lilith, the mother of all witchcraft, did the same. at the present day the slavonian gypsies have spells against such a spirit. in the chaldæan magic, as set forth by lenormant, as i have already stated, the powers of evil are incarnate diseases, they are seven in number, and they are invoked by means of verses which bear an extraordinary resemblance to those which are still current in italy as well as in other countries. according to some writers this is all mere chance coincidence, or due to concurrent causes and similar conditions in different countries. that diseases, like hunger, or death, or the terrors of the night, may have been incarnated as evil spirits naturally by all mankind may be granted, but when we find them arranged in categories of numbers, in widely different countries, employing the same means of banishing them--that is, by short songs and drum-beating--when we find these incantations in the same general forms, often with the same words, our belief as to the identity of origin is confirmed at every step. we can admit that the jews were in babylon and wandered thence all over the world, but that any other religious or superstitious system should have done the same would be obstinately denied. and by an incredible inconsistency, scholars who admit the early migrations of whole races on a vast scale, from the remotest regions of the east to western europe, deny that legends and myths come with them or that they could have spread in like manner. one of the attributes of the witch of the middle ages in which she has been confused with the queen of the fairies, and fairies in general, is that she steals newly-born children. this is a very ancient attribute of the female demon or sorceress or strega, and it is found among jews at the present day who believe in the benemmerinnen, or witches who haunt women in childbirth as well as in lilith. "the jews banish this first wife of adam by writing on the walls, 'adam chava chuz lilith,' ('keep away from here, lilith!')" ("anthropodemus plutonicus," by john prætorius, ). that it is very ancient is rendered probable because the famous bogomile formula of incantation against the twelve fever-fits (tresevica), or kinds of fever, turns entirely on the legend of six children stolen by the demon who is compelled to restore them. here we have the very oldest form of witchcraft known, that is incarnate disease in numbers allied to child-stealing. this spell of the tresevica is attributed, says dr. gaster, to pope jeremia, the founder of bogomilism (the great oriental slavonian heresy which spread over europe in the middle ages and prepared the way for protestanism). "there is no doubt, therefore, that the spell is derived from the east, and i have elsewhere proved its existence in that quarter as early as the eighth century. it may have been of manichæan origin. it has been preserved up to the present day in all the lands of eastern europe and, with certain modifications, exists among germans and jews." though attributed to sisynios, the immediate follower of manes, as chief of the manichæans, it seems to have been derived from an earlier oriental tale which became the basis of all later formulæ. i give it here in the roumanian form, which closely resembles the old one. here, as in all the other variants, the demon is a feminine one. the following is the legend:-- "i, sisveas, i came down from the mount of olives, saw the archangel gabriel as he met the avestitza, wing of satan, and seized her by the hair and asked her where she was going. and she answered that she was going to cheat the holy virgin by her tricks, steal the new-born child, and drink its blood. the archangel asked her how she could get into houses so as to steal the children, and she answered that she changed herself into a fly or a cat or such forms. but whosoever knew her twelve and a half (nineteen) names and wrote them out she could not touch. she told him these names, and they were written down." there is a coptic as well as a greek parallel to this. the fairy who steals the children is called lilith, and is further identified with herodias and her twelve daughters as personifications of different kinds of fever. this is extremely interesting, as it casts some light on a question which has greatly puzzled all writers on witchcraft as to how or why herodias was so generally worshipped in company with diana by witches as a goddess in italy. this is mentioned by pipernus, grillandus, mirandola, and horst. the name is probably much older than that of the herodias of the new testament. chapter iv. south slavonian and other gypsy witch-lore.--the words for a witch--vilas and the spirits of earth and air--witches, egg-shells, and egg-lore--egg proverbs--ova de crucibus. there is current in the whole of the southern slavonian provinces a vast mass of legends and other lore relating to witches, which, in the opinion of dr. friedrich s. krauss, may also be regarded as romany, since it is held in common with the gypsies. there can, indeed, be very little doubt that most of it was derived from, or disseminated by, them, since they have been the principal masters in magic and doctors in medicine in the slavonic lands for many centuries. there are others deeply learned in this subject who share the same opinion, it being certain that the gypsies could hardly have a separate lore for themselves and one for magic practices on others, and i entertain no doubt that they are substantially the same; but to avoid possible error and confusion, i give what i have taken in this kind from dr. krauss [ ] and others by itself. as the english word witch, anglo-saxon wicca, comes from a root implying wisdom, [ ] so the pure slavonian word vjestica, bulgarian, vjescirica (masculine, viestae), meant originally the one knowing or well informed, and it has preserved the same power in allied languages, as veaa (new slovenish), knowledge, vedavica, a fortune-teller by cards, viedma (russian), a witch, and vedwin, fatidicus. in many places, especially in dalmatia, witches are more gently or less plainly called krstaca, the crossed, from krst, a cross, i.e., christos, or rogulja, "horned," derived from association with the horns of devils. in croatia the italian striga is used, while among the slovenes and kai-kroats the term copernica (masculine, coprnjak). "but it enrages the witches so much to be called by this word that when they hear that any one has used it they come to his house by night and tear him in four pieces, which they cast afar into the four quarters of the earth, yea, and thereunto carry away all the swine, horses, and cattle, so intolerable is their wrath." therefore men use the word hmana zena, or "common woman," hmana being the slavonic pronunciation of the german word gemein, or common. in dalmatia and far into servia a witch is called macisnica, and magic, macija, which is, evidently enough, the italian magia. but there are witches and witches, and it appears that among the learned the vjestica differs from the macionica, and this from the zlokobnica who, as the "evil-meeter," or one whom it is unlucky to encounter in the morning, is probably only one who has the evil eye. a quotation from a servian authority, given by dr. krauss, is as follows:-- "i have often heard from old hodzas and kadijas, that every female wallach, as soon as she is forty years old, abandons the 'god be with us!' and becomes a witch (vjestica), or at least a zlokobnica or macionica. a real witch has a mark of a cross under her nose, a zlokobnica has some hairs of a beard, and a macionica may be known by a forehead full of dark folds (frowns), with blood-spots in her face" ("niz srpskih pripoviedaka. vuk. vit. vecevica. pancevo," p, . ). of the great number of south slavonian terms for the verb to enchant or bewitch, it may suffice to say that the commencement, carati, cari carani, carovnik, &c., appear to have much more affinity to the gypsy chor-ava, to steal or swindle, and chov-hani, a witch, than to the italian ciarlatano, and the french and english charlatan, from which dr. krauss derives them. the vilas-sylvana elementary spirits. among the slavonic and gypsy races all witchcraft, fairy- and folk-lore rests mainly upon a belief in certain spirits of the wood and wold, of earth and water, which has much in common with that of the rosicrucians and paracelsus, but much more with the gypsy mythology (as given by wlislocki, "vom wandernden zigeunervolke," pp. - ), which is apparently in a great measure of directly indian origin. "in the vile" says dr. krauss, "also known as samovile, samodivi, and vilevrjaci, we have near relations to the forest and field spirits, or the 'wood-' and 'moss-folk' of middle germany, france, and bavaria; the 'wild people' of eifel, hesse, salzburg, and the tyrol; the wood-women and wood-men of bohemia; the tyrolese fanggen, fänken, nörkel, and happy ladies; the roumanish orken, euguane, and dialen; the danish ellekoner; the swedish skogsnufvaz; and the russian ljesje; while in certain respects they have affinity with the teutonic valkyries." yet they differ on the whole from all of these, as from english fairies, in being more like divinities, who exert a constant and familiar influence for good or evil on human beings, and who are prayed to or exorcised on all occasions. they have, however, their exact parallel among the red indians of north america as among the eskimo, and it is evident that they are originally derived from the old or primeval shamanic faith, which once spread all over the earth. it is very true, as dr. krauss remarks, that in the west of europe it is becoming almost impossible to trace this true origin of spirits now regarded as merely diabolical, or otherwise put into new rôles; but among the south slavonians and gypsies we can still find them in very nearly their old form and playing the same parts. we can still find the vila as set forth in old ballads, the incarnation of beauty and power, the benevolent friends of sufferers, the geniuses of heroes, the dwellers by rock and river and greenwood tree. but they are implacable in their wrath to all who deceive them, or who break a promise; nay, they inflict terrible punishment even on those who disturb their rings or the dances which they make by midsummer moonlight. hence the proverb applied to any man who suddenly fell ill: "naiso je na vilinsko kolo" ("he stepped on a fairy-ring"). from this arbitrary exercise of power we find the vila represented at times as a spirit who punishes and torments. thus we are told that there was once a shepherd named stanko, who played beautifully on the flute. one evening he was so absorbed in his own music that when the ave maria bell rung, instead of repeating the prayer he played it. as he ended he saw a vila sitting on a hedge. and from that hour she never left him. by table, by his bed, at work or play, the white form and unearthly eyes of the spirit were close to him. "by a spell to him unknown, he could never be alone." witches and wizards were summoned to aid him, but to no avail; nay, it made matters worse, for the vila now often beat him, and when people asked him why it was, he replied that the vila did so because he refused to wander out into the world with her. and yet again he would be discovered in the top of a tree, bound with bast; and so it went on for years, till he was finally found one morning drowned in a ditch. so in the wolf dietrich legend the hero refuses the love of die rauhe else, and is made mad by the witch and runs wild. all of which is identical with what is told in an algonkin tale (vide "the algonkin legends of new england"). there are three kinds of witches or spirits among the southern slavonians which correspond in every respect exactly to those in which the gypsies believe. the first of these are the zracne vile, or aerial spirits. these, like the spirits of the air of scripture, are evily-disposed to human beings, playing them mischievous tricks or inflicting on them fatal injuries. they lead them astray by night, like friar rush and robin goodfellow, or the english gypsy mullo doods, or bewilder and frighten them into madness. of the second kind are the earth spirits, pozemne vile, in gypsy pcuvushi or puvushi. these are amiable, noble, and companionable beings, who often give sage counsel to men. thirdly are the water sprites, in slavonic povodne vile, in gypsy nivashi, who are to the highest degree vindictive at times, yet who behave kindly to men when they meet them on land. but woe to those who, while swimming, encounter them in streams or lakes, for then the goblins grasp and whirl them about until they perish. from this account by dr. krauss, it appears as if this slavonic mythology were derived from the gypsy, firstly, because it is more imperfect than the latter, and secondly, because in it vilas, or spirits, are confused with witches, while among the gypsies they are clearly separated and distinctly defined. dr. wlislocki says ("vom wand. zigeunervolke," p. ) that "gypsies are still a race given to shamanism, but yet they reverence a highest being under the name of devla or del." this is, however, the case to-day with all believers in shaman or sorcery-religion, the difference between them and monotheists being that this highest god is little worshipped or even thought of, all practical devotion being paid to spirits who are really their saints. by close examination the gypsy religion, like that of the country-folk in india, appears to be absolutely identical in spirit with that of american indians. and i should say that the monk mentioned by prætorius, who declared that though god and christ should damn him, yet he could be saved by appealing to saint joseph, was not very far removed from being a shamanist. the hungarian gypsies are divided into tribes, and one of these, the kukaya, believes itself to be descended from the pçuvushi, or earth-fairies, according to the following story, narrated by dr. h. von wlislocki in his paper on the genealogy and family relations of the transylvanian tent gypsies:-- "many thousand years ago there were as yet in the world very few pchuvushi. these are beings of human form dwelling under the earth. there they have cities, but they very often come to the world above. they are ugly, and their men are covered with hair. (all of this indicates a prehistoric subterranean race like the eskimo, fur-clad. [ ]) they carry off mortal girls for wives. their life is hidden in the egg of a black hen." this is the same as that of the orco or ogre in the italian tale, "i racconti delle fate, cesare da causa," florence, . whoever kills the hen and throws the egg into a running stream, kills the pchuvush. "once a young pchuvush woman came up to the world and sat in a fair green forest. she saw a very beautiful youth sleeping in the shade, and said: 'what happiness it must be to have such a husband. mine is so ugly!' her husband, who had stolen silently after her, heard this, and reflected: 'what a good idea it would be to lend my wife to this young man till she shall have borne a family of beautiful children! then i could sell them to my rich pchuvus friends.' so he said to his wife: 'you may live with this youth for ten years if you will promise to give me either the boys or the girls which you may bear to him.' she agreed to this. then the pchuvus began to sing:-- "'kuku, kukáya kames to adala? kuku, kukaya.' "that is in english:-- "'kuku, kukaya do you want this (one) here? kuku, kukaya.' "then the young man awoke, and as the goblin offered him much gold and silver with his wife, he took her and lived with her ten years, and every year she bore him a son. then came the pchuvush to get the children. but the wife said she had chosen to keep all the sons, and was very sorry but she had no girls to give him! so he went away sorrowfully, howling:-- "'kuku, kukáya! ada kin jirklá! kuku, kukaya!' "that is to say:-- "'kuku, kukaya! these are dogs here! kuku, kukaya!' "then the ten boys laughed and said to their father: 'we will call ourselves kukaya.' and so from them came the race." dr. wlislocki points out that there are races which declare themselves to be descended from dogs, or, like the romans, from wolves. it is a curious coincidence that the eskimo are among the former. in all parts of eastern europe, as in the west, many people are not only careful to burn the parings of their nails [ ] and the combings of hair, for fear lest witches and imps should work sorcery with them to the injury of those from whom they came, but they also destroy the shells of eggs when they have eaten their contents. so a. wuttke tells us in his book, "der deutsche volks aberglaube der gegenwart," : "when one has eaten eggs the shells must be broken up or burned, or else the hens will lay no more, or evil witches will come over them." and in england, spain, the netherlands, or portugal, there are many who believe or say that if the witches can get such shells from which people have eaten, unbroken, they can, by muttering spells, cause them to grow so large that they can use them as boats. dom leitas ganet ("dona branca ou a conquista do algarve," paris, ), however, assures us that is a very risky thing for the witches, because if they do not return home before midnight the shell-boat perishes, "whence it hath come to pass that many of these sorceresses have been miserably drowned." however, an egg hung up in a house is a lucky amulet, hence the ostrich eggs and cocoanuts resembling them which are so common in the east. and it is to be observed that every gypsy in england declares that a pivilioi, or cocoanut, as a gift brings bak or luck, i myself having had many given to me with this assurance. this is evidently and directly derived from india, in which country there are a mass of religious traditions referring to it. "once there was a gypsy girl who noticed that when anybody ate eggs they broke up the shells, and asking why this was done received for answer:-- "'you must break the shell to bits for fear lest the witches should make it a boat, my dear. for over the sea away from home, far by night the witches roam.' "then the girl said: 'i don't see why the poor witches should not have boats as well as other people.' and saying this she threw the shell of an egg which she had been eating as far as she could, and cried, 'chovihani, lav tro bero!' ('witch--there is your boat!') but what was her amazement to see the shell caught up by the wind and whirled away on high till it became invisible, while a voice cried, 'paraka!' ('i thank you!') "now it came to pass some time after that the gypsy girl was on an island, where she remained some days. and when she wished to return, behold a great flood was rising, and it had washed her boat away, she could see nothing of it. but the water kept getting higher and higher, and soon there was only a little bit of the island above the flood, and the girl thought she must drown. just then she saw a white boat coming; there sat in it a woman with witch eyes; she was rowing with a broom, and a black cat sat on her shoulder. 'jump in!' she cried to the girl, and then rowed her to the firm land. "when she was on the shore the woman said: 'turn round three times to the right and look every time at the boat.' she did so, and every time she looked she saw the boat grow smaller till it was like an egg. then the woman sang:-- "'that is the shell you threw to me, even a witch can grateful be.' "saying this she vanished, cat, broom, shell, and all. "now my story is fairly done, i beg you to tell a better one." as regards these boats which grow large or small at will we find them in the norse ship skidbladnir, which certain dwarfs made and gave to frey. it is so large that all the gods and their army can embark in it. but when not in use it may be so contracted that one may hava i pungi sino--put it in his purse or pocket. the algonkin god glooskap has not only the counterpart of skidbladnir, but the hammer of thor and his belt of strength. he has also the two attendant birds which bring him news, and the two wolves which mean day and night. another legend given by dr. krauss, relative to witches and egg-shells is as follows:-- "by the klek lived a rich tavern-keeper and his wife. he was thin and lean--hager und mager--while she was as fat as a well-fed pig. "one day there came a gypsy woman by. she began to tell his fortune by his hand. and as she studied it seriously she became herself serious, and then said to him, 'listen, you good-natured dolt (moré)! do you know why you are so slim and your wife so stout?' 'not i.' 'my good friend (latcho pral), your wife is a witch. every friday when there is a new moon (mladi petak) she rides you up along the klek to the devil's dance' (uraze kolo). 'how can that be?' 'simply enough. as soon as you fall asleep, she slips a magic halter over your head. then you become a horse, and she rides you over the hills and far away over mountains and woods, cities and seas, to the witches' gathering. "'little you know where you have been, little you think of what you have seen, "'for when you awake it is all forgotten, but the ride is hard for you, and you are wasting away, and dying. take great care of yourself on the next friday when there is a new moon!' "so the gypsy went her way, and he thought it over. on the next friday when the moon was new he went to bed early, but only pretended to sleep. then his wife came silently as a cat to the bed-side with the magic halter in her hand. as quick as lightning he jumped up, snatched it from her, and threw it over her head. then she became, in a second, a mare. he mounted her, and away she flew through the air--over hills and dales like the wind, till they came to the witches' meeting. "he dismounted, bound the mare to a tree, and, unseen by the company, watched them at a little distance. all the witches carried pots or jars. first they danced in a ring, then every one put her pot on the ground and danced alone round it. and these pots were egg-shells. "while he watched, there came flying to him a witch in whom he recognized his old godmother. 'how did you come here?' she inquired. 'well, i came here on my mare, i know not how.' 'woe to you--begone as soon as possible. if the witches once see you it will be all up with you. know that we are all waiting for one' (this one was his wife), 'and till she comes we cannot begin.' then the landlord mounted his mare, cried 'home!' and when he was there tied her up in the stable and went to bed. "in the morning his servant-man said to him: 'there is a mare in the stable.' 'yes,' replied the master; 'it is mine.' so he sent for a smith, and made him shoe the mare. now, whatever is done to a witch while she is in the form of an animal remains on or in her when she resumes her natural shape. "then he went out and assembled a judicial or legal commission. he led the members to his house, told them all his story, led forth the mare, and took off the halter. she became a woman as before, but horse-shoes were affixed to her feet and hands. she began to weep and wail, but the judge was pitiless. he had her thrown into a pit full of quicklime, and thus she was burnt to death. and since that time people break the shells of eggs after eating their contents, lest witches should make jars or pots of them." the following story on the same subject is from a different source:-- "there was once a gypsy girl who was very clever, and whenever she heard people talk about witches she remembered it well. one day she took an egg-shell and made a small round hole in it very neatly, and ate the yolk and white, but the shell she put on a heap of white sand by a stream, where it was very likely to be seen. then she hid herself behind a bush. by and by, when it was night, there came a witch, who, seeing the shell, pronounced a word over it, when it changed to a beautiful boat, into which the witch got and sailed on the water, over the sea. "the girl remembered the word, and soon ate another egg and turned it into a boat. whenever she willed it went over the world to places where fruit and flowers abounded, or where people gave her much gold for such things as knives and scissors. so she grew rich and had a fine house. the boat she hid away carefully in a bush. "there was a very envious, wicked woman, whom the girl had befriended many a time, and who hated her all the more for it. and this creature set to work, spying and sneaking, to find out the secret of the girl's prosperity. and at last she discovered the boat, and, suspecting something, hid herself in the bush hard by to watch. "by and by the girl came with a basket full of wares for her trade, and, drawing out the boat, said, 'to africa!'--when off it flew. the woman watched and waited. after a few hours the girl returned. her boat was full of fine things, ostrich feathers and gold, fruit and strange flowers, all of which she carried into her house. "then the woman put the boat on the water, and said, 'to africa!' but she did not know the word by means of which it was changed from an egg-shell, and which made it fly like thought. so as it went along the woman cried, 'faster!' but it never heeded her. then she cried again in a great rage, and at last exclaimed, 'in god's name get on with you!' then the spell was broken, and the boat turned into an egg-shell, and the woman was drowned in the great rolling sea." egg-lore is inexhaustible. the eggs of maundy thursday (witten donnertag), says a writer in the queen, protect a house against thunder and lightning, but, in fact, an egg hung up is a general protection, hence the ostrich eggs and cocoanuts of the east. some other very interesting items in the communication referred to are as follows:-- "witches and eggs.--'to hang an egg laid on ascension day in the roof of a house,' says reginald scot in , 'preserveth the same from all hurts.' probably this was written with an eye to the 'hurts' arising from witchcraft, in connection with which eggs were supposed to possess certain mysterious powers. in north germany, if you have a desire to see the ladies of the broomstick on may day, their festival, you must take an egg laid on maundy thursday, and stand where four roads meet; or else you must go into church on good friday, but come out before the blessing. it was formerly quite an article of domestic belief that the shells must be broken after eating eggs, lest the witches should sail out to sea in them; or, as sir thomas browne declared, lest they 'should draw or prick their names therein, and veneficiously mischief' the person who had partaken of the egg. north germans, ignoring this side of the question, say, 'break the shells or you will get the ague;' and netherlanders advise you to secure yourself against the attacks of this disagreeable visitor by eating on easter day a couple of eggs which were laid on good friday. "scottish superstitions.--scotch fishers, who may be reckoned among the most superstitious of folks, believe that contrary winds and much consequent vexation of spirit will be the result of having eggs on board with them; while in the west of england it is considered very unlucky to bring birds' eggs into the house, although they may be hung up with impunity outside. mr. gregor, in his 'folklore of the north-east of scotland,' gives us some curious particulars concerning chickens, and the best methods of securing a satisfactory brood. the hen, it seems, should be set on an odd number of eggs, or the chances are that most, if not all, will be addled--a mournful prospect for the henwife; also they must be placed under the mother bird after sunset, or the chickens will be blind. if the woman who performs this office carries the eggs wrapped up in her chemise, the result will be hen birds; if she wears a man's hat, cocks. furthermore, it is as well for her to repeat a sort of charm, 'a' in thegeethir, a' oot thegeethir.' "unlucky eggs.--there are many farmers' wives, even in the present day, who would never dream of allowing eggs to be brought into the house or taken out after dark--this being deemed extremely unlucky. cuthbert bede mentions the case of a farmer's wife in rutland who received a setting of ducks' eggs from a neighbour at nine o'clock at night. 'i cannot imagine how she could have been so foolish,' said the good woman, much distressed, and her visitor, upon inquiry, was told that ducks' eggs brought into a house after sunset would never be hatched. a lincolnshire superstition declares that if eggs are carried over running water they will be useless for setting purposes; while in aberdeen there is an idea prevalent among the country folks that should it thunder a short time before chickens are hatched, they will die in the shell. the same wiseacres may be credited with the notion that the year the farmer's gudewife presents him with an addition to his family is a bad season for the poultry yard. 'bairns an' chuckens,' say they, 'dinna thrive in ae year.' the probable explanation being that the gudewife, taken up with the care of her bairn, has less time to attend to the rearing of the 'chuckens.' "fortune-telling in northumberland.--besides the divination practised with the white of an egg, which certainly appears of a vague and unsatisfactory character, another species of fortune-telling with eggs is in vogue in northumberland on the eve of st. agnes. a maiden desirous of knowing what her future lord is like, is enjoined to boil an egg, after having spent the whole day fasting and in silence, then to extract the yolk, fill the cavity with salt, and eat the whole, including the shell. this highly unpalatable supper finished, the heroic maid must walk backwards, uttering this invocation to the saint:-- "'sweet st. agnes, work thy fast, if ever i be to marry man, or man be to marry me, i hope him this night to see.'" friedrich and others assert that the saying in luke xi. --"or if he shall ask an egg shall he give him a scorpion?"--is a direct reference to ancient belief that the egg typified the good principle, and the scorpion evil, and which is certainly supported by a cloud of witnesses in the form of classic folk-lore. the egg, as a cosmogenic symbol, and indicating the origin of all things, finds a place in the mythologies of many races. these are indicated with much erudition by friedrich, "symbolik der natur," p. . in lower alsatia it is believed that if a man will take an easter egg into the church and look about him, if there be any witches in the congregation he may know them by their having in their hands pieces of pork instead of prayer-books, and milk-pails on their heads for bonnets (wolf, "deutsche mährchen und sagen," p. ). there is also an ancient belief that an egg built into a new building will protect it against evil and witchcraft. such eggs were found in old houses in altenhagen and iserlohen, while in the east there is a proverb, "the egg of the chamber" ("hamasa" of abu temman, v. rückert, stuttgart, ), which seems to point to the same practice. the romans expressed a disaster by saying, "ovum ruptum est" ("the egg is smashed"). among other egg-proverbs i find the following:-- his eggs are all omelettes (french); i.e., broken up. eggs in the pan give pancakes but nevermore chicks (low german). never a chicken comes from broken eggs (low german). bad eggs, bad chickens. hence in america "a bad egg" for a man who is radically bad, and "a good egg" for the contrary. eggs not yet laid are uncertain chickens; i.e., "do not count your chickens before they are hatched." tread carefully among eggs (german). the egg pretends to be cleverer than the hen. he waits for the eggs and lets the hen go. he who wants eggs must endure the clucking of the hen (westphalian). he thinks his eggs are of more account than other people's hens. one rotten egg spoils all the pudding. rotten eggs and bad butter always stand by one another; or "go well together." old eggs, old lovers, and an old horse, are either rotten or for the worse. (original: alte eyer alte freier-- alter gaul sind meistens faul.) "all eggs are of the same size" (eggs are all alike), he said, and grabbed the biggest. as like as eggs (old roman). as sure as eggs. his eggs all have two yolks. if you have many eggs you can have many cakes. he who has many eggs scatters many shells. to throw an egg at a sparrow. to borrow trouble for eggs not yet hatched. half an egg is worth more than all the shell. a drink after an egg, and a leap after an apple. a rotten egg in his face. in the early mythology, the egg, as a bird was hatched from it, and as it resembled seeds, nuts, &c., from which new plants come, was regarded as the great type of production. this survives in love-charms, as when a girl in the tyrol believes she can secure a man's love by giving him a red easter egg. this giving red eggs at easter is possibly derived from the ancient parsees, who did the same at their spring festival. among the christians the reproductive and sexual symbolism, when retained, was applied to the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul. hence easter eggs. and as christ by his crucifixion caused this, or originated the faith, we have the ova de crucibus, the origin of which has puzzled so many antiquaries; for the cross itself was, like the egg, a symbol of life, in earlier times of reproduction, and in a later age of life eternal. these eggs are made of a large size of white glass by the armenian christians. chapter v. charms or conjurations to cure or protect animals. from the earliest ages a drum or tambourine has formed such an indispensable adjunct of shamanic sorcery among tartars, lapps, samoyedes, eskimo, and red indians, that, taking it with other associations, i can hardly believe that it has not been transmitted from one to the other. in hungary the gypsies when they wish to know if an invalid will recover, have recourse to the cováçanescro buçlo (chovihanescro buklo) or "witch-drum." this is a kind of rude tambourine covered with the skin of an animal, and marked with stripes which have a special meaning. on this are placed from nine to twenty-one seeds of the thorn-apple (stramonium). the side of the drum is then gently struck with a little hammer, and according to the position which the seeds take on the marks, the recovery or death of the patient is predicted. the following is a picture of a gypsy drum as given by dr. wlislocki. the wood for this is cut on whitsunday. a is turned towards the fortune-teller; nine seeds are now thrown on the drum, and with the left hand, or with a hammer held in it, the tambourine is tapped. should all the seeds come within the four lines all will go well, especially if three come within a, d, e, f. if two roll into the space between a, i, it is lucky for a woman, between i and f for a man. but if nearly all fall outside of b, c, g, h, all is unfavourable. the same divination is used to know whether animals will get well, and where stolen property is concealed. all of this corresponds exactly to the use of the same instrument by the laplanders for the same purposes. the thorn-apple is a very poisonous plant, and the gypsies are said to have first brought it to england. this is not true, but it is extremely possible that they used it in stupefying, killing, and "bewitching." it is very much employed at present by the voodoo poisoners in america. the turks are a tartar race, and the drum is used among them very generally for magical purposes. i have one of these tambouri which, i was assured when i bought it, was made for incantations. it is of a diamond shape, has parchment on both sides, and is inscribed with the name allah, in arabic, and the well-known double triangle of solomon, with the moon and star. to keep domestic animals from straying or being stolen, or falling ill, they are, when a gypsy first becomes their owner, driven up before a fire by his tent. then they are struck with a switch, which is half blacked with coal, across the back, while the following is repeated:-- "ac tu, ac kathe! tu hin mange! te nivasa the jiánen-- ná dikh tu ádálen! trin lánca hin mánge, me pçándáv tute: yeká o devlá, ávri o kristus, trite maria!" "stay thou, stay here! thou art mine! and the nivasi when they go-- thou shalt not see them! three chains i have, i bind thee: one is god, the other (beyond) the christ, the third, maria!" to charm a horse, they draw, with a coal, a ring on the left hoof and on the right a cross, and murmur:-- "obles, obles te obles! ac tu, ac tù máy sástes ná th' ávehás beng tute devlá, devlá ac tute! gule devlá bishálá e gráyeskro perá miseçescro dád! niko mánushenge ác káske me dáv, leske ac shukáres tu ác, voyesá te láccs ac, ashunen eftá pçuvuse: eftá láncá hin mánge, ferinen ádálá táysá, táysá e pedá!" "round, round, and round! be thou, be thou very sound the devil shall not come to thee, god, god shall be with thee! sweet god drive away from the horse's body the father of evil! be to (go not to) any other man to whom i give (sell) unto him be beautiful! frolicsome and good, seven spirits of earth hear! i have seven chains, protect this animal ever, ever!" then a piece of salted bread is given to the horse, and the owner spits seven times into his eyes, by which he is supposed to lose all fear for supernatural beings. according to the gypsies, horses, especially black ones, can see beings which are invisible to human eyes. i have known an old english gypsy who believed that dogs could see ghosts when men could not. the mysterious manner in which dogs and horses betray fear when there is apparently nothing to dread, the howling of the former by night, and the wild rushes of the latter, doubtless led to this opinion. the bread and salt will recall to the reader the fact that the same was given at the ancient mysteries apparently for the purpose of strengthening the neophyte so that he should not fear the supernatural beings whom he was supposed to meet. it is curious to find this peculiar form of the sacrament administered to a horse. another protective charm is common among the southern hungarian gypsies. the dung of a she-goat dried and powdered is sifted on a horse's back and this spell recited:-- "miseçes prejiá, andrál t're perá! trádá cik buscákri miseçes perákri,-- andral punrá, andral dumno, andral yákhá, andral kánná! nevkerádyi av ákána, ac tu, ac tu cá mánge: Ác tu, ác tu, ác káthe!" "evil be gone from thy belly! drive away she-goat's dung evil from the belly, from the feet, from the back, from the eyes, from the ears! new-born be now, be thou, be thou only mine: stay thou, stay thou, stay here!" there is evidently a relation here between the dung of the she-goat and certain ancient symbols. whatever was a sign of fruitfulness, generation, or productiveness, whether it was set forth by the generative organs, sexual passion, or even manure which fertilises, was connected with life which is the good or vital principle opposed to death. as the goat was eminently a type of lechery, so the she-goat, owing to the great proportion of milk which she yielded, set forth abundance; hence the cornucopia of amalthea, the prototype of the she-goat heidrun of the northern mythology, who yielded every day so much milk that all the einheriar, or dwellers in valhall, could satisfy themselves therewith. [ ] but the forms or deities indicating life were also those which shielded and protected from evil, therefore here, the mother of life and of birth, had in sparta a shrine where she-goats were sacrificed to her, while at canuvium the statue of juno sospita (who was also here), was covered with a she-goat's skin. it is in the ancient sense of fertility identified with protection, that the she-goat's dung is used to exorcise evil from the horse by the gypsies. there is, in fact, in all of these charms and exorcisms a great deal which evidently connects them with the earliest rites and religions. in the hungarian gypsy-tribe of the kukuya, the following method of protecting horses is used: the animal is placed by the tent-fire and there a little hole is dug before him into which ninefold grass and some hairs from his mane and tail are put. then his left fore-hoof is traced on the ground, and the earth within it is carefully taken out and shaken into the hole, while these lines are repeated:-- "yeká cunul yeká bál, tute e bokh náñi sál, ko tut corel, the merel sar e bálá, cunulá, pal e pçuv the yov ável! pçuvus, adalen tute, sástes gráy ác mánge!" "a straw, a hair! may you never be hungry! may he who steals you die! like the hair and the straw, may he go to the ground! earth, these things to thee! may a sound horse be mine!" if the animal be a mare and it is desired that she shall be with foal, they give her oats to eat out of an apron or a gourd, and say:-- "trin kánályá, trin jiuklá, jiánen upre pláyá! cábá, pçares hin perá! trin kánályá, trin jiuklá jiánen tele pláyá, É çevá ándrasaváren yek cumut ándre çasáren, tre perá sik pçáreven!" "three asses, three dogs, go up the hill! eat, fill thy belly with young! three asses, three dogs, go down the hill, they close the holes, they put the moon in (them) thy belly be soon fruitful!" "the moon has here," remarks wlislocki, "a phallic meaning, the mention of the ass, and the use of the gourd and apron are symbols of fertility. vide de gubernatis, 'animals in indian mythology,' in the chapter on the ass." there is another formula for protecting and aiding cattle, which is practised among other races besides that of the gypsies; as, for instance, among the slovacks of northern hungary. this i shall leave in the original:-- "dieses verwahrungsmittel besteht darin, dass dem gekauften weiblichen thiere der mann den blanken hintern zeigt, einem männlichen thiere aber eine weibliche person. hiebei werden die worte gesagt:-- "sár o kár pál e punrá, kiyá mánge ác táysá! wie der schwantz am bein, sollst du stets bei mir sein!" or else:-- "sár e minc pal e per, kiyá mánge ác buter! wie das loch im leib, also bei mir bleib!" to secure swine to their owner a hole is dug in the turf which is filled with salt and charcoal dust, which is covered with earth, and these words uttered:-- "adá hin tute ná ává pál menge dáv tute, so kámáv pçuvusheyá, áshuná, cores tuna muká hin menge trin láncá, trin máy láce urmá, ke ferinen men!" "this is thine, come not to us! i give thee what i can oh spirit of earth, hear! let not the thief go! we have three chains, three very good fairies who protect us." if the swine find the hole and root it up--as they will be tolerably certain to do owing to their fondness for salt and charcoal--they will not be stolen or run away. the urmen, or fairies, are supposed to be very favourable to cattle, therefore children who torment cows are told "urme tute ná bica somnakune pçábáy"--"the fairies will not send you any golden apples!" if the english gypsies had the word urme (and it may be that it exists among them even yet), this would be, "i urme ná bitcher tute sonnakai pábya!" but the mighty charm of charms to protect cattle from theft is the following: three drops of blood are made to fall from the finger of a little child on a piece of bread which is given to the animal to eat, with these words:-- "dav tute trinen rátá ternes te láces ávná! ko tut corel, ádáleske hin rát te más shutyárdye! káná rátá te rátá paltire per ávná, yákh te yákh te báre yákh sikoves çál te çál ko kámel tut te çál!" "i give three (drops of) blood to become young and good; who steals thee to him shall be (is) blood and flesh dried up! when blood and blood pass into thy belly, fire and fire and great fire shall devour and devour all who will eat thee!" this incantation takes us back to grim old heathenism with hints of human sacrifice. when the thief was suspected or privately detected it is probable that a dose of some burning poison made good the prediction. "the word young" remarks dr. wlislocki, "may be here understood to mean innocent, since, according to ancient belief, there was a powerful magic virtue in the blood of virgins and of little children. every new tent is therefore sprinkled by the gypsies with a few drops of a child's blood to protect it from magic or any other accident." so in prehistoric times, and through the middle ages, a human being was often walled up alive in the foundations of a castle to insure its durability. (vide p. cassel, "die symbolik des blutes," p. .) when the wandering, or tent-gypsies, find that cattle are ill and do not know the nature of the disease, they take two birds--if possible quails, called by them bereçto or füryo--one of which is killed, but the other, besprinkled with its blood, is allowed to fly away. with what remains of the blood they sprinkle some fodder, which is put before the animal, with the words:-- "so ándre tu miseç hin avri ává! káthe ker ná ávlá, miseçeske! káná rátá ná ávná, násvályipen ná ávná! miseç, tu ávri ává, ada ker ná láce; dáv rátá me káthe!" "what in thee is evil come forth! here is no home for the evil one! when (drops of) blood come not, sickness comes not, thou evil one, come forth!' "trin párne, trin kále, trin tçule páshlajen káthe, ko len hádjinel ac kivá mánge!" "three white, three black, three fat lie together here. whoever disturbs them remain to me! (be mine!)" to insure pigs thriving by a new owner, some charcoal-dust is mingled with their food and these words spoken:-- "nivaseske ná muká, the çál t're çábená! miseç yákhá tut díkhen, the yon káthe mudáren, tu atunci çábá len!" "do not let the nivasi eat thy food, evil eyes see thee, and they here shall perish, then do thou eat them!" as a particularly powerful conjuration against thieves, the owner runs thrice, while quite naked, round the animal or object which he wishes to protect, and repeats at every turn:-- "oh coreyá ná prejiá. dureder ná ává! t're vástá, t're punrá avená kirñodyá te ádá pedá láves!" "oh, thief, do not go, further do not come! thy hands, thy feet shall decay if thou takest this animal!" another "thieves' benediction" is as follows: the owner goes at midnight with the animal or object to be protected to a cross-roads, and while letting fall on the ground a few hairs of the beast, or a bit of the thing whatever it be, repeats:-- "ada hin tute, ná ává pál menge, dav tute, so kámáv; pçuvuseyá áshuná!" "this home is not good, here i give (thee) blood!" "the gypsies call the quail the devil's bird (ciriclo bengeskro), and ascribe diabolic properties to it. (vide cassel, and .) the daughters of the nivasi appear as quails in the fields by day, but during the night they steal the corn. to keep them away it is held good during sowing-time to place in each of the four corners of the field, parts of a quail, or at least some of the feathers of a black hen which has never laid an egg. this superstition is also current among the roumanian peasants of the siebenbürgen." the primitive meaning of the myth may perhaps be found in the greek tradition which regarded the quail, because it was a bird of passage, as a type of revival of spring or of life. hercules awakes from his swoon when his companion iolaus (from the greek ioulos, youth), holds a quail to his nose. hercules suffered from epilepsy, for which disease the ancients thought the brain of a quail was a specific. the placing pieces of a quail, by the gypsies, in the corners of a field when corn is sown, connects the bird with spring. artemis, a goddess of spring and life, was called by the romans ortygyia, from ortyx, a quail. therefore, as signifying new life, the quail became itself a cure for many diseases. and it seems to be like the wren, also a bird of witchcraft and sorcery, or a kind of witch itself. it is a protector, because, owing to its pugnacity, it was a type of pluck, battle and victory. in phoenicia it was sacrificed to hercules, and the romans were so fanatical in regard to it that augustus punished a city-father for serving upon his table a quail which had become celebrated for its prowess. and so it has become a devil's bird among the gypsies because in the old time it was regarded as a devil of a bird for fighting. the gypsies are hardly to be regarded as christians, but when they wish to contend against the powers of darkness they occasionally invoke christian influences. if a cow gives bloody milk it is thought to be caused by her eating wachtelkraut, or quail weed, which is a poison. in such a case they sprinkle the milk on a field frequented by quails and repeat:-- "dav rátá tumenge adá ná hin láce! ráyeskro kristeskro rátá adá hin máy láce adá hin ámenge!" "i give to you blood, which is not good! the lord christ's blood is truly good, that is ours!" if a cow makes water while being milked, she is bewitched, and it is well in such a case to catch some of the urine, mix it with onion-peelings and the egg of a black hen. this is boiled and mixed with the cow's food while these lines are repeated:-- "ko ándré hin, avriává, trin urma cingárden les, trin urma tráden les andre yándengré ker beshel yov ándre ker hin leske máy yakhá, hin leske máy páña!" "who is within, let him come out! three urme call him, three urme drive him into the egg-shell house, there he lives in the house; he has much fire, he has much water!" then half the shell of the egg of the black hen is thrown into a running stream and the other half into a fire. next to the nivasi and pçuvuse, or spirits of earth and air, and human sorcerers or witches, the being who is most dreaded as injuring cattle is the chagrin or cagrino. these demons have the form of a hedgehog, are of yellowish colour, and are half a yard in length, and a span in breadth. "i am certain," says wlislocki, "that this creature is none other than the equally demoniac being called harginn, still believed in by the inhabitants of north-western india. (vide liebrecht, p. , and leitner, 'results of a tour in dardistan kashmir,' &c., vol. i. p. .) the exact identity of the description of the two, as well as that of the name, prove that the gypsies brought the belief from their indian home." it may here be observed that the indian name is harginn, and the true gypsy word is pronounced very nearly like 'hágrin--the o being an arbitrary addition. the transposition of letters in a word is extremely common among the hindu gypsies. the chagrin specially torments horses, by sitting on their backs and making water on their bodies. the next day they appear to be weary, sad, sick, and weak, bathed in sweat, with their manes tangled. when this is seen the following ceremony is resorted to: the horse is tied to a stake which has been rubbed with garlic juice, then a red thread is laid in the form of a cross on the ground, but so far from the heels of the horse that he cannot disturb it. and while laying it down the performer sings:-- "sáve miseç ac káthe, Ác ándre lunge táve, andre leg páshader páñi. de tu tire páñi andre çuca cháriñeyá, andre tu sik mudárá!" "all evil stay here, stay in the long thread, in the next brook (water). give thy water, jump in chagrin! therein perish quickly!" of the widely-spread and ancient belief in the magic virtues of garlic and red wool i have elsewhere spoken. that witches and goblins or imps ride horses by night and then restore them in the morning to their stalls in a wretched condition--trembling, enfeebled, and with tangled manes--is believed all the world over, and it would probably be found that the chagrin also gallops them. another charm against this being consists of taking some of the hair of the animal, a little salt, and the blood of a bat, which is all mixed with meal and cooked to a bread. with this the foot of the horse is smeared, and then the empty pipkin is put into the trunk of a high tree while these words are uttered:-- "ac tu cin kathe, cin ádá tçutes ávlá!" "stay so long here, till it shall be full!" the blood of the bat may be derived from an oriental belief that the bat being the most perfect of birds, because it has breasts and suckles its young, it is specially adapted to magical uses. in the tyrol he who bears the left eye of a bat may become invisible, and in hesse he who wears the heart of a bat bound to his arm with red thread will always win at cards. the manes of the horses which have been tangled and twisted by the chagrin must not be cut off or disentangled unless these words are spoken:-- "cin tu jid', cin ádá bálá jiden." "so long live thou, long as these hairs shall live." it is an european belief that knots of hair made by witches must not be disentangled. the belief that such knots are made intentionally by some intelligence is very natural. i have often been surprised to find how frequently knots form themselves in the cord of my eye-glass, even when pains are taken at night to lay it down so as to be free of them. apropos of which i may mention that this teasing personality of the eye-glass and cord seems to have been noted by others. i was once travelling on the nile in company with a persian prince, who became convinced that his eye-glass was very unlucky, and therefore threw it into the river. the chagrin specially torments mares which have recently foaled; therefore it is held needful, soon after the birth, to put into the water which the mother drinks glowing hot coals, which are thrice taken from the fire. with these are included pieces of iron, such as nails, knives, &c., and the following words are solemnly murmured:-- "piyá tu te ña ac sovnibnastár!" "drink, and do not be sleepy!" many readers may here observe that charcoal and iron form a real tonic, or very practical strengthening dose for the enfeebled mare. but here, as in many cases medicine makes a cure and the devil or the doctor gets the credit. the chagrin is supposed to attack horses only while they are asleep. its urine often causes swellings or sores. these are covered by day with a patch of red cloth, which is stuck at night into a hole in a tree, which is closed with a cork, while these words are pronounced:-- "ac tu káthe cin áulá táv pedá cin pedá yek ruk cin ruk yek mánush ko mudarel tut." "remain thou here till the rag become an animal, till the animal, a tree, till the tree, a man, who will destroy thee!" dr. wlislocki suggests that "the idea of the tree's becoming a man, is derived from the old gypsy belief that the first human beings were made from the leaves of trees," and refers to what he has elsewhere written on a tradition of the creation of the world, as held by transylvanian gypsies. the following is a children's song, in which the belief may be traced:-- "amaro dád jál ándro bes cingerel odoy caves, del dáyákri andre pádá yek cavoro ádá ávla." "our father went into a wood, there he cut a boy, laid it in mother's bed, so a boy comes." the greeks believed that man was made from an ash-tree, and the norsemen probably derived it from the same source with them. in i published in the continental magazine (new york) a paper on the lore connected with the ash, in which effort was made to show that in early times in india the banyan was specially worshipped, and that the descendants of men familiar with this cult had, after migrating to the far west, transferred the worship and traditions of the banyan to the ash. it has been observed that the ash-tree sometimes--like the banyan--sends its shoots down to the ground, where they take root. the algonkin indians seem to have taken this belief of man's origin from the ash from the norsemen, as a very large proportion of their myths correspond closely to those of the edda. but, in brief, if the greeks and norsemen were of aryan origin, and had ever had a language in common, they probably had common myths. the following is the remedy for the so-called würmer, or worms, i.e., external sores. before sunrise wolf's milk (wolfsmilch, rukeskro tçud) is collected, mixed with salt, garlic, and water, put into a pot, and boiled down to a brew. with a part of this the afflicted spot is rubbed, the rest is thrown into a brook, with the words:-- "kirmora jánen ándre tçud andrál tçud, andré sir andrál sir, andré páñi, panensá kiyá dádeske, kiyá niváseske pçándel tumen shelehá eñávárdesh teñá!" "worms go in the milk, from the milk into the garlic, from the garlic into the water, with the water to (your) father, to the nivasi, he shall bind you with a rope, ninety-nine (yards long)." a common cure of worms in swine among the transylvanian tent-gypsies is to stand ere the sun rises before a çadcerli, or nettle, and while pouring on it the urine of the animal to be cured, repeat:-- "láce, láce detehárá! hin mánge máy bute trásha kirmora hin [báleceske], te me penáv, penáv tute! káles hin yon, loles, párnes, deisislá hin yon mulánes!" "good, good morrow! i have much sorrow. worms are in [my swine to-day] and i say, to you i say, black are they or white or red by to-morrow be they dead!" the nettle has its own peculiar associations. according to the gypsies it grows chiefly in places where there is a subterranean passage to the dwellings of the pçuvus, or earth-fairies, therefore it is consecrated to them and called kásta pçuvasengré, pcuvus-wood. hence the gypsy children while gathering nettles for pigs sing:-- "cádcerli ná pçábuvá! andré ker me ná jiáv, kiyá pçuvus ná jiáv, tráden, tráden kirmorá!" "nettle, nettle do not burn, in your house no one shall go, no one to the pcuvus goes, drive, drive away the worms!" "the nettle," says friedrich ("symbolik der natur," p. ), "because it causes a burning pain is among the hindoos a demoniac symbol, for, as they say, the great serpent poured out its poison on it. but as evil is an antidote for evil, the nettle held in the hand is a guard against ghosts, and it is good for beer when laid upon the barrel." "from its employment as an aphrodisiac, and its use in flagellation to restore sexual power, it is regarded as sacred to nature by the followers of a secret sect or society still existing in several countries, especially persia" (ms. account of certain secret societies). the gypsies believe that the earth-fairies are the foes of every kind of worm and creeping insect with the exception of the snail, which they therefore call the "gráy pçuvusengré," the pçuvus-horse. gry-puvusengree would in english gypsy mean the earthy-horse. english gypsies, and the english peasantry, as well as gypsies, call snails "cattle, because they have horns." snails are a type of voluptuousness, because they are hermaphrodite, and exceedingly giving to sexual indulgence, so that as many as half a dozen may be found mutually giving and taking pleasure. hence in german schnecke, a snail, is a term applied to the pudendum muliebre. and as anything significant of fertility, generation, and sexual enjoyment was supposed to constitute a charm or amulet against witchcraft, i.e., all evil influences, which are allied to sterility, chastity, and barrenness, a snail's shell forms a powerful fetish for a true believer. the reference to white, black, or red in the foregoing charm, or rather the one before it, refers, says dr. wlislocki, to the gypsy belief that there are white, black, and red earth-fairies. a girl can win (illicit) love from a man by inducing him to carry a snail shell which she has had for some time about her person. to present a snail shell is to make a very direct but not very delicate declaration of love to any one. i have heard of a lady who caused an intense excitement in a village by collecting about a hundred large snails, gilding their shells, and then turning them loose in several gardens, where their discovery excited, as may be supposed, great excitement among the finders. if pigs lose their appetites a brew is made of milk, charcoal dust, and their own dung, which is put before them with the words: "friss hexe und verreck!" "in this place i must remark that the transylvanian tent-gypsies use for grumus merdoe also the expression hirte (feris)" (wlislocki). to cure a cough in animals one should take from the hoofs of the first riding horse, dirt or dust, and put it into the mouth of the suffering animal with the words:-- "prejiál te náñi yov ável!" "may he go away and never return!" to have a horse always in good spirits and lively during the waning moon his spine is rubbed with garlic, while these words are uttered:-- "miseç ándre tut, o beng the çal but! laces ándre tut acel ándre tut!" "(what is) evil in thee, may the devil eat it much! (what is) good in thee, may it remain in thee!" but it is far more effective when the garlic is put on a rag of the clothes of one who has been hanged, and the place rubbed with it: in which we have a remnant of the earliest witchcraft, before shamanism, which had recourse to the vilest and most vulgar methods of exciting awe and belief. this is in all probability the earliest form in which magic, or the power of controlling invisible or supernatural influences manifested itself, and it is very interesting to observe that it still survives, and that the world still presents every phase of its faiths, ab initio. there is a very curious belief or principle attached to the use of songs in conjuring witches, or in averting their own sorcery. it is that the witch is obliged, willy nilly, to listen to the end to what is in metre, an idea founded on the attraction of melody, which is much stronger among savages and children than with civilized adults. nearly allied to this is the belief that if the witch sees interlaced or bewildering and confused patterns she must follow them out, and by means of this her thoughts are diverted or scattered. hence the serpentine inscriptions of the norsemen and their intertwining bands which were firmly believed to bring good luck or avert evil influence. a traveller in persia states that the patterns of the carpets of that country are made as bewildering as possible "to avert the evil eye." and it is with this purpose that in italian, as in all other witchcraft, so many spells and charms depend on interwoven braided cords. "twist ye, twine ye, even so, mingle threads of joy and woe." the basis for this belief is the fascination, or instinct, which many persons, especially children, feel to trace out patterns, to thread the mazes of labyrinths or to analyze and disentangle knots and "cat's cradles." did space permit, nor inclination fail, i could point out some curious proofs that the old belief in the power of long and curling hair to fascinate was derived not only from its beauty but also because of the magic of its curves and entanglements. the gypsies believe that the earth-spirits are specially interested in animals. they also teach women the secrets of medicine and sorcery. there are indications of this in the negro magic. miss mary owen, an accomplished folk-lorist of st. joseph, missouri, who has been deeply instructed in voodooism, informs me that a woman to become a witch must go by night into a field and pull up a weed by the roots. from the quantity of soil which clings to it, is inferred the degree of magic power which the pupil will attain. i am not astonished to learn that when this lady was initiated, the amount of earth collected was unusually great. in such cases the pchuvus (or poovus in english gypsy), indicate their good-will by bestowing "earth," which, from meaning luck or good-fortune, has passed in popular parlance to signifying money. chapter vi. of pregnancy and charms, or folk-lore connected with it--boars' teeth and charms for preventing the flow of blood. like all orientals the gypsy desires intensely to have a family. superstition comes in to increase the wish, for a barren woman in eastern europe is generally suspected of having had intercourse with a vampire or spirit before her marriage, and she who has done this, willingly or unconsciously, never has children. they have recourse to many magic medicines or means to promote conception; one of the most harmless in hungary is to eat grass from the grave in which a woman with child has been buried. while doing this the woman repeats:-- "dui riká hin mire minc, dui yará hin leskro kor, avnás dui yek jelo, keren ákána yek jeles." or else the woman drinks the water in which the husband has cast hot coals, or, better still, has spit, saying:-- "káy me yákh som ac tu ángár, káy me brishind som, ac tu pani!" "where i am flame be thou the coals! where i am rain be thou the water!" or at times the husband takes an egg, makes a small hole at each end, and then blows the yolk and white into the mouth of his wife who swallows them. there are innumerable ways and means to ensure pregnancy, some of which are very dangerous. faith in the so-called "artificial propagation" is extensively spread. "will der zigeuner einen sohn erzielen, so gürtet er sich mit dem halfterzaume eines männlichen pferdes und umgekehrt mit dem einer stute, will er eine tochter erzeugen." ("gebräuche d. trans. zig." dr. h. von wlislocki. "ill. zeitschrift. band," . no. .) if a gypsy woman in transylvania wishes to know whether she be with child, she must stand for nine evenings at a cross-road with an axe or hammer, which she must wet with her own water, and then bury there. should it be dug up on the ninth morning after, and found rusty, it is a sign that she is "in blessed circumstances." to bring on the menses a gypsy woman must, while roses are in bloom, wash herself all over with rose-water, and then pour the water over a rose-bush. or she takes an egg, pours its contents into a jug, and makes water on it. if the egg swims the next morning on the surface she is enceinte; if the yolk is separate from the white she will bear a son, if they are mingled a daughter. in tuscany women wishing for children go to a priest, get a blessed apple and pronounce over it an incantation to santa anna, which was probably addressed in roman days to lucina, who was very probably, according to the romagna dialect, lu s'anna--santa anna herself. i have several old roman spells from marcellus, which still exist word for word in italian, but fitted to modern usage in this manner like old windows to new houses. should a woman eat fish while pregnant the child will be slow in learning to speak, but if she feed on snails it will be slow in learning to walk. the proverbs, "dumb as a fish," and "slow as a snail," appear here. to protect a child against the evil eye it is hung with amulets, generally with shells (die eine aehnlichkeit mit der weiblichen scham haben). and these must be observed on all occasions, and for everything, ceremonies, of which there are literally hundreds, showing that gypsies, notwithstanding their supposed freedom from conventionalisms, are, like all superstitious people, harassed and vexed to a degree which would seem incredible to educated europeans, with observances and rites of the most ridiculous and vexatious nature. the shells alluded to are, however, of great interest, as they indicate the transmission of the old belief that symbols typical of generation, pleasure, and reproductiveness, are repugnant to witchcraft which is allied to barrenness, destruction, negation, and every kind of pain and sterility. hence a necklace of shells, especially cowries or snail shells, or the brilliant and pretty conchiglie found in such abundance near venice, are regarded as protecting animals or children from the evil eye, and facilitating love, luxury, and productiveness. i have read an article in which a learned writer rejects with indignation the "prurient idea" that the cowrie, which gave its name porcellana to porcelain, derived it from porcella, in sensu obsceno; porcella being a roman word not only for pig but for the female organ. but every donkey-boy in cairo could have told him that the cowrie is used in strings on asses as on children because the shell has the likeness which the writer to whom i refer rejects with indignation. the pig, as is well known, is a common amulet, the origin thereof being that it is extremely prolific. it has within a few years been very much revived in silver as a charm for ladies, and may be found in most shops where ornaments for watch-chains are sold. the boar's tooth, as i have before mentioned, has been since time immemorial a charm; i have found them attached to chatelaines and bunches of keys, especially in austria, from one to four or five centuries past. they are found in prehistoric graves. the tusk is properly a male emblem; a pig is sometimes placed on the base. these are still very commonly made and sold. i saw one worn by the son of a travelling basket-maker, who spoke romany, and i purchased several in vienna ( ), also in copenhagen in . in florence very large boars' tusks are set as brooches, and may be found generally in the smaller jewellers' shops and on the ponte vecchio. they are regarded as protective against malocchio--a general term for evil influences--especially for women during pregnancy, and as securing plenty, i.e., prosperity and increase, be it of worldly goods, honour, or prosperity. there is in the museum at budapest a boar's tusk, mounted or set as an amulet, which is apparently of celtic origin, and which certainly belongs to the migration of races, or a very early period. and it is in this eastern portion of europe that it is still most generally worn as a charm. in connection with pregnancy and childbirth there is the profluvium, excessive flow of blood, or menses or hemorrhages, for which there exist many charms, not only among gypsies but all races. this includes the stopping any bleeding--an art in which scott's lady of deloraine was an expert, and which many practised within a century. "tom potts was but a serving man, and yet he was a doctor good, he bound a handkerchief on the wound, and with some kind of words he staunched the blood." what these same kind of words were among old germans and romans may be learned from the following: jacob grimm had long been familiar with a german magic spell of the eleventh century--ad stringendum sanguinem, or stopping bleeding--but, as he says, "noch nicht zu deuten vermochte," could not explain them. they were as follows:-- "tumbo saz in berke, mit tumbemo kinde in arme, tumb hiez der berc tumb hiez daz kint, der heiligo tumbo versegne dise wunta." "tumbo (i.e., dumm or stupid) sat in the hill with a stupid child in arms, dumb (stupid) the hill was called dumb was called the child, the holy tumbo (or dumb). heal (bless) this wound!" some years after he found the following among the magic formulas of marcellus burdigalensis:-- "carmen utile profluvio mulieri:-- "stupidus in monte ibat, stupidus stupuit, adjuro te matrix ne hoc iracunda suscipias. "pari ratione scriptum ligabis." i.e.: "a song useful for a flow of blood in woman:-- "the stupid man went into the mountain, the stupid man was amazed; i adjure thee, oh womb, be not angry!" "which shall also be bound as a writing," i.e., according to a previous direction that it shall be written on virgin parchment, and bound with a linen cord about the waist of him or of her--quæ patietur de qualibet parte corporis sanguinis fluxum--who suffers anywhere from flow of blood. it is possible that the stupidus and his blessing of women has here some remotely derived reference to the reverence amounting to worship of idiots in the east, who are described as being surrounded in some parts of india by matrons seeking for their touch and benediction, and soliciting their embraces. this is effected very often in an almost public manner; that is to say, by a crowd of women closely surrounding the couple, i.e., the idiot or lunatic and one of their number are joined, so that passers-by cannot see what is going on. the children born of these casual matches are not unusually themselves of weak mind, but are considered all the more holy. this recalls the allusion in the charm:-- "stupid sat in the hill with a stupid child in arms." this obscure myth of the stupid god appears to be very ancient. "this tritas is called intelligent. how then does he appear sometimes stupid? the language itself supplies the explanation. in sanskrit bâlas means both child and stolid, and the third brother is supposed to be stolid because, at his first appearance especially, he is a child. (tritas is one of the three brothers or gods, i.e., the trinity)." ("zoological mythology," by angelo de gubernatis, ). i am indebted to the as yet unpublished collection of gypsyana made by prof. anton herrmann for the following:-- there is a superstition among our gypsies that if the shadow of a cross on a grave falls on a woman with child she will have a miscarriage, and this seems to be peculiarly appropriate to girls who have "anticipated the privileges of matrimony." the following rhyme seems to describe the hesitation of a girl who has gone to a cross to produce the result alluded to, but who is withheld by love for her unborn infant:-- "cigno trussul pal handako hin ada usalinako; the ziav me pro usalin, ajt' mange lasavo na kin. sar e praytin kad' chasarel, save sile barval marel, pal basavo te prasape, mre cajori mojd kamale." "cross upon a grave so small here i see thy shadow fall, if it fall on me they say all my shame will pass away. as the autumn leaf is blown, by the wind to die alone, yet in shame and misery, my baby will be dear to me!" there is a belief allied to this of the power of the dead in graves to work wonders, to the effect that if any one plucks a rose from a grave, he or she will soon die. in the following song a gypsy picks a rose from the grave of the one he loved, hoping that it will cause his death:-- "cignoro hrobosa hin sukares rosa mange la pchagavas, doi me na kamavas. bes'las piranake, hrobas hin joy mange, pchgavas, choc zanav pal lele avava te me ne brinzinav. the me pocivinav." "on her little tomb there grows by itself a lovely rose, all alone the rose i break, and i do it for her sake. i sat by her i held so dear, now her grave and mine are near, i break the rose because i know that to her i soon must go, grief cannot my spirit stir, since i know i go to her!" m. kounavine (contribution by dr. a. elysseeff, gypsy-lore journal, july, ), gives the following as a russian gypsy spell against barrenness:-- "laki, thou destroyest and dost make everything on earth; thou canst see nothing old, for death lives in thee, thou givest birth to all upon the earth for thou thyself art life. by thy might cause me ---- to bear good fruit, i who am deprived of the joy of motherhood, and barren as a rock." according to dr. elysseeff, laki is related to the indian goddess lakshmi, although differing from her in character. another incantation of the same nature is as follows:-- "thou art the mother of every living creature and the distributor of good: thou doest according to thy wisdom in destroying what is useless or what has lived its destined time; by thy wisdom thou makest the earth to regenerate all that is new.... thou dost not seek the death of any one, for thou art the benefactress of mankind." chapter vii. the recovery of stolen property--love-charms--shoes and love-potions, or philtres. when a man has lost anything, or been robbed, he often has in his own mind, quite unconsciously, some suspicion or clue to it. a clever fortune-teller or gypsy who has made a life-long study of such clues, can often elicit from the loser, hints which enable the magician to surmise the truth. many people place absolute confidence in their servants, and perhaps suspect nobody. the detective or gypsy has no such faith in man, and suspects everybody. where positive knowledge cannot be established there is, however, another resource. the thief is often as superstitious as his victim. hence he fears that some mysterious curse may be laid on him, which he cannot escape. in the pacific islands, as among negroes everywhere, a man will die if taboo or voodoo attaches to the taking of objects which have been consecrated by a certain formula. therefore such formulas are commonly employed. among the hungarian gypsies to recover a stolen animal, some of its dung is taken and thrown to the east and the west with the words:-- "kay tut o kam dikhel: odoy ává kiyá mánge!" "where the sun sees thee, hence return to me!" but when a horse has been stolen, they take what is left of his harness, bury it in the earth and make a fire over it, saying:-- "kó tut cordyás nasvales th' ávlás leske sor ná ávlás, tu ná ac kiyá leske avá sástes kiyá mánge! leskro sor káthe pashlyol sár e tçuv avriurál!" "who stole thee sick may he be may his strength depart! do not thou remain by him, come (back) sound to me, his strength lies here as the smoke goes away!" to know in which direction the stolen thing lies, they carry a sucking babe to a stream, hold it over the water and say:-- "pen mánge, oh nivaseya caveskro vástehá kay hin m'ro gráy, ujes hin cavo, ujes sár o kam ujes sár páni ujes sár cumut ujes sár legujes? pen mánge, oh niváseyá, cáveskro vastehá kay hin m'ro gráy!" "tell me, oh nivaseha, by the child's hand! where is my horse? pure is the child pure as the sun, pure as water, pure as the moon, pure as the purest. tell me, oh nivaseha, by the child's hand! where is my horse?" in this we have an illustration of the widely spread belief that an innocent child is a powerful agent in prophecy and sorcery. the oath "by the hand" is still in vogue among all gypsies. "apo miro dadeskro vast!" ("by my father's hand!") is one of their greatest oaths in germany, ("die zigeuner," von richard liebich), and i have met with an old gypsy in england who knew it. if a man who is seeking for stolen goods finds willow twigs grown into a knot, he ties it up and says:-- "me avri pçándáv coreskro báçht!" "i tie up the thief's luck!" there is also a belief among the gypsies that these knots are twined by the fairies, and that whoever undoes them undoes his own luck, or that of the person on whom he is thinking. (vide rocholz, "alemannisches kinderlied und kinderspiel aus der schweiz," p. ). these willow-knots are much used in love-charms. to win the love of a maid, a man cuts one of them, puts it into his mouth, and says:-- "t're báçt me çáv, t're baçt me piyáv, dáv tute m're baçt, káná tu mánge sál." "i eat thy luck, i drink thy luck; give me that luck of thine, then thou shalt be mine." 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. on which dr. wlislocki remarks on the old custom "also known to the hindoos," by which any one wishing to deprecate the wrath of another, or to express complete subjection, takes a blade of grass in his mouth. of which grimm writes: "this custom may have sprung from the idea that the one conquered gave himself up like a domestic animal to the absolute power of another. and with this appears to be connected the ancient custom of holding out grass as a sign of surrender. the conquered man took the blade of grass in his mouth and then transferred it to his conqueror." 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 zusammenhängen) the lover suddenly covers them with a cloth, if possible, one which is afterwards presented to the girl whom he seeks, while he says:-- "me jiuklo, yoy jiukli, yoy tover, me pori, me kokosh, yoy cátrá, Ádá, ádá me kamáv!" "i the dog, she the bitch, i the helve, she the axe, i the cock (and) she the hen, that, that i desire." he or she who finds a red ribbon, tape, or even a piece of red stuff of any kind, especially if it be wool, will have luck in love. it must be picked up and carried as an amulet, and when raising it from the ground the finder must make a wish for the love of some person, or if he have no particular desire for any one, he may wish for luck in love, or a sweetheart. this is, i believe, pretty generally known in some form all over the world. a yellow ribbon or flower, especially if it be floating on water, presages gold; a white object, silver, or peace or reconciliation with enemies. it is also lucky for love to find a key. in tuscany there is a special formula which must be spoken while picking it up. very old keys are valuable amulets. those who carry them will learn secrets, penetrate mysteries, and succeed in what they undertake. if you can get a shoe which a girl has worn you may make sad havoc with her heart if you carry it near your own. also hang it up over your bed and put into it the leaves of rue. during november, , not a few newspaper commentators busied themselves with conjectures as to why a scotch constable buried the boots of a murdered man. that it was done through some superstitious belief is conceded; but what the fashion of the superstition is seems unknown. it originated, beyond question, in the old norse custom of always burying the dead in their shoes or with them. for they believed that the deceased would have, when he arrived in the other world, to traverse broad and burning plains before he could reach his destination, be it valhalla or the dreary home of hel; and to protect his feet from the fire his friends bound on them the "hell-shoon." other cares were also taken: and in the saga of olof tryggvasen we are told that one monarch was thoughtfully provided with a cow; while the vikings were buried in their ships, so that they could keep on pirating "for ever and ever." the superstition of the burial of the boots probably survives in england. it is about seventeen years since the writer heard from an old gypsy that when another gypsy was "pûvado," or "earthed," a very good pair of boots was placed by him in the grave. the reason was not given; perhaps it was not known. these customs often survive after the cause is forgotten, simply from some feeling that good or bad luck attends their observance or the neglect of it. many years since a writer in an article on shoes in the english magazine stated that, "according to an aryan tradition, the greater part of the way from the land of the living to that of death lay through morasses and vast moors overgrown with furzes and thorns. that the dead might not pass over them bare-foot, a pair of shoes was laid with them in the grave." the shoe was of old in many countries a symbol of life, liberty, or entire personal control. in ruth we are told that "it was the custom in israel concerning changing, that a man plucked off his shoe and delivered it to his neighbour." so the bride, who was originally always a slave, transferred herself by the symbol of the shoe. when the emperor waldimir made proposals of marriage to the daughter of ragnald, she replied scornfully that she would not take off her shoes to the son of a slave. gregory of tours, in speaking of wedding, says: "the bridegroom, having given a ring to the bride, presents her with a shoe." as regards the scandinavian hel-shoe, or hell-shoon, kelley, in his "indo-european folk-lore," tells us that a funeral is still called a dead shoe in the henneberg district; and the writer already cited adds that in a ms. of the cotton library, containing an account of cleveland in yorkshire, in the reign of queen elizabeth, there is a passage which illustrates this curious custom. it was quoted by sir walter scott in the notes to "minstrelsy of the scottish border," and runs thus:-- "when any dieth certaine women sing a song to the dead bodie, reciting the journey that the partye deceased must goe; and they are of beliefe that once in their lives it is goode to give a pair of new shoes to a poor man; forasmuch as before this life they are to pass bare-foote through a great lande, full of thornes and furzen--excepte by the meryte of the almes aforesaid they have redeemed the forfeyte--for at the edge of the launde an oulde man shall meet them with the same shoes that were given by the partie when he was lyving, and after he hath shodde them dismisseth them to go through thick and thin without scratch or scalle. this must be a very agreeable reflection to all gentlemen who have bestowed their old boots on waiters, or ladies who have in like fashion gifted their maids. it is true, the legend specifies new shoes; but surely a pair of thirty-shilling boots only half worn count for as much as a new pair of half a sovereign chaussures. however, if one is to go "through thick and thin without scratch or scalle," it may be just as well to be on the safe side, and give a good new extra stout pair to the gardener for christmas. for truly these superstitions are strange things, and no one knows what may be in them. there are one or two quaint shoe stories of the olden time which may be of value to the collector. it befell once in the beginnings of bohemia, that, according to schafarik ("slawische alterthümer," vol. ii. p. ), lïbussa, queen of that land, found herself compelled by her council to wed. and the wise men, being consulted, declared that he who was to marry the queen would be found by her favourite horse, who would lead the way till he found a man eating from an iron table, and kneel to him. so the horse went on, and unto a field where a man sat eating a peasant's dinner from a ploughshare. this was the farmer prschemischl. so they covered him with the royal robes and led him to the queen expectant. but ere going he took his shoes of willow-wood and placed them in his bosom and kept them to remind him ever after of his low origin. it will, of course, at once strike the reader, as it has the learned, that this is a story which would naturally originate in any country where there are iron ploughshares, horses, queens, and wooden shoes: and, as schafarik shrewdly suggests, that it was all "a put-up job;" since, of course, prschemischl was already a lover of the queen, the horse was trained to find him and to kneel before him, and, finally, that the ploughshare and wooden shoes were the prepared properties of the little drama. the only little flaw in this evidence is the name prschemischl, which, it must be admitted, is extremely difficult to get over. the seven league boots and the shoes of peter schlemihl, which take one over the world at will, have a variation in a pair recorded in another tale. there was a beautiful and extremely proud damsel, who refused a young man with every conceivable aggravation of the offence, informing him that when she ran after him, and not before that, he might hope to marry her; and at the same time meeting a poor old gypsy woman who begged her for a pair of old shoes. to which the proud princess replied:-- "shoes here, shoes there; give me a couple, i'll give thee a pair." to which the old gypsy, who was a witch, grimly muttered, "i'll give thee a pair which----" the rest of the expression was really too unamiable to repeat. well, the youth and the witch met, and, going to the lady's shoemaker, "made him make" a superbly elegant pair of shoes, which were sent to the damsel as a gift. such a gift! no sooner were they put on than off they started, carrying the princess, malgré elle, over hill and dale. by and by she saw that a man--the man, of course, whom she had refused--was in advance of her. as in the song of the cork leg, "the shoes never stopped, but kept on the pace." and the young man led her to a lonely castle and reasoned with her. and as she had promised to marry should she ever run after him, and as she had pursued him a whole day, she kept her word. the shoes she sent to the witch filled with gold; and they were wedded, and all went as merry as a thousand grigs in a duck-pond. the shoe, as has been shown by a danish writer in a book chiefly devoted to the subject, is a type of life, especially as shown in productiveness and fertility. hence old shoes and grain are thrown after a bride, as people say, for luck; but the jews do it crying, "peru urphu"--"increase and multiply." for this, and much more, the reader may consult that wonderful treasury of folk-lore, "die symbolik und mythologie der natur," j. b. friedrich, würzburg, . to which we would add our mite by remarking as a curious confirmation of this theory, that-- there was an old woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many children she didn't know what to do. this passes now for a mere nursery-rhyme; but doubtless there are those who will trace it back to the early morning of mythology, and prove that it was once a himaritic hymn, sung to some melitta who has long passed away down the back entry of time. for several additional hungarian gypsy love-charms and spells, collected by dr. wlislocki, published in ethnographia, and subsequently in the gipsy-lore journal for june, , i am greatly indebted to the kindness of mr. d. macritchie:-- "the gypsy girls of transylvania believe that spells to 'know your future husband' can be best carried out on the eves of certain days, such as new year, easter, and saint george. 'on new year's eve they throw shoes or boots on a willow tree, but are only allowed to throw them nine times.' compare this with the throwing of the old shoe after the bride in many countries. 'if the shoe catches in the branches the girl who threw it will be married within a year.' "on the same eve they go to a tree and shake it by turns, singing:-- "'per de, per de prájtina, varekaj hin, hász kamav? basá, párro dzsiuklo, pirano dzsal mai szigo.' "'scattered leaves around i see, where can my true lover be? ah, the white dog barks at last! and my love comes running fast!' "if during the singing the bark of a dog should be heard, the damsel will be 'wedded and bedded ere new year comes again. this is virtually the same with a charm practised in tuscany, which from other ancient witness i believe to be of etruscan origin. allied to this is the following: on the night of saint george's day (query, saint george's eve?) gypsy girls blindfold a white dog, then, letting it loose, place themselves quietly in several places. she to whom the dog runs first will be the first married. blindman's buff was anciently an amorous, semi-magical, or witches' game, only that in place of the dog a man was blindfolded. "'or the girl pulls a hair from her head, fastens a ring to it, and dangles it in a jug. the ring vibrates or swings, and so often as it touches the side of the jug so many years will it be before she marries.' this is an ancient spell of eastern origin. as performed according to old works the thread must be wound around the ring-finger and touch the pulse. on the edge of a bowl the letters of the alphabet, or numerals, are marked, and the ring swinging against these spells words or denotes numbers. the touching of the latter indicates the number of lovers a girl is to have. "early on whitsunday morning the girls go out, and if they see clouds in the east they throw twigs in that direction, saying:-- "'predzsia, csirik leja, te ná tráda m're píranes.' "'fly my bird--fly, i say, do not chase my love away.' "for they think that if on whitsun-morn there are many clouds in the east few girls will be married during the coming year. this peculiar, seemingly incomprehensible, custom of the gypsies originated in an old belief, the germ of which we find in the hindoo myth, according to which the spring morning which spreads brightness and blessings descends from the blue bird of heaven, who, on the other hand, also represents night or winter. special preparations are made so that the predictions shall be fulfilled. on the days mentioned the girls are neither allowed to wash themselves, nor to kiss any one, nor go to church. at easter, or on the eve of saint george, the girl must eat fish, in order to see the future in her dreams. "on easter morning the girls boil water, in the bubbles of which they try to make out the names of their future husbands. "to find out whether the future husband is young or old the girl must take nine seeds of the thorn-apple, ploughed-up earth of nine different places, and water from as many more. with these she kneads a cake, which is laid on a cross-road on easter or saint george's morning. if a woman steps first on the cake her husband will be a widower or an old man, but if a man the husband will be single or young. "to see the form of a future husband a girl must go on the night of saint george to a cross-road. her hair is combed backwards, and, pricking the little finger of the left hand, she must let three drops of blood fall on the ground while saying:-- "'mro rat dav piraneszke, kász dikhav, avava adaleske.' "'i give my blood to my loved one, whom i shall see shall be mine own!' "then the form of her future husband will rise slowly out of the blood and fade as slowly away. she must then gather up the dust, or mud-blood, and throw it into a river, otherwise the nivashi, or water-spirits, will lick up the blood, and the girl be drowned within the year. it is said that about twenty years ago the beautiful roszi (rosa), the daughter of peter danku, the waywode, or chief of the kukuja tribe, was drowned during the time of her betrothal because when she performed this ceremony she had neglected to gather up the sprinkled blood. "if a girl wishes to see the form of her future husband, and also to know what luck awaits her love, she goes on any of the fore-named nights to a cross-road, and sits down on the ground, putting before her a fried fish and a glass of brandy. then the form of her future husband will appear and stand before her for a time, silent and immovable. should he then take the fish the marriage will be happy, but if he begin with the brandy it will be truly wretched. but if he takes neither, one of the two will die during the year. "that the laying of cards, the interpretation of dreams, the reading of the future in the hand, and similar divinations are constantly practised is quite natural, but it would lead us too far to enlarge on all these practices. but there are charms to win or cause love which are more interesting. among these are the love-potions or philtres, for preparing which gypsies have always been famed. "the simplest and least hurtful beverage which they give unknown to persons to secure love is made as follows:--on any of the nights mentioned they collect in the meadows gander-goose (romání, vast bengeszkero--devil's hand; in latin, orchis maculata; german, knabenkraut), the yellow roots of which they dry and crush and mix with their menses, and this they introduce to the food of the person whose love they wish to secure." of the same character is a potion which they prepare as follows: on the day of saint john they catch a green frog and put it in a closed earthen receptacle full of small holes, and this they place in an ant-hill. the ants eat the frog and leave the skeleton. this is ground to powder, mixed with the blood of a bat and dried bath-flies and shaped into small buns, which are, as the chance occurs, put secretly into the food of the person to be charmed. there is yet another charm connected with this which i leave in the original latin in which it is modestly given by dr. wlislocki: "qualibet supradictarum noctium occiduntur duo canes nigri, mas et femina, quorum genitalia exstirpata ad condensationem coquntur. hujus materiæ particula consumpta quemvis invincibili amore facit exardescare in eam eamve, qui hoc medio prodigioso usus est." it may be remarked that these abominable charms are also not only known to the tuscan witches of the present day, but are found in voodoo sorcery, and are indeed all over the world. to use revolting means in black sorcery may be, or perhaps certainly is, spontaneous-sporadic, but when we find the peculiar details of the processes identical, we are so much nearer to transmission or history that the burden of disproving must fall on the doubter. "to the less revolting philtres belongs one in which the girl puts the ashes of a burnt piece of her dress which had been wet with perspiration and has, perhaps, hair adhering to it, into a man's food or drink (also tuscan). "to bury the foot of a badger (also voodoo), or the eye of a crow, under one's sleeping-place is believed to excite or awaken love. "according to gypsy belief one can spread love by transplanting blood, perspiration, or hair into the body of a person. "by burning the hair, blood, or saliva of any one, his or her love can be extinguished. "the following is a charm used to punish a faithless lover. the deceived maid lights a candle at midnight and pricks it several times with a needle, saying:-- "'pchagerav momely pchagera tre vodyi!' "'thrice the candle's broke by me thrice thy heart shall broken be!' "if the faithless lover marries another, the girl mixes the broken shell of a crab in his food or drink, or hides one of her hairs in a bird's nest. this will make the marriage unhappy, and the husband will continually pine for his neglected sweetheart." this last charm is allied to another current among the slavonians, and elsewhere mentioned, by which it is believed that if a bird gets any of a man's hair and works it into a nest he will suffer terribly till it is completely decayed. chapter viii. roumanian and transylvanian sorceries and superstitions, connected with those of the gypsies. in her very interesting account of roumanian superstitions, mrs. e. gerard ("the land beyond the forest"), finds three distinct sources for them: firstly, the indigenous, which seems to have been formed by or adapted to the wild and picturesque scenery and character of the country; secondly, those derived from the old german customs and beliefs brought by the so-called saxon, in reality lower rhenish colonists; and thirdly, the influence of the gypsies, "themselves a race of fortune-tellers and witches." all these kinds of superstition have twined and intermingled, acted and reacted upon one another so that in many cases it becomes a difficult matter to determine the exact parentage of some particular belief or custom. it may be often difficult to ascertain in what particular country or among what people a superstition was last found, but there is very little trouble when we compare the great body of all such beliefs of all races and ages and thereby find the parent sources. it is not many years since philologists, having taken up some favourite language--for instance, irish--discovering many words in many tongues almost identical with others in "earse," boldly claimed that this tongue was the original of all the others. now we find the roots of them all in the aryan. so when we examine folk-lore, it is doubtless of great importance that we should learn where a tradition last lived; but we must not stop there--we must keep on inquiring till we reach the beginning. as a rule, with little exception, when we find anywhere the grosser forms of fetish and black witchcraft, we may conclude that we have remains of the world's oldest faith, or first beginning of supernaturalism in suffering and terror, a fear of mysterious evil influences. for with all due respect to the fact that such superstitions might have sprung up sporadically wherever similar causes existed to create them, it is, in the first place, a very rare chance that they should assume exactly like forms. secondly, we must consider that as there are even now millions of people who receive with ready faith and carefully nurse these primæval beliefs, so there has been from the beginning of time abundant opportunity for their transmission and growth. thirdly, nothing is so quickly transmitted as folk-lore, which in one sense includes myths and religion. if jade was in the prehistoric stone age carried from iona or tartary all over europe, it is even more probable that myths went with it quite as far and fast. it is not by loose, fanciful, and careless guess-work as to how the resemblance of greek or norse legends to those of the red indians is due to similar conditions of climate and life, that we shall arrive at facts; neither will the truth be ascertained by assuming that there was a certain beginning of them all in a certain country, or that they were all developed out of one mythology, be it solar or shemitic, hindoo or hebrew. what we want is impartial examination--comparison and analysis. on this basis we find that all the folk-lore or magic of europe, and especially of its eastern portion, has a great deal which is derived from black witchcraft, or from the succeeding shamanism. when we find that a superstition is based on fertility, the "mystery of generation," or "phallic worship"--as, for instance, wearing boars' teeth or a little pig for a charm--we may conclude that it is very ancient, but still not older than the time when wise men had begun to reflect on the mysteries of birth and death and weave them into myths. the exorcism of diseases as devils, and the belief that they, in common with other evils, may be drummed, or smoked, or incanted away into animals, trees, and streams, belongs in most cases to shamanism. in all probability the oldest sorcery of all was entirely concerned with driving out devils and injuring enemies--just as most of the play of small boys runs to fighting or the semblance of it, or as the mutual relations of most animals in the lower stages consist of devouring one another. this was the very beginning of the beginnings, and it would be really marvellous that so much of it has survived were it not that to the one who is not quite dazzled or blinded by modern enlightenment there is still existent a great outer circle of human darkness, and that this darkness may be found in thousands of intermittent varying shadows or marvellous chiaroscuro, even in the brightest sun-pictures of modern life. as i write i have before me a copy of the philadelphia press, of april , , in which a j. c. batford, m.d., advertises that if any one will send him two two-cent postage stamps--i.e., twopence--"with a lock of your hair, name, age, and sex," he will send a clairvoyant diagnosis of your disease. this divining by the lock of hair is extremely ancient, and had its origin in the belief that he who could obtain one from an enemy could reach his soul and kill him. from communicating a disease by means of such a lock, and ascertaining what was the matter with a man, in the same manner, was a very obvious step forward. of all people living in europe the peasantry of italy and sicily and the gypsies seem to have retained most of this shamanism and witchcraft, and as the latter have been for centuries its chief priests, travelling here and there disseminating it, we may conclude that even where they did not originate it they have been active in keeping the old faith alive. in roumania, where the gypsy is called in to conjure on all occasions, "people believe themselves to be surrounded by whole legions of devils, witches, and goblins." there is scarcely a day or hour in which these bad spirits have not power, "and a whole complicated system, about as laborious as the mastering an unknown language, is required in order to teach an unfortunate peasant to steer clear of the dangers by which he supposes himself to be beset." on wednesday and friday no one should use needle or scissors, bake bread, or sow flax. no bargain should ever be concluded on a friday, and venus, here called paraschiva, to whom this day is sacred, punishes all infractions of the law. there was among the wends a flax-goddess, pscipolnitza, and the shears as emblematic of death are naturally antipathetic to venus, the source of life. whether mars has anything in common with mors i know not, but in roumania he is decidedly an evil spirit of death, whence marti, or tuesday, is one, when spinning is positively prohibited (here we have venus again), and washing the hands and combing the hair are not unattended with danger. whence it appears that the devil agrees with not a few saints in detesting neatness of the person. and as it is unlucky to wash anything on saturday, or to spin on thursday, or to work in the fields on thursday between easter and pentecost, it will be seen that laziness and dirt have between them a fine field in roumania. add to this that, as in russia, more than half the days in the year are saints' days, or fast days or festivals on which it is "unlucky" to work at all, and we find that industry cannot be said to be much encouraged by faith in any of its forms. this belief in holy days which bring ill-luck to those who work on them, which is still flourishing in every country in the world, goes back to time whereof the memory of man hath naught to the contrary. a distinct difference is here to be observed however between naturally resting from work on certain days, which is of course an inherent instinct in all mankind, and the declaring such rest to be obligatory, and its infraction punishable by death, disaster, and bad luck, and still more the increasing such sabbaths to such an extent as to interfere with industry, or the turning them into fast days or saints' days with "observances." here the old shamanism comes in, if not the evil witchcraft itself which exacted penance and fasting, and ceremonies to exorcise the devils. the first belief was that evil spirits inflicted pain on man, and that man, by efforts which cost him suffering, could repel or retaliate on them. this was simple action and reaction, and the repulsion was effected with starving, enduring smoke, or using repulsive and filthy objects. out of this in due time came penance of all kinds. the oriental or greek church is found at every turn, even more than the catholic, interchanged, twined, and confused with ancient sorcery. theodore, like saint simeon and anthony in tuscany, is very much more of a goblin than a holy man. his weakness is young women, and sometimes in the shape of a beautiful youth, at others of a frightful monster, he carries off those who are found working on his day--that is the rd of january. theodore, according to the solar mythologists personifies the sun. (de gubernatis, "zoological mythology," vol. ii. p. ). in any case the saint who seizes girls is the hindoo krishna or his prototype, and therefore may have come through the gypsies. the overworked solar myth derives some support from the fact that among the serbs on theodore's day the sintotere--or centaur, as the name declares--who is half horse and half man, rides over the people who fall in his power. the centaurs were connected with the "rape of maidens," as shown in the legend of the lapithæ, and it is very probable that theodore himself is, in the language of the western americans, "half a horse," which they regard as the greatest compliment which can be paid to a man. [ ] "wonderful potions and salves," says mrs. gerard, "composed of the fat of bears, dogs, snakes, and snails, with the oil of rain-worms, spiders, and midges, rubbed into a paste, are concocted by these bohemians (i.e., gypsies). saxon and roumanian mothers are often in the habit of giving a child to be nursed for nine days to some tzigane women supposed to have power to undo the spell." these revolting ingredients are not the result of modern invention, but relics of the primitive witchcraft or ur-religion, which was founded on pain, terror, and the repulsive. among other roumanian-romany traditions are the following:-- swallows here as elsewhere are luck-bringing birds, and termed galiniele lui dieu--fowls of the lord. so in england we hear that:-- "the robin and the wren are god almighty's cock and hen." there is always a treasure to be found where the first swallow is seen. among the romans when it was observed one ran to the nearest fountain and washed his eyes, and then during the whole year to come, dolorem omnem oculorum tuorum hirundines auferant--the swallows will carry away all your complaints of the eyes. the skull of a horse over the gate of a courtyard, or the bones of fallen animals buried under the doorstep are preservatives against ghosts. in roman architecture the skulls of oxen, rams, and horses continually occur as a decoration, and they are used as charms to-day in tuscany. black fowls are believed to be in the service of witches. the skull of a ram placed at the boundary of a parish in roumania keeps off disease from cattle; it was evidently a fetish in all ages. in slavonian, esthonian, and italian tales black poultry occur as diabolical--to appease the devil a black cock must be sacrificed. but in roumania the (black) brahmaputra fowl is believed, curiously enough, to be the offspring of the devil and a jewish girl--truly an insignificant result of such clever parentage. a cow that has wandered away will be safe from witches if the owner sticks a pair of scissors or shears in the centre crossbeam of the dwelling-room. the folk-lore of shears is extensive; friedrich derives it from the cutting of the threads of life by the fates. thus juno appears on a roman coin (eckhel, "numis. vet." viii. p. ) as holding the shears of death. the swallow is said in a swedish fairy tale to have been the handmaid of the virgin mary, and to have stolen her scissors, for which reason she was turned into a bird--the swallow's tail being supposed to resemble that article. gypsies in england use the shears in incantations. a whirlwind denotes that the devil is dancing with a witch, and he who approaches too near it may be carried off bodily to hell (as has indeed happened to many a wicked pike in a cyclone or blizzard in western america), though he may escape by losing his cap. it is very dangerous to point at a rainbow or an approaching thunderstorm. probably the devil who here guides the whirlwind or directs the storm regards the act as impolite. he punishes those who thus indicate the rainbow by a gnawing disease. lightning is averted by sticking a knife in a loaf of bread and spinning the two on the floor of the loft of the house while the storm lasts. the knife appears not only in many gypsy spells, but in the etruscan-florentine magic. the legends of domdaniel and the college of sorcery in salamanca appear in the gypsy roumanian scholomance, or school which exists somewhere far away deep in the heart of the mountains, "where the secrets of nature, the language of animals, and all magic spells are taught by the devil in person." only ten scholars are admitted at a time, and when the course of learning has expired nine are dismissed to their homes, but the tenth is detained by the professor in payment. henceforth, mounted on an ismeju, or dragon, he becomes the devil's aide-de-camp, and assists him in preparing thunderbolts and managing storms and tempests. "a small lake, immeasurably deep, high up in the mountains, south of hermanstadt, is supposed to be the caldron in which the dragon lies sleeping and where the thunder is brewed." "whoever turns three somersaults the first time he hears thunder will be free from pains in the back during the twelvemonth." of this prescription--which reads as if it had originated with timothy, in "japhet in search of a father," when he practised as a mountebank--it may be said that it is most unlikely that any person who is capable of putting it in practice should suffer with such pains. to be free from headache rub the forehead with a piece of iron or stone. this may be a presage of the electric cure or of that by "metallic tractors." it is unfortunate in all catholic countries to meet with a priest or nun, especially when he or she is the first person encountered in the morning. in roumania this is limited to the greek popa. but to be first met by a gypsy on going forth is a very fortunate omen indeed. according to a widely-spread and ancient belief it is also very lucky to meet with any woman of easy virtue--the easier the better. this is doubtless derived from the ancient worship of venus, and the belief that any thing or person connected with celibacy and chastity, such as a nun, is unlucky. it would appear from this that the roumanians, or their gypsy oracles, have formed an opinion that their own popas are strictly abstinent as regards love, while protestant priests marry and are accordingly productive. why the catholic clergy are included with the latter is not at all clear. it is lucky also to meet a gypsy at any time, and doubtless this belief has been well encouraged by the romany. "it's kushti bak to wellán a rom, when tute's a pirryin pré the drom." "when you are going along the street it's lucky a gypsy man to meet." likewise, it is lucky to meet with a woman carrying a jug full of water, &c., but unlucky if it be empty. so in the new testament the virgins whose lamps were full of oil received great honour. the lamp was an ancient symbol of life; hence it is very often found covered with aphrodisiac symbols or made in phallic forms. it is barely possible that common old popular simile of "not by a jug-full"--meaning "not by a great deal"--is derived from this association of a full vessel with abundance. it is a roumanian gypsy custom to do homage to the wodna zena, or "water-woman" (hungarian gypsy, nivashi), by spilling a few drops of water on the ground after filling a jug, and it is regarded as an insult to offer drink without observing this ceremony. a roumanian will never draw water against the current (also as in the hungarian gypsy charms), as it would provoke the water-spirit. if water is drawn in the night-time, whoever does so must blow three times over the brimming jug, and pour a few drops on the coals. the mythology of the roumanians agrees with that of the gypsies. it is sylvan, and indian. in deep pools of water lurks the dreadful balaur or wodna muz--i.e., the waterman (muz is both gypsy and slavonian)--who lies in wait for victims. in every forest lives the mama padura, or weshni dye--"the forest mother"--who is believed to be benevolent to human beings, especially towards children who have lost their way in the wood. but the panusch is an amorous spirit who, like the wanton satyrs of old, haunts the silent woodland shades, and lies in wait for helpless maids. "surely," observes mrs. gerard, "this is a corruption of 'great pan,' who is not dead after all, but merely banished to the land beyond the forest." what a find this would have been for heine when writing "the gods in exile"! "in deep forests and lonely mountain gorges there wanders about a wild huntsman of superhuman size." he appears to be of a mysterious nature, and is very seldom seen. once he met a peasant who had shot ninety-nine bears, and warned him never to attempt to kill another. but the peasant disregarded his advice, and, missing his aim, was torn in pieces by the bear. very singular is the story that this lord of the forest once taught a hunter--that if he loaded his gun on new year's night with a live adder he would never miss a shot during the ensuing year. it is not probable that he was told to put a live and "wiggling" snake into his gun. the story of itself suggests the firing out the ramrod for luck. it has been observed by c. lloyd morgan that if a drop of the oil of a foul tobacco pipe be placed in the mouth of a snake the muscles instantly become set in knotted lumps and the creature becomes rigid. if much is given the snake dies, but if only a small amount is employed it may be restored. this, as mr. oakley has suggested, may explain the stories of indian snake-charmers being able to turn a snake into a stick. it is performed by spitting into the snake's mouth and then placing the hand on its head till it becomes stiffened. "the effect may be produced by opium or some other narcotic." and it may also occur to the reader that the jugglers who performed before pharaoh were not unacquainted with this mystery. it is probable that the hunter in the gypsy roumanian story first gave his adder tobacco before firing it off. the om ren, or wild man, is a malevolent forest spectre, the terror of hunters and shepherds. he is usually seen in winter, and when he finds an intruder on his haunts, he tears up pine trees by the roots with which he slays the victim, or throws him over a precipice, or overwhelms him with rocks. in every detail he corresponds to a being greatly feared by the algonkin indians of america. the oameni micuti, or "small men," are grey-bearded dwarfs, dressed like miners. they are the kobolds or bergmännchen of germany. they seldom harm a miner, and when one has perished in the mine they make it known to his family by three knocks on his door. they may be heard quarrelling among themselves and hitting at one another with their axes, or blowing their horns as a signal of battle. these "horns of elf-land blowing" connect them with the korriagan of brittany, who are fairies who always carry and play on the same instrument. prætorius devotes a long chapter to all the learning extant on the subject of these bergmännrigen, or subterraneans. the mountain monk is the very counterpart of friar rush in english fairy-lore, and is also of indian origin. he delights in kicking over water-pails, putting out lamps, and committing mischief, merry, mad, or sad. sometimes he has been known to strangle workmen whom he dislikes, though, on the other hand, he often helps distressed miners by filling their empty lamps or guiding those who have lost their way. but he always bids them keep it a secret, and if they tell they suffer for it. gana is queen of the witches, and corresponds to the diana of the italians. gana is probably only a variation of the word diana. among the wallachians this goddess is in fact known as dina and sina. she, like the wilde jäger, rushes in headlong hunt over the heavens or through the skies followed by a throng of witches and fairies. "people show the places where she has passed, and where the grass and leaves are dry" (friedrich). she is a powerful enchantress, and is strongest in her sorcery about easter-tide. to guard against her the wallachians at this time carry a piece of lime-tree or linden wood. she is a beautiful but terrible enchantress, who presides over the evil spirits who meet on may eve. she was the ruler of all transylvania (a hunting country) before christianity prevailed there. her beauty bewitched many, but whoever let himself be lured into drinking mead from her urus (or wild ox) drinking-horn perished. she is like the norse freya, a cat goddess, and seems to be allied to the chesme, or cat, or fountain-spirit of the turks. according to ancient indian mythology the moon is a cat who chases the mice (stars) of night, and in the fifth book of ovid's "metamorphoses," when the gods fled from the giants diana took the form of a cat:-- "fele soror phoebi, nivea saturni a vacca pisce venus latuit." (v. , .) "according to the hellenic cosmogony the sun and moon created the animals--the sun creating the lion and the moon the cat" (de gubernatis, "zoological mythology," ii. ). gertrude, the chief sorceress or queen of the witches in old german lore, appears when dead as surrounded by mice; she is, in fact, a cat. the turkish chesme, or fountain-cat, inveigles youths to death like the gana, diana, or lorelei, who does the same, and is also a water-sprite. the dschuma is a fierce virgin, or sometimes an old witch, who is incarnate disease, such as the cholera. she is supposed to suffer from cold and nakedness, and may be heard at night when disease is raging, wailing for want. then the maidens make garments and hang them out; but it is a most effective charm when seven old women spin, weave, and sew for her a scarlet shirt all in one night without once speaking. a curious book might be written on the efficacy of nakedness in witch-spells. in some places in roumania there is a spirit always naked (at least appearing such), who requires a new suit of clothes every year. these are given by the inhabitants of the district haunted by such an elf, who on new year's night lay them out in some place supposed to be frequented by him or her. in , in a wallachian village in the district of bihar, to avert the cholera, six youths and maidens, all quite naked, traced with a ploughshare a furrow round their village to form a charmed circle over which the disease could not pass. when the land is suffering from long droughts the roumanians ascribe it to the gypsies, who by occult means make dry weather in order to favour their own trade of brickmaking. when the necessary rain cannot be obtained by beating the guilty tziganes, the peasants resort to the papaluga, or rain-maiden. for this they strip a young gypsy girl stark-naked, and then cover her up in flowers and leaves, leaving only the head visible. thus adorned the papaluga, or miss jack-in-the-green, is conducted with music round the village, every person pouring water on her as she passes. when a gypsy girl cannot be had, or the tziganes are supposed to be innocent, a roumanian maiden may be taken. this custom is very widely spread. forty years ago there was a strange mania in the northern cities of the united states for "fast" girls of the most reckless kind to go out naked very late by night into the street to endeavour to run around a public square or block of houses and regain their homes without being caught by the police. i suspect that superstition suggested this strange risk. it is an old witch-charm that if a girl can, when the moon is full, go forth and run around a certain enclosure, group of trees, or dwelling, without being seen, she will marry the man whom she loves. there are also many magical ceremonies which, to ensure success, must be performed in full moonlight and when quite naked. "among the saxons in transylvania when there is a very severe drought it is customary in some places for several girls, led by an old woman, and all of them absolutely naked, to go at midnight to the courtyard of some peasant and steal his harrow. with this they walk across fields to the nearest stream, where the harrow is put afloat with a burning light on each corner" (mrs. gerard, "land beyond," &c.). this is evidently the old hindoo floating of lamps by maidens on the ganges, and in all probability of gypsy importation. she who will pronounce a certain spell, strip herself quite naked, and can steal into the room where a man is lying sound asleep and can clip from his head a lock of hair and escape without awakening him or meeting any one will obtain absolute mastery over him, or at least over his affections. the hair must be worn in a bag or ring on the person. but woe unto her who is caught, since in that case the enchantment "all goes the other way." once a beautiful but very poor hungarian maid gave all she had to a young gypsy girl for a charm to win the love of a certain lord, and was taught this, which proved to be a perfect success. having clipped the lock of hair she wove it in a ring and wedded him. after a time she died, and the gypsy being called in to dress the corpse found and kept the ring. then the lord fell in love with the gypsy and married her. but ere long she too died, and was buried, and the ring with her. and from that day the lord seemed as if possessed to sit by her grave, and finally built a house there, and never seemed happy save when in it. "if a roumanian maid," says mrs. gerard, "desires to see her future husband's face in the water she has only to step naked at midnight into the nearest lake or river, or, if she shrink from this, let her take a stand on the more congenial dung-hill with a piece of christmas cake in her mouth, and as the clock strikes twelve listen attentively for the first sound of a dog's bark. from whichever side it proceeds will also come the expected suitor." a naked maid standing on a "congenial dung-hill" with a piece of christmas cake in her mouth would be a subject for an artist which should be eagerly seized in these days when "excuses for the nude in art" are becoming so rare. it is worth observing that this conjuration is very much like one observed in tuscany, in which saint anthony is invoked to manifest by a dog's barking at night, as by other sounds, whether the applicant, or invoker, shall obtain her desire. at the birth of a child in wallachia every one present takes a stone and throws it behind him, saying, "this into the jaws of the streghoi" [ ]--"a custom," says mrs. gerard, "which would seem to suggest saturn and the swaddled up stones." it is much more suggestive of the stones thrown by deucalion and pyrrha. strigoi is translated as "evil spirits"--it is evidently, originally at least, the streghe, or witches of italy, from the latin strix, the dreaded witch-bird of ovid. "festus derives the word à stringendo from the opinion that they strangle children." middle latin strega (paulus grillandus). for much learning on this subject of the strix the reader may consult de gubernatis, "myth of animals," vol. ii. p. . "as long as the child is unbaptized it must be carefully watched for fear lest it be changed or stolen away." this is common to christians, heathen, and gypsies to watch it for several days. "a piece of iron, or a broom laid beneath the pillow will keep spirits away." so in roumania and tuscany. quintus serenus, however, recommends that when the striga atra presses the infant, garlic be used, the strong odour of which (to their credit be it said) is greatly detested by witches. "the romans used to cook their coena demonum for the house-spirits, and the hindoos prepared food for them." from them it has passed through the gypsies to eastern europe, and now the roumanian, who has by a simple ceremony made a contract with the devil, receives from him an attendant spirit called a spiridsui or spiridush which will "serve his master faithfully for seven long year," but in return expecting the first mouthful of every dish eaten by his master. "so many differing fancies have mankind, that they the master-sprites may spell and bind." nearly connected with the roumanian we have the beliefs in magic of the transylvanian saxons, all of them shared with the gypsies and probably partially derived from them. many people must have wondered what could have been the origin of the saying in reference to a very small place that "there was not room to swing a cat in it." "but i don't want to swing a cat in it," was the very natural rejoinder of a well-known american litterateur to this remark applied to his house. it is possible that we may find the origin of this odd saying in a superstition current in transylvania, whither it in all probability was carried by the gypsies, whose specialty it is to bear the seeds of superstitions about here and there as the winds do those of plants. in this country it is said that if a cat runs away, when recovered she must be swung three times round to attach her to the dwelling. the same is done by a stolen cat by the thief if he would retain it. truly this seems a strange way to induce an attachment--or pour encourager les autres. it is evident, however, that to the professional cat-stealer the size of his room must be a matter of some importance. it is a pity that this saying and faith were unknown to moncrief-maradan, "the historiogriffe of cats," ("oeuvres," paris, ), who would assuredly have made the most of it. as regards entering new houses in transylvania the rule is not "devil take the hindmost," but the foremost. the first person or being who enters the maiden mansion must die, therefore it is safe to throw in a preliminary dog or cat. the scape-cat is, however, to be preferred. i can remember once, when about six years of age, looking down into a well in massachusetts and being told that the reflection which i saw was the face of a little boy who lived there. this made a deep impression on me, and i reflected that it was very remarkable that the dweller in the well could assume the appearance of every one who looked at him. in transylvania it is, says mrs. e. gerard, "dangerous to stare down long into a well, for the well-dame who dwells at the bottom is easily offended. but children are often curious, and so, bending over the edge, they call out mockingly, 'dame of the well, pull me down into it!' and then run away rapidly." whoever has been robbed and wishes to find the thief should take a black hen, and for nine fridays must with the hen fast strictly; the thief will then either bring back the plunder or die. this is called "taking up the black fast" against any one. it is said that a peasant of petersdorf returned one day from bistritz with florins, which he had received for oxen. being very tipsy he laid down to sleep, having first hidden his money in a hole in the kitchen wall. when he awoke he missed his coin, and having quite forgotten what he had done with it believed it had been stolen. so he went to an old wallachian, probably a gypsy, and induced him to take up the black fast against the thief. but as he himself had the money the spell worked against him and he grew weaker and pined away as it went on. by some chance at the last moment he found his money, but it was too late, and he died. pages of black hen-lore may be gathered from the works of friedrich, de gubernatis and others; suffice it to say that bubastis, the egyptian moon-goddess, appears to have been the original mistress of the mysterious animal, if not the black hen as well as cat herself, and mother of all the witches. magic qualities are attached in hungary as in germany to the lime or linden tree; in some villages it is usual to plant one before a house to prevent witches from entering. from very early times the lime tree was sacred to venus among the greeks, as it was to lada among the slavonians. this, it is said, was due to its leaves being of the shape of a heart. in a slavonian love-song the wooer exclaims:-- "as the bee is drawn by the lime-perfume (or linden-bloom) my heart is drawn by thee." this was transmitted to christian symbolism, whence the penance laid by christ on mary magdalen was that "she should have no other food save lime-tree leaves, drink naught except the dew which hung on them, and sleep on no other bed save one made of its leaves" (menzel, "christliche symbolik," vol. ii. p. ). "for magdalena had loved much, therefore her penance was by means of that which is a symbol of love." mrs. gerard tells us that "a particular growth of vine leaf, whose exact definition i have not succeeded in rightly ascertaining, is eagerly sought by saxon girls in some villages. whoever finds it, puts it in her hair, and if she then kisses the first man she meets on her way home she will soon be married. a story is related of a girl, who having found this growth, meeting a nobleman in a carriage stopped the horses and begged leave to kiss him." to which he consented. this particular growth, unknown to mrs. gerard, is when the leaves or tendrils or shoots form a natural knot. among the gypsies in hungary, as may be elsewhere read, such knots in the willow are esteemed as of great magic efficacy in love. a knot is a symbol of true love in all countries. "this knot i tie, this knot i knit, for that true love whom i know not yet." on easter monday in transylvania the lads run about the towns and villages sprinkling with water all the girls or women whom they meet. this is supposed to cause the flax to grow well. on the following day the girls return the attention by watering the boys. "this custom, which appears to be a very old one," says mrs. gerard, "is also prevalent among various slav races, such as poles and serbs. in poland it used to be de rigeur that water be poured over a girl who was still asleep, so in every house a victim was selected who had to feign sleep and patiently receive the cold shower-bath, which was to ensure the luck of the family during the year. the custom has now become modified to suit a more delicate age, and instead of formidable horse-buckets of water, dainty little perfume squirts have come to be used in many places." as the custom not only of sprinkling water, but also of squirting or spraying perfumes is from ancient india (as it is indeed prevalent all over the east), it is probable that the gypsies who are always foremost in all festivals may have brought this "holi" custom to eastern europe. of late it has extended to london, as appears by the following extract from the st. james's gazette, april, . "the newest weapon of terror in the west end is the 'scent revolver.' its use is simple. you dine--not wisely but the other thing--and then you stroll into the park, with your nickel-plated scent revolver in your pocket. feeling disposed for a frolic, you walk up to a woman, present your weapon, pull the trigger, and in a moment she is drenched, not with gore but with scent, which is nearly as unpleasant if not quite so deadly. mr. andrew king, who amused himself in that way, has been fined s. at marlborough street. let us hope that the 'revolver' was confiscated into the bargain." one way of interrogating fate in love affairs is to slice an apple in two with a sharp knife; if this can be done without cutting a seed the wish of the heart will be fulfilled. of yore, in many lands the apple was ever sacred to love, wisdom, and divination. once in germany a well-formed child became, through bewitchment, sorely crooked and cramped; by the advice of a monk the mother cut an apple in three pieces and made the child eat them, whereupon it became as before. in illzach, in alsace, there is a custom called "andresle." on saint andrew's eve a girl must take from a widow, and without returning thanks for it, an apple. as in hungary she cuts it in two and must eat one half of it before midnight, and the other half after it; then in sleep she will see her future husband. and there is yet another love-spell of the split apple given by scheible ("die gute alte zeit," stuttgart, , p. ) which runs as follows:-- "on friday early as may be, take the fairest apple from a tree, then in thy blood on paper white thy own name and thy true love's write, that apple thou in two shalt cut, and for its cure that paper put, with two sharp pins of myrtle wood join the halves till it seem good, in the oven let it dry, and wrapped in leaves of myrtle lie, under the pillow of thy dear, yet let it be unknown to her; and if it a secret be she soon will show her love for thee." similar apple sorceries were known to the norsemen. because the apple was so nearly connected with love and luxury--"geschlechtsliebe und zeugungslust"--those who were initiated in the mysteries and vowed to chastity were forbidden to eat it. and for the same reason apples, hares, and cupids, or "amorets," were often depicted together. in genesis, as in the canticles of solomon, apples, or at least the fruit from which the modern apple inherited its traditions are a symbol of sexual love. in florence women wishing for children go to a priest and get from him a blessed apple, over which they pronounce an incantation to santa anna--la san' na--who was the lucina of the latins. chapter ix. the rendezvous or meetings of witches, sorcerers, and vilas.--a continuation of south slavonian gypsy-lore. in eastern europe witches and their kin, or kind, assemble on the eve of saint john and of saint george, christmas and easter, at cross-roads on the broad pustas, or prairies, and there brew their magic potions. this, as dr. krauss observes, originated in feasts held at the same time in pre-christian times. "so it was that a thousand years ago old and young assembled in woods or on plains to bring gifts to their gods, and celebrated with dances, games, and offerings the festival of spring, or of awaking and blooming nature. these celebrations have taken christian names, but innumerable old heathen rites and customs are still to be found in them." it may be here observed that mingled with these are many of a purely gypsy-oriental origin, which came from the same source and which it remains for careful ethnologists and critical folk-lorists to disentangle and make clear. the priestesses of prehistoric times on these occasions performed ceremonies, as was natural, to protect cattle or land from evil influences. to honour their deities the "wise women" bore certain kinds of boughs and adorned animals with flowers and wreaths. the new religion declared that this was all sorcery and devil-work, but the belief in the efficacy of the rites continued. the priestesses became witches, or vilas, the terms being often confused, but they were still feared and revered. in all the south slavonian country the peasants on saint george's day adorn the horns of cattle with garlands, in gypsy indian style, to protect them from evil influences. i have observed that even in egypt among mahometans saint george is regarded with great reverence, and i knew one who on this day always sacrificed a sheep. the cow or ox which is not thus decorated becomes a prey in some way to witches. the garlands are hung up at night over the stable door, where they remain all the ensuing year. if a peasant neglects to crown his cow, he not only does not receive a certain fee from its owner, but is in danger of being beaten. on the same day the shepherdess, or cow-herd, takes in one hand salt, in the other a potsherd containing live coals. in the coals roses are burned. by this means witches lose all power over the animal. near karlstadt the mistress of the family merely strikes it with a cross to produce the same effect. among the transylvanian hungarian gypsies there is a magical ceremony performed on saint george's day, traces of which may be found in england. then the girls bake a peculiar kind of cake, in which certain herbs are mixed, and which dr. von wlislocki declares has an agreeable taste. this is divided among friends and foes, and it is believed to have the property of reconciling the bitterest enemies and of increasing the love of friends. but it is most efficient as a love-charm, especially when given by women to men. the following gypsy song commemorates a deed of this kind by a husband, who recurred to it with joy:-- "kásáve romñi ná jidel, ke kásávo maro the del; sar m're gule lele pekel káná sváto gordye ável. "furmuntel bute luludya furmuntel yoy bute charma andre petrel but kámábe ko chal robo avla bake." "no one bakes such bread as my wife, such as she baked me on st. george's day. many flowers and dew were kneaded into the cake with love. whoever eats of it will be her slave." in england i was told by an old gypsy woman named lizzie buckland, that in the old time gypsy girls made a peculiar kind of cake, a romany morriclo, which they baked especially for their lovers, and used to throw to them over the hedge by night. to make it more acceptable, and probably to facilitate the action of the charm, they would put money into the cake. it was observed of old among the romans that fascinatio began with flattery, compliments, and presents! on the night of saint john the witch climbs to the top of the hurdle fence which surrounds the cow-yard, and sings the following spell:-- "k meni sir, k meni maslo, k meni puter, k meni mleko avam pak kravsku kozu!" "to me the cheese, to me the tallow (or meat), to me the butter, to me the milk, to you only the cowhide." or, as it may be expressed in rhyme:-- "the cheese, meat, butter, and milk for me, but only the cowhide left for thee." then the cow will die, the carcass be buried, and the skin sold. to prevent all this the owner goes early on st. john's day to the meadow and gathers the morning dew in a cloak. this he carries home, and after binding the cow to a beam washes her with it. she is then milked, and it is believed that if all has gone right she will yield four bucketsful. in the chapter on "conjurations and exorcisms among the hungarian gypsies," i have mentioned the importance which they attach to the being born a seventh or twelfth child. this is the same throughout south slavonia, where the belief that such persons in a series of births are exceptionally gifted is "shared by both gypsies, with whom it probably originated, and the peasants. what renders this almost certain is that dr. krauss mentions that the oldest information as to the subject among the slavs dates only from , while the faith is ancient among the gypsies. he refers here to the so-called kerstniki, who on the eve of st. john do battle with the witches. krstnik is a greek word, meaning, literally, one who has been baptized. but the krstnik proper is the youngest of twelve brothers, all sons of the same father. there appears to be some confusion and uncertainty among the slavs as to whether all the twelve brothers or only the twelfth are "krstnik"--according to the gypsy faith it would be the latter. these "twelvers" are the great protectors of the world from witchcraft. [ ] but they are in great danger on saint john's eve, for then the witches, having most power, assail them with sticks and stakes, or stumps of saplings, for which reason it is usual in the autumn to carefully remove everything of the kind from the ground. a krstnik is described by miklosic as "clovek kterega vile obljubiju"--"a man who has won the love of a vila." the vila ladies, or a certain class of them, are extremely desirous of contracting the closest intimacy--in short, of becoming the mistresses, of superior men. the reader may find numerous anecdotes of such amours in the "curiosa" of heinrich kornmann, , and in my "egyptian sketch book" (trübner & co., london, ). in the heathen days, as at present among all gypsies and orientals, it was believed to be a wonderfully lucky thing for a man to get the love of one of these beautiful beings. what the difficulties were which kept them from finding lovers is not very clear, unless it were that the latter must be twelfth sons, or, what is far more difficult to find, young men who would not gossip about their supernatural sweethearts to other mortals, who would remain true to them, and who finally would implicitly obey all their commands and follow their advice. there is a vast array of tales--gypsy, arab, provençal, norman, german, and scandinavian, which show that on these points the vila, or forest-maiden, or spirit of earth or air, or fairy, was absolutely exacting and implacable, being herself probably allowed by occult laws to contract an intimacy only with men of a high order, or such as are-- "few in a heap and very hard to find." on the other hand, the vila yearns intensely for men and their near company, because there is about those who have been baptized a certain perfume or odour of sanctity, and as the unfortunate nymph is not immortal herself, she likes to get even an association or sniff of it from those who are. according to the rosicrucian mythology, as set forth in the "undine" of la motte fouqué, she may acquire a soul by marrying a man who will be faithful to her--which accounts for the fact that so few undines live for ever. however this may be, it appears that the krstniki are specially favoured, and frequently invited by the vilas to step in--generally to a hollow tree--and make a call. the hollow tree proves to be a door to fairyland, and the call a residence of seven days, which on returning home the caller finds were seven years, for-- "when we are pleasantly employed, time flies." these spirits have one point in common with their gypsy friends--they steal children--with this difference, that the vila only takes those which have been baptized, while the gypsy--at present, at least--is probably not particular in this respect. but i have very little doubt that originally one motive, and perhaps the only one which induced these thefts, was the desire of the gypsies, as heathens and sorcerers, to have among them, "for luck," a child which had received the initiation into that mysterious religion from which they were excluded, and which, as many of their charms and spells prove, they really regarded as a higher magic. it is on this ground only, or for this sole reason, that we can comprehend many of the child-stealings effected by gypsies; for it is absolutely true that, very often when they have large families of their own, they will, for no apparent cause whatever, neither for the sake of plunder, profit, or revenge, adopt or steal some poor child and bring it up, kindly enough after their rough fashion; and in doing this they are influenced, as i firmly believe, far more by a superstitious feeling of bak, or luck, and the desire to have a mascot in the tent, than any other. that children have been robbed or stolen for revenge does not in the least disprove what i believe--that in most cases the motive for the deed is simply superstition. on the eve of saint george old women cut thistle-twigs and bring them to the door of the stall. this is only another form of the nettle which enters so largely into the hungarian gypsy incantations, and they also make crosses with cowdung on the doors. this is directly of indian origin, and points to gypsy tradition. others drive large nails into the doors--also a curious relic of a widely-spread ancient custom, of which a trace may be found in the vienna stock im eisen, or trunk driven full of nails by wandering apprentices, which may be seen near the church of saint stephen. but the thistle-twigs are still held to be by far the most efficacious. in vinica, or near it, these twigs are cut before sunset. they are laid separately in many places, but are especially placed in garlands on the necks of cattle. if a witch, in spite of these precautions, contrives to get into the stable, all will go wrong with the beasts during the coming year. now there was once a man who would have none of this thistle work--nay, he mocked at those who believed in it. so it came to pass that all through the year witches came every night and milked his cows. and he reflected, "i must find out who does this!" so he hid himself in the hay and kept sharp watch. all at once, about eleven o'clock, there came in a milk-pail, which moved of its own accord, and the cows began to let down their milk into it. the farmer sprang out and kicked it over. then it changed into a tremendous toad which turned to attack him, so that in terror he took refuge in his house. that proved to be a lucky thing for him. a week after came the day of saint george. then he hung thistle-twigs on his stable door, and after that his cows gave milk in plenty. witches may be seen on saint george's day, and that unseen by them if a man will do as follows: he must rise before the sun, turn all his clothes inside out and then put them on. then he must cut a green turf and place it on his head. thus he becomes invisible, for the witches believe he is under the earth, being themselves apparently bewitched by this. very early on the day of saint george, or before sunrise, the witches climb into the church belfry to get the grease from the axle on which the bell swings, and a piece of the bell-rope, for these things are essential to them. dr. krauss observes that in the ms. from which he took this, schmierfetet or axle-grease, is indicated by the word svierc, "in which one at once recognizes the german word schwartz, a black." it is remarkable that the chippeway and other algonkin indians attach particular value to the black dye made from the grease of the axle of a grindstone. the extraordinary pains which they took to obtain this had attracted the attention of a man in minnesota, who told me of it. it required a whole day to obtain a very little of it. the indians, when asked by curious white people what this was for, said it was for dyeing baskets, but, as my informant observed, the quantity obtained was utterly inadequate to any such purpose, and even better black dyes (e.g., hickory bark and alum) are known to, and can be very easily obtained by, them. the real object was to use the grease in "medicine," i.e., for sorcery. the eagerness of both witches in europe and indians in america to obtain such a singular substance is very strange. however, the idea must be a recent one among the indians, for there were certainly no grindstones among them before the coming of the white men. "for all that i can tell, said he, is that it is a mystery." heathens though they be, many gypsies have a superstitious belief in the efficacy of the sacramental bread and wine, and there are many instances of their stealing them for magical purposes. so in the middle ages witches and sorcerers used these objects for the most singular purposes, paulus grillandus, in his "tractatus de hereticis et sortilegiis," &c. (lyons, ), assuring his readers that he had known a witch who had two holy wafers inscribed with magical characters which she used for debauching innocent girls and betraying them to men, and that it was a belief that if a woman had the sacred oil fresh on her lips no man could refrain from kissing her. this is the union of two kinds of magic; a view which never once occurred to theological writers. and here i may appropriately mention that while the proofs of this work were passing through my hands accident threw into my way an extremely rare work, which illustrates to perfection the identity of popular and ecclesiastical sorcery. this is entitled "de effectibus magicis, ac de nuce maga beneventana," "six books of magic effects and of the witch walnut-tree of benevento. a work necessary, joyous, and useful to astrologists, philosophers, physicians, exorcists, and doctors, and students of holy scriptures. by the chief physician, peter piperno." it appears to have been privately printed at naples in , and came from a conventual library. it bore, written on a fly-leaf, the word proibito. in it every kind of disorder or disease is declared to be caused by devils and witches. the author believes with delrio that disease entered into the world as a consequence of sin (referenda sit ad primæ nostræ matris peccatum)--a view held by john milton; hence, of course, all disease is caused solely by the devil. in his volume of two hundred large and close pages, our peter piperno displays a vast erudition on the origin of devils and diseases, is bitter on the rival school of magical practitioners who use cures and incantations unlike his own, and then gives us the name and nature of all diseases, according to the different parts of the body, &c., the medical prescriptions proper for them, and what is, in his opinion, most needful of all, the incantation or exorcism to be pronounced. sometimes there are several of these, as one for making up a pill, another on taking it, &c. there are also general conjurations--i mean benedictions--for the medicines altogether or in particular, such as the benedictio syruporum, "the blessing of the syrups," and there is a very affecting and appropriately moving one for making or taking castor oil, and oils of all kinds, as follows:-- "benedictio olei. "this begins with the in nomine patris, &c., and adjutorium nostrum, &c., and then: "i exorcise you all aromatics, herbs, roots, seeds, stones, gums, and whatever is to be compounded with this oil, by god the father, god the son, and god the holy ghost, by the god triune yet one, by the holy and single trinity, that the impure spirit depart from you, and with it every incursion of satan, every fraud of the enemy, every evil of the devil, and that mixed with oil you may free the subject from all infirmities, incantations, bindings, witchcrafts, from all diabolical fraud, art, and power, by the merits of our lord jesus christ and the most beloved virgin mary, and of all the saints. amen." the curses for the devils of colds, fevers, rheumatisms, gouts, stomach-aches, &c., are awful, both in number, length, and quality; enough to frighten a cowboy or "exhort an impenitent mule" into docility. there is the exorcismus terribilis, or "terrible exorcism" of saint zeno, in which the disorder is addressed literally as "a dirty, false, heretical, drunken, lewd, proud, envious, deceitful, vile, swindling, stupid devil"--with some twenty more epithets which, if applied in these our days to the devil himself, would ground an action for libel and bring heavy damages in any court. it is to be remarked that in many prescriptions the author adds to legitimate remedies, ingredients which are simply taken from popular necromancy, or witchcraft, as for instance, rue--fugæ dæmonum--verbena, and artemisia, all of which are still in use in tuscany against sorcery and the evil eye. the really magical character of these exorcisms is shown by the vast array of strange words used in them, many of which have a common source with those used by sorcerers of the cabalistic or agrippa school, such as agla, tetragrammaton, adonai, fons, origo, serpens, avis, leo, imago, sol, floy, vitis, mons, lapis, angularis, ischyros, pantheon, all of which are old heathen terms of incantation. these are called in the exorcism "words by virtue of which"--per virtutem istorum verborum--the devils are invited to depart. the whole is as much a work of sorcery as any ever inscribed in a catalogue of occulta, and it was as a specimen of occulta that i bought it. chapter x. of the haunts, homes, and habits of witches in the south slavic lands.--bogeys and humbugs. the witches in slavonian gipsy-lore have now and then parties which meet to spin, always by full moonlight on a cross-road. but it is not advisable, says krauss, to pass by on such occasions, as the least they do to the heedless wayfarer is to bewitch and sink him into a deep sleep. but they are particularly fond of assembling socially in the tops of trees, especially of the ash, walnut, and linden or lime kinds, preferring those whose branches grow in the manner here depicted. it is but a few days ago, as i write, that i observed all along the route from padua to florence thousands of trees supporting vines, which trees had been trained to take this form, the farmers being as much influenced by "luck" in so doing as utility; for it is not really essential that the tree shall so exactly receive this shape, to hold a vine, as is proved by the fact that there are plantations here and there where this method of training the trees is not observed. it is very suggestive of the triçula or trident of siva, which originated the trushul, or cross of the gypsies. as regards the properties of the ash tree krauss remarks that "roots with magic power grew under ash trees," and quotes a song of a maiden who, having learned that her lover is untrue, replies:-- "ima trava u okolo save, i korenja okolo jasenja," "there are herbs by the save, and roots around ash trees," --meaning that she can prepare a love-potion from these. there is in the edda a passage in which we are also told that there are magic powers in the roots of trees, the reference being probably to the ash, and possibly to the alraun, or images made of its roots, which are sometimes misnamed mandrakes. other resorts of slavonian gypsy witches are near or in deep woods and ravines, also on dung-hills, or places where ashes, lye, or rubbish is thrown, or among dense bushes. or as soon as the sun sets they assemble in orchards of plum trees, or among ancient ruins, while on summer nights they hold their revels in barns, old hollow trees, by dark hedges or in subterranean caverns. the peasants greatly dread dung-hills after dark, for fear of cruel treatment by them. when a wild wind is blowing the witches love dearly to dance. then they whirl about in eddying figures and capers, and when the sweat falls from them woe to the man who treads upon it!--for he will become at once dumb or lame, and may be called lucky should he escape with only an inflammation of the lungs. in fact, if a man even walks in a place where witches have been he will become bewildered or mad, and remain so till driven homeward by hunger. but such places may generally be recognized by their footprints in the sand; for witches have only four toes--the great toe being wanting. these mysterious four toe-tracks, which are indeed often seen, are supposed by unbelievers to be made by wild geese, swans, or wild ducks, but in reply to this the peasant or gypsy declares that witches often take the form of such fowl. and there is, moreover, much rabbinical tradition which proves that the devil and his friends have feet like peacocks, which are notoriously birds of evil omen, as is set forth by a contributor to the st. james's gazette, november , :-- "again, take peacocks. nobody who has not gone exhaustively into the subject can have any adequate idea of the amount of general inconvenience diffused by a peacock. broken hearts, broken limbs, pecuniary reverses, and various forms of infectious disease have all been traced to the presence of a peacock, or even a peacock feather, on the premises." the evil reputation of the peacock is due to his having been the only creature who was induced to show satan the way into paradise. (for a poem on this subject, vide "legends of the birds," by c. g. leland, philadelphia, ). if any one should by chance pop in--like tam o'shanter--to an assembly of witches, he must at once quickly cover his head, make the sign of the cross, take three steps backwards and a fourth forwards. then the witches cannot injure him. should a gentleman in london or brighton abruptly intrude into a five o'clock tea, while peel or primrose witches are discussing some specially racy scandal, he should, however, make instantly so many steps backwards as will take him to his overcoat or cane, and then, after a turn, so many down-stairs as will bring him into the street. if any man should take in his hand from the garden fence anything which a witch has laid there, he will in the same year fall sick, and if he has played with it he must die. there be land-witches and water-witches--whoever goes to swim in a place where these latter are found will drown and his body never be recovered. sometimes in these places the water is very deep, but perfectly clear, in others it is still and very muddy, to which no one can come within seven paces because of an abominable and stifling vapour. and, moreover, as a dead cat is generally seen swimming on the top of such pools, no one need be endangered by them. the fact that the gypsy and south slavonian or hungarian folklore is directly derived from classic or oriental sources is evident from the fact that the shemitic-persian devil, who is the head and body of all witchcraft in western europe, very seldom appears in that of the eastern parts. the witches there seem invariably to derive their art from one another; even in venice they have no unusual fear of death or of a future state. a witch who has received the gift or power of sorcery cannot die till she transfers it to another, and this she often finds it difficult to do, as is illustrated by a story told me in florence in by the same girl to whom i have already referred. "there was a girl here in the city who became a witch against her will. and how? she was ill in a hospital, and by her in a bed was una vecchia, ammalata gravamente, e non poteva morire--an old woman seriously ill, yet who could not die. and the old woman groaned and cried continually, 'oimé! muoio! a chi lasció? non diceva che.' 'alas! to whom shall i leave?'--but she did not say what. then the poor girl, thinking of course she meant property, said: 'lasciate à me--son tanto povera!' ('leave it to me--i am so poor.') at once the old woman died, and 'la povera giovana se é trovato in eredita delta streghoneria'--the poor girl found she had inherited witchcraft. "now the girl went home, where she lived with her brother and mother. and having become a witch she began to go out often by night, which the mother observing, said to her son, 'qualche volta tu troverai tua sorella colla pancia grossa.' ('some day you will find your sister with child.') 'don't think such a thing, mamma,' he replied. 'however, i will find out where it is she goes.' "so he watched, and one night he saw his sister go out of the door, sullo punto delta mezza notte--just at midnight. then he caught her by the hair, and twisted it round his arm. she began to scream terribly, when--ecco! there came running a great number of cats--e cominciarono a miolare, e fare un gran chiasso--they began to mew and make a great row, and for an hour the sister struggled to escape--but in vain, for her hair was fast--and screamed while the cats screeched, till it struck one, when the cats vanished and the sorella was insensible. but from that time she had no witchcraft in her, and became a buona donna, or good girl, as she had been before--'come era prima.'" it is very evident that in this story there is no diabolical agency, and that the witchcraft is simply a quality which is transferred like a disease, and which may be removed. thus in venice--where, as is evident from the works of bernoni, the witches are of gypsy-slavic-greek origin--a witch loses all her power if made to shed even one drop of blood, or sometimes if she be defeated or found out to be a witch. in none of these countries has she received the horrible character of a mere instrument of a stupendous evil power, whose entire will and work is to damn all mankind (already full of original sin) to eternal torture. for this ne plus ultra of horror could only result from the hebrew-persian conception of perfect malignity, incarnate as an anti-god, and be developed by gloomy ascetics who begrudged mankind every smile and every gleam of sunlight. in india and eastern europe the witch and demon are simply awful powers of nature, like thunder and pestilence, darkness and malaria, they nowhere appear as aiming at destroying the soul. for such an idea as this it required a theology and mythology emanating from the basis of an absolutely perfect monotheos, which gave birth to an antithesis; infinite good, when concentrated, naturally suggesting a shadow counterpart of evil. in eastern europe the witch is, indeed, still confused with the vila, who was once, and often still is, a benevolent elementary spirit, who often punishes only the bad, and gladly favours the good. it is as curious as it is interesting to see how, under the influence of the church, everything which was not directly connected with the current theology was made to turn sour and bitter and poisonous, and how darkness and frost stole over flowery fields which once were gay in genial sunshine. it is a necessary result that in attaining higher ideals the lesser must fade or change. devilism, or the dread of the child and savage of the powers of darkness and mysterious evil, ends by incarnating all that is painful or terrible in evil spirits, which suggest their opposites. from devilism results polytheism, with one leading and good spirit, who in time becomes supreme. then we have monotheism. but as evil still exists, it is supposed that there are innately evil powers or spirits who oppose the good. by following the same process the leader of these becomes an anti-type, lucifer, or satan, or arch-devil, the result being dualism. in this we have a spirit endowed with incredible activity and power, who is only not omnipotent, and whose malignity far transcends anything attributed to the gods or devils of polytheism. his constant aim is to damn all mankind to all eternity, and his power is so great that to save even a small portion of mankind from this fate, god himself, or his own son, must undergo penance as a man--an idea found in the buddhism of india. this is all the regular and logical sequence of fetishism and shamanism. witchcraft, and the tales told of it, follow in the path of the religion of the age. in the earliest time women were apparently the only physicians--that is to say magicians--and as man was in his lowest stage the magic was a vile witchcraft. then came the shaman--a man who taught in animism a more refined sorcery, which was, however, as yet the only religion. but the witch still existed, and so she continued to exist, pari passu, through all the developments of religion. and to this, day every form and phase of the magician and witch exist somewhere, it sometimes happening that traces of the earliest and most barbarous sorcery are plain and palpable in the most advanced faith. there may be changes of name and of association, but in simple truth it is all "magic" and nothing else. gypsy, hungarian, slavonian, indian, and italian witches, however they may differ from those of western europe on theological grounds, agree with them in meeting for the purposes of riotous dancing and debauchery. it has been observed that this kind of erotic dancing appears to have been cultivated in the east, and even in europe, from the earliest times, by a class of women who, if not absolutely proved to be gypsies, had at any rate many points of resemblance with them. "the syrian girl who haunts the taverns round," described by virgil, suggests the syrian and egyptian dancer, who is evidently of indo-persian--that is to say of nuri, or gypsy--origin. the spanish dancing girls of remote antiquity have been conjectured to have come from this universal hindoo romany stock. i have seen many of the almeh in egypt--they all seemed to be gypsyish, and many were absolutely of the helebi, nauar, or rhagarin stocks. this is indeed not proved--that all the deliberately cultivated profligate dancing of the world is of indo-persian, or gypsy origin, but there is a great deal, a very great deal, which renders it probable. and it is remarkable that it occurred to pierre delancre that the persian ballerine had much in common with witches. now the dancers of india are said to have originated in ten thousand gypsies sent from persia, and who were of such vagabond habits that they could not be persuaded to settle down anywhere. of these delancre says:-- "the persian girls dance at their sacrifices like witches at a sabbat--that is naked--to the sound of an instrument. and the witches in their accursed assemblies are either entirely naked or en chemise, with a great cat clinging to their back, as many have at divers times confessed. the dame called volta is the commonest and the most indecent. it is believed that the devil taught three kinds of dances to the witches of ginevra, and these dances were very wild and rude, since in them they employed switches and sticks, as do those who teach animals to dance. "and there was in this country a girl to whom the devil had given a rod of iron, which had the power to make any one dance who was touched with it. she ridiculed the judges during her trial, declaring they could not make her die, but they found a way to blunt her petulance. "the devils danced with the most beautiful witches, in the form of a he-goat, or of any other animal, and coupled with them, so that no married woman or maid ever came back from these dances chaste as they had gone. they generally dance in a round, back to back, rarely a solo, or in pairs. "there are three kinds of witch-dances; the first is the trescone alia boema, or the bohemian rigadoon" (perhaps the polka), "the second is like that of some of our work-people in the country, that is to say by always jumping" (this may be like the tyrolese dances), "the third with the back turned, as in the second rigadoon, in which all are drawn up holding one another by the hand, and in a certain cadence hustling or bumping one another, deretano contro deretano. these dances are to the sound of a tambourine, a flute, a violin, or of another instrument which is struck with a stick. such is the only music of the sabbat, and all witches assert that there are in the world no concerts so well executed." "a tambourine, a violin, a flute," with perhaps a zimbel, which is struck with a stick. does not this describe to perfection gypsy music, and is not the whole a picture of the wildest gypsy dancing wherever found? or it would apply to the hindoo debauches, as still celebrated in honour of sakktya, "the female principle" in india. in any case the suggestion is a very interesting one, since it leads to the query as to whether the entire sisterhood of ancient strolling, licentious dancers, whether syrian, spanish, or egyptian, were not possibly of indian-gypsy origin, and whether, in their character as fortune-tellers and sorceresses, they did not suggest the dances said to be familiar to the witches. mr. david ritchie, the editor, with mr. francis groome, of the journal of the gypsy-lore society, has mentioned (vol. i. no. ) that klingsohr, a reputed author of the "nibelungen lied," was described as a "zingar wizard" by dietrich the thuringian. like odin, this klingsohr rode upon a wolf--a kind of steed much affected by witches and sorcerers. there is an old english rhyming romance in which a knight is represented as disguising himself as an ethiopian minstrel. these and other stories--as, for instance, that of sir estmere--not only indicate a connection between the characters of minstrel and magician, but suggest that some kind of men from the far east first suggested the identity between them. of course there have been wild dancers and witches, and minstrel-sorcerers, or vates, prophet-poets, in all countries, but it may also be borne in mind that nowhere in history do we find the female erotic dancer and fortune-teller, or witch, combined in such vast numbers as in india and persia, and that these were, and are, what may be truly called gypsies. forming from prehistoric times a caste, or distinct class, it is very probable that they roamed from india to spain, possibly here and there all over europe. the extraordinary diplomatic skill, energy, and geographic knowledge displayed by the first band of gypsies who, about , succeeded in rapidly obtaining permits for their people to wander in every country in europe except england, indicate great unity of plan and purpose. that these gypsies, as supposed sorcerers, appearing in every country in europe, should not have influenced and coloured in some way the conceptions of witchcraft seems to be incredible. if a superstitious man had never before in his life thought of witches dancing to the devil's music, it might occur to him when looking on at some of the performances of spanish and syrian gypsy women, and if the man had previously been informed--as everybody was in the fifteenth century or later--that these women were all witches and sorceresses, it could hardly fail to occur to him that it was after this fashion that the sisters danced at the sabbat. of which opinion all that can be said is, that if not proved it is extremely possible, and may be at least probed and looked into by those of the learned who are desirous of clearly establishing all the grounds and origins of ancient religious beliefs and superstitions, in which pies it may be found that witches and gypsies have had fingers to a far greater extent than grave historians have ever imagined. the english gypsies believe in witches, among their own people, and it is very remarkable that in such cases at least as i have heard of, they do not regard them as âmes damnées or special limbs of satan, but rather as some kinds of exceptionally gifted sorceresses or magicians. they are, however, feared from their supposed power to make mischief. such a witch may be known by her hair, which is straight for three or four inches and then begins to curl--like a waterfall which comes down smoothly and then rebounds roundly on the rocks. it may be here remarked that all this gypsy conception of the witch is distinctly hindoo and not in the least european or of christians, with whom she is simply a human devil utterly given over to the devil's desires. and it is very remarkable that even the english gypsies do not associate such erring sisters--or any other kind--with the devil, as is done by their more cultivated associates. the witch, in gypsy as in other lore, is a haunting terror of the night. it has not, that i am aware, ever been conjectured that the word humbug is derived from the norse hum, meaning night, or shadows (tenebræ) (jonæo, "icelandic latin glossary in niall's saga"), and bog, or bogey, termed in several old editions of the bible a bug, or "bugges." and as bogey came to mean a mere scarecrow, so the hum-bugges or nightly terrors became synonymes for feigned frights. "a humbug, a false alarm, a bug-bear" ("dean milles ms." halliwell). the fact that bug is specially applied to a nocturnal apparition, renders the reason for the addition of hum very evident. there is a great deal that is curious in this word bogey. bug-a-boo is suggestive of the slavonian bog and buh, both meaning god or a spirit. boo or bo is a hobgoblin in yorkshire, so called because it is said to be the first word which a ghost or one of his kind utters to a human being, to frighten him. hence, "he cannot say bo to a goose." hence boggart, bogle, boggle, bo-guest, i.e., bar-geist, boll, boman, and, probably allied, bock (devon), fear. bull-beggar is probably a form of bu and bogey or boge, allied to boll (northern), an apparition. chapter xi. gypsy witchcraft.--the magical power which is innate in all men and women--how it may be cultivated and developed--the principles of fortune-telling. women excel in the manifestation of certain qualities which are associated with mystery and suggestive of occult influences or power. perhaps the reader will pardon me if i devote a few pages to what i conceive to be, to a certain degree, an explanation of this magic; though, indeed, it may be justly said that in so doing we only pass the old boundary of "spiritual" sorcery to find ourselves in the wider wonderland of science. whether it be the action of a faculty, a correlative action of physical functions, or a separate soul in us, the fact is indisputable that when our ordinary waking consciousness or will goes to sleep or rest, or even dozes, that instant an entirely different power takes command of the myriad forces of memory, and proceeds to make them act, wheel, evolute, and perform dramatic tricks, such as the common sense of our daily life would never admit. this power we call the dream, but it is more than that. it can do more than make us, or me, or the waking will, believe that we are passing through fantastic scenes. it can remember or revive the memory of things forgotten by us; it can, when he is making no effort, solve for the geometrician problems which are far beyond his waking capacity--it sometimes teaches the musician airs such as he could not compose. that is to say, within ourself there dwells a more mysterious me, in some respects a more gifted self. there is not the least reason, in the present state of science, to assume that this is either a "spiritual" being or an action of material forces. it puzzled wigan as the dual action of the brain; and a great light is thrown on it by the "physiology" of carpenter and the "memory" of david kay (one of the most remarkable works of modern times), as well as in the "psycho therapeutics" of dr. tuckey. this power, therefore, knows things hidden from me, and can do what i cannot. let no one incautiously exclaim here that what this really means is, that i possess higher accomplishments which i do not use. the power often actually acts against me--it plays at fast and loose with me--it tries to deceive me, and when it finds that in dreams i have detected a blunder in the plot of the play which it is spinning, it brings the whole abruptly to an end with the convulsion of a nightmare, or by letting the curtain fall with a crash, and--scena est deserta--i am awake! and then "how the phantoms flee--how the dreams depart!" as westwood writes. with what wonderful speed all is washed away clean from the blackboard! our waking visions do not fly like this. but--be it noted, for it is positively true--the evanescence of our dreams is, in a vast majority of instances, exactly in proportion to their folly. i am coming to my witchcraft directly, but i pray you have patience with my proeme. i wish to narrate a dream which i had a few years ago (september , ), which had an intensity of reality. dreams, you know, reader, vary from rainbow mist to london fog, and so on to clouds, or mud. this one was hard as marble in comparison to most. a few days previously i had written a letter to a friend, in which i had discussed this subject of the dual-me, and it seemed as if the dream were called forth by it in answer. i thought i was in my bed--a german one, for i was in homburg vor der höhe--yet i did not know exactly where i was. i at once perceived the anomaly, and was in great distress to know whether i was awake or in a dream. i seemed to be an invalid. i realized, or knew, that in another bed near mine was a nurse or attendant. i begged her to tell me if i were dreaming, and to awake me if i were. she tried to persuade me that i was in my ordinary life, awake. i was not at all satisfied. i arose and went into the street. there i met with two or three common men. i felt great hesitation in addressing them on such a singular subject, but told them that i was in distress because i feared that i was in a dream, and begged them to shake or squeeze my arm. i forget whether they complied, but i went on and met three gentlemen, to whom i made the same request. one at once promptly declared that he remembered me, saying that we had met before in cincinnatti. he pressed my arm, but it had no effect. i began to believe that i was really awake. i returned to the room. i heard a child speaking or murmuring by the nurse. i asked her again to shake my hand. this she did so forcibly that i was now perfectly convinced that it was no dream. and the instant it came home to me that it was a reality, there seized me the thrill or feeling as of a coming nightmare--and i awoke! reviewing my dream when awake, i had the deepest feeling of having been joué or played with by a master-mocker. i recalled that, when i rose in my night-robe from the bed, i did not dress--and yet found myself fully dressed when in the street. then i remembered that when i returned to america, in , i was in great apprehension lest i should have trouble and delay with our sixteen trunks, because there was under my charge a lady who was dying. to my great relief and amazement, the officer whose duty it was to search claimed me as an old acquaintance, who had met me and t. buchanan read, the poet, in cincinnatti in . but what impressed me most of all, at once, was that the whole was caused by, and was a keen and subtle mockery of my comments in my letter, of the other ego, and of its sarcastic power. for i had been led, step by step, through the extremest doubt, to a full conviction of being awake, and then dismissed, as it were, with a snap or sneer into wakefulness itself! now this dream artist is, to judge by his works, a very different kind of a person from me. we are not sympathetic, and herein lies a great and serious subject of study. "dreams," says a writer, "are the novels which we read when we are fast asleep," and, at the risk of receiving punishment, i declare that my writer belongs to a school of novelists with which i have no feelings in common. if, as everybody assumes, it is always i who dream--only using other material--how is it that i always invariably disagree with, thwart, contradict, vex, and mock myself? i had rather be hanged and be done with it, before i would wrong my worst enemy with such pitiful, silly, degrading dreams and long-forgotten follies, as i am called on to endure. if this alter-ego were a lunatic, he could not be a more thoroughly uncongenial inmate of my brain than he often is. our characters are radically different. why has he a mind so utterly unlike mine? his tastes, his thoughts, dispositions, and petty peculiarities are all unlike mine. if we belonged to the same club, i should never talk with him. now we are coming to our witchcraft. this alter-ego does not confine himself to dreams. a lunatic is a man who dreams wide-awake. he has lost his will or the controlling power resulting from the just co-relation of brain forces. then the stored-up images stray out and blend. i have dreamed of telling or seeing things and of acting them at the same time. a fish and a watch and a man may seem to be the same thing at once in a dream, as they often are to a waking lunatic. a poet is a man who dreams wide-awake; but he can guide his dreams or imaginings to symmetrical form, and to a logical conclusion or coherence. with the painter and sculptor it is the same. when the alter-ego works harmoniously with the waking will, we call it imagination. but when the alter-ego draws decidedly on latent forces, or powers unknown to the waking me, i am amazed. he does it often enough, that is certain. then we have mystery. and it is out of this that men have drawn the conclusion that they have two or three souls--an astral spirit, a power of prophecy, the art of leaving the body, and the entire machinery of occultism. physiology is probably on the high road to explain it all, but as yet it is not explained. meanwhile it steals into our waking life in many ways. it comes in emotions, presentiments, harp tones, mystical conceptions, and minglings of images or ideas, and incomprehensible deductions, which are sometimes, of course, prophetic. it has nothing in common with common sense; therefore it is to some un-common sense, or to others non-sense. sometimes it is one or the other. agreeable sensations and their harmony become the beautiful. these blend and produce a general æsthetic sense. it becomes mystical, and is easily worked on by the alter-ego. the most inspired passages of every poet on the beauty of nature betray clearly the influence and hidden power of the dream in waking life. shelley, wordsworth, keats, byron, were all waking dreamers de la première force. he who has heard an Æolian harp play--and i have heard the seven of justinus kerner in the old castle of weibertreu when i was his guest--if he be a "tone-artist," has often caught series of chords which were almost melodies. this music has the same relation to definite composition which the dream has to waking common sense. there are two things which i do not understand. one is, why composers of music make so little use of the suggestive Æolian harp; the second is, why decorative designers never employ the folding mirror [ ] to produce designs. the one is an exact counterpart of the other, and both are capable of revealing inexhaustible harmonies, for both are deeply in accordance with the evolving processes of nature. the poetic or artistic faculty is, we therefore assume, the action on the myriad cells of memory by a strange--sometimes apparently involuntary--fantastic power, which is at the same time higher and lower than common sense or waking consciousness. every image which man has received from sensation lies stored away in a cell, and is, in fact, a memory by itself. there is a faculty of association or sympathy by which groups of these images are called up, and there is perception which receives them, more or less vividly, like a photographic plate. when awake, will, or coherent common sense, regulates all this machinery. when asleep, the images seem to steal out and blend and frisk about by themselves in quaint dances, guided apparently by a kind of power whom i have conventionally called the alter-ego. this power throws open brain or memory-cells, which waking common sense has forgotten; in their chaotic or fantastic searches and mingling they produce poetry; they may chance on prophecy, for if our waking self had at command the immense latent knowledge in which these elves revel, it would detect sequences and know to what many things would lead, now unto us all unknown. i once knew a nobleman who inherited in italy a palace which he had never seen. there were in it three hundred rooms, and it had belonged to a family which had for six hundred years collected and handed down to their descendants every kind of object, as if they had been magpies or ravens. the heir, as a grave, earnest man, only concerned himself with the armoury and picture gallery and principal rooms. but his young daughter bertha ranged all over the place and made hundreds of the most singular discoveries. one day she came to me very much delighted. she had found an obscure room or garret, in which there were ranged about on shelves, "sitting up and all looking at her," several hundred old dolls and marionettes. for two hundred years or more the family had kept its old dolls. in this case the father was the waking reason, the rooms the brain cells, and bertha the sprite who ranges over all and knows where to find forgotten images in store. many of those whom we meet in dreams are like the ghosts of dolls. this is the only true night side of nature, but its shadows and dusky twilight, and strangely-hued chiaroscuros and long pauses of gloom, come constantly into the sunlight of our waking life. some lives have too much of it, some too little. some receive it in coarse and evil forms, as lunatics, and sufferers from mania à potu; some canny people--happy scotchmen, for instance--succeed in banishing it from life as nearly as is possible for a human being to do. now to speak clearly, and to recapitulate distinctly, i set forth the following propositions:-- i. we have a conscious will which, whether it be an independent incomprehensible spirit, or simply the correlative result or action of all our other brain powers, exists, and during our waking hours directs our thoughts and acts. while it is at work in the world with social influences, its general tendency is towards average common sense. ii. this conscious will sleeps when we sleep. but the collective images which form memory, each being indeed a separate memory, as an aggregate of bees' cells form a comb, are always ready to come forth, just as honey is always sweet, limpid, and fluid. there is between them all an associative faculty, or a strange and singular power, which begins to act when the will sleeps. whether it be also an independent self which plays capriciously while conscious will sleeps, or a result of correlated forces, it is not as yet possible to determine. what we know is, that it calls forth the images by association, and in a fantastic, capricious manner, imitates and combines what we have experienced, or read, or thought, during our waking hours. iii. our waking will can only realize or act on such images as it has kept familiarly before it, or such as have been so often recalled that they recur spontaneously. but all the treasures of memory seem to be available to the dream ruler, and with them a loose facile power of grouping them into kaleidoscopic combinations. thus, if one could imagine a kaleidoscope which at every turn made varied groups of human or other figures in different attitudes, with changing scenery; and then suppose this to be turned round by some simple vital or mechanical action, he would have an idea of the action of dreams. it is probable that the radical function of the dream-power is to prevent images from becoming utterly forgotten or rusty; and by exercising the faculty of facile or chance combination to keep awake in man originality and creativeness. for it is almost certain that, but for the intrusion of this faculty into our waking thoughts, man would become a mere animal, without an idea beyond the joint common appetites, instincts, and emotions of the lowest of his kind. iv. the dream-power intrudes more or less into all waking life. then it acts, though irregularly, yet in harmony, with conscious will. when it is powerful and has great skill in forming associations of images--and by images i mean, with kay, "ideas"--and can also submit these to waking wisdom, the result is poetry or art. in recalling strange, beautiful images, and in imagining scenes, we partly lapse into dreaming; in fact, we do dream, though conscious will sits by us all the time and even aids our work. and most poets and artists, and many inventors, will testify that, while imagining or inventing, they abstract the "mind" from the world and common-place events, seek calm and quiet, and try to get into a "brown study," which is a waking dream. that is to say, a condition which is in some respects analogous to sleep is necessary to stimulate the flow and combination of images. this brown study is a state of mind in which images flow and blend and form new shapes far more easily than when will and reason have the upper hand. for they act only in a conventional beaten track, and deal only with the known and familiar. v. magic is the production of that which is not measured by the capacity of the conscious working will. the dream spirit, or that which knows all our memories, and which combines, blends, separates, scatters, unites, confuses, intensifies, beautifies, or makes terrible all the persons, scenes, acts, events, tragedies, or comedies known to us, can, if it pleases, by instantaneous reasoning or intuition, perceive what waking common sense does not. we visit a sick man, and the dream spirit, out of the inexhaustible hoards of memory aided by association, which results in subtle, occult reasoning, perceives that the patient will die in a certain time, and this result is served up in a dramatic dream. the amount of miracles, mysteries, apparitions, omens, and theurgia which the action of these latent faculties cause, or seem to cause, is simply illimitable, for no man knows how much he knows. few, indeed, are the ordinary well-educated europeans of average experience of life, whose memories are not inexhaustible encyclopædias, and whose intellects are not infinite; if all that is really in them could be wakened from slumber, "know thyself" would mean "know the universe." now, there are people who, without being able to say why, are often inspired by this power which intuitively divines or guesses without revealing the process to common sense. they look into the eye of a person--something in glances and tones, gestures, mien, and address, suggests at once an assertion or a prediction which proves to be true. considering that the dream-power has millions of experiences or images at its command, that it flits over them all like lightning, that it can combine, abstract, compare, and deduct, that it being, so to speak, more of a thaumaturgical artist than anything else, excels waking wisdom in subtle trickery, the wonder is, not that we so often hear of marvellous, magical, inexplicable wonders, but that they are not of daily or hourly occurrence. when we think of what we might be if we could master ourselves, and call on the vast sea of knowledge which is in the brain of every one who reads these lines, to give strict reckoning of its every wave and every drop of water, and every shell, pebble, wreck, weed, or grain of sand over which it rolls, and withal master the forces which make its tides and storms, then we may comprehend that all the wonder-working power attributed to all the sorcerers of olden time was nothing compared to what we really have within us. it is awful, it is mysterious, it is terrible to learn this tremendous truth that we are indeed within ourselves magicians gifted with infinite intellectual power--which means the ability to know and do all things. in the past men surmised the existence of this infinite memory, this power of subtle research and combination, but between them and the truth in every land and time interposed the idea of objective spiritual or supernatural existences whose aid or medium was necessary to attain to wisdom. outside of us was always somebody else to be invoked, conciliated, met in vision or trance, united to in spiritual unity or syncope. sometimes they hit upon some form of hypnotism or mesmerism, opiates or forced swoons and convulsions, and so extorted from the nerves and dream-power some of their secrets which were all duly attributed to the "spirits." but in the whole range of occult literature from hermes trismegistus down to madame blavatsky there is not a shade of a suspicion that all the absolutely authentic marvels of magic began and ended with man himself. least of all did any speculator yet conjecture how to set forth on the path which leads us to this wonderland. for there is a way to it, and a power to master the infinite stores of memory and render the dream-power a willing servant, if we take the pains to do it. firstly--as may be found asserted, and i think fairly proved, in my work on "practical education," and in the "memory of david kay" (london, )--every child by a very easy gradual process, simply that of learning by heart, and reviewing, can develope its memory to such a degree that all which that child reads, hears, or sees can be literally retained for life. secondly, quickness of perception, which is allied to memory, can be taught so as to develope intuitive observation and intelligence to an equally incredible extent. thirdly--and for this i have had abundant personal experience--every child can learn design and the minor arts or develope the constructive faculties, and by doing this alone a pupil becomes exceptionally clever in all studies. the proof of this is that the pupils who attended an industrial or art school in philadelphia took precedence in studies among , others in the public schools. if all the stores of our memory were distinctly cognized by our waking will when they first came into our possession, we should have the first great element of power beyond all our present dreams of greatness. that this can be done has been recognized by many of the most advanced thinkers of the day. if a child be trained to exercise quickness of perception so that at last it observes and remembers everything--and experiment has proved this also--it will make the dream power a waking power absolutely in harmony and accordance with waking wisdom or conscious will. for the reason why the capricious, wild, strange fitful faculty has always remained foreign to us, is because in all our culture we have never sought to subdue and train the powers allied to it. catch and tame one water-fairy, says the red indian legend, and you may get all her sisters. waking quickness of perception is a wonderful ability. it can be trained to flit like lightning over illimitable fields of thought (supplied by a vast memory), and with them it spontaneously developes comparison and deduction. now all of this is marvellously akin to the habitual action of the dream power plus that of reflection. and it is not possible to conceive that with waking quickness of perception, or voluntary subtlety of thought, cultivated in infancy to the highest power, its twin which sports in sleep should not feel its influence and act under it. the result of this culture would inevitably be that the marvels, mysteries, and magic as they seem to us of the dream, or intuitive power, would be perfectly under our waking control, or to such an extent that we could secure all that is profitable in them. it is a very curious fact that while reflection or waking wisdom slumbers, quickness of perception or perception and association seem to be always awake--in dreams or waking. a very extended series of observations has convinced me that the acquisition of a very great degree of observation itself, or of attention, is as possible as to learn french, and no harder; yet as a branch of study it literally does not exist. as a writer in the new york tribune remarks: "in fact, observation is almost an atrophied faculty, and when a writer practises it for the purposes of his art, we regard the matter as in some sense wonderful." interest, as maudsley has shown, is a natural result of attention, and the two generate will. whether we can actually control the dream-power is not as yet proved by experiment. all that we can say is that it is probable. but that this power manifests itself in waking hours when it submits to reflection, is an established fact. it shows itself in all imagination, in all originality, brave art or "fantasy." therefore it is no extravagant deduction to conclude that all of its action which now seems so wonderful, and which has furnished the ground-work for what we call magic, is perfectly within our grasp, and may be secured by simple methods of training which require only perseverance to perfect them. the gypsy fortune-teller is accustomed for years to look keenly and earnestly into the eyes of those whom she dukkers or "fortune-tells." she is accustomed to make ignorant and credulous or imaginative girls feel that her mysterious insight penetrates "with a power and with a sign" to their very souls. as she looks into their palms, and still more keenly into their eyes, while conversing volubly with perfect self-possession, ere long she observes that she has made a hit--has chanced upon some true passage or relation to the girl's life. this emboldens her. unconsciously the dream spirit, or the alter-ego, is awakened. it calls forth from the hidden stores of memory strange facts and associations, and with it arises the latent and often unconscious quickness of perception, and the gypsy actually apprehends and utters things which are "wonderful." there is no clairvoyance, illumination or witchcraft in such cases. if such powers existed as they are generally understood to do, we should for one case of curious prediction hear of twenty thousand. but the dream-power is at best fitful, irregular and fantastic in its action; it is at all times untrustworthy, for it has never been trained unless of yore by chaldæan priests and magi. in some wonderful way facts do, however, manifest themselves, evoked out of the unknown by "occult," though purely material, mental faculties; and the result is that wonder at the inexplicable--which makes miracles--until we are accustomed to them. that gypsy women often do surmise or arrive at very curious and startling truths i know by my own experience, and also know that i myself when reading character in people's hands according to the laws laid down in books on chiromancy, when i have felt deeply interested, or as one may say excited or inspired, and have gone a little beyond mere description into conjecture and deduction, have been amazed at my own successes. it happened once that when in company with several ladies it was proposed after lunch to go to a gypsy camp on the thames, and have fortunes told. among these ladies was one of a very imaginative temperament, who had not only lived many years in the east, but had resided several winters as a guest in arab families. as she was very much disappointed at not finding the gypsies, i offered to tell her fortune by onomancy, i.e., by taking the letters of her name according to numbers, and deducing from them her past and future. this i did in a most reckless manner, freely setting down whatever came into my mind. it seems to me now that a kind of inspiration suggested what i wrote and predicted. what was my amazement to hear the lady declare that all which had been written as to her past life was literally true, and i saw that she was simply awed at my supposed power of prediction, and had the fullest faith in what i had declared as regarded the future. what i had intended for a jest or mere entertainment turned out to be serious enough. and reflecting on the evil consequences of such belief on a person who naturally attributed it all to magic, i deeply regretted what i had done, and have not since attempted any renewal of such oracle-work. it had previously occurred that i wrote out such a prediction for another lady which i did not clearly explain to her, but in which there was a regular recurrence and repetition of something unfortunate. this was shown in after years, and the troubles all came to pass as i had written. now the more i studied this case the more i was convinced that it was based on unconscious observation, comparison, and deduction. fichte has said that no bird can fly beyond itself, but the mind sometimes does actually precede its own conscious reasoning and throw back facts to it. it may be urged by those who still cling to the old-fashioned fetish of a distinction between spirit and matter, that this explanation of predictions, oracles, and insight, is simply materialistic and utterly destructive of all the poetry, grandeur, and beauty which is associated with mysterious divination. but for those who believe with maudsley, et sui generis, that all such distinctions are not seriously worth considering, and to him who can rise to the great philosophy now dawning on the world, there is perceptible in it something far more wonderful and poetical, beautiful and even awful, than ever was known to any occultist of old--for it is scientific and true. it is also true that man can now talk across the world and hear all sounds conveyed to him through the depths of ocean. he can catch these sounds and keep them for centuries. how long will it be before sights, scents, and tastes will be thus transferred, and the man sitting in london will see all things passing in asia, or wherever it pleases him or an agent to turn a mirror on a view? it will be. [ ] or how long before the discovery of cheap and perfect aerial navigation will change all society and annihilate national distinctions? that, too, will be. these and a thousand stranger discoveries will during the ensuing century burst upon the world, changing it utterly. we go on as of old in our little petty narrow grooves, declaring that this will be, and that will never come to pass, and that this or that kind of hop-scotch lines, and tip-cat and marbles rules, are the eternal laws of humanity, and lo! all the while in his study some man whom you regard as a dreamer or dolt is preparing that which will be felt forever. one of these great discoveries, and that not the least, will be the development and mastery of memory and perception, attention, interest, and will in children, with the constructive faculty which stimulates the whole by means of easy gradual series of instructions. when this system shall be perfected, we shall advance to understanding, controlling, and disciplining the subtler and stranger powers of the brain, which now puzzle us as dreams, intuitions, poetic inspiration, and prophecy. but this prophecy comes not from it, nor from any vague guessing or hoping. it is based on facts and on years of careful study of a thousand children's minds, and from a conviction derived from calm observation, that the powers of the human mind are infinite and capable of being developed by science. and they will be! there is very little knowledge among gypsies of real chiromancy, such as is set forth in the literature of occult or semi-occult science. two centuries ago, when chiromancy was studied seriously and thoroughly by learned and wise men, the latter compared thousands of hands, and naturally enough evolved certain truths, such as you, reader, would probably evolve for yourself if you would do the same. firstly they observed, as you may do, that the hand of a boor is not marked like that of a gentleman, nor that of an ignoramus like the palm of an artist or scholar. the line which indicates brain is on an average shorter in women than in men; in almost every instance certain signs infallibly indicate great sensuality, others show a disposition to dreaminess, sentimentalism, the occult. now as love, wisdom, strength of will, or inertness, are associable with venus, apollo, jupiter, or saturn, and as astrology was then seriously believed in, it came to pass that the signs of chiromancy were distributed to the seven planets, and supposed to be under their dominion. it was an error, but after all it amounts to a mere classification. properly considered, the names jupiter, saturn, apollo, mercury, venus, and mars are only synonymes of qualities, meaning masculine virtue and character, aptitude, art, cleverness, sexual passion, and combativeness. he who would, without a trace of superstition, analyze and describe many hands compared with the characters of their owners, would adopt effectively the same arrangement. when we remember the age in which they lived and the popular yearning for wonders and marvels which then characterized even the wisest men, the old chiromancers were singularly free from superstition. there were many among them who would have regarded with supreme contempt a desbarolles, with his fortune-telling for twenty francs. to these truly honest men, the gypsies, with their pretended chiromancy, were at first a great puzzle. the learned prætorius, in his vast work on chiromancy and physiognomy, devotes seventy-five pages to this "foreign element in our midst," and comes to the conclusion that they are humbugs. they do not know the lines--they know nothing. the intrusion of the latent powers of the mind had no place in the philosophy of prætorius, therefore he did not perceive the back door by which the romany slipped into the oracle. yet there is abundant evidence even in his own valuable collection of the works of his predecessors, that many of them when tempted from merely describing character to straying into prophecy, were guided by something more mysterious than the laws of the lines of life, of the head, heart, the circle of venus, the "hepatic," and viâ lactea. the hungarian gypsies have a system of chiromancy of their own which the reader may find in the book "vom wandernden zigeunervolke," by dr. von wlislocki, hamburg, . i had translated this and more of the kind for this chapter, but omitted it, thinking, firstly, that its place is supplied by more important matter; and, secondly, because it is, save as perhaps indicative of indian origin, quite valueless, being merely of the prophetic kind. i have more than once known gypsies to tell me things of my past life which were certainly remarkable, bewildering, or inexplicable. and for the ordinary seeker of "voonders oopon voonders" it is all-sufficient that a thing shall be beyond clear intelligence. "how do you explain that?" is their crucial question, and their cry of triumph when relating some case of an authentic apparition, a spiritual feat of thaumaturgy, or a dream fulfilled. in fact they would rather not have it explained. i well remember how professor joseph henry, when lecturing on natural science, narrated to us, his hearers, how when he told certain people how certain tricks of a common conjuror were executed, they all protested that it could not be the way it was done. they did not wish to be disillusioned. raise a man from the dead, make him fly through the air, and it is for everybody a miracle. give them the power to do the same, and in a month's time it will be no longer miraculous, but something "in the due course of nature." and what single fact is there in the due course of nature which is not as inexplicable if we seek for a full explanation of it? consider this thing every day till you are penetrated with it, bear it in mind constantly, and in due time all phenomena will be miracles. we can apparently get a little nearer to the causes and give our discoveries names, but the primal causes as constantly recede and are continually buried in deeper mystery. but with most people names pass for explanations. "can you tell me what a hypothesis is?" asked a young gentleman at a dinner party of a friend who passed for being well-informed. "hush," was the reply. "not now--ladies present." "mon caporal," asked a french soldier, "can you tell me what is meant by an equilateral?" "certainly--mais d'abord--do you know hebrew?" "no." "ah, then it would be impossible to explain it to you." "what is it that makes people's heads ache?" inquired an old lady of a youth who had just begun his medical studies. "oh, it is only the convolution of the anomalies of the ellipsoid," replied the student. "just see now what it is to git larnin!" commented the dame. "he knows it all in a straight line?" the one is satisfied that a hypothesis is something improper, the other that an equilateral is a matter which he might understand if he were as learned as his corporal, and the third is pleased to find that the mystery has at least a name. and human beings are satisfied in the same way as to the mysteries of nature. give them a name and assure them that the learned understand it, and they are satisfied. it is a fundamental principle of human folly to assume that any alleged marvel is a "violation of the laws of nature," or the work of supernatural influences, until it is proved not to be such. nature cannot be violated. she is ever virgin. and "how do you account for that?" is always assumed to be a test question. it cannot be denied that in almost every case, the narrator assumes the absolute truth of all which he states, when, as is well known, even in the most commonplace incidents of ordinary life, such truth can very rarely be obtained. secondly, he assumes that all the persons who were cognizant of the miracle, or were concerned in it, were not only perfectly truthful, but endowed with perfect perfections, and absolutely sound judgments. if there is the least shadow of a possibility that one of them could have erred in the least particular, the whole must fall to the ground as a proof or test--for we must have irrefragible and complete evidence before we adopt a faith on which all our life may depend. but, thirdly, by asking any one to account for a marvel, he assumes that the one thus called on knows everything short of the supernatural or infinite, which is simply silly. but there is a higher source of admiration and wonder than could ever be established by vulgar fetish, animism, or supernaturalism, and this is to be found in the mysteries of nature which man has never penetrated, and which, as soon as they are overcome, reveal others far grander or deeper. thus as alps rise beyond alps, and seas of stars and solar systems spread in proportions of compound multiplication, our powers of vision increase. and it often happens to him who looks deeply into causes, that one of the myriad test cases of so-called "supernaturalism," when it has ignominiously broken down--as all do sooner or later--often reveals a deeper marvel or mystery than it was intended to support. thus some red indians in north america, on being told how certain juggling tricks which they had accepted for magic were performed, calmly replied that it did not make the least difference--that a man must have been a magician (or divinely inspired) to be able to find out such tricks. and i myself knew an indian trader named ross, who, being once among a wild tribe, put on a mask of papier maché, which caused tremendous excitement and awe, which was not in the least diminished when he took it off and put it into their hands and explained its nature, for they maintained that the thing which could cause such terror indicated the existence of superior mental power, or magic, in the maker. in which there is, as it seems to me, indications of a much higher wisdom or sagacity than is to be found in the vulgar spiritualist who takes the event or thing itself for the miracle, and who, when found out in his tricks, ignominiously collapses. the conclusion from all this is, that i have seen and heard of much in gypsy witchcraft and fortune-telling which, while it was directly allied to humbug of the shallowest kind, also rested on, or was inspired by, mental action or power which, in our present state of knowledge, must be regarded as strangely mysterious and of the deepest interest. and this is indeed weird, in the fullest and truest sense, since it is used for prophecy. i will now endeavour to illustrate this. it is but natural that there should be "something in" gypsy fortune-telling. if the reader were to tell ten fortunes a day for twenty years it would be very remarkable indeed if in that time he had not learned some things which would seem wonderful to the world. he would detect at a glance the credulous, timid, bold, doubtful, refined or vulgar nature, just as a lawyer learns to detect character by cross-examination. many experiments of late years have gone very far to establish the existence of a power of divining or reading thought; how this is really done i know not; perhaps the experts in it are as ignorant as i am, but it is very certain that certain minds, in some (as yet) marvellous way, betray their secrets to the master. that there are really gypsies who have a very highly cultivated faculty of reading the mind by the eye is certainly true. sometimes they seem to be themselves uncertain, and see as through a glass darkly, and will reveal remarkable facts doubtfully. i remember a curious illustration of this. once i was walking near bath, and meeting a tinker asked him if there were any gypsies in the vicinity. he gave me the address of a woman who lived in a cottage at no great distance. i found it with some trouble, and was astonished on entering at the abominably miserable, reckless, squalid appearance of everything. there was a half or quarter-bred gypsy woman, ragged, dirty, and drunk, a swarm of miserable children, and a few articles of furniture misplaced or upset as if the inmates had really no idea of how a room should be lived in. i addressed the woman civilly, but she was too vulgar and degraded to be capable of sensible or civil conversation with a superior. such people actually exist among the worst class of vagabonds. but as i, disgusted, was about to leave, and gave her a small gratuity, she offered to tell my fortune, which i declined, whereupon she cried, "you shall see that i know something;" and certainly told me something which astonished me, of an event which had taken place two years before at a great distance. to test her i coolly denied it all, at which she seemed astonished and bewildered, saying, "can i have made a mistake? you are certainly the person." all of this may be explained by causes which i shall set forth. but it cannot be too earnestly insisted on to people who habitually doubt, that because a thing can be explained in a certain way (i.e., by humbug) that it necessarily follows that that is the only explanation of it. yet this is at the present day actually and positively the popular method, and it obtains very largely indeed with the small critics of the "safe school." mrs. million has diamonds; she may have stolen them--a great many people have stolen diamonds--therefore she is probably a thief. the icelandic sagas describe journies to america; but the writers of the sagas were often mythical, exaggerative, and inaccurate--therefore all they narrate as regards america must be, of course, untrue. jack stripe eats tripe, it is therefore credible that tripe is edible; and it follows perforce, as a matter of course, that the devil will gripe all who do not eat tripe. but i do not insist that there is anything "miraculous" in gypsy fortune-telling. it may be merely the result of great practical experience and of a developed intuition, it may be mind or "thought-reading"--whatever that really is--or it may result from following certain regular rules. this latter method will be pronounced pure humbug, but of that i will speak anon. these rules followed by anybody, even the feeblest dilettante who has only read desbarolles for drawing-room entertainment, will often astonish the dupe. they are, "in few," as follows:-- . it is safe in most cases with middle-aged men to declare that they have had a law-suit, or a great dispute as to property, which has given them a great deal of trouble. this must be impressively uttered. emphasis and sinking the voice are of great assistance in fortune-telling. if the subject betray the least emotion, or admit it, promptly improve the occasion, express sympathy, and "work it up." . declare that a great fortune, or something greatly to the advantage of the subject, or something which will gratify him, will soon come in his way, but that he must be keen to watch his opportunity and be bold and energetic. . he will have three great chances, or fortunes, in his life. if you know that he has inherited or made a fortune, or had a good appointment, you may say that he has already realized one of them. this seldom fails. . a lady of great wealth and beauty, who is of singularly sympathetic disposition, is in love with him, or ready to be, and it will depend on himself to secure his happiness. or he will soon meet such a person when he shall least expect it. . "you had at one time great trouble with your relations (or friends). they treated you very unkindly." or, "they were prepared to do so, but your resolute conduct daunted them." . "you have been three times in great danger of death." pronounce this very impressively. everybody, though it be a schoolboy believes, or likes to believe, that he has encountered perils. this is infallible, or at least it takes in most people. if the subject can be induced to relate his hairbreadth escapes, you may foretell future perils. . "you have had an enemy who has caused you great trouble. but he--or she--it is well not to specify which till you find out the sex--will ere long go too far, and his or her effort to injure you will recoil on him or her." or, briefly, "it is written that some one, by trying to wrong you, will incur terrible retribution." or, "you have had enemies, but they are all destined to come to grief." or, "you had an enemy but you outlived him." . "you got yourself once into great trouble by doing a good act." . "your passions have thrice got you into great trouble. once your inconsiderate anger (or pursuit of pleasure) involved you in great suffering which, in the end, was to your advantage." or else, "this will come to pass; therefore be on your guard." . "you will soon meet with a person who will have a great influence on your future life if you cultivate his friendship. you will ere long meet some one who will fall in love with you, if encouraged." . "you will find something very valuable if you keep your eyes open and watch closely. you have twice passed over a treasure and missed it, but you will have a third opportunity." . "you have done a great deal of good, or made the fortune or prosperity of persons who have been very ungrateful." . "you have been involved in several love affairs, but your conduct in all was really perfectly blameless." . "you have great capacity for something, and before long an occasion will present itself for you to exert it to your advantage." by putting these points adroitly, and varying or combining them, startling cases of conviction may be made. yet even into this deception will glide intuition, or the inexplicable insight to character, and the deceiver himself be led to marvel, so true is it that he who flies from brama goes towards him, let him do what he will, for truth is everywhere, and even lies lead to it. the reader has often seen in london italian women who have small birds, generally parrakeets, or paraquitos, which will for a penny pick out for her or for him slips of paper on which is printed a "fortune." if he will invest his pence in these he will in most instances find that they "fit his case" exactly, because they are framed on these or other rules, which are of very general application. there was, in , an italian named toricelli. whether he was a descendant of the great natural philosopher of the same name who discovered the law of the vacuum i do not know, but he certainly exhibited--generally in piccadilly--an ingenious application of it. he had a long glass cylinder, filled with water, in which there was a blown glass image of an imp. by pressing his hand on the top of the cover of the tube the folletto or diavoletto was made to rise or fall--from which the prediction was drawn. it will hardly be believed, but the unfortunate toricelli was actually arrested by the police and punished for "fortune-telling." [ ] after this he took to trained canaries or parrakeets, which picked out printed fortunes, for a living. whether the stern arm of british justice descended on him for this latter form of sorcery and crime i do not know. "forse fu dal demonio trasportato, fiancheggiandosi del' autorita di origene o di san girolamo." now it may be admitted that to form such rules (and there are many more far more ingenious and generally applicable) and to put them into practice with tact, adapting them to intuitions of character, not only as seen in the face but as heard in the voice or betrayed by gestures and dress and manner, must in the end develop a power. and, further still, this power by frequent practice enables its possessor to perform feats which are really marvellous and perhaps inexplicable, as yet, to men of science. i have, i think, indicated the road by which they travel to produce this result, but to what they arrived i do not know. nor do they all get there. what genius is, physiology, with all the vast flood of light spread by francis galton on hereditary gifts, cannot as yet explain. it is an absolute thing of itself, and a "miracle." sometimes this wonderful power of prediction and of reading thought and quickly finding and applying rules falls into the hands of a genius. then all our explanations of "humbug" and "trickery" and juggling fall to the ground, because he or she works what are absolutely as much miracles as if the artist had raised the dead. such geniuses are the prophets of old; sometimes they are poets. there are as many clearly-defined and admirable predictions as to events in art and politics in the works of heine, which were fulfilled, as can be found anywhere. by the constant application of such rules, promptly and aptly, or boldly, the fortune-teller acquires a very singular quickness of perception. there are very few persons living who really know what this means and to what apparently marvellous results constant practice in it may lead. beginning with very simple and merely mechanical exercises ("practical education," p. . london: whittaker & co.), perception may be gradually developed until not only the eye and ear observe a thousand things which escape ordinary observation, and also many "images" at once, but finally the mind notes innumerable traits of character which would have once escaped it, combines these, and in a second draws conclusions which would amuse those who are ignorant--as indeed all men are as yet--of the extraordinary faculties latent in every man. i beg the reader to pay special attention to this fact. there is nothing in all the annals of prophecy, divination, fortune-telling, or prediction, which is nearly so wonderful as what we may all do if we would by practice and exercise bring out of ourselves our own innate power of perception. this is not an assertion based on metaphysical theory; it is founded on fact, and is in strict accordance with the soundest conclusions of modern physiology. by means of it, joined to exercises in memorizing, all that there is in a child of ordinary intellect may be unerringly drawn out; and when in due time knowledge or information is gradually adduced, there is perhaps no limit to what that intellect may become. the study, therefore, of quickness of perception, as set forth or exercised in gypsy fortune-telling, is indeed curious; but to the far-reaching observer who is interested in education it is infinitely more useful, for it furnishes proof of the ability latent in every mind to perform what appear to be more than feats of intelligence or miracles, yet which often are all mere trifles compared to what man could effect if he were properly trained to it. sorcery! we are all sorcerers, and live in a wonderland of marvel and beauty if we did but know it. for the seed sprouting from the ground is as strange a truth as though we saw the hosts of heaven sweeping onward in glory, or could commune with fairies, or raise from his grave the master magician of song who laid a curse on all who should dig his dust. but like children who go to sleep in the grand opera, and are wild with delight at punch, we turn aside from the endless miracle of nature to be charmed and bewildered with the petty thaumaturgy of guitars in the dark, cigarettes, and rope-tying, because it corresponds to and is miracle enough for us. and perhaps it is as well; for much thought on the infinites made jean paul richter and thomas carlyle half mad and almost unfit for common life. seek truth in science and we shall be well balanced in the little as well as the great. chapter xii. fortune-telling (continued).--romance based on chance, or hope, as regards the future--folk- and sorcery-lore--authentic instances of gypsy prediction. it would seem to all who now live that life would be really intolerably dry were it utterly deprived of mystery, marvel, or romance. this latter is the sentiment of hopeful chance allied to the beautiful. youth is willing or eager to run great risks if the road to or through them passes by dark ravines, under castled rocks-- "o'er dewy grass and waters wild and fleet" --and ever has been from the beginning. now, it is a matter of serious importance to know whether this romance is so deeply inherent in man that it can never be removed. for, rightly viewed, it means current religion, poetry, and almost all art--as art at least was once understood--and it would seem as if we had come, or are coming, to a time when science threatens to deprive us of it all. such is the hidden fear of many a priest and poet--it may be worth while to consider whether it is all to pass away into earnest prose or assume new conditions. has the world been hitherto a child, or a youth, were poetry and supernaturalism its toys, and has the time come when it is to put away childish things? we can only argue from what we are, and what we clearly know or understand. and we know that there are in nature, though measured by the senses alone, phenomena which awake delightful or terrible, sublime or beautiful, grave or gay feelings, or emotions, which inspire corresponding thoughts. there is for us "an elf-home glory-land," far over setting suns, mysterious beauty in night and stars in their eternal course, grandeur of god in the ocean, loveliness in woman, chiaroscuro in vapoury valleys and the spray of waterfalls by moonlight, exciting emotions which are certainly not within the domain of science--as yet--and which it is impossible for us, as we are at present constituted, to imagine as regarded entirely from the standpoint of chemical and physical analysis. to see in all this--as we are--only hydro-carbons, oxygen, silex and aluminium, atoms, molecules, and "laws"--that is to say, always the parts and combinations and no sense as regards man that he is, with his emotional sense of beauty, anywhere in the game or of any account--is going far too far. setting teleology and theology entirely aside, man, as the highest organism, has a right to claim that, as the highest faculties which have been as yet developed in him were caused by natural phenomena, therefore there is in the phenomena a certain beauty which is far more likely to lead to more advanced enjoyment of form, colour, or what we call the æsthetic sense, than to shrink away and disappear. and it seems to me that the most extended consideration of science leads to the result or conclusion that under its influence we shall find that the chemical and physical analyses of which i have spoken are only the dry a b c of a marvellously grand literature, or of a romance and poetry and beauty--perhaps even of a wondrous "occult" philosophy, of whose beginning even we have, as yet, no idea. but, great as it may be, those who will make it must derive their summary of facts or bases of observation from the past, and therefore i urge the importance of every man who can write doing what he can to collect all that illustrates humanity as it is and as it was in by-gone ages. it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what a folk-lore or ethnological society in ancient greece, rome, or egypt might not have collected and preserved for the delight of every civilized human being of the present day. it is very true that the number of persons, as yet, who understand this--still less of those who take a real interest in it--is extremely limited, and they do not extend in england, america, or any other country, to more than a few hundreds. to the vast multitude, even of learned men, folk-lore is only a "craze" for small literary bric-à-brac, a "fancy" which will have its run, and nothing more. to its earnest devotees it is the last great development of the art of learning and writing history, and a timely provision for future social science. it sets forth the most intimate inner life of people as they were, and the origins of our life as it is. in folk-lore, philology, ethnology, and the study of mythology or religion find their greatest aid. the amount of red indian folk-lore which has been suffered to perish in the united states without exciting the least interest is beyond all belief. thoreau could find in the algonkin legends of new england nothing but matter for feeble-minded ridicule. but there are men coming, or a generation rising, to whom every record of the past will be of value, for they are beginning to perceive that while the collector is doing work of value the mere theorist, who generally undervalues if he does not actually oppose the collector, will with his rubbish be swept away "down the back-entry of time," to be utterly forgotten. gypsy sorcery-lore is of great value because all over the aryan world gypsies have in ancient or modern times been, so to speak, the wandering priests of that form of popular religion which consists of a faith in fortune-telling. this is really a very important part in every cult; the most remarkable thing connected with it; as with charms, fetishes, incantations and protective spells, being the extraordinary success with which the more respectable magi have succeeded in convincing their followers that their own sorcery was not "magic" at all, and that the world-old heathen rites, which are substantially the same, are mere modern thieveries from the "established religion." prediction and prophecy were the cornerstones of the classic mythology and of the jewish law; they were equally dear to the celtic races, and all men seem from the earliest times to have believed that coming events cast their shadows before. how this began and grew requires no deep study. many disorders are prefaced by uneasy dreams or unaccountable melancholy, even as the greatest disaster which befel the gods of valhalla was preceded by the troubled dreams of balder. sometimes the first symptom of gout is a previous irritability. but if diseases are believed to be caused by the literal occupation of the body by evil spirits these presages will be ascribed to occult spiritual influences. a man in excellent health feels gay--he goes hunting and has luck--of course his guardian spirit is believed to have inspired him to go. then comes the priest or the gypsy to predict, and the hits are recorded and the misses are promptly forgotten. the following instance has been related to me in good faith by a learned friend, whose books are well known to all folk-lorists:-- "i can quote from my own experience a strange event founded on a prediction made to me by a gypsy in . this was before i had learned the language of the romany or had begun to take any interest in them. at the time of which i speak, i met one day here, in t----, one or two gypsy women bearing as usual babies on their shoulders, when the oldest as i was passing by pointed me out to the bystanders, saying in german, 'der herr hat viel kummer gehabt' ('that gentleman has had much trouble'--or sorrow). "this was true enough, as i was suffering greatly at the time from a previous bereavement, though i was no longer in mourning, nor was there at the instant any indication of gloom in my looks, for i was in a cheerful humour. so i stopped to ask her why she had made her remark. she replied, 'ja, geben sie mir die linke hand und legen sie drei silbermünze darauf, wenn sie weiteres hören wollen' ('yes, give me your hand, and put three silver coins on it, if you would hear more'). i did so, when she repeated her assertion as to my sorrow, and added, 'aber eine gräfinn steht für ihnen' ('but there is a countess awaiting you'). "i laughed at myself for listening to this, and for the strange feeling of interest or faith which i felt in it, and which my common sense told me was ridiculous. and yet the prediction, strangely enough, was fulfilled, though not in the sense in which i suppose most people would have taken it. soon after i lost another relative, and was overwhelmed with that and other troubles when providence sent me a friend in that most amiable and remarkable woman the countess b----, who, with that noble and gracious affability which distinguishes her, as well as her husband, sir ----, relieved my mind and cheered my depressed spirits. "i add to this a marvellous story of a gypsy prediction which was uttered here in t---- and published last year in a small biography, but which is worth consideration because i have heard it apparently well authenticated by trustworthy people. a very great disgrace to our town--i am happy to say he was the only one--was a mr. m----, of very good family. this man kept a mistress named r. m----, who became acquainted with a young man who was employed as a clerk at the credit anstalt, and who always at night carried on his person its keys. this m---- learned, and formed the following plot: the victim was to be enticed by the woman to her room, where she proposed to cut his throat, take the keys, and with the aid of m---- to rob the bank and escape. it succeeded so far as that the young man was brought to her room, but when she began to attempt to kill him he struggled, and was overpowering her when m---- entered the room and shot him dead. "the precious pair were subsequently arrested and tried, and in the report of the proceedings there appears the following curious statement:-- "'it is a singular thing (cosa piu singolare) that to this woman (m----'s mistress, miss r----), a gypsy woman who pretended to palmistry predicted that she would come to a bad end (ch'essa finirebbe assai male).' which she effectually did, being condemned to fourteen years' hard labour, and would have been hung had not her "interesting state" inclined the judge to mercy. "there is the following addition in the pamphlet to what has been quoted: 'being begged by the said maria r---- to look more closely into the hand, the zingara refused to do so, and went away muttering strange or foreign words.' (borbottanda strane parole)." to this my informant adds:-- "i know of a more cheerful case of gypsy prediction, and of quite another kind, and which happened to a friend's friend of mine, also here in t----. the 'subject' was a young lady, who was 'intended' or betrothed, to an italian actor, who had gone to play at madrid; but for two months she heard nothing from him, and, believing that he had neglected her, was in despair. "one morning she was passing through one of the main streets, and was talking with my friend, when a dark gypsy girl going by, whispered to her in a hurried manner: 'domani avrai una lettera e sarai felice' ('to-morrow you will receive a letter and be happy'). having said this and nothing more, without asking for money, she went away. the promised letter was in fact received, all went well, and the lady is now married to the gentleman. this is all simply true. i leave the comments on the case to investigators. can it be that gypsies are sometimes clairvoyant?" my own comment on the case is that, admitting that the gypsy knew beforehand all the circumstances or even the "parties" in the affair, she had divined or "intuited" a result, and risked, as some might call it, or else uttered from a real conviction, her prophecy. how the mind, without any miracle--as miracles are commonly regarded--often arrives quite unconsciously to such conclusions, i have already considered in another chapter. making every allowance for unconscious exaggeration and the accretive power of transmission, i am willing to believe that the story is actually true. the following is also perfectly authentic: an english lady of excellent family, meeting a gypsy, was told by the latter that in six months the most important event of her life would come to pass. at the end of the time she died. on her death-bed she said, "i thought the gypsy meant a marriage, but i feel that something far more important is coming, for death is the great end of life." the following was told me by a hungarian gentleman of szegedin:-- "there was in arad a lady who went to a ball. she had a necklace to which were attached four rings. during the evening she took this from her neck, and doubling it, wore it on her arm as a bracelet. in the house where she lived was a young gentleman who came to accompany her home from the ball. all at once, late at night, she missed her necklace and the rings, which were of great value. "the next day she sent for a gypsy woman, who, being consulted, declared that the collar had been stolen by some one who was very intimate in her house. her suspicions rested on the young man who had accompanied her home. he was arrested, but discharged for want of evidence. "three months after there came a kellner, a waiter, from some other city, to arad. the lady, being in a café or some such place of resort, was waited on by this man, and saw one of her rings on his hand. he was arrested, and before the police declared that he held the ring in pledge, having advanced money upon it to a certain gentleman. this gentleman was the lady's betrothed, and he had stolen her necklace and rings. the gypsy had truly enough said that the articles had been taken by some one who was intimate in her house." the gentleman who told me this story also said that the death of his father had been foretold by a gypsy--that is, by a lady who was of half-gypsy blood. it should be borne in mind, though few realize its truth, that in stages of society where people believe earnestly in anything--for example, in witchcraft or the evil eye--there results in time a state of mind or body in which they are actually capable of being killed with a curse, or a fear of seeing what is not before them in the body, and of many nervous conditions which are absolutely impossible and incomprehensible to the world of culture at the present day. but there are still places where witchcraft may be said to exist literally, for there the professors of the art to all intents work miracles, because they are believed in. there is abundance of such faith extant, even in england. i have heard the names of three "white" witch doctors in as many towns in the west of england, who are paid a guinea a visit, their specialty being to "unlock," or neutralize, or defeat the evil efforts of black witches. this, as is indeed true, indicates that a rather high class of patients put faith in them. in hungary, in the country, the majority, even of the better class, are very much influenced by gypsy-witches. witness the following, which is interesting simply because, while there is very little indeed in it, it was related to me as a most conclusive proof of magic power:-- "in a suburb of szegedin, inhabited only by peasants, there is a school with a farm attached to it. the pay of the teacher is trifling, but he can make a comfortable living from the land. this was held by an old man, who had a young assistant. the old man died; the youth succeeded him, and as he found himself doing well, in due time he took a wife. they lived happily together for a year and had a daughter. in the spring the teacher had to work very hard, not only in school but on his farm, and so for the first time contracted the habit of going to the tavern to refresh himself, and what was worst, of concealing it from his wife under plausible tales, to which she gave no trust. she began to be very unhappy, and, naturally enough, suspected a rival. "of course she took advice from a gypsy woman, who heard all the story and consulted her cards. 'there is,' she said, 'no woman whatever in the way. there is no sign of one for good or evil, na latchi na misec, in the cards. but beware! for there is a great and unexpected misfortune coming, and more than this i cannot see.' so she took her pay and departed. suddenly her child fell ill and died after eight days. then the husband reformed his ways, and all went well with them. so, you see, the gypsy foretold it all, wonderfully and accurately." it requires no sorcery to conjecture that the gypsy already knew the habits of the schoolmaster, as the romany is generally familiar with the tavern of every town. to predict a misfortune at large is a sure card for every prophetess. what is remarkable is that a man of the world and one widely travelled, as was my informant, attached great importance to the story. it is evident that where so much of the sherris sack of faith accompanies such a small crust of miracle there must be a state of society in which miracles in their real sense are perfectly capable of being worked. chapter xiii. proverbs referring to witches, gypsies, and fairies. "of fairies, witches, gypsies, my nourrice sang to me, sua gypsies, fairies, witches, i alsua synge to thee." ("denham tract.") dr. krauss has in his work, "sreca, gluck und schicksal im volksglauben der südslaven," collected a number of sayings in reference to his subject, from which i have taken some, and added more from other sources. of an evil woman one says, as in all languages, "to je vila"--that is, "a witch"; or it is uttered or muttered as, "to je vila ljutica"--that is, "a biting (or bitter) witch"; or to a woman whom one dislikes, "idi vilo!"--"begone, witch!" as in gypsy, "jasa tu chovihani!" also, as in german, "ako i je baba, nije vjestica"--"though she is an old woman she is no witch"; while, on the other hand, we have, "svake baba viestica, a djed vjestac"--"every old woman is a witch, and every old man a wizard." the proverb, "bizi ko vistica od biloga luka"--"she runs from it like a witch from white garlic"--will be found fully explained in the chapter on "the cure of children," in which it is shown that from early times garlic has been a well-known witch-antidote. another saying is, "uzkostrsila se ko vistica"--"her hair is as tangled, or twisted, as that of a witch"; english gypsy, "lakis balia shan risserdi sar i chovihanis." but this has a slightly different meaning, since in the slavonian it refers to matted, wild-looking locks, while the romany is according to a belief that the hair of a witch is curled at the ends only. allied to this is the proverb, "izgleda kao aa su ga coprnice doniele sa ivanjscica"--"he looks as if the witches had done for him (or brought him away, 'fetched' him) on saint john's eve"; english romany, "yuv dikela sá soved a lay sar a chovihani"--"he looks as if he had lain with a witch." "svaka vracara s vrazje strane"--"every witch belongs to the devil's gang"--that is, she has, sold her soul to him and is in his interests. this is allied to the saying, "kud ce vjestica do u svoj rod?"--"where should a witch go if not to her kin?" or, "birds of a feather flock together." "jasa ga vjestice"--"the witches ride him"--refers to the ancient and world-wide belief that witches turn men into animals and ride them in sleep. the hazel tree and nut are allied to the supernatural or witchly in many lands. for the divining rod, which is, according to "la grande bacchetta divinatoria o verga rivelatrice" of the abbate valmont, the great instrument for all magic and marvels, must be made of "un ramo forcuto di nocciuòlo"--"a forked branch of hazel-nut"--whence a proverb, "vracarice, coprnjice, kuko ljeskova!"--"sorceress, witch, hazel-stick." this is a reproach or taunt to a woman who pays great attention to magic and witchcraft. "this reveals a very ancient belief of the witch as a wood-spirit or fairy who dwells in the nut itself." more generally it is the bush which, in old german ballads, is often addressed as lady hazel. in this, as in lady nightingale, we have a relic of addressing certain animals or plants as if they were intelligences or spirits. in one very old song in "des knaben wunderhorn," a girl, angry at the hazel, who has reproached her for having loved too lightly or been too frail, says that her brother will come and cut the bush down. to which lady hazel replies:-- "although he comes and cuts me down, i'll grow next spring, 'tis plain, but if a virgin wreath should fade, 'twill never bloom again." to keep children from picking unripe hazel-nuts in the canton of saint gall they cry to them, "s' haselnussfràuli chumt"--"the hazel-nut lady is coming!" hence a rosary of hazel-nuts or a hazel rod brings luck, and they may be safely hung up in a house. the hazel-nut necklaces found in prehistoric tombs were probably amulets as well as ornaments. among popular sayings we may include the following from the gorski vijenac:-- "a eto si udrijo vladiko, u nekakve smucene vjetrove, ko u marcu sto udre vjestice." "but behold, o vladika, thou hast thrown thyself into every storm, as witches throw or change themselves to cattle." and with these we may include the curse, "izjele te viestice"--"may the witches eat you!" which has its exact parallel in romany. also the scottish saying, "witches, warlocks, and gypsies soon ken ae the ither":-- "witches and warlocks without any bother, like gypsies on meeting well know one another." i may appropriately add to these certain proverbs which are given in an extremely rare "denham tract," of which only fifty copies were printed by john bell richmond, "in. com. ebor." this quaint little work of only six pages is entitled, "a few popular rhymes, proverbs, and sayings relating to fairies, witches, and gypsies," and bears the dedication, "to every individual fairy, witch, and gypsy from the day of the witch of endor down to that of billy dawson, the wise man of stokesley, lately defunct, this tract is inscribed." witches. vervain and dill hinder witches from their will. the following refers to rowan or mountain-ash wood, which is supposed to be a charm against witchcraft:-- if your whipstick's made of rowan you can ride your nag thro' any town. much about a pitch, quoth the devil to the witch. a hairy man's a geary man, but a hairy wife's a witch. woe to the lad without a rowan-tree god. a witch-wife and an evil is three-halfpence worse than the devil. hey-how for hallow-e'en! when all the witches are to be seen, some in black and some in green, hey-how for hallow-e'en! thout! tout! a tout, tout! throughout and about. cummer goe ye before, cummer goe ye, gif ye will not goe before, cummer let me! "these lines are said to have been sung by witches at north berwick in lothian, accompanied by the music of a jew's harp or trump, which was played by geilles duncan, a servant girl, before two hundred witches, who joined hands in a short daunce or reel, singing (also) these lines with one voice:-- "'witchy, witchy, i defy thee, four fingers round my thumb, let me go quietly by thee.' "it will be seen that this is a phallic sign, and as such dreaded by witches. it is difficult to understand why these verses with the sign should have been given by witches." "the anti-witch rhyme used in tweedesdale some sixty or seventy years ago was:-- "'black-luggie, lammer bead, rowan-tree and reed thread, put the witches to their speed.' "the meaning of 'black-luggie' i know not. 'lammer bead' is a corruption of 'amber-bead.' they are still worn by a few old people in scotland as a preservative against a variety of diseases, especially asthma, dropsy, and toothache. they also preserve the wearer from the effects of witchcraft, as stated in the text. i have seen a twig of rowan-tree, witch-wood, quick-bane, wild ash, wicken-tree, wicky, wiggy, witchen, witch-bane, royne-tree, mountain-ash, whitty, wiggin, witch-hazel, roden-quicken, roden-quicken-royan, roun, or ran-tree, which had been gathered on the second of may (observe this), wound round with some dozens of yards of red thread, placed visible in the window to act as a charm in keeping witches and boggle-boes from the house. so also we have-- "'rowan-ash and reed thread keep the devils from their speed.'" ye brade o' witches, ye can do no good to yourself. fair they came, fair they go, and always their heels behind them. neither so sinful as to sink, nor so godly as to swim. falser than waghorn, and he was nineteen times falser than the devil. ingratitude is worse than witchcraft. ye're as mitch as half a witch. to milk the tether (i.e., the cow-tie). this refers to a belief that witches can carry off the milk from any one's cow by milking at the end of the tether. go in god's name--so you ride no witches. "rynt, you witch!" quoth bess lockit to her mother. rynt, according to skeat, is the original cumberland word for "aroint," i.e., "aroint thee, get thee gone." icelandic ryma--"to make room, to clear the way"--given, however, only as a guess. it seems to have been specially applied to witches. "'aroint thee, witch!' the rump-fed ronyon cried." ("macbeth"). halliwell gives the word as rynt, and devotes a column to it, without coming to any satisfactory conclusion. i think it is simply the old word rynt or wrynt, another form of writhe, meaning to twist or strangle, as if one should say, "be thou strangled!" which was indeed a frequent malediction. halliwell himself gives "wreint" as meaning "awry," and "wreith destordre"--"to wring or wreith" ("hollyband's dictionarie," ). the commonest curse of english gypsies at the present day is "beng tasser tute!" "may the devil strangle you"--literally twist, which is an exact translation of wrinthe or rynt. "the gode man to hys cage can goo and wrythed the pye's neck yn to." ("ms. cantab." ap. h.) rynt may mean twist away, i.e., begone, as they say in america, "he wriggled away." they that burn you for a witch lose all their coals. never talk of witches on a friday. ye're ower aude ffarand to be fraid o' witches. witches are most apt to confess on a friday. friday is the witches' sabbath. to hug one as the devil hugs a witch. as black } as cross } as ugly } as a witch. as sinful } four fingers and a thumb--witch, i defy thee. in italy the signs are made differently. in naples the gettatura consists of throwing out the fore and middle fingers, so as to imitate horns, with the thumb and fingers closed. some say the thumb should be within the middle and third fingers. in florence the anti-witch gesture is to fare la fica, or stick the thumb out between the fore and middle fingers. you're like a witch, you say your prayers backward. witch-wood (i.e., the mountain ash). you're half a witch--i.e., very cunning. buzz! buzz! buzz! "in the middle of the sixteenth century if a person waved his hat or bonnet in the air and cried 'buzz!' three times, under the belief that by this act he could take the life of another, the old law and law-makers considered the person so saying and acting to be worthy of death, he being a murderer in intent, and having dealings with witches" ("denham tract"). very doubtful, and probably founded on a well known old story. "i wish i was as far from god as my nails are free from dirt!" said to have been a witch's prayer whilst she was in the act of cleaning her nails. in logical accuracy this recalls the black boy in america, who on being asked if he knew the way to a certain place, replied, "i only wish i had as many dollars as i know my way there." a witch is afraid of her own blood. a pendle forest witch. a lancashire witch. a witch cannot greet (i.e., weep). to be hog, or witch-ridden. gypsies. so many gypsies, so many smiths. the gypsies are all akin. one of the faw gang, worse than the faw gang. the faws or faas are a gypsy family whose head-quarters are at yetholme. i have been among them and knew the queen of the gypsies and her son robert, who were of this clan or name. "it is supposed the faws acquired this appellation from johnnie faw, lord and earl of little egypt; with whom james the fourth and queen mary, sovereigns of scotland, saw not only the propriety, but also the necessity of entering into special treaty" ("denham tract"). "francis heron, king of the faws, bur. (yarrow) xiii. jan., " (sharp's "chron. mir"). fairies. where the scythe cuts and the sock rives, no more fairies and bee-hives. laugh like a pixy (i.e., fairy). waters locked! waters locked! (a favourite cry of fairies.) borram! borram! borram! (the cry of the irish fairies after mounting their steeds. equivalent to the scottish cry, "horse! horse and hattock!") to live in the land of the fair family. (a welsh fairy saying.) god grant that the fairies may put money in your shoes and keep your house clean. (one of the good wishes of the old time.) fairies comb goats' beards every friday. he who finds a piece of money will always find another in the same place, so long as he keeps it a secret. (in reference to fairy gifts.) it's going on, like stokepitch's can. a pixey or fairy saying, used in devonshire. the family of stokespitch or sukespic resided near topsham, and a barrel of ale in their cellars had for many years run freely without being exhausted. it was considered a valuable heirloom, and was esteemed accordingly, till an inquisitive maidservant took out the bung to ascertain the cause why it never run dry. on looking into the cask she found it full of cobwebs, but the fairies, it would seem, were offended, for on turning the cock, as usual, the ale had ceased to flow. it was a common reply at topsham to the inquiry how any affair wen on: "it's going on like stokepitch's can," or proceeding prosperously. to laugh like robin goodfellow. to laugh like old bogie; he caps bogie. (amplified to "he caps bogie, and bogie capped old nick.") to play the puck. (an irish saying, equivalent to the english one, "to play the deuce or devil." keightley's "fairy mythology.") he has got into lob's pound or pond. (that is, into the fairies' pinfold. keightley's "fairy mythology.") pinch like a fairy. ("pinch them, arms, legs, backs, shoulders, sides, and shins." "merry wives of windsor.") to be fairy-struck. (the paralysis is, or rather perhaps was, so called. keightley's "fairy mythology.") there has never been a merry world since the phynoderee lost his ground. [a manx fairy saying. see train's "isle of man," ii. p. . "popular rhymes of the isle of man," pp. , .] to be pixey-led. led astray by fairies or goblins. "when a man has got a wee drap ower muckle whuskey, misses his way home, and gets miles out of his direct course, he tells a tale of excuse and whiles lays the blame on the innocent pixies" (see keightley's "fairy mythology"). also recalling feufollet, or the will o' the wisp, and the traveller who "thro' bog and bush was lantern-led by friar rush." gypsies have from their out of doors life much familiarity with these "spirits" whom they call mullo dudia, or mullo doods, i.e., dead or ghost lights. for an account of the adventure of a gypsy with them, see "the english gypsies and their language," by c. g. leland. london: trübner & co. "pyxie-led is to be in a maze, to be bewildered as if led out of the way by hobgoblins or puck, or one of the fairies. the cure is to turn one of your garments the inside outward; some say that is for a woman to turn her cap inside outward, and for a man to do the same with some of his clothes" (ms. "devon glimpses"--halliwell). "thee pixie-led in popish piety" (clobery's "divine glimpses," ). the fairies' lanthorn. that is the glow-worm. in america a popular story represents an irishman as believing that a fire-fly was a mosquito "sakin' his prey wid a lanthorn." god speed you, gentlemen! "when an irish peasant sees a cloud of dust sweeping along the road, he raises his hat and utters this blessing in behoof of ye company of invisible fairies who, as he believes, caused it" ("fairy mythology"). the phooka have dirtied the blackberries. said when the fruit of the blackberry is spoiled through age or covered with dust at the end of the season. in the north of england we say "the devil has set his foot on the bumble-kites" ("denham tract"). fairy, fairy, bake me a bannock and roast me a collop, and i'll give ye a spintle off my god end. "this is spoken three times by the clydesdale peasant when ploughing, because he believes that on getting to the end of the fourth furrow those good things will be found spread out on the grass" (chambers' "popular rhymes, scotland," rd ed. p. ). turn your clokes (i.e., coats), for fairy folkes are in old oakes. "i well remember that on more occasions than one, when a schoolboy, i have turned and worn my coat inside out in passing through a wood in order to avoid the 'good people.' on nutting days, those glorious red-letter festivals in the schoolboy's calendar, the use pretty generally prevailed. the rhymes in the text are the english formula" ("denham tract"). he's got pigwiggan. "vulgarly called peggy wiggan. a severe fall or somerset is so termed in the b'prick. the fairy pigwiggan is celebrated by drayton in his nymphidia" ("denham tract"). to which may be added a few more from other sources. do what you may, say what you can, no washing e'er whitens the black zingan. ("firdusi.") for every gypsy that comes to toon, a hen will be a-missing soon, and for every gypsy woman old, a maiden's fortune will be told. gypsy hair and devil's eyes, ever stealing, full of lies, yet always poor and never wise. he who has never lived like a gypsy does not know how to enjoy life as a gentleman. i never enjoyed the mere living as regards all that constitutes ordinary respectable life so keenly as i did after some weeks of great hunger, exposure, and misery, in an artillery company in , at the time of the battle of gettysburg. zigeuner leben greiner leben. (gipsy life a groaning life. korte's "sprichwörter d. d.") er taugt nicht zum zigeuner. spottisch vom lügner gesagt weil er nicht wahr-sagt. (korte, "sprichwörter.") "he would not do for a gypsy." said of a liar because he cannot tell the truth. in german to predict or tell fortunes also means to speak truly, i.e., wahr = true, and sprechen = to speak. gypsy repentance for stolen hens is not worth much. (old german saying.) the romany chi and the romany chal love luripen and lutchipen and dukkeripen and huknipen and every pen but latchipen and tatchipen. the gypsy woman and gypsy man love stealing and lewdness and fortune telling and lying and every pen but shame and truth. pen is the termination of all verbal nouns. (george borrow, quoted from memory.) it's a winter morning. meaning a bad day, or that matters look badly. in allusion to the winters, a gypsy clan with a bad name. as wild as a gypsy. puro romaneskoes. (in the old gypsy fashion.) sie hat 'nen kobold. ("she has a brownie, or house-fairy.") "said of a girl who does everything deftly and readily. in some places the peasants believe that a fairy lives in the house, who does the work, brings water or wood, or curries the horses. where such a fairy dwells, all succeeds if he or she is kindly treated" (korte's "german proverbs"). "man siehet wohl wess geisters kind sie (er) ist." "one can well see what spirit was his sire." in allusion to men of singular or eccentric habits, who are believed to have been begotten by the incubus, or goblins, or fairies. there are ceremonies by which spirits may be attracted to come to people in dreams. "there was a young man who lived near monte lupo, and one day he found in a place among some old ruins a statue of a fate (fairy or goddess) all naked. he set it up in its shrine, and admiring it greatly embraced it with love (ut semen ejus profluit super statuam). and that night and ever after the fate came to him in his dreams and lay with him, and told him where to find treasures, so that he became a rich man. but he lived no more among men, nor did he after that ever enter a church. and i have heard that any one who will do as he did can draw the fate to come to him, for they are greatly desirous to be loved and worshipped by men as they were in the roman times." the following are hungarian or transylvanian proverbs:-- false as a tzigane, i.e., gypsy. dirty as a gypsy. they live like gypsies (said of a quarrelsome couple). he moans like a guilty tzigane (said of a man given to useless lamenting). he knows how to plow with the gypsies (said of a liar). also: "he knows how to ride the gypsies' horse." he knows the gypsy trade (i.e., he is a thief). tzigane weather (i.e., a showery day). it is gypsy honey (i.e., adulterated). a gypsy duck i.e., a poor sort of wild duck. "the gypsy said his favourite bird would be the pig if it had only wings" (in allusion to the gypsy fondness for pork). mrs. gerard gives a number of proverbs as current among hungarian gypsies which appear to be borrowed by them from those of other races. among them are:-- who would steal potatoes must not forget the sack. the best smith cannot make more than one ring at a time. nothing is so bad but it is good enough for somebody. bacon makes bold. "he eats his faith as the gypsies ate their church." a wallach proverb founded on another to the effect that the gypsy church was made of pork and the dogs ate it. i shall never forget how an old gypsy in brighton laughed when i told her this, and how she repeated: "o romani kangri sos kerdo ballovas te i juckli hawde lis." "no entertainment without gypsies." in reference to gypsy musicians who are always on hand at every festivity. the hungarian wants only a glass of water and a gypsy fiddler to make him drunk. in reference to the excitement which hungarians experience in listening to gypsy music. with a wet rag you can put to flight a whole village of gypsies (hungarian). it would not be advisable to attempt this with any gypsies in great britain, where they are almost, without exception, only too ready to fight with anybody. every gypsy woman is a witch. "every woman is at heart a witch." in the "materials for the study of the gypsies," by m. i. kounavine, which i have not yet seen, there are, according to a. b. elysseeff (gypsy-lore journal, july, ), three or four score of gypsy proverbial sayings and maxims. these refer to slavonian or far eastern russian romanis. i may here state in this connection that all who are interested in this subject, or aught relating to it, will find much to interest them in this journal of the gypsy-lore society, printed by t. & a. constable, edinburgh. the price of subscription, including membership of the society, is £ a year--address: david mac ritchie, , archibald place, edinburgh. chapter xiv. [ ] a gypsy magic spell.--hokkani baso--lellin dudikabin, or the great secret--children's rhymes and incantations--ten little indian boys and ten little acorn girls of marcellus burdigalensis. there is a meaningless rhyme very common among children. it is repeated while "counting off"--or "out"--those who are taking part in a game, and allotting to each a place. there are many versions of it, but the following is exactly word for word what i learned when a boy in philadelphia:-- ekkeri (or ickery), akkery, u-kéry an, fillisi', follasy, nicholas john, queebee-quabee--irishman (or, irish mary), stingle 'em--stangle 'em--buck! with a very little alteration in sounds, and not more than children make of these verses in different places, this may be read as follows:-- ek-keri (yekori) akairi, you kair an, fillissin, follasy, nákelas jan kivi, kávi--irishman, stini, stani--buck! this is, of course, nonsense, but it is romany or gypsy nonsense, and it may be thus translated very accurately:-- first--here--you begin! castle, gloves. you don't play! go on! kivi--a kettle. how are you? stáni, buck. the common version of the rhyme begins with-- "one--ery--two--ery, ickery an." but one-ery is an exact translation of ek-keri; ek, or yek, meaning one in gypsy. (ek-orus, or yek-korus, means once). and it is remarkable that in-- "hickory dickory dock, the rat ran up the clock, the clock struck one, and down he run, hickory dickory dock." we have hickory, or ek-keri, again followed by a significant one. it may be observed that; while my first quotation abounds in what are unmistakably romany words, i can find no trace of any in any other child-rhymes of the kind. i lay stress on this, for if i were a great celtic scholar i should not have the least difficulty in proving that every word in every rhyme, down to "tommy, make room for your uncle," was all old irish or gaelic. word for word every person who understands romany will admit the following:-- ek, or yek, means one. yekorus, ekorus, or yeckori, or ekkeri, once. u-kair-an. you kair an, or begin. kair is to make or do, ankair to begin. "do you begin?" fillissin is a castle, or gentleman's country seat (h. smith). follasi, or follasy, is a lady's glove. nakelas. i learned this word from an old gypsy. it is used as equivalent to don't, but also means ná (kélas), you don't play. from kel-ava, i play. ján, ja-an, go on. from java, i go. hindu, jána, and jáo. kivi, or keevy. no meaning. kavi, a kettle, from kekavi, commonly given as kavi. greek, kekkabos. hindu, kal, a box. stini. no meaning that i know. stáni. a buck. of the last line it may be remarked that if we take from ingle 'em (angle 'em), which is probably added for mere jingle, there remains stán, or stáni, "a buck," followed by the very same word in english. with the mournful examples of mr. bellenden kerr's efforts to show that all our old proverbs, saws, sayings, and tavern signs are dutch, and sir william betham's etruscan-irish, and the works of an army of "philologists," who consider mere chance resemblance to be a proof of identical origin, i should be justly regarded as one of the seekers for mystery in moonshine if i declared that i positively believed this to be romany. but it certainly contains words which, without any stretching or fitting, are simply gypsy, and i think it not improbable that it was some sham charm used by some romany fortune-teller to bewilder gorgios. let the reader imagine the burnt-sienna, wild-cat-eyed old sorceress performing before a credulous farm-wife and her children, the great ceremony of hakkni pánki--which mr. borrow calls hokkani baro, but for which there is a far deeper name--that of "the great secret"--which even my best romany friends tried to conceal from me. this is to lel dudikabin--to "take lightment." in the oldest english canting, lightment occurs as an equivalent for theft--whether it came from romany, or romany from it, i cannot tell. this feat--which is described by almost every writer on gypsies--is performed by inducing some woman of largely magnified faith to believe that there is hidden in her house a magic treasure, which can only be made "to come to hand" by depositing in the cellar another treasure, to which it will come by natural affinity and attraction. "for gold, as you sees, draws gold, my deari, and so if you ties up all your money in a pocket-handkercher, an' leaves it, you'll find it doubled. an' wasn't there the squire's lady--you know mrs. trefarlo, of course--and didn't she draw two hundred old gold guineas out of the ground where they'd laid in an old grave--and only one guinea she gave me for all my trouble; an' i hope you'll do better than that for the poor old gypsy, my deari----." the gold and the spoons are all tied up--for, as the enchantress sagely observes, "there may be silver to"--and she solemnly repeats over it magical rhymes, while the children, standing around in awe, listen to every word. it is a good subject for a picture. sometimes the windows are closed, and candles lighted--to add to the effect. the bundle is left or buried in a certain place. the next day the gypsy comes and sees how the charm is working. could any one look under her cloak, he might find another bundle precisely resembling the one containing the treasure. she looks at the precious deposit, repeats her rhyme again solemnly and departs, after carefully charging the house-wife that the bundle must not be touched, looked at, or spoken of for three weeks. "every word you tell about it, my deari, will be a guinea gone away." sometimes she exacts an oath on the bible, when she chivs o manzin apré laatti--that nothing shall be said. back to the farmer's house never again. after three weeks another extraordinary instance of gross credulity appears in the country paper, and is perhaps repeated in a colossal london daily, with a reference to the absence of the schoolmaster. there is wailing and shame in the house--perhaps great suffering--for it may be that the savings of years, and bequeathed tankards, and marriage rings, and inherited jewellery, and mother's souvenirs have been swept away. the charm has worked. "how can people be such fools!" yea--how can they? how can fully ninety-nine out of one hundred, and i fear me nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand, be capable of what amounts to precisely the same thing--paying out their cash in the hopes that the invisible influences in the inscrutable cellar or celestial garret will pay it back to them, cent. per cent.? oh, reader, if you be of middle age (for there are perhaps some young agnostics beginning to appear to whom the cap does not fit), and can swear on your hat that you never in your life have been taken in by a dudikabin in any form--send me your name and i will award you for an epitaph that glorious one given in the nugæ venales: "hic jacet ille qui unus fuit inter mille!" the charm has worked. but the little sharp-eared children remember it, and sing it over, and the more meaningless it sounds in their ears, the more mysterious does it become. and they never talk about the bundle--which when opened was found to contain only stones, sticks, and rags--without repeating it. so it goes from mouth to mouth, until, all mutilated, it passes current for even worse nonsense than it was at first. it may be observed, however--and the remark will be fully substantiated by any one who knows the gypsy language--that there is a romany turn to even the roughest corners of these rhymes. kivi, stingli, stangli, are all gypsyish. but, as i have already intimated, this does not appear in any other nonsense verses of the kind. there is nothing of it in-- "intery, mintery, cutery corn," or in anything else in "mother goose." it is alone in its sounds and sense--or nonsense. but there is not a wanderer on the roads in england who on hearing it would not exclaim, "there's a great deal of romanes in that ere!" and if any one doubts it let him try it on any gypsy who has an average knowledge of romany. i should say that the word na-kelas, which means literally "do not play," or, "you do not play," was explained to me by a gypsy as signifying not speaking, or keeping quiet. nicholas john has really no meaning, but "you don't play--go on," fits exactly into a counting-out game. the mystery of mysteries in the romany tongue--of which i have spoken--is this: the hokkani baro, or huckeny boro, or great trick, consists of three parts. firstly, the getting into a house or into the confidence of its owner, which is effected in england by offering small wares for sale, or by begging for food, but chiefly by fortune-telling, the latter being the usual pretence in america. if the gypsy woman be at all prepared, she will have learned enough to amaze "the lady of the house," who is thereby made ready to believe anything. the second part of the trick is the conveying away the property, which is, as i have said, to lel dudikabin, or "take lightning," possibly connected with the old canting term for conveyance of bien lightment. there is evidently a confusion of words here. and third is to "chiv o manzin apré lati" to put the oath upon her--the victim--by which she binds herself not to speak of the affair for some weeks. when the deceived are all under oath not to utter a word about the trick, the gypsy mother has a safe thing of it. the hakkani boro, or great trick, or dudikabin, was brought by the gypsies from the east. it has been practised by them all over the world, and is still played every day somewhere. and i have read in the press of philadelphia that a mrs. brown--whom i sadly and reluctantly believe is the wife of an acquaintance of mine who walks before the world in other names--was arrested for the same old game of fortune-telling, and persuading a simple dame that there was treasure in the house, and all the rest of the "grand deception." and mrs. brown--"good old mrs. brown"--went to prison, where she doubtless lingered until a bribed alderman, or a purchased pardon, or some one of the numerous devices by which justice is easily evaded in pennsylvania, delivered her. yet it is not a good country on the whole for hakkani boro, since the people, especially in the rural districts, have a rough and ready way of inflicting justice, which sadly interferes with the profits of aldermen and other politicians. some years ago, in tennessee, a gypsy woman robbed a farmer of all he was worth. now it is no slander to say that the rural folk of tennessee resemble indians in several respects, and when i saw thousands of them during the civil war, mustered out in nashville, i often thought, as i studied these dark brown faces, high cheek-bones, and long, straight, wiry hair, that the american is indeed reverting to the aboriginal type. the tennessee farmer and his friends reverted to it at any rate with a vengeance, for they turned out altogether, hunted the gypsies down, and having secured the sorceress, burned her alive at the stake. which has been, as i believe, "an almighty warning" to the romany in that sad section of the world. and thus in a single crime, and its consequence, we have curiously combined a world-old oriental offence, an european middle age penalty for witchcraft, and the fierce torture of the red indian. in the united states there is often to be found in a gypsy camp a negro or two who has with no great trouble adopted a life of perfect laziness. i infer that these men and brothers have not improved much in their morals, since a few years ago a coloured sorcerer appeared in philadelphia, who, as i was assured, "persuaded half the niggers in lombard street to dig up their cellars to find treasure--and carried off all the treasures they had." he had been, like matthew arnold's scholar, among the tents of the romany, and had learned their peculiar wisdom, and turned it to profit. in germany the great sorcery is practised with variations, and indeed in england or america or anywhere it is modified in many ways to suit the victims. the following methods are described by dr. richard liebich, in "die zigeuner in ihrem wesen und in ihrer sprache" (leipzig, ):-- "when a gypsy has found some old peasant who has the reputation of being rich or very well-to-do he sets himself to work with utmost care to learn the disposition of the man with every possible detail as to his house and habits." (it is easy and congenial work to people who pass their lives in learning all they can of other folks' affairs to aid in fortune-telling, to find out the soft spots, as sam slick calls the peculiarities by which a man may be influenced.) "and so some day, when all the rest of the family are in the fields, the gypsy--man or woman--comes, and entering into a conversation, leads it to the subject of the house, remarking that it is a belief among his people that in it a treasure lies buried. he offers, if he may have permission to take it away, to give one-fourth, a third, or a half its value. this all seems fair enough, but the peasant is greedy and wants more. the gypsy, on his side, also assumes suspicion and distrust. he proves that he is a conjuror by performing some strange tricks--thus he takes an egg from under a hen, breaks it, and apparently brings out a small human skull or some strange object, and finally persuades the peasant to collect all his coin and other valuables in notes, gold, or silver, into a bundle, cautioning him to hold them fast. he must go to bed and put the packet under his pillow, while he, the conjuror, finds the treasure. this done--probably in a darkened room--he takes a bundle of similar appearance which he has quickly prepared, and under pretence of facilitating the operation and putting the man into a proper position, takes the original package and substitutes another. then the victim is cautioned that it is of the utmost importance for him to lie perfectly still;" "nor move his hand nor blink his 'ee if ever he hoped the goud to see; for aye aboot on ilka limb, the fairies had their 'een on him." the gypsy is over the hills and far far away ere the shades of evening fall, and the family returning from their fields find the father in bed refusing to speak a word; for he has been urgently impressed with the assertion that the longer he holds his tongue and keeps the affair a secret the more money he will make. and the extreme superstition of the german peasant is such that when obliged to tell the truth he often believes that all his loss is due to a premature forced revelation of what he has done--for the gypsy in many cases has the cheek to caution the victim that if he speaks too soon the contents of the package will be turned to sand or rags--accordingly as he has prepared it. another and more impudent manner of playing this pretended sorcery, is to persuade the peasant that he must have a thick cloth tied around his head, and if any one addresses him to reply only by what in german is called brummen--uttering a kind of growl. this he does, when the entire party proceed to carry off everything portable-- "chairs and tables knives and forks, tankards and bottles and cups and corks, beds and dishes and boots and kegs, bacon and puddings and milk and eggs, the carpet lying on the floor, and the hams hung up for the winter store, every pillow and sheet and bed, the dough in the trough and the baken bread, every bit of provant or pelf; all that they left was the house itself." one may imagine what the scene is like when the rest return and find the house plundered, the paterfamilias sitting in the ruins with his head tied up, answering all frantic queries with brum--brum--brum! it may recall the well-known poem--i think it is by peter pindar wolcott--of the man who was persuaded by a bet to make the motion of a pendulum, saying, "here she goes--there she goes!" while the instigator "cleared out the house and then cleared out himself." i have little doubt that this poem was drawn from a romany original. or yet, again, the gypsy having obtained the plunder and substituted the dummy packet, persuades the true believer to bury it in the barn, garden, field, or a forest, performs magic ceremonies and repeats incantations over it, and cautions him to dig it up again, perhaps six months later on a certain day, it may be his saint's or birth day, and to keep silence till then. the gypsy makes it an absolute condition--nay, he insists very earnestly on it--that the treasure shall not be dug up unless he himself is on the spot to share the spoil. but as he may possibly be prevented from coming, he tells the peasant how to proceed: he leaves with him several pieces of paper inscribed with cabalistic characters which are to be burnt when the money is removed, and teaches him what he is to repeat while doing it. with sequence as before. it might be urged by the gypsy that the taking a man's money from him under the conditions that he shall get it all back with immense interest six months after, does not differ materially from persuading him to give his property to brahmins, or even priests, with the understanding that he is to be amply rewarded for it in a future state. in both cases the temptation to take the money down is indeed great--as befel a certain very excellently honest but extremely cautious scotch clergyman, to whom there once came a very wicked and wealthy old reprobate who asked him, "if i gie a thousand puns till the kirk d'ye think it wad save my soul?" "i'm na preparit to preceesely answer that question," said the shrewd dominie, "but i would vara urgently advise ye to try it." oh thou who persuadest man that for money down great good shall result to him from any kind of spiritual incantation--twist and turn it as ye will--mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur: "with but a single change of name, the story fits thee quite the same." and few and far between are the romanys--or even the romans--who would not "vara earnestly advise ye to try it." since i wrote that last line i have met, in the journal of american folk-lore, with a very interesting article on the counting-out rhymes of children, in which the writer, h. carrington bolton, avows his belief that these doggerel verses or rhymes are the survivals of sortileges or divination by lot, and that it was practised among the ancient heathen nations as well as the israelites:-- "the use of the lot at first received divine sanction, as in the story of achan related by joshua, but after this was withheld the practice fell into the hands of sorcerers--which very name signifies lot-taker. the doggerels themselves i regard as a survival of the spoken charms used by sorcerers in ancient times in conjunction with their mystic incantations. there are numerous examples of these charms, such as-- "'huat hanat huat ista pista sista domiabo damnaustra.' (cato, b.c.) "and-- "'irriori, ririori essere rhuder fere.' "and-- "'meu, treu, mor, phor teux, za, zor phe, lou, chri, ge, ze, on.' (alexander of tralles.) "tylor in his 'primitive culture' holds that things which occupy an important place in the life-history of grown men in a savage state become the playthings of children in a period of civilization; thus the sling and the bow and arrow, which formed the weapons of mankind in an early stage of its existence, and are still the reliance of savage tribes, have become toys in the hands of all civilized children at the present day. many games current in europe and america are known to be sportive imitations of customs which formerly had a significant and serious aspect. "adopting this theory, i hold that counting-out is a survival of the practice of the sorcerer, using this word in its restricted and etymological meaning, and that the spoken and written charms originally used to enforce priestly power have become adjuncts to these puerile games, and the basis of the counting-out doggrels under consideration. "the idea that european and american children engaged in 'counting-out' for games, are repeating in innocent ignorance the practices and language of a sorcerer of a dark age, is perhaps startling, but can be shown to have a high degree of probability. the leader in 'counting out' performs an incantation, but the children grouped round him are free from that awe and superstitious reverence which characterized the procedure in its earlier state. many circumstances make this view plausible, and clothe the doggrels with a new and fascinating interest." mr. bolton remarks, however, that "in only one instance have i been able to directly connect a child's counting-out rhyme with a magic spell. according to leland the rhyme beginning with 'one-ery, two-ery, ickery, ann,' is a gypsy magic spell in the romany language." it occurred to me long, long ago, or before ever the name "folk-lore" existed, that children's rhymes were a survival of incantations, and that those which are the same backward and forward were specially adapted to produce marvellous effects in lots. but there was one form of counting-out which was common as it was terrible. this was used when after a victory it was usual to put every tenth captive to death--whence the greatly abused word to "decimate"--or any other number selected. when there was a firm belief in the virtues of numbers as set forth by pythagoras, and plato in the timæus, and of cabalistic names inspired by the "intelligences," it is not remarkable that the diviners or priests or sorcerers or distributors of sortes and sortileges should endeavour to prove that life and death lay bound up in mystic syllables. that there were curious and occult arithmetical means of counting-out and saving elected persons is shown in certain mystic problems still existent in boys own books, and other handbooks of juvenile sports. it was the one on whom the fatal word of life or death fell who was saved or condemned, so that it was no wonder that the word was believed to be a subtle, mysterious existence: an essence or principle, yea, a spirit or all in one--diversi aspetti in un, confuse e misti. he who knew the name of names which, as the chaldæan oracles of old declared, "rushes into the infinite worlds," knew all things and had all power; even in lesser words there lingered the fragrance of god and some re-echo of the bath kol--the daughter of the voice who was herself the last echo of the divine utterance. so it went down through the ages--coming, like cæsar's clay, to base uses--till we now find the sacred divination by words a child's play: only that and nothing more. truly mr. bolton spoke well when he said that such reflection clothes these doggerels with a new and fascinating interest. now and then some little thing awakens us to the days of old, the rosy, early morning of mankind, when the stars of magic were still twinkling in the sky, and the dreamer, hardly awake, still thought himself communing with god. so i was struck the other day when a gypsy, a deep and firm believer in the power of the amulet, and who had long sought, yet never found, his ideal, was deeply moved when i showed him the shell on which nav, or the name, was mystically inscribed by nature. through the occult and broken traditions of his tribe there had come to him also, perhaps from indian or chaldæan sources, some knowledge of the ancient faith in its power. i think that i can add to the instance of a child's counting-out game based on a magic spell, yet another. everybody knows the song of john brown who had "ten little, nine little, eight little, seven little, six little indian boys; five little, four little, three little, two little, one little indian boy, [ ] and of the fate which overtook them all, one by one, inevitable as the decrees of nemesis. this song is in action a game. i have heard it in romany from a gypsy, and have received from a gypsy scholar another version of it, though i am sure that both were versions from the english. but in romany, as in all languages, there have existed what may be called additional and subtractive magic songs, based on some primæval pythagorean principle of the virtues of numbers, and, as regards form, quite like that of the ten little indians. in the charms of marcellus burdigalensis (third century), it appears as a cure for pains or disorders in the jaws (remedium valde certum et utile faucium doloribus), in the song of the seven acorn sisters, which the latin-gaul doctor describes as carmen mirum, in which opinion the lover of folk-lore will heartily concur. "carmen mirum ad glandulas. "glandulas mane carminabis, si dies minuetur, si nox ad vesperam, et digito medicinali ac pollice continens eas dices:-- "novem glandulæ sorores, octo glandulæ sorores, septem glandulæ sorores, sex glandulæ sorores, quinque glandulæ sorores, quatuor glandulæ sorores, tres glandulæ sorores, duæ glandulæ sorores, una glandula soror! novem fiunt glandulæ, octo fiunt glandulæ, septem fiunt glandulæ, sex fiunt glandulæ, quinque fiunt glandulæ, quattuor fiunt glandulæ, tres fiunt glandulæ, duæ fiunt glandulæ, una fit glandula, nulla fit glandula!" (i.e., "nine little acorn sisters (or girls), eight little acorn sisters," &c.) this is simply the same count, forwards and backwards. it rises before us as we read--a chorus of rosy little auluses and marcellas, clodias, and manliuses, screaming in chorus:-- "ten little, nine little, eight little, seven little, six little acorn girls!" until it was reduced to una glandula et nulla fit--"then there was none." they too had heard their elders repeat it as a charm against the jaw-ache--and can any man in his senses doubt that they applied it in turn to the divine witchcraft of fun and the sublime sorcery of sport, which are just as magical and wonderful in their way as anything in all theurgia or occultism, especially when the latter is used only to excite marvels and the amazement which is only a synonym for amusement. but it is not credible that such a palpable "leaving out" song as that of the ten little acorn girls should not having been utilized by such intelligent children as grew up into being the conquerors of the world--"knowing latin at that." there is yet another old roman "wonderful song to the acorns," apparently for the same disorder, given by the same author. "albula glandula, nec doleas nec noceas. nec paniculas facias, sed liquescas tanquam salis (mica) in aqua! "hoc ter novies dicens spues ad terram et glandulas ipsas pollice et digito medicinali perduces, dum carmen dices, sedante solis ortum et post occasum facies id, prout dies aut nox minuetur." there appears in these formulas to be either a confusion or affinity as regards glandulas, the tonsils, and the same word signifying small acorns. as is very often the case, the similarity of name caused an opinion that there must be sympathetic curative qualities. perhaps acorns were also used in this ceremony. in a comment on this grimm remarks: "die glandula wird angeredet, die glandulæ gelten fur schwestern, wie wenn das alt hoch-deutsch druos glandula (graff , ) personification ankündigte? alt nordisch ist drôs, femina." there is another child's rhyme which is self-evidently drawn from an exorcism, that is to say an incantation. all my readers know the nursery song:-- "snail, snail, come out of your hole, or else i'll beat you as black as a coal! snail, snail, put out your head, or else i'll beat you till you are dead!" it is very remarkable that in folk-lore the mole and the snail are identified, and, as de gubernatis states, both are the same with the grey mouse, or, as he might more accurately have declared with the mouse in general. a critic objects to this simply because it occurs in the work of de gubernatis, among his "fanciful theories," but it need not follow that every citation or opinion in his book is false. friedrich, who certainly is not a fanciful theorist, asserted nearly thirty years ago that the mouse, owing to its living underground and in dark places as well as to its gnawing and destroying everything, is a chthonisches thier, one of the animals of darkness and evil. also "the mole, because it is of subterranean life, has received a chthonic, demoniac, misanthropic reputation." in support of these statements he cites a great array of authorities. the connection between the mole and mouse is evident enough, that between both and the snail is also clear: firstly, from the fact that "the snail of popular superstition is demoniacal," or evil; and secondly, from the rhyme which i now quote, which is applied to both moles and snails. according to du cange it was usual in the middle ages for children to go about carrying poles, on the ends of which was straw, which they lighted, and going round the gardens and under the trees shouted:-- "taupes et mulots, sortez de vos clos, sinon je vous brulerai la barbe et les os!" but in germany there are two and in italy five versions of the same song addressed to snails. it is evidently a roman catholic formula, based on some early heathen incantation. thus in tuscany they sing:-- "chiocciola marinella tira fuori le tue cornelle, e se tu non le tirerai calcie pugni tu buscherai." both the snail and mole and mouse were, as i have said, chthonic, that is diabolical or of darkness. the horns of the former were supposed to connect it with the devil. "in tuscany it is believed that in the month of april the snail makes love with serpents." there is another nursery counting-out rhyme whose antiquity and connection with sorcery is very evident. it is as follows:-- "one, two, three, four, five, i caught a hare all alive. six, seven, eight, nine, ten, i let her go again." the following from the medical spells and charms of marcellus burdigalensis manifestly explains it:-- "lepori vivo talum abstrahes, pilósque ejus de subventre tolles atque ipsum vivum dimittes. de illis pilis, vel lana filum validum facies et ex eo talum leporis conligabis corpusque laborantis præcinges; miro remedio subvenies. efficacius tamen erit remedium, ita ut incredibile sit, si casu os ipsum, id est talum leporis in stercore lupi inveneris, quod ita custodire debes, ne aut terram tangat aut a muliere contingatur, sed nec filum illud de lana leporis debet mulier ulla contigere. hoc autem remedium cum uni profuerit ad alias translatum cum volueris, et quotiens volueris proderit. filum quoque, quod ex lana vel pilis, quos de ventre leporis tuleris, solus purus et nitidus facies, quod si ita ventri laborantis subligaveris plurimum proderit, ut sublata lana leporem vivum dimmittas, et dicas ei dum dimittis eum: "'fuge, fuge, lepuscule, et tecum aufer coli dolorem!'" that is to say, you must "first catch your hare," then pluck from it the fur needed ad dolorem coli, then "let it go again," bidding it carry the disorder with it. in which the hare appears as a scape-goat. it may be observed that all this ceremony of catching the hare, letting it go and bidding it run and carry away the disorder, is still in familiar use in tuscany. it has been observed to me that "any nursery rhyme may be used as a charm." to this we may reply that any conceivable human utterance may be taken for the same purpose, but this is an unfair special pleading not connected with the main issue. mr. carrington bolton admits that he has only found one instance of coincidence between nursery rhymes and spells, and i have compared hundreds of both with not much more result than what i have here given. but those who are practically familiar with such formulas recognize this affinity. on asking the florentine fortune-teller if she knew any children's counting-out rhymes which deemed to her to be the same with incantations, she at once replied:-- "in witchcraft you sometimes call on people one by one by name to bewitch them. and the little girls have a song which seems to be like it." then she sang to a very pretty tune:-- "ecco l'imbasciatore, col tra le vi la lera, ecco l'imbasciatrice, col tra la li ra la! cosa volete col tua la li la, col tra le li va la, voglio giuseppina, col tra le li va le va. voglio la cesarina, col tra le li ra le ra. voglio la armida, &c. voglio la gesualda, voglio la barbera, voglio la bianca, voglio la fortunata, voglio la uliva, voglio la filomena, voglio la maddalena, voglio la pia, voglio la gemma, voglio la ida, voglio la lorenzina, voglio la carolina, voglio la annunciatina, voglio la margo," &c. there is one thing of which those who deny the identity of any counting-out rhymes with spells are not aware. these incantations are very much in vogue with the italian peasantry, as with the gypsies. they are repeated on all occasions for every disorder, for every trifle lost, for every want. every child has heard them, and their jingle and even their obscurity make them attractive. they are just what children would be likely to remember and to sing over, and the applying them to games and to "counting-out" would follow as a matter of course. in a country where every peasant, servant-girl and child knows at least a few spells, the wonder would be if some of these were not thus popularized or perverted. it is one thing to sit in one's library and demonstrate that this or that ought not to be, because it is founded on a "theory" or "idea," and quite another to live among people where these ideas are in active operation. washington irving has recorded that one of the dutch governors of new york achieved a vast reputation for wisdom by shrugging his shoulders at everything and saying, "i have my doubts as to that." and truly the race of wouter van twiller is not extinct as yet by any means among modern critics. it is worth noting in this connection that in mrs. valentine's nursery rhymes (camden edition) there are fifteen charms given which are all of a magical nature. since the foregoing chapter was written i have obtained in florence several additional instances of children's rhymes which were spells. nearly allied to this subject of sorcery in the nursery is the game of the child-stealing witch, which, as w. wells newell has shown in a very interesting and valuable contribution to the american folk-lore journal, vol. iii., april, , is found in many languages and lands. in connection with divination, deceit, and robbery, it may be observed that gypsies in eastern europe, as in india, often tell fortunes or answer questions by taking a goblet or glass, tapping it, and pretending to hear a voice in the ring which speaks to them. this method of divination is one of the few which may have occurred sporadically, or independently in different places, as there is so much in a ringing, vibrating sound which resembles a voice. the custom is very ancient and almost universal; so joseph (genesis xliv. ) says ("vulgate"), "scyphus quam furati estis, ipse est, in quo bibit dominus meus, et in quo augurari solet." "the goblet which ye have stolen, is it not this wherein my lord drinketh and in which he is wont to divine?" joseph says again (ver. ), "know ye not that such a man as i can certainly divine." a great number of very orthodox scholars have endeavoured to show that "divine" here means merely "to conjecture wisely," or "to see into," in order to clear joseph from the accusation of fortune-telling: but the cup and his interpretation of dreams tell another story. in those days in the east, as now, clever men made their way very often by fortune-telling and theurgia in different forms in great families, just as ladies and gentlemen are "invited out" in london and paris to please the company with palmistry. this divining by goblets is still common in the east. in norden's "reise nach egypten," &c., we are told that a native said to the travellers that he had interrogated his coffee-cup, and it had replied that the travellers were those of whom the prophet had predicted they would come as spies and lead the way for a great immigration of franks. in an arabic commentary of the twelfth century the replies which the goblet gave to joseph when it tapped on it are given in full. as coffee-drinking is very ancient it is probable that divination by means of the grounds grew out of foretelling with the cup. horst ("dæmonomagie," vol. ii.) remarks that "prediction by means of drinking or coffee-cups," &c., is called in magic, scyphomancy, and that the reader may judge how common it was in germany in the first half of the eighteenth century by consulting the famous humorous poem of the "renomist," song iii. ver. . certain goblets of thin glass will give out quite a loud ring if only blown upon, and by blowing or breathing in a peculiar way the sound may be greatly increased or modified, so as to sound like the human voice. this was shown me by an old custode in the museum at the hague. it is a curious trick worth trying--especially by those who would pass for magicians! there is yet another kind of magic cup known only by tradition, the secret of which, i believe, i was the first to re-discover. it is said that the chinese knew of old how to make bottles, &c., which appeared to be perfectly plain, but on which, when filled with wine, inscriptions or figures appeared, and which were used in divination as to answer questions. in the winter of - , sir henry austin layard went with me through his glass factory at venice. [ ] as we were standing by the furnace watching the workmen it flashed upon me quite in a second how the mysterious old goblets of the chinese could be made. this would be by blowing a bottle, &c., of thin white glass and putting on the interior in all parts except the pattern, a coating of glass half an inch in thickness. the outside should then be lightly ground, to conceal the heavy portion. if red wine or any dark fluid should then be poured into the bottle the pattern would appear of the same colour. sir austin layard at once sent for his very intelligent foreman, signor castellani, who said that he had indeed read of such goblets, but that he regarded it as a fable. but when i explained to him what had occurred to me, he said that it was perfectly possible, but that the great expense of making such objects would probably make the manufacture practically impossible. apropos of which i may mention that those who would investigate the curiosities of glass, especially the art of making it malleable, may find a great deal in a. nevi, "de arte vitraria" (amsterdam), and its german translation of (which contains a chapter, "wie die malleabilität dem glase beygebracht werden könne"). it is probable that the celebrated cup of djemschid, in persian story, which showed on its surface all that passed in the world, owed its origin to these chinese bottles. chapter xv. gypsy amulets. "knew many an amulet and charm which would do neither good nor harm, in rosicrucian lore as learned as he that veré adeptus earned."--hudibras. with pleasant plausibility heine has traced the origin of one kind of fairy-lore to the associations and feelings which we form for familiar objects. a coin, a penknife, a pebble, which has long been carried in the pocket or worn by any one, seems to become imbued with his or her personality. if it could speak, we should expect to hear from it an echo of the familiar voice of the wearer; as happened, indeed, in thuringia in the year , when a fair maid, adelhait von helbach, was carried into captivity by certain ill-mannered persons. "now her friends, pursuing, knew not whither to go, when they heard her voice, albeit very small and feeble, calling to them; and, seeking, they found in the bush by the road a silver image of the virgin, which she had worn: and this image told them which road to take. following the direction, they recovered her; the raubritter who bore her away being broken on the wheel, and the image hung up for the glory of the virgin, who had spoken by it, in the church of our lady of kalbrunn." again, these objects have such strange ways of remaining with one that we end by suspecting that they have a will of their own. with certain persons these small familiar friends become at last fetishes, which bring luck, giving to those who firmly believe in them great comfort and endurance in adversity. who has not been amazed at the persistency with which some button or pebble picked up, or placed perchance in the pocket, remains in all the migrations of keys and pencils and coins, faithful to the charge? how some card or counter will lurk in our pocket-book (misnamed "purse") or porte-monnaie, until it becomes clear as daylight that it has a reasonable intelligence, and stays with us because it wants to. as soon as this is recognized--especially by some person who is accustomed to feel mystery in everything, and who doubts nothing--the object becomes something which knows, possibly, a great deal which we do not. therefore it is to be treated with care and respect, and in due time it becomes a kind of god, or at least the shrine of a small respectable genius, or fairy. i have heard of a gentleman in the western united states who had a cane in which, as he seriously believed, a spirit had taken up its abode, and he reverenced it accordingly. the very ancient and widely-spread belief in the efficiency of magic wands probably came from an early faith in such implements as had been warranted to have magic virtues as weapons, or to aid a pedestrian in walking. hence it happened that swords which had been enchanted, or which had taken lives, were supposed to have some indwelling intelligence. hence also the names given to swords, and indeed to all weapons, by the norsemen. it was believed that the sword of an executioner, after it had beheaded a certain number of men, pined for more victims, and manifested its desire by unearthly rattling or ringing. apropos of which i have in my possession such a gruesome implement, which if experience in death could give it life, or make it ring in the silent watches of the night, would be a ghastly, noisy guest indeed. i once told the story in "the gypsies" (boston, )--now i have something to add to it. i had met in london with an indian gypsy named nano, who informed me that in india he had belonged to a wandering tribe or race who called themselves rom, or romani, who spoke romani jib, and who were the gypsies of the gypsies. i have in my possession a strange hindu knife with an enormously broad blade, six inches across towards the end, with a long handle richly mounted in bronze with a little silver. i never could ascertain till i knew nano what it had been used for. even the old king of oude, when he examined it, went wrong and was uncertain. not so the gypsy. when he was in my library, and his keen black eyes rested on it, he studied it for a moment, and then said: "i know well enough that knife. i have seen it before; it is very old, and it was long in use--it was the knife used by the public executioner in bhotan. it is bhotani." nano had volunteered the explanation, and whatever his moral character might be, he was not given to romantic invention. time passed, i went to america, stayed there four years, and returned. in i became a member of the national association for the advancement of art, and was on the central committee. one day we had a meeting at the house of a distinguished architect. when it was over, my host showed me his many treasures of art, or archæology. while examining these, my attention was attracted by an indian knife. it was precisely like mine, but smaller. i asked what it was, and learned that it had long been used in some place in the east for the express purpose of sacrificing young girls. and in all respects it was what we might call the feminine counterpart of my knife. and if i ever had any lingering doubt as to the accuracy of nano's account, it disappeared when i saw the one whose history was perfectly authentic. a few years ago in heidelburg there were sold at auction a great number of executioners' swords, some of which had been used for centuries. a gentleman who had a special fondness for this kind of bric-à-brac, had for many years collected them. it may be here observed that the knife forms a special feature in all witch-lore, and occurs frequently among the hungarian and italian gypsy charms, or spells. it is sometimes stuck into a table, while a spell is muttered, protesting that it is not the wood which one wishes to hurt, but the heart of an enemy. here the knife is supposed in reality to have an indwelling spirit which will pass to the heart or health of the one hated. in tam o'shanter there is a knife on the witches' table, and in transylvania, as in tuscany, a new knife, not an old one, is used in divers ceremonies. sometimes an old and curious knife becomes an amulet and is supposed to bring luck, although the current belief is that any pointed gift causes a quarrel. but to return to the fetish or pocket-deity which is worn in so many forms, be they written scrolls, crosses, medals or relics--c'est tout un. continental gypsies are notable believers in amulets. being in a camp of very wild cigany in hungary a few years ago, i asked them what they wore for bakt, or luck; whereupon they all produced small seashells, which i was assured were potent against ordinary misfortunes. but for a babe which was really ill they had provided an "appreciable" dose in the form of three maria theresa silver dollars, which were hung round its neck, but hidden under its clothes. and i may here remark that all through many lands, even into the heart of africa, this particular dollar is held in high esteem for magical purposes. from one to another the notion has been transferred, and travellers and traders are often puzzled to know why the savages will have no coin save this. from russia to the cape it is the same story, and one to be specially studied by those ethnologists who do not believe in transmission, and hold that myths and legends are of local growth and accounted for by similar local conditions. the gypsies were very desirous to know what my charm was. fortunately i had in my pocket a very fine fossil shark's tooth which i had purchased in whitby, and this was greatly admired by the learned of the tribe. mindful of good example, i obtained for myself specimens of the mystic shells, foreseeing that they would answer as passes and signs among the fraternity in germany and elsewhere. which, indeed, came to pass a few days ago in the town of homburg, when looking from my window in the schwedenpfad i saw two very honest-looking gypsies go by. walking forth, i joined them, and led them into a garden, where over beer and cigars we discussed "the affairs of egypt." these romanys were from the tyrol, and had the frank bold manner of the mountain-men blended with the natural politeness of the better class of gypsy. i had taken with me in my pocket, foreseeing its use, a small bag or purse, containing an assortment of objects such as would have puzzled anybody except a red indian, a negro, or any believer in medaolin or voodoo, or my new acquaintance; and after a conversation on dúrkepen (in anglo-gypsy, dukkerin) or fortune-telling, i asked the men what they wore. they wished to see my amulets first. so i produced the shells; which were at once recognized and greatly admired, especially one, which is something of a curiosity, since in its natural markings is the word nav very plainly inscribed: nav, in gypsy, meaning "the name." the elder gypsy said he had no charm; he had long been seeking a good one, but had not as yet met with the correct article. and then he begged me--gracious powers, how he did beg!--to bestow on him one of my shells. i resolved to do so--but at another time. the younger gypsy, who was a pasche-paskero, a musician, and had with him a rare old violin in a wonderfully carved wooden case at least two centuries old, was "all right" on the fetish question. he had his shell, sewn up in a black leather bag, which he wore by a cord round his neck. then i exhibited my small museum. every object in it was carefully and seriously examined. my shark's tooth was declared to be a very good fetish, a black pebble almost equal to the shell, and an american indian arrow-head of quartz passed muster as of possible though somewhat doubtful virtue. but an english sixpence with a hole in it was rejected as a very petty and contemptible object. i offered it in vain as a present to my friends: they would not accept it. neither did they want money: my dross might perish with me. it was the shell--the precious beautiful little shell on which the romany in search of a fetish had set his heart; the shell which would bring him luck, and cause him to be envied, and ensure him admiration in the tents of the wanderers from paris to constantinople. he admitted that it was the very shell of shells--a baro seréskeri sharkuni, or famous sea-snail. i believe the gypsies would have given me their fine old stainer violin and the carved case for it. failing to get the shell, he implored me to give him the black pebble. i resolved to give him both in free gift the next time we met, or as a parting souvenir. alas for the romany chal!--we never met again. the police allow no gypsies in homburg, and so they had to move on. i sought them that night and i sought them next day; but they were over the hills and far away. but i have no doubt that the fame of the shell on which nature has written the name--the very logos of magic itself--spread ere the summer was past even to the carpathians. something tells me that it is not played out yet, and that i shall hear anon something regarding it. the cult of the shell is widely spread. one day in a public-house, in the west end of london, i, while taking my glass of bitter, entered into conversation with a rather tall, decently-attired brunette alsatian girl, who spoke french and german, and who knew a few words of romany, which she said she had picked up by accident--at least she professed not to be gypsy, and to know no more. being minded to test the truth of this, i casually exhibited one of my shells and said it was a hungarian gypsy amulet for la bonne fortune. she began to beg earnestly for it, without getting it. on several occasions at long intervals, when i met her in the street, she again implored me for the treasure, saying that she believed "if she had it, her luck would turn to good." and, being convinced of her gypsyism, i said, "it will do you no good unless you have faith." to which she replied, in a tone which indicated truth itself: "but i have faith--absolute, entire faith in it." which seeing, and finding that she was a true convert to the power of the holy shell, i gave it to her with my blessing, knowing that it would be a joy and comfort to her in all the trials of life. this reminds me that i have seen, and indeed possess, a pearl-shell bearing the image of saint francis of assisi, such as is sold by thousands at his shrine, and which are supposed to possess certain miraculous innate or intrinsic virtues. thus, if worn by children, they are a cure for croup. "ah--but that is a very different thing, you know." an idol is an object, generally an image, worshipped for its own sake--being supposed to not only represent a god, but to have some immanent sanctity. the catholic priest, and for that matter all brahmins or bonzes, assure us that their sacred images are "only symbols, not regarded as really dwelling-places of divinity." they are not, so to speak, magnified amulets. yet how is it that, if this be true, so many images and pictures are regarded and represented by priests as being able of themselves by the touch to cure tooth-ache, and all other ills which flesh and bones are heirs to. why is one image especially good for tooth-ache, while another of the same person cures cramp? why, if they are all only "symbols," is one more healing or holy than another? how can our lady of embrun be of greater aid than our lady of paris? the instant we ascribe to an image or a shell real power to act, we make of it an inspired being in itself, and all the sophistry in the world as to its being a means of faith, or a symbol, or causing a higher power to act on the suppliant, is rubbish. the devotee believes tout bonnement that the image works the cure, and if he did not, any other image of the virgin or saint would answer the same purpose. this chaff has been thrashed out a thousand times--or many tens of thousand times in vain,--as vain so far as effects go as is the remarkably plain first commandment. and it will last, while one fetish endures, that the hierophant will call it a mere "symbol," and the ignorant worshipper, absolutely unable to comprehend him, will worship the symbol as the thing itself--as he is really expected to do. according to j. b. friedrich, "symbolik der natur," the sea-shell, on account of its being a product of the sea, or of the all-generating moisture; and much more probably from its shape, is an emblem of woman herself. therefore as "venus, love's goddess, was born of the sea," shells are dedicated to her. ("museo bourbonico," vol. vi. p. . kugler, "handbuch geschichte der malerei," berlin, , vol. iv. p. . also translated by sir h. austin layard). being one of the great emblems of productive nature, or of life and light, and opposed to barrenness, absence of pleasure, darkness, or negation, it was of course a charm against witchcraft or evil. that the gypsies have retained it as a powerful agent for "luck," is extremely interesting, showing to what a degree they are still influenced by the early symbolism which effectively formed not one but many mythologies. among the hungarian gypsies the virtue or magical power of a shell is in proportion to the degree of resemblance above mentioned, which it possesses, as wlislocki expressly declares. this association of shells, with the mysterious and magical, is to be found among gypsies in the east, as is shown by the following: from my work entitled "the gypsies." it describes something which i saw many times in cairo:-- "beyond the door which, when opened, gave this sight, was a dark, ancient archway, twenty yards long, which opened on the glaring, dusty street, where camels with their drivers, and screaming saïs or carriage-runners and donkey-boys and crying venders kept up the wonted oriental din. but in the archway, in its duskiest corner, there sat in silence and immovable, a living picture--a dark, handsome woman, of thirty years, who was unveiled. she had before her on the gateway floor, a square of cloth and a few shells. sometimes an egyptian of the lower class stopped, and there would be a grave consultation. she was a fortune-teller, and from the positions which the shells assumed when thrown she predicted what would come to pass. and then there would be a solemn conference and a thoughtful stroking of the beard, if the applicant was a man, and then the usual payment to the oracle, and a departure. and it was all world-old primæval egyptian, as it was chaldæan, for the woman was a rhagarin, or gypsy, and as she sat so sat the diviners of ancient days by the wayside, casting shells for auspices, even as arrows were cast of old, to be cursed by israel. "it is not remarkable that among the myriad manteias of olden days there should have been one by shells. the sound of the sea when heard in a nautilus or conch is marvellously "like that of ocean surges murmuring far." "shake me and it awakens--then apply its polished lips to your attentive ear, and it remembers its august abodes and murmurs as the ocean murmurs there." all of this is very strange to children and not less so to all unsophisticated folk, and i can remember how in boyhood i was told and listened with perfect faith to the distant roaring, and marvelled at the mystery of the ocean song being thus for ever kept alive inland. the next step to this is to hear in the sea-murmuring something like voices, and this is as curious as it is true--that if the mind be earnestly given to it, and the process be continued for a long time during several days, many persons, and probably all in time, will come to distinguish or hear human utterances and eventually words. there is no special faith required here; the mind even of the most sceptical or unimaginative will often turn back on itself, and by dint of mere perseverance produce such effects. an old pitcher or jug of a peculiar shape is also declared to be admirably adapted for this purpose, and i have one of elizabeth's time which was trawled up from the sea near lowestoft which would fulfil every requisition. in i was by moonlight in a camp of gypsies in the old roman amphitheatre near budapest. it was a very picturesque sight, what with the blazing fire, the strangely-dressed men, the wild shrieking, singing, and dancing women. and when, as i have before mentioned, they showed me the shells which they carried for amulets, they exhibited one much larger of conch-like form, the tip of which had been removed and to which there was attached a flexible tube. this was used in a very remarkable trick. the shell, or one like it, is put into the hands of the person consulting the oracle, who is directed to listen to the voice of the nivashi, or spirit of the air. then he is blindfolded, the tube applied, and through it the gypsy speaks in a trained soft voice. thus, in conchomanteia, the oracles still live and devotees still hear the fairies talk. now, be it observed that hearing is the most deceptive of the senses--as the reader may have seen exemplified by a lecturer, when the audience were persuaded that he was fiddling on one cane with another, or blowing a flute tune on one, when the music was made by a confederate behind a screen. i myself, a few days since, when in the köppern thal, verily believed i heard the murmur and music of children's voices--when lo! it proved to be the babbling brook. some years ago--i forget where it happened in england, but i guarantee the truth of what i tell--it was found that the children in a certain village were in the habit of going to an ancient tomb in which there was a round hole, putting their ears to it, and, as they said, of listening to what the dead people were saying. it is facile enough to understand that among them there would be some whose unconscious creative faculty would lead them to literally hearing words or songs. there is another ancient and beautiful mystical association with shells. the conch when pierced formed a trumpet, whose notes seemed to be allied to the murmuring of the wind and waves heard in the shell when applied to the ear. the sea-god triton blew upon a shell--"meaning thereby the roaring of the waves." "and in analogous wise a shell is represented on the tower of the winds in athens, to represent boreas, the north-east wind, and the roaring of the storm" (millin, "gallerie mythologique"). the resemblance of wind to the human voice has probably occurred to every human being, and has furnished similes for every poet. that these voices should be those of spirits is a natural following. so the last hebrew oracle, the bath kol, or daughter of the voice, survives in shells and lives in gypsy-lore. and so we find in rags and patches on the garments of egyptian fellahin the edges of pharaoh's garment, which in olden time it was an honour for kings to kiss. deception of this kind by means of voices, apparently supernatural, is of great antiquity. the high priest savan the asmunian, of egypt, is said to have used acoustic tubes for this purpose, and it is very evident that the long corridors or passages in the stone temples must have suggested it as well as whispering galleries. the hebrew cabalists are believed to have made one form of the mysterious teraphim by taking the head of a child and so preparing it by magic ceremonies that when interrogated it would reply. these ceremonies consisted in fact of skilfully adjusting a phonetic tube to the head. it is very probable that the widely-spread report of this oracle gave rise to the belief that the jews slaughtered and sacrificed children. "eliphaz levi," or the abbé constant, a writer of no weight whatever as an authority, but not devoid of erudition, and with occasional shrewd insights, gives it as his belief that the terrible murders of hundreds of children by gilles de retz--the absurdly so-called original of blue-beard--were suggested by a recipe for sanguinary sorcery, drawn from some hebrew cabalistical book. nicephorus (lib. c. ) and cedrenus, as cited by grosius in his "magica" ( ), tell us that when constantine was ill a number of children were collected to be slain that the emperor might bathe in their blood (in quo si se imperator ablueret, certo recuperaret), and that because he was moved by the tears of their mothers to spare their lives, was restored to health by the saints. it seems to have escaped the attention of writers that at the very time during the middle ages when the jews were being most bitterly persecuted for offering children at the passover, it was really a common thing among christians to sacrifice children, maids, or grown-up people, by burying them alive under the foundations of castles, &c., to insure their stability--a ghastly sacrifice, which in after-times took the form of walling-up a cock and finally an egg. but from an impartial and common-sense standpoint, there could be no difference between the sacrifice of a child by a cabalist and the torturing and burning witches and heretics by ecclesiastics, unless, indeed, that the latter was the wickeder of the two, since the babes were simply promptly killed, while the inquisitors put their victims to death with every refinement of mental and physical torture. both cabalist and priest were simply engaged in different forms of one and the same fetish-work which had been handed down from the days of witchcraft. nor did calvin, when he burnt servetus, differ in anything from a voodoo sacrificing "a goat without horns." punishing a heretic to please or placate the deity differs in nothing from killing any victim to get luck. other sentiments may be mingled with this "conjuring," but the true foundation of black witchcraft (and all witchcraft is black which calls for blood, suffering, starvation, and the sacrifice of natural instincts), is the mortar of the fear of punishment, and the stones of the hope of reward, the bulk of the latter being immeasurably greater than that of the former, which is a mere bindemittel, or means of connection. it is remarkable that nowhere, not even in england, do the gypsies regard the witch as utterly horrible, diabolical, and damnable. she is with them simply a woman who has gained supernatural power, which she uses for good or misuses for evil according to her disposition. the witch of the church--catholic or protestant--when closely examined is a very childish conception. she sets forth personal annoyance without any regard whatever as to whether it is really good in disguise or a natural result of our own follies. thus witches caused thunder-storms, which, because they were terrifying and more or less destructive, were seriously treated by the church as unmitigated evils, therefore as phenomena directly due to the devil and his servants. theology the omniscient did not know that storms cleared the air. witches were responsible for all pestilences, and very often for all disorders of any kind--as it was very convenient for the ignorant leech to attribute to sorcery or moral delinquency or to god, a disease which he could not cure. for "theology, the science of sciences," had not as yet ascertained that plagues and black deaths, and most of the ills of man are the results of neglect of cleanliness, temperance, and other sanitary laws. it is only a few years since a very eminent clergyman and president of a college in america attributed to "divine dispensation" the deaths of a number of students, which were directly due to palpable neglect of proper sanitary arrangements by the reverend gentleman himself, and his colleagues. but, admitting the "divine dispensation," according to the mediæval theory, the president, as the agent, must have been a "wizard"--or conjuror--a delusion which the most superficial examination of his works would at once dissipate. but to return--there can be no denial whatever that according to what is admitted to be absolutely true to-day by everybody, be he orthodox or liberal, witches, had they existed, must have been agents of god, busied in preventing plagues instead of causing them--by raising storms which cleared the air. even the algonkin indians knew more than the church in this respect, for they have a strange old legend to the effect that when the god of storms, wuch-ow-sen, the giant eagle, was hindered by a magician from his accustomed work, the sea and air grew stagnant, and people died. [ ] the witch was simply another form of the hebrew azrael, god's angel of death. which may all lead to the question: if a belief in witches as utterly evil servants of the devil could be held as an immutable dogma of the church and a matter of eternal truth for eternal belief--to prove which there is no end of ingenious argument and an appalling array of ecclesiastical authority cited in the black-letter "liber de sortilegiis" of paulus grillandus, now lying before me (lyons, ), as well as in the works of sprenger, bodinus, delrio, and the witch-bull of pope innocent--and if this belief be now exploded even among the priests, what proof have we that any of the dogmas which went with it are absolutely and for ever true? this is the question of dogmatik, versus development or evolution, and witchcraft is its greatest solvent. for when people believe, or make believe, in a thing so very much as to torture like devils and put to death hundreds of thousands of fellow-beings, mostly helpless and poor old women, not to mention many children, it becomes a matter of very serious import to all humanity to determine once for all whether the system or code according to which this was done was absolutely right for ever, or not. for if it was true, these executions and the old theory of witchcraft were all quite right, as the roman church still declares, since the pope has sanctioned of late years several very entertaining works in which modern spiritualists, banjo-twangers, table-turners, &c., are declared to be really wizards, who perform their stupendous and appalling miracles directly by the aid of devils. and, by the way, somebody might make an interesting work not only on the works in the index librum prohibitorum, which it entails seventy-six distinct kinds of damnation to read, but also on those which the pope sanctions--i believe, blesses. among the later of the latter is one which pretends to prove that jews do really still continue to sacrifice christian children at the passover feast--and, for aught i know, to eat them, fried in oil, or "buttered with goose-grease"--apropos of which, i marvel that the hebrews, instead of tamely denying it, do not boldly retort on the christians the charge of torturing their own women and children to death as witches, which was a thousand times wickeder than simply bleeding them with a penknife, as young hugh of lincoln was said to have been disposed of by the jew's daughter. but people all say now--that was the age, and the church was still under the influence of barbarism, and so on. exactly; but that admission plainly knocks down and utterly destroys the whole platform of dogmatism and the immutable and eternal truth of any dogma whatever, for it admits evolution--and to seize on its temporary fleeting forms and proclaim that they are immutable, is to mistake the temporal for the eternal, the infinitesimal fraction for the whole. this is not worshipping god, the illimitable, unknown tremendous source of life, but his minor temporary forms, "essences," or "angels," as the cabalists termed the successive off-castings of his manifestations. in being's flood, in action's storm i work and weave--above, beneath, work and weave in endless motion birth and death, an infinite ocean a seizing and giving the fire of the living. 'tis thus at the roaring loom of time i ply and weave for god the garment thou seest him by. now there are infinite numbers of these garments, but none of them are god, though the church declared that what they had of them were truly divine. so oriental princes sent their old clothes to distant provinces to be worshipped, as gessler sent his hat: it is an old, old story, and one which will be long repeated in many lands. i have, not far back, mentioned a work on witchcraft by paulus grillandus. its full title is "tractatus de hereticis et sortilegiis, omnifariam coitio eorumque penis. item de questionibus et tortura ac de relaxatione carceratorum"--that is, in brief, a work on heretics, witches breakers of the seventh commandment of all kinds, examination by torture, and imprisonment. it was a leading vade mecum, or standard guide, in its time for lawyers and the clergy, especially the latter, and reads as if it had come from the library of hell, and been written by a devil, though composed, according to the preface, to promote the dignity and glory of the christian church. i can well believe that a sensitive humane person could be really maddened by a perusal and full comprehension of all the diabolical horrors which this book reveals, and the glimpses which it gives of what must have been endured literally by millions of heretics and "witches," and all men or women merely accused by anybody of any kind of "immorality," especially of "heresy." i say suspected or accused--for either was sufficient to subject a victim to horrible agonies until he or she confessed. what is most revolting is the calm, icy-cold-blooded manner in which the most awful, infernal cruelties are carefully discussed--as, for instance, if one has already had any limbs amputated for punishment whether further tortures may then be inflicted? it is absolutely a relief to find that among the six kinds of persons legally exempted from the rack, &c.--there are only six and these do not include invalids--are pregnant women. but such touches of common humanity are rare indeed in it. i do not exaggerate in the least when i say that the whole spirit of this work--which faithfully reflects the whole spirit of the "justice" of the middle ages--inclines in a ferocious, wolfish manner to extend and multiply punishment of the most horrible kinds to every small offence against the church--to manufacture and increase crime as if it were capital for business, and enlarge the sphere of torture so as to create power and awe. nous avons changé tout cela, say the descendants of those fiends in human form. but if it was wrong then why did you do it if you were infallible inspired judges? and if you now believe that to be atrocious which was once holy, and a vast portion of your whole system, how can you say that the church does not follow the laws of evolution and progress--and if so, where will it stop? it is a curious reflection that if the pope and cardinals of had lived four hundred years ago they would (with the exception, perhaps, of the spaniards) have all been burned alive for heresy. which is literally true. within a minute's walk from where i sit, and indeed visible from my window in this town of homburg vor der höhe, are two round towers of other days--grim and picturesque relics of the early middle ages. one is called the hexenthurm or witches' tower. in it gypsies, witches, and heretics were confined--it was the hotel specially reserved for them when they visited homburg, and in its cells which are of the smallest between walls of the thickest, i or you, reader, might be confined to-day, but for one martin luther and certain laws of evolution or progress of which paulus grillandus did not dream. as i was sketching the tower, an old woman told me that there were many strange tales about it. that i can well believe but i dare say they are all summed up in the following ballad from the german of heine:-- "the witch." "folks said when my granny eliza bewitched, she must die for her horrid transgression; much ink from his pen the old magistrate pitched, but he could not extort a confession. and when in the kettle my granny was thrown she yelled 'death' and 'murder!' while dying; and when the black smoke all around us was blown, as a raven she rose and went flying. little black grandmother, feathered so well, oh, come to the tower where i'm sitting: bring cakes and bring cheese to me here in the cell, through the iron-barred window flitting. little black grandmother, feathered and wise, just give my aunt a warning, lest she should come flying and pick out my eyes when i merrily swing in the morning." horst in his "dæmonomagie," a history of the belief in magic, demoniac marvels, witchcraft, &c., gives the picture of a witch-tower, at lindheim in the wetterau, with all its terrible history, extracted from the town archives. it is a horrible history of torturing and burning at the stake of innumerable women of all ages, the predominant feature being that any accusation by anybody whatever, or any rumour set afloat in any way, amply sufficed to bring an enemy to death, or to rob a person who had money. hysterical women and perverse or eccentric children frequently originated these accusations merely to bring themselves into notice. there was till within a few years a witches' tower in heidelberg. it was a very picturesque structure in an out-of-the-way part of the town, in nobody's way, and was therefore of course pulled down by the good philistine citizens, who have the same mania in heidelberg as "their ignorant-like" in london, philadelphia, or any other town, for removing all relics of the olden time. in connection with sorcery and gypsies, it is worth observing that in the latter, in swabia, or south germany, frequently went about among the country-people, with puppet-shows, very much of the punch kind, and that they had a rude drama of faust, the great wizard, which had nothing to do with that of goethe. it was derived from the early sources, and had been little by little gypsified into a melodrama peculiar to the performers. august zoller, in his "bilder aus schwaben" (stuttgard, ), gives the following description of it. the book has a place in all faust libraries, and has been kept alive by this single passage:-- "there is a blast of a trumpet, and the voice of a man proclaims behind the scenes that the play is to begin. the curtain is drawn, and faust leaning against the background--which represents a city--soliloquizes: "'i am the cleverest doctor in the world, but all my cleverness does not help me to make the beautiful princess love me. i will call up satan from the under-world to aid me in my plans to win her. devil--i call thee!' "meanwhile faust's servant--the funny man--has entered and amused the public with comical gestures. the appearance of the devil is announced by a firework (sprühteufel) fizzing and cracking. he descends from the air, there being no arrangements for his coming up. the servant bursts into a peal of laughter, and the devil asks: "'faust thou hast called me; now, what is thy wish?' "'i love the lovely princess--canst thou make her love me?' "'nothing is easier. cut thy finger and sign to me thy life; then all my devilish art will be at thy service till thou hast committed four murders.' "faust and the devil fly forth, the servant making sarcastic remarks as to the folly of his master, and the curtain falls. "in the second act the fair princess enters--she is three times as large as faust, but bewails his absence in a plaintive voice and departs. faust enters and calls for a furio who shall carry him to mantua. enter three furios (witches) who boast their power. 'i can carry you as swiftly as a moor-cock flies,' says one. this is not swift enough for faust. 'i fly as fast as bullet from a gun,' says the second. the master answers: "'a right good pace, but not enough for faust.' to the third: 'how fast art thou?' "'as quick as thought.' "'that will suffice--there's naught so swift as thought. bear me to mantua, to her i love, the princess of my heart!' "the furio takes faust on her back, and they fly through the air. the servant makes, as before, critical and sarcastic remarks on what has passed, and the curtain falls. "in the third act the devil persuades faust to murder his father, so as to inherit his treasures, 'for the old man has a tough life.' in the fourth, maddened by jealousy, he stabs the princess and her supposed lover. the small sarcastic servant takes the murdered pair by the legs, and drags them about, cracking jokes, and giving the corpses cuffs on their ears to bring them again to life. "in the fifth act, the clock strikes eleven. faust has now filled to the brim the measure of his iniquity. the devil appears, proves to him that it is time to depart; it strikes twelve; the smoke of a fizzling squib and several diabolical fire-crackers fills the air, and faust is carried away, while the small servant, as satanical and self-possessed as ever, makes his jokes on the folly of faust--and the curtain falls." this is the true faust drama of the middle ages, with the ante-shakespearian blending of tragedy and ribald fun. but this same mixture is found to perfection in the early indian drama--for instance, in "sakuntala"--and it would be indeed a very curious thing should it be discovered that the gypsies, who were in all ages small actors and showmen of small plays, had brought from the east some rude drama of a sorcerer, who is in the end cheated by his fiend. such is, in a measure, the plot of the baital pachisi or vikram and the vampire, which is borrowed from or founded on old traditions, and the gypsies, from their familiarity with magic, and as practical actors, would, in all probability, have a faust play of some kind, according to the laws of cause and effect. in any case the suggestion may be of value to some investigator. gypsies in england--that is those "of the old sort"--regard a shoe-string as a kind of amulet or protection. many think it is unlucky to have one's photograph taken, but no harm can come of it if the one who receives the picture gives the subject a shoe-string or a pair of laces. dr. f. s. krauss in his curious work, "sreca, or fortune and fate in the popular belief of the south slavonians" (vienna, ), draws a line of distinction between the fetish and amulet. "the fetish," he declares, "has virtue from being the dwelling of a protecting spirit. the amulet, however, is only a symbol of a higher power," that is of a power whose attention is drawn by or through it to the believer or wearer. this, however, like the distinction between idolatry and worshipping images as symbols of higher beings, becomes in the minds of the multitude (and for that matter, in all minds), a distinction without a dot of difference. the amulet may "rest upon a higher range of ideas, while the fetish stands on its own feet," but if both are regarded as bringing luck and if, for instance, one rosary or image of the same person is believed to bring more luck than another, it is a fetish and nothing else. an amulet may pretend to be a genteeler kind of fetish, but they are all of the same family. the gypsies prepare among the bosniacs, "on the high plains of malwan," a fetish in the form of a cradle made of nine kinds of wood, to bring luck to the child who sleeps in it. but dr. krauss falls, i presume, into a very great error, when he attributes to her majesty the queen of england a belief in fetish, on the strength of the following remarkable passage from the wiener allgemeine zeitung:-- "by command of queen victoria, mr. martin, director of the institute for the blind, has attended to the making a cradle for the newly-born child of the princess of battenberg. the cradle is to be made entirely by blind men and women. the queen firmly believes that objects made by blind people bring luck." truly, if anything could bring luck it ought to be something ordered with a kind and charitable view from poor and suffering people, but it is rather hard to promptly conclude that her majesty believes in fetish because she benevolently ordered a cradle from the blind, and that she had no higher motive than to get something which would bring luck to her grandchild. it may be observed in connection with this superstition that among the hungarian gypsies several spells depend on using different kinds of wood, and that four are said to have been taken for the true cross. gypsies, in common with the rest of the "fetishioners" of all the world, believe in the virtue of a child's caul. dr. krauss found in kobas on the save an amulet which contained such a caul with garlic and four-leaved clover. this must have been a very strong charm indeed, particularly if the garlic was fresh. another very great magic protector in every country among gypsies as well as gentiles, is the thunderbolt, known in germany as the donneraxt, donnerstein, donnerkeil, albschoss, strahlstein, and teufelsfinger. it was called by the greeks astropelákia, by the latins gemma cerauniæ, by the spaniards piedras de rayo, by the dwellers in the french high alps peyras del tron (pierres de tonerre), by the birmans mogio (the child of lightning), by the chinese rai-fu-seki (the battle-axe of tengu, the guardian of heaven), by the hindoos swayamphu, or "the self-originated." dr. krauss, from whom i have taken these remarks, adds that in america and australia it is also regarded as a charm protective and luck-bringing. but here there is a confusion of objects. the thunderbolt described by dr. krauss is, i believe, a petrified shell, a kind of mucro or belemnite. the thunderbolt of the red indians really resembles it, but is entirely different in its nature. the latter results from lightning entering the sand fusing it. it sometimes makes in this way a very long tube or rod, with a point. people, finding these, naturally believed that they were thunderbolts. i knew an old penobscot indian who, seeing the lightning strike the earth, searched and found such a thunderbolt, which he greatly prized. in process of time people who found mucrones in rocks believed them to be the same as the glass-like points of fused sand which they so much resembled. the so-called thunderbolt is confused with the prehistoric stone axe, both bearing the same name in many lands. as this axe is often also a hammer it is evident that it may have been sacred to thor. "the south slavonian"--or gypsy--"does not distinguish," says dr. krauss, "between the thunderbolt and prehistoric axe. he calls both strelica." the possession of one brings luck and prosperity in all business, but it must be constantly carried on the person. among the "thirties" there lived in gaj in slavonia a poor jewish peddler named david. once he found a strelica. he always carried it about with him. the peasants envied him greatly its possession. they came to him in the market-place and cried, "al si sretan, davide!" ("ha, how lucky thou art, david!") the slavonian jews called him, for a joke, "strelica." the prehistoric axe was probably regarded as gifted with fetish power, even in the earliest age, especially when it was made of certain rare materials. thus among the red indians of massachusetts stone "tomahawks" of veined, petrified wood were specially consecrated to burial-places, while in europe axe-heads of jade were the most coveted of possessions. a. b. meyer has written a large work, "jade und nephrit objecte aus dem ethnographische museum zu dresden, america und europe" (leipzig, ). it has always been supposed that the objects of true jade came only from tartary, and i believe that i was the first person to discover that it existed in quantities in western europe. the history of this "finding" is not without interest. it has been usual--it is said for a thousand years--for pilgrims to iona to bring away with them as souvenirs a few green pebbles of a peculiar kind, and to this day, as every tourist will remember, the children who come to the steamboat offer handsful of them for sale. when i was there many years ago--in iona--i also went away with perhaps twenty of them. one evening, after returning to london, there were at my home three chinese gentlemen attached to the legation. the conversation turned on buddhist pilgrimages and fusang, and the question, founded on passages in the chinese annals, as to whether certain monks had really passed from the celestial kingdom to mexico in the fifth century and returned. this reminded me of iona, and i produced my green pebbles, and told what i knew about them. my visitors regarded the stones with great interest and held an animated conversation over them in chinese, which i did not understand. observing this i made them presents of the pebbles, and was thanked with an earnestness which seemed to me to be out of all proportion to the value of the gifts. thinking this over the next day, i wrote to the clergyman at iona asking him to be so kind as to send me some of the pebbles, and offering to pay for them. he did so, sending me by mail a box of the stones. two or three were very pretty, one especially. it is of a dark green colour and slightly transparent. two years after, when in philadelphia, meeting with an old friend, dr. joseph leidy, well known as a man of science, and, inter alia, as a mineralogist. i showed him my pebble and asked him what it was. he replied, "it is jade." to my query whether it might not be nephrite he answered no, that it was true jade of fine quality. jade is in china a talismanic stone, many occult virtues and luck-bringing qualities being ascribed to it. it is very curious, and possibly something more than a mere chance coincidence, that the green pebbles of iona were also carried as charms. it would be remarkable if even in prehistoric times, or in the stone age, iona and tartary had been connected by superstition and tradition. among the gypsies as well as christians in servia, nuts, especially those which are heart-shaped (i.e., double), are carried as fetishes or amulets. in very early times a nut, as containing like a seed the principle of germination and self-reproduction, was typical of life. being enclosed in a shell it seemed to be in a casket or box which was of itself a mystical symbol. hence nuts are often found in ancient graves. there are many stories accordingly in all countries in which a nut or egg is represented as being connected with the life of some particular being or person. the ogre in several tales can live until a certain egg is broken. in the graubunden or grisons there is the following legend:-- "once there lived near fideriseau a rich peasant. to him came a poor beggar, who asked for alms in vain. then the man replied, 'if thou wilt give me nothing yet will i give thee something. thou shalt keep thy treasure and also thy daughter after thee; yea, and for years after she is dead her spirit shall know no rest for taking care of it. but i give thee this nut. plant it by yonder great stone, thou stony-hearted fool. from the nut will grow a tree, and from the tree twigs from which a cradle will be made in which a child will be rocked who will redeem thy daughter from her penance.' and after the girl died, a spirit of a pale woman with dark hair was seen flying nightly near fideris, and that for many years, for it takes a long time for an acorn to grow up into an oak. but as she is no longer seen it is believed that the cradle has been made and the child born who became the deliverer." a. b. elysseeff, in his very interesting article based on kounavine's "materials for the study of the gypsies," gives the representation of four gypsy amulets, also "a cabalistic token" that brings good luck to its wearer. "the amulets," writes m. elysseeff, "are made of wrought iron and belong to m. kounavine. the cabalistic sign is designed" (copied?) "by ourselves, thanks to the amiability of a gypsy djecmas (sorcerer) of the province of novogorod. the amulet a was found by m. kounavine among the gypsies who roam with their camps in the ural neighbourhood; some bessarabian gypsies supplied b; c was obtained from a gypsy sorcerer of the persian frontier, and d formed a part of some ornaments placed with their dead by gypsies of southern russia. "the cabalistic sign" (vide illustration at head of chapter) "represents roughly a serpent, the symbol of auromori, the evil principle in gypsy mythology. the figure of an arch surrounded with stars is, according to m. kounavine, held by the gypsies as symbolizing the earth, the meaning of the triangle &#x b ; is not known. the moon and stars which surround the earth and which are, so to speak, enclosed in the serpent's coils, symbolize the world lying in evil. this sign is engraved by gypsies upon the plates of the harness of the horses, of garments, and as designed ornaments." it may be here remarked that the symbolism of m. kounavine, while it may be quite accurate, must be taken with great reserve. if the "arch" be simply a horse-shoe, all these ornaments, except the serpent, may be commonly found on the trappings of london dray-horses. "amulet a, which also represents the sun, the moon, the stars, earth, and a serpent, can equally serve as a symbol of the universe. according to m. kounavine, ononi" (the ammon of the egyptians) "and auromori, are symbolized upon this amulet. amulet b represents a man surrounded by a halo, aided by the moon and the stars, and armed with a sword and arrows. beneath is represented the horse; the serpent symbolizes auromori. as a whole this amulet represents the conflict between the good and evil principle, jandra (indra) against auromori. "amulet c represents a gleaming star and the serpent, and is called baramy (brama), symbolizing, according to m. kounavine, the gypsy proto-divinity. "or amulet d, which represents a flaming pyre and some hieroglyphics, may also symbolize the prayer addressed to the divinity of the fire." if these explanations were given by gypsy sorcerers the amulets are indeed very curious. but, abstractly, the serpent, arrows, stars, the moon, an archer, a fox, and a plant, occur, all the world over, on coins or in popular art, with or without symbolism, and i confess that i should have expected something very different as illustrating such a remarkable mythology as that given by m. kounavine. however, the art of a nation--as, for instance, that of the algonkin indians--may be very far indeed behind its myths and mental conceptions. chapter xvi. gypsies, toads, and toad-lore. "i went to the toad that lies under the wall, i charmed him out, and he came at my call." ("masque of queens," ben johnson.) the toad plays a prominent part in gypsy (as in other) witchcraft, which it may well do, since in most romany dialects there is the same word for a toad or frog and the devil. paspati declares that the toad suggested satan, but i incline to think that there is some as yet undiscovered aryan word, such as beng, for the devil, and that the german bengel, a rascal, is a descendant from it. however, gypsies and toads are "near allied and that not wide" from one another, and sometimes their children have them for pets, which recalls the statements made in the celebrated witch trials in sweden, where it was said by those who professed to have been at the blockula, or sabbat, that the little witch children were set to play at being shepherds, their flocks being of toads. i have been informed by gypsies that toads do really form unaccountable predilections for persons and places. the following is accurately related as it was told me in romany fourteen years ago, in epping forest, by a girl. "you know, sir, that people who live out of doors all the time, as we do, see and know a great deal about such creatures. one day we went to a farmhouse, and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in. and, sure enough, while she was talking the toad came, and the woman was taken in such a way with fright that i thought she'd have died. but i had a laugh to myself; for i knew that toads have such ways, and can not only be tamed, but will almost tame themselves. so we gypsies talked together in romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross--you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. so the witchcraft was ended, and the lady gave us a good meal and ten shillings." (for a romany poem on this incident vide "english gypsy songs," trübner and co., ). and there is a terrible tale told by r. h. stoddard, in a poem, that one day a gentleman accidentally trod on a toad and killed it. hearing a scream at that instant in the woods at a little distance, followed by an outcry, he went to see what was the matter, and found a gypsy camp where they were lamenting the sudden death of a child. on looking at the corpse he was horrified to observe that it presented every appearance of having been trampled to death, its wounds being the same as those he had inflicted on the toad. this story being told by me to the gypsy girl, she in no wise doubted its truth, being in fact greatly horrified at it; but was amazed at the child chovihani, or witch, being in two places at once. in the spanish association of witches in the year (vide lorent, "histoire de l'inquisition") the toad played a great part. one who had taken his degrees in this order testified that, on admission, a mark like a toad was stamped on his eyelid, and that a real toad was given to him which had the power to make its master invisible, to transport him to distant places, and change him to the form of many kinds of animals. there is a german interjection or curse "kroten-düvel!" or "toad-devil," which is supposed to have originated as follows: when the emperor charlemagne came into the country of the east saxons and asked them whom they worshipped they replied, "krodo is our god;" to which the emperor replied "krodo is all the same as kroten-düvel!" "and he made them pay bitterly by the sword and the rope for the crime of calling god, according to their language, by a name different from that which he used; for he put many thousands of them to death, like king olof of norway, to show that his faith was one of meekness and mercy." it is bad to have one's looks against one. the personal appearance of the toad is such as to have given it a bad place in the mythology of all races. the algonkin indians--who, like napoleon and slawkenbergius, were great admirers of men with fine bold noses--after having studied the plane physiognomy of the toad, decided that it indicated all the vices, and made of the creature the mother of all the witches. nothing could have been more condemnatory; since in their religion--as in that of the accadians, laps, and eskimo--a dark and horrible sorcery, in which witches conciliated evil spirits, was believed to have preceded their own nobler shamanism, by which these enemies of mankind were forced or conquered by magic. once the great toad had, as she thought, succeeded in organizing a conspiracy by which glooskap, the shamanic god of nature, was to be destroyed. then he passed his hand over her face and that of her fellow-conspirator the porcupine; and from that time forth their noses were flat, to the great scorn of all honest well-beaked indians. the old persians made the toad the symbol and pet of ahriman, the foe of light, and declared that his charfester, or attendant demons, took that form when they persecuted ormuzd. among the tyrolese it is a type of envy; whence the proverb, "envious as a toad." in the middle ages, among artists and in many church legends, it appears as greed or avarice: there is even to this day, in some mysterious place on the right bank of the rhine between laufenberg and binzgau, a pile of coals on which sits a toad. that is to say, coals they seem to the world. but the pile is all pure gold, and the toad is a devil who guards it; and he who knows how can pronounce a spell which shall ban the grim guardian. and there is a story told by menzel ("christliche symbolik," vol. i. p. ), that long ago there lived in cologne a wicked miser, who when old repented and wished to leave his money to the poor. but when he opened his great iron chest, he found that every coin in it had turned to a horrible toad with sharp teeth. this story being told to his confessor, the priest saw in it divine retribution, and told him that god would have none of his money--nay, that it would go hard with him to save his soul. and he, being willing to do anything to be free of sin, was locked up in the chest with the toads; and lo! the next day when it was opened the creatures had eaten him up. only his clean-picked bones remained. but in the tyrol it is believed that the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance as hoetschen or hoppinen--as they are locally called--for deeds done in human form. therefore, they are regarded with pity and sympathy by all good christians. and it is well known that in the church of saint michael in schwatz, on the evening before the great festivals, but when no one is present, an immense toad comes crawling before the altar, where it kneels and prays, weeping bitterly. the general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled. so the poor creatures go hopping about astray, bewildered and perplexed, striving to find their way to shrines which have perchance long since ceased to exist. once there was a toad who took seven years to go from leifers to weissenstein; and when the creature reached the church it suddenly changed to a resplendent white dove, which, flying up to heaven, vanished before the eyes of a large company there assembled, who bore witness to the miracle. and one day as a wagoner was going from innsbruck to seefeld, as he paused by the wayside a toad came hopping up and seemed to be desirous of getting into the wagon; which he, being a benevolent man, helped it to do, and gave it a place on the seat beside him. there it sat like any other respectable passenger, until they came to the side-path which leads to the church of seefeld; when, wonderful to relate! the toad suddenly turned to a maiden of angelic beauty clad in white, who, thanking the wagoner for his kindness to her when she was but a poor reptile, told him that she had once been a young lady who had vowed a pilgrimage to the church of seefeld. in common with the frog, the toad is an emblem of productiveness, and ranks among creatures which are types of erotic passion. i have in my possession a necklace of rudely made silver toads, of arab workmanship, intended to be worn by women who wish to become mothers. therefore the creature, in the old world as well as in the new, appears as a being earnestly seeking the companionship of men. thus it happened to a youth of aramsach, near kattenberg, that, being one day in a lonely place by a lake, there looked up at him from the water a being somewhat like a maid but more like a hideous toad, with whom he entered into conversation; which became at last friendly and agreeable, for the strange creature talked exceeding well. then she, thinking he might be hungry, asked him if he would fain have anything in particular to eat. he mentioned in jest a kind of cakes; whereupon, diving into the lake, she brought some up, which he ate. so he met her many times; and whenever he wished for anything, no matter what, she got it for him from the waters: the end of it all being that, despite her appalling ugliness, the youth fell in love with her and offered marriage, to which she joyfully consented. but no sooner had the ceremony been performed than she changed to a lady of wonderful beauty; and, taking him by the hand, she conducted him to the lake, into which she led him, and "in this life they were seen never more." this legend evidently belongs to frog-lore. according to one version, the toad after marriage goes to a lake, washes away her ugliness, and returns as a beauty with the bridegroom to his castle, where they live in perfect happiness. i have also a very old silver ring, in which there is set a toad rudely yet artistically carved in hæmatite, or blood-stone. these were famous amulets until within two or three hundred years. if you are a gypsy and have a tame toad it is a great assistance in telling fortunes, and brings luck--that commodity which, as callot observed, the gypsies are always selling to everybody while they protest they themselves have none. as i tested with the last old gypsy woman whom i met: "what bak the divvus?"--"what luck to-day?" "kekker rya"--"none, sir," was the reply, as usual, "i never have any luck." so like a mirror they reflect all things save themselves, and show you what they know not. "i've seen you where you never were and where you never will be; and yet within that very place you can be seen by me. for to tell what they do not know is the art of the romany." notes [ ] i was once myself made to contribute, involuntarily, to this kind of literature. forty years ago i published a folk-lore bock entitled "the poetry and mystery of dreams," in which the explanations of dreams, as given by astrampsychius, artemidorus, and other ancient oneirologists, were illustrated by passages from many poets and popular ballads, showing how widely the ancient symbolism had extended. a few years ago i found that some ingenious literary hack had taken my work (without credit), and, omitting what would not be understood by servant girls, had made of it a common sixpenny dream-book. [ ] vide an extremely interesting paper on "the origin of languages and the antiquity of speaking man," by horatio hale. ["proceedings of the american association for the advancement of science," vol. xxv.] as i had, owing to studies for many years of baby-talk and jargons, long ago arrived at mr. hale's conclusions, i was astonished to learn that they have been so recently formed by anybody. [ ] vide "practical education," by c. g. leland (london: whittaker and co., ), in which this faculty is fully discussed, pp. - . [ ] "it is said that if the bones of a green frog which has been eaten by ants are taken, those on the left side will provoke hatred, and those on the right side excite love" ("div. cur.," c. ).... "one species of frog called rubeta, because it lives among brambles, is said to have wonderful powers. brought into an assembly of people it imposes silence. if the little bone in its right side be thrown into boiling water it chills it at once. it excites love when put into a draught" ("castle saint angelo and the evil eye," by w. w. story). [ ] according to pliny, the tooth of a wolf hung to the neck of an infant was believed to be an efficient amulet against disease; and a child's tooth caught before it falls to the ground and set in a bracelet was considered to be beneficial to women. nat. hist. lib. xxvi., cap. ("castle saint angelo and the evil eye," by w. w. story). [ ] this cannot fail to remind many readers of the land-- "where the cock never crew, where the sun never shone and the wind never blew." [ ] of the seventh son, pipernus remarks in his book, "de effectibus magicis" ( ): "est ne sanandi superstitiosus modus eorum, qui orti sunt die parasceves, et quotquot nullo foemines sexu intercedente, ac ab ortu septimi masculi legitimo thoro sunt nati? memorat vairus, i. de fascinatione, ii. del rius, lib. i., part . garzonius nel serraglio. j. cæsar baricellus secundus scriptor in hort. genialé." [ ] "Über marcellus burdigalensis, von jacob grimm. gelesen in der academie der wissenschaften," juni, (berlin. dummler). in this work, as well as in the german mythology, by the same author, and in rudolf roth's "litteratur und geschichte des veda" (stuttgart, ), the reader will find, as also in the works of the elder cato and pliny, numbers of these incantations. [ ] the divination by the running brook has been known in other lands. the highlanders when they consulted an oracle took their seer, wrapped him in the hide of a newly-killed ox or sheep, and left him in some wild ravine by a roaring torrent to pass the night. from such sights and sounds there resulted impressions which were reflected in his dreams (vide scott, "lady of the lake," and notes). the fact that running water often makes sounds like the human voice has been observed by the algonkin indians of maine and nova scotia (vide "the algonkin legends of new england," by charles g. leland). [ ] "südslavische hexensagen, mittheilungen der anthropologischen gesellschaft in wien." xiv. bande, . "medizinische zaubersprüche aus slavonien, bosnien, der hercegovina und dalmatien." wien, . "sreca, glück und schicksal im volksglauben der südslaven." wien, . "südslavische pestsagen." wien, . [ ] "witch. mediæval english wicche, both masculine and feminine, a wizard, a witch. anglo-saxon wicca, masculine, wicce, feminine. wicca is a corruption of wítga, commonly used as a short form of witega, a prophet, seer, magician, or sorcerer. anglo-saxon witan, to see, allied to wítan, to know. similarly icelandic vitki, a wizard, is from vita, to know. wizard, norman-french wischard, the original old french being guiscart, sagacious. icelandic, vizkr, clever or knowing, ... with french suffix ard as german hart, hard, strong" (skeat, "etymol. dictionary"). that is wiz-ard, very wise. wit and wisdom here are near allied to witchcraft, and thin partitions do the bounds divide. [ ] for a very interesting account of the mysterious early dwarfs of great britain the reader may consult "earth houses and their inhabitants," by david macritchie, in "the testimony of tradition." london: trübner and co., . [ ] the many superstitions relating to cutting nails may be referred in part to the very wild legend of the ship naglfara given in sturleson's "edda." "then in that twilight of the gods (the norse day of judgment) will come the ship naglfara, which is made of dead men's nails. in that sea it will go forth. hrymer steereth it. and for this cause no man should die with his nails unshorn, for so the ship is made, and the gods would fain put that off as long as possible" ("edda, gylfesgynning," th tale). [ ] "geit suer heidrun heitr stendr uppi a valholl.... en or spenum hennar rennr moilk ... tháer ero sva miklar at allir einheria verda fuldrucknir af." ("a ewe named heidrun stands up in valhalla. and from her udders runs milk; there is so much that all the heroes may drink their fill of it"). (snorro sturleson's "edda," th tale). [ ] though not connected with this work, i cannot help observing that this extraordinary simile probably originated in a very common ornament used as a figure-head, or in decorations, on mississippi steamboats, as well as ships. this is the sea-horse (hippocampus), which may be often seen of large size, carved and gilt. its fish tail might be easily confused with that of an alligator. prætorius ( ) enumerates, among other monsters, the horse-crocodile. [ ] schott, "wallachische mährchen," p. . stuttgart, . [ ] in northern sagas it appeared that berserkers, or desperate warriors, frequently bound themselves together in companies of twelve. vide the hervor saga, olaf tryggvason's and the gautrek saga. so there were the twelve norse gods and the twelve apostles. [ ] vide "drawing and designing." london: whittaker & co., . [ ] this was written long before i heard that the same idea had occurred to others. [ ] another italian was fined or imprisoned for the same thing in london in july, --i.e., for telling penny fortunes by the same machine. [ ] this chapter is reproduced, but with much addition, from one in my work entitled "the gypsies," published in boston, , by houghton and mifflin. london: trübner & co. the addition will be the most interesting portion to the folk-lorist. [ ] this song which, with its air, is very old in the united states, has been vulgarized by being turned into a ballad of ten little nigger boys. it is given in mrs. valentine's nursery rhymes as "indian boys." [ ] it is not generally known that sir h. a. layard and sir william drake were the true revivers of the glass manufacture of venice. [ ] see the "algonkin legends of new england," by charles g. leland.