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diff --git a/39665.txt b/39665.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec31f10 --- /dev/null +++ b/39665.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24269 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A History of the Gipsies, by Walter Simson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: A History of the Gipsies + with Specimens of the Gipsy Language + +Author: Walter Simson + +Editor: James Simson + +Release Date: May 10, 2012 [EBook #39665] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Harry Lame and the Distributed +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, 448 BROOME STREET. + +LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON & MARSTON. + +1866. + + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, + BY JAMES SIMSON, + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for + the Southern District of New York. + + + + +CONTENTS.[1] + + + PAGE + EDITOR'S PREFACE 5 + + EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 27 + + INTRODUCTION 55 + + CHAPTER. + I. CONTINENTAL GIPSIES 69 + + II. ENGLISH GIPSIES 90 + + III. SCOTTISH GIPSIES, DOWN TO THE YEAR 1715 98 + + IV. LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES 123 + + V. FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES 140 + + VI. TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES 185 + + VII. BORDER GIPSIES 236 + + VIII. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES 257 + + IX. LANGUAGE 281 + + X. PRESENT CONDITION AND NUMBER OF THE GIPSIES IN SCOTLAND 341 + + DISQUISITION ON THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF GIPSYDOM 371 + + INDEX 543 + + [1] 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 1506, 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 250,000 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 4,000,000 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 1st, 1866_. + + + + +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,[2] 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. + + [2] 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 1838, 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.[3] 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[4] tale." + + [3] "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._ + + [4] _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.[5] + + [5] 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.[6] In consulting the record of Moses, I find it said, in Ex. +xii. 38, "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. +10, 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. 4, "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. 3), and leave us only to form a conjecture +relative to their destiny. + + [6] 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. 34); and that the Egyptians considered it +an abomination to eat bread with a Hebrew, (Gen. xliii. 32,) 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. 26). 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. 11, 12; +Matt. xi. 25, 26; and John xii. 39, 40), 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.[7] + + [7] 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. 1. 24, 25) 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. 29-31, 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. 7); 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. 20). 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. 3). 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. 2-5 and 8), 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. 4, that the murrain touched not the cattle of Israel; +and in the 26th 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. 26). 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 3000 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 AEschylus +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 preeminently 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 1394, 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 1414, 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,[8] 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.[9] 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! + + [8] Ezek. xxix. 12,-14, and xxx. 10, 23, and 26.--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. 13, 14, 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. + + [9] Abbe 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 470, 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 debris 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."[10] + + [10] 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.[11] 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 debris 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. + + [11] 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;[12] 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. + + [12] 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. 2 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."[13] + + [13] 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.[14] 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[15] 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."[16] + + [14] 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.] + + [15] The name by which Mr. Blackwood was known in the celebrated + Chaldee manuscript, published in his magazine. + + [16] 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. 5, 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.[17] 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.[18] 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." + + [17] 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. + + [18] 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,[19] 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.[20] 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. + + [19] There cannot be less then 100,000 Gipsies in Scotland. See + Disquisition on the Gipsies.--ED. + + [20] 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.[21] 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? + + [21] 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 1840, and the former in +1841. 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 1817 and 1831, 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,[22] 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: + + [22] 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 1831, 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.[23] 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."[24] + + [23] Allowance must be made for the enthusiasm of the novelist. + + [24] Abbotsford, 1st Dec., 1831. + + + + +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 1400.[25] 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 1414 and 1417, +when they were observed in Germany. In 1418, they were found in +Switzerland; in 1422, in Italy; in 1427, they are mentioned as being in +the neighbourhood of Paris; and about the same time, in Spain.[26] + + [25] Sir Thomas Brown's vulgar errors. + + [26] 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.[27] + + [27] Hoyland's historical survey of the Gipsies. + +"When they arrived at Paris, 17th August, 1427, 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."[28] 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. + + [28] 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."[29] + + [29] 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 1492. 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 1561, 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 1612, a new order came out for their extermination. In the year +1572, 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 1662. The diet of 1723 +published a second; and that of 1727 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 1582. 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 1500; and the same business occupied the attention of the Diet +in 1530, 1544, 1548, and 1551; and was also again enforced, in the +improved police regulations of Frankfort, in 1577."[30] 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. + + [30] 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."[31] + + [31] 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.[32] 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. + + [32] Dr. Hurd says, at page 785, "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.[33] 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. + + [33] 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,[34] Grellmann divides those in +Transylvania into four classes: 1st. city Gipsies, who are the most +civilized of all, and maintain themselves by music, smith-work, selling +old clothes, horse-dealing, &c.; 2d. gold-washers; 3d. tent Gipsies; and +4th. 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. + + [34] In the narrative of the Scottish Church Mission of Enquiry to the + Jews, in 1839, 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 200 piastres, but the general price is 500. Perhaps L3 + 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 L3 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 Haemus, 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."[35] + + [35] 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 1745, 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 1793, the population was set down at 157,125, of which +3,225 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 1782), their number will amount to +between seven and eight hundred thousand. So numerous did they become in +France, that the king, in 1545, 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 1726, I shall here transcribe a few +extracts from an article published in Blackwood's Magazine, for January, +1818. 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 14th and 15th November, 1726, &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 1727. 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 1416 +and 1420. 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, 1445, '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 +1453;' and a third, at Pferz, as late as 1498, 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 1726, 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.[36] + + [36] 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.[37] 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 18th century. + + [37] 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 10th October, 1724, 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.[38] + + [38] 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 1718 until 1726, 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 1725, 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 14th and 15th +November, 1726. + +"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."[39] + + [39] Life of Baron Trenck, translated by Thomas Holcroft, Vol. I, page + 138. + +I shall conclude the notices of the continental Gipsies by some extracts +from an article published in a French periodical work, for September, +1802, 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."[40] + + [40] _Annales de Statistique, No. III, page 31-37._--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 1512,[41] 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 1612, 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. + + [41] 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."[42] + + [42] A quarto work by S. R., published to detect and expose the art of + juggling and legerdemain, in 1612. + +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.[43] + + [43] 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 1512 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 +10th chapter of the 22d 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 +1549, they had become very troublesome in England, for, on the 22d 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 27th 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."[44] 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.[45] + + [44] English acts of Parliament. + + [45] 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.[46] 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." + + [46] Hoyland. + +In the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was thought England contained above +10,000 Gipsies; and Mr. Hoyland, in his historical survey of these +people, supposes that there are 18,000 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 36,000 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 18,000 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.[47] + + [47] 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.[48] + + [48] 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.[49] + + [49] 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."[50] + + [50] 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 1715. + + +That the Gipsies were in Scotland in the year 1506 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 1460, 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 1460, 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.[51] The story relates to the estate and family of +McLellan of Bombie, in Galloway, and is as follows: + + [51] 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,[52] 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.[53] + + [52] 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 1492, some of the Spanish Gipsies would likely + pass over to the south of Ireland, and thence find their way + into Scotland, before 1506. 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.] + + [53] Crawford's Peerage, page 238. + +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.[54] + + [54] 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 1506. 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,[55] (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."[56] + + [55] 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. + + [56] Illustrissime, &c.--Anthonius Gawino, ex Parva Egypto comes, et + caetera ejus comitatus, gens afflicta et miseranda, dum Christianam + orbem peregrinationes studio. Apostolicae sedis, (ut refert) jussu, + suorum more peregrinans, fines nostri regni dudum advenerat, atque in + sortis suae, 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 quae + 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 Regiae tuae munificentiae commendaremus. + Ceterum errabundae 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 1506 to 1540, the 28th of the reign of James V, we find that the +true character of the Gipsies had not reached the Scottish court; for, +in 1540, 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.[57] + + [57] 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 28th year."[58] + + [58] Ex. Registro Secreti Sigilli, Vol. XIV, fol. 59. 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.[59] 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. + + [59] 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."[60] + + [60] Small's Roman Antiquities of Fife, pages 285 and 286. 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 6, 1541. 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.[61] 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.[62] 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."[63] + + [61] 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. + + [62] 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. + + [63] M. S. Act. Dom. Con. vol 15, fol. 155.--_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, (1542) a new reign brought +new prospects to the denounced wanderers.[64] They seem to have had the +address to recover their credit with the succeeding government; for, in +1553, the writ which passed the privy seal in 1540, 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, 25 April, 1553; and 8 +April, 1554, he gets remission for the slaughter of Ninian Small." In +Blackwood's Magazine it is mentioned that "Andro Faw, Captain of the +Egyptians,[65] 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." + + [64] 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. + + [65] 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 1506, and John Faw, in 1540, would personally, as +individuals, that is, as Gipsy Rajahs,[66] 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.[67] The Falls, merchants, at +Dunbar, were descended from the Gipsy Faas of Yetholm. + + [66] _Rajah_--The Scottish Gipsy word for a chief, governor, or + prince. + + [67] 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 1506 till 1579--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.[68] + + [68] 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."[69] 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."[70] + + [69] 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. + + [70] Glendook's Scots Acts, James VI, 6th Par. cap. 74--20th Oct. + 1579. + +This statute was ratified and confirmed in the 12th parliament of James +VI, cap. 147, 5th June, 1592, 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 15th parliament +of the same reign, 19th December, 1597, 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, +1579, to be prorogate in during their life times, &c."[71] + + [71] 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, 15th November, 1600. 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."[72] "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, 1603, 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.[73] A few +years after, this proclamation was converted into perpetual law, by +statute 1609, cap. 13, 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. + + [72] If Fletcher of Saltoun be correct, when he states that, in his + time, which was about the end of the 17th 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. + + [73] The records in which this order is contained are lost. + +"13. 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, 1603 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."[74] In a subsequent enactment, in 1617, +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.[75] + + [74] Glendook's Scots Act. + + [75] Ib. + +But so little respected was the authority of the government, that in +1612, 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 1609, is manifest +from the following passages, which I extract from Blackwood's Magazine, +for 1817; 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, 1615, we find a remission under the privy seal, granted to +William Auchterlony, of Cayrine, for resetting of John Faw and his +followers.[76] On the 14th July, 1616, 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, 1619, we find another +proclamation against resetters of them; in April, 1620, another +proclamation of the same kind, and in July, 1620, 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 4th +July, 1616, 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, (1609,) . . . 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.[77] + + [76] 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 Scotiae in contrarium + facta." Regist. secreti sigilli vol. lxxxiii, fol. 291, _Blackwood's + Magazine_.--ED. + + [77] The same state of things existed in Spain. Charles II. passed a + law on the 12th June, 1695, the 16th 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 1579, the Gipsies, as +already mentioned, appear to have been treated as a separate people, +observing their own laws and customs. In the year 1587, 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.[78] 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.[79] +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 1609, 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." + + [78] There were 17 clans on the Borders, and 34 clans in the + Highlands, who appear to have had chiefs and captains over them. There + were 22 baronial proprietors connected with the Borders, and 106 + connected with the Highlands, named in a roll, who were likewise + ordered to find pledges.--_Glendook's Scots Acts._ + + [79] 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 1609, 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.[80] 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.[81] 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.[82] 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 +1540, as both of these names are inserted in that document. + + [80] 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. + + [81] 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. + + [82] 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 (1609) 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 31st July, 1611, 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 19th and 24th July, 1616, 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 1,000 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, 1624, 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 50 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 1624, the +date of the above trials, the following order of the privy council: +"Anent some Egyptians. At Edinburgh, 10th November, 1636. 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."[83] + + [83] Blackwood's Magazine. + +"Towards the end of that century," continues Baron Hume, "the nuisance +seems to have again become troublesome. On the 13th of December, 1698, +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 26th, 1699, 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, (10th and 11th August, 1714.) 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, 1715, 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.[84] + + [84] 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 1540. + +It will be seen, under the head Tweed-dale and Clydesdale Gipsies, that +tradition has represented William Baillie, who was tried in 1714 and +1715, 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.[85] 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. + + [85] From the time of arrival of the Gipsies in the country, in 1506, + till 1611, the date of the first trials of the tribe, as given by + Baron Hume, a period of 105 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 + 1775, 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 1799. 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 1775--'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 1799 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.[86] + + [86] 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.[87] + + [87] 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.[88] 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. + + [88] 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.[89] 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. + + [89] 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.[90] + + [90] 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. 2, + page 508._ + +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.[91] 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. + + [91] 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 9th and 13th of August, 1770, 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. 13, passed in 1609. 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.[92] 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. + + [92] "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 9, page 384. + +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?"[93] + + [93] "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. 9, page 416. + +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.[94] 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. + + [94] 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 1770, were themselves executed in +1786 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 18th December, 1786. 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.[95] + + [95] 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;[96] 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. + + [96] In Oliver and Boyd's Scottish Tourist, (1832), page 181, 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 87.--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.[97] 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.[98] + + [97] 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. + + [98] 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.[99] 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." + + [99] 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.[100] In this battle the +Gipsy females, in their usual manner, took a conspicuous part, by +assisting the combatants on either side. + + [100] 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."[101] + + [101] 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.[102] + + [102] 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.[103] 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 1774, 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.[104] 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,"[105] 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."[106] + + [103] It is interesting to notice that the three criminals who gave + occasion to the Porteous mob, in 1736, 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. + + [104] 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. + + [105] _Gaberlunzie-man_--The beggar-man with the ragged apparel. + + [106] 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.[107] 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. + + [107] 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.[108] 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. + + [108] In the "Monthly Visitor" for February, 1856, 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 +1795, 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.[109] 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,[110] 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.[111] + + [109] An old woman, whom I found occupying the house of Charles + Wilson, at Raploch, in 1845, 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. + + [110] There are a number of small landed proprietors in the hilly + parts of Kinross-shire; hence the appellation of Brae-laird. + + [111] 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 1620, 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."[112] 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.[113] In Hugh Murray's +Asia, we have the following passage relative to the professed thieves in +India. + + [112] Vol. ii., page 17. + + [113] Golbery's Travels, translated by Francis Blagden. Vol. i, page + 158. + +"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 146: "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.[114] + + [114] 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."[115] 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."[116] + + [115] Asiatic Researches, vol. vii., pages 189 and 193. + + [116] Dr. James Grieve's translation of a Russian account of + Kamtschatka, page 323. + +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.[117] 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. + + [117] 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,[118] 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. + + [118] 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.[119] 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. + + [119] 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.[120] + + [120] 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 1715, 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.[121] 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. + + [121] This claim appears doubtful, for there were Gipsies of the name + of Baillie (Bailyow) as far back as 1540, 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.[122] + + [122] 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 1745, 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 1770, +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 1st of October, 1677, 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,[123] with his wife, then with child, were both killed +dead upon the place; and his brother George very dangerously wounded. In +February, 1678, 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. 1683. + + The field of Gipsie blood, which here you see, + A shelter for the harmless dove shall be." + + [123] 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, +1678.--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,[124] 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." + + [124] 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 +1772, or 1773. 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;[125] 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.[126] 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. + + [125] 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_. + + [126] 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.[127] + + [127] This Gipsy battle is alluded to by Sir Walter Scott, in a + postscript to a letter to Captain Adam Ferguson, 16th April, 1819. + + "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.[128] + + [128] 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.[129] + + [129] 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.[130] + + [130] 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 1770, 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 1740, 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,[131] 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. + + [131] 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 1739, 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."[132] + + [132] Dr. Alexander Carlyle, in a note to his autobiography, mentions + having seen this Jock Johnstone hanged. The date given by him (1738), + 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.[133] 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. + + [133] 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."[134] + + [134] 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, 1699, 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 500 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 10th and 11th August, 1714, +"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,[135] but said nothing at all as to +any other points; all they found proved was, that William, in March, +1713, 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[136] and shable," (a kind of +sabre.) + + [135] _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._ + + [136] 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, 1715, 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."[137] + + [137] 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 154,) 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," (117,) 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," (114,) and that Baillie was one of them, (121 + and 185.) 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, 1725, 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,[138] 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. + + [138] 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 22nd August, +1726, 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 1724. 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 1770. 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.[139] 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. + + [139] 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 depot, 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 1771, 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 8th October, 1772:--"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 +1st 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 18th December, 1773, and 27th +February, 1774, the "Lords, in terms of the said former sentence, decree +and adjudge the said James Baillie to be hanged on the 30th March then +next." He thus appears to have remained in prison from October, 1772, +till March, 1774. "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 4th December, 1776, three +sheriff-officers set out from Edinburgh, to bring him hither; but +before they reached Carlisle, he had again broken prison and +escaped.[140] + + [140] Scot's Magazine, vol xxxviii., page 675. + +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."[141] + + [141] McLaurin's Trials, page 555. [See note at page 205.--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 115 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.[142] + + [142] 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 1768, 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.[143] + + [143] 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 24th November, 1772. + +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."[144] + + [144] Weekly Magazine, 10th September, 1772, page 354. + +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, (1772,) 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.[145] + + [145] 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;[146] 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. + + [146] 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, 1818: "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 1775, 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 1784, 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 1790. 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.[147] 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. + + [147] 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."[148] 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. + + [148] 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.[149] + + [149] 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,[150] 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.[151] +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. + + [150] 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 206._ + + [151] 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. 57,) 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, 38, and Heidegger's His. patriar. + exercit. 20._ + + Fortune-telling is punishable by the 9th Geo. II, chap. 5th. In June, + 1805, 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 178._ + +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[152] 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. + + [152] 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.[153] 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. + + [153] I published the greater part of the Gipsy method of cooking, in + the Fife Herald, of the 18th April, 1833. + +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.[154] +Substitute linen rags for the leaves of trees, and what method of +cooking can be more primitive than that of our Scottish Gipsies? + + [154] Ponqueville considers the Gipsies contemporary of the first + societies. _Paris_, 1830. + +The Gipsy method of smelting iron, for sole-clout for ploughs, and +smoothing-irons, is also simple, rude, and primitive.[155] 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. + + [155] 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 1496, + 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 Fuenf-kirchen." + In the year 1565, 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 1677, 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."[156] + + [156] 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 4th August, 1774, 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 1670, 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 18th of May, 1734, +Captain James Fall, of Dunbar, was elected member of parliament for the +Dunbar district of burghs. On the 28th of May, 1741, 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.[157] 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.[158] + + [157] "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.] + + [158] "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.[159] + + [159] Speaking of a gentlemen in his autobiography, Dr. Alexander + Carlyle, in 1744. 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."[160] 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. + + + [160] 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 1643, 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.[161] + + [161] See page 108.--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 1746, 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 1745, +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 1st._ 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, 109 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 2d._ 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 3d._ 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 1783; 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 4th._ 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 45 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 1783, or 1784, and the late Mr. Nisbet did not long +survive."[162] + + + [162] 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.[163] 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,[164]) 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. + + [163] 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. + + [164] 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.[165] 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. + + [165] 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.[166] + + [166] 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 1714, 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 20th October, 1847: + +"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[167] + 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." + + [167] 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.[168] 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. + + [168] There is one word in the Gipsy language to which is attached + more importance than to any other thing whatever--_Lacha_--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 _Dicle_--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,[169] 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. + + [169] A GIPSY MULTIPLICATION TABLE. + + +-------------+-------+----------+--+ + | Births | Mar- | Births of| | + |of Children. |riages.| Grand- | | + | | | children.| 1| + +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+ + |1822, Oct. 1.| 1842 |1843, Jul.| 1| 2| + | | | | +--+--+ + |1824, Jan. 1.| 1844 |1844, Oct.| 1| 1| 3| + | | | | | +--+--+ + |1825, Apl. 1.| 1845 |1846, Jan.| 1| 1| 1| 4| + | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1826, Jul. 1.| 1846 |1847, Ap. | 1| 1| 1| 1| 5| + | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1827, Oct. 1.| 1847 |1848, Jul | 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 6| + | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1829, Jan. 1.| 1849 |1849, Oct.| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 7| + | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1830, Apl. 1.| 1850 |1851, Jan.| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 8| + | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1831, Jul. 1.| 1851 |1852, Ap. | 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 9| + | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1832, Oct. 1.| 1852 |1853, Jul.| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1|10| + | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1834, Jan. 1.| 1854 |1854, Oct.| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1|11| + | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+ + |1835, Apl. 1.| 1855 |1856, Jan.| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1|12| + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+ + |1836, Jul. 1.| 1856 | | |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|Total. + +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-----+ + | 12| | |11|10| 9| 8| 7| 6| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0| 78 | + +-------------+-------+----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-----+ + + 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 54 years old, have a "following" of + no less than 78 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."[170] 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." + + [170] 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.[171] 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! + + [171] "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 205 and 206._ + +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."[172] + + [172] 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.[173] + + [173] 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 sponsae naturalibus admota membranam, + vulvae ori oppositam unguibus scindit et cruorem a plaga 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 vind la puerta Snr. Joaquin + Que le voy a vind a poner un panuelito + 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 _dicle_ 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.[174] + +/# + [174] 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 + 500 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 399._ + + 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.[175] 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. + + [175] 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.[176] 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. + + [176] 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 120 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."[177] The Gipsies are complete Tartars in matters of +this kind.[178] + + [177] Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, vol, x. + + [178] 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.[179] 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.[180] + + [179] 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. + + [180] 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.[181] 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. + + [181] 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. 11. + +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 1819, at the +age of 74 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 1758 or 1760, 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 1837, at the age of nearly 83 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 1674, +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 1828. 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."[182] 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,[183] 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.[184] 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. + + [182] This Gipsy mentioned one particular instance of having seen a + couple separated in this way, on a wild moor, near Huntly, about the + year 1805. 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. + + [183] 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 28, 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." + + [184] 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.[185] 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. + + [185] 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 1830, 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.[186] 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.[187] + + [186] This difficulty has been removed by recent legislation.--ED. + + [187] "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_,[188] +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 127._ + + [188] 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 128._ In the Asiatic Researches, the +sacrifice of the horse is frequently noticed; and in Sir William +Jones' Institutes of Menu, chapter viii., page 202, 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 216_.) "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 19._ + +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 21st and 22d verses of the 16th 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 17._ 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.[189] + + [189] 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.[190] "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.[191] + + [190] 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." + + [191] 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.[192] The words which I got on this occasion will be +found in another part of the chapter. + + [192] 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 +1783, 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,[193] 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. + + [193] This woman evidently mistook our author for a Gipsy _gent_, such + as he is described at page 169.--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.[194] + + [194] 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."[195] 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. + + [195] 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 44.--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.[196] 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. + + [196] 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_, 1820. + + [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.[197] + + [197] 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, 1829, 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.[198] + + [198] 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, _25th May, 1829._ + + "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 22d 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_."[199] + + [199] 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?[200] 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. + + [200] 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 Graeme, 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 GRAEME. + + GUDE Lord Scroope's to the hunting gane, + He has ridden o'er moss and muir; + And he has grippit Hughie the Graeme, + 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 Graeme, + 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 Graeme. + + Then they hae grippit Hughie the Graeme, + And brought him up through Carlisle town; + The lasses and lads stood on the walls, + Crying, "Hughie the Graeme, 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 Graeme, 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 Graeme to me." + + "O no, O no, my gude Lord Hume! + For sooth and sae it manna be; + For, were there but three Graemes 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 Graeme to me." + + "O no, O no, my gude Lady Hume! + For sooth and so it must na be; + Were he but the one Graeme of the name, + He suld be hanged high for me." + + "If I be guilty," said Hughie the Graeme, + "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 Graeme."[201] + + [201] On mentioning to Sir Walter Scott, when at Abbotsford, that the + Gipsies were very partial to Hughie the Graeme, 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 Graeme, 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.[202] + + [202] See pages 58 and 65.--ED. + +One of the greatest fairs in Scotland is held, annually, on the 18th 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 1781,[203]) 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. + + [203] These sixteen farms embraced about 25,000 acres of mountainous + land, maintained 13,000 sheep, 100 goats, 250 cattle, 50 horses, 20 + draught-oxen, and 60 dogs; 29 shepherds, 26 other servants, and 15 + cotters, making, with their families, 228 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.[204] + + [204] 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:[205] + + [205] 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_[206], 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_,[207] 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. + + [206] _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_. + + [207] _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.[208] 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. + + [208] 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 1615; 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 113._--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.[209] 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.[210] + + [209] 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. + + [210] 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.[211] 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?[212] + + [211] 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. + + [212] 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 1836, 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."[213] 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.[214] + + [213] 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!" + + [214] 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 1842, 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.[215] + + [215] 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 1853, 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 1763, on +the 6th 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."[216] + + [216] "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 7th day of August, A. + D. 1422, 200 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 + India_;' and the account which Munster gives of what he gathered from + one of the Cingari, in 1524, 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.[217] 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. + + [217] 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.[218] + + [218] 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 + 113 and 315.--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.[219] + + [219] 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.[220] + + [220] In the report of the Fourteenth Gipsies' Festival, held at + Southampton, under the superintendence of the Rev. James Crabb, the + Gipsies' friend, on the 25th December, 1841, 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, 1st January, 1842._ + + 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 1842. + + SCOTTISH GIPSY. YETHOLM GIPSY. ENGLISH. + + _Gaugie_, _Gadge_, Man. + _Managie_, _Manishee_, Woman. + _Mort_, Wife. + _Chavo_, (_chauvies_, _Shavies_, + children,) children, Son. + _Praw_, _Goure_ a boy, Son. + _Prawl_, _Rackle_, a girl, Daughter. + _Riah_, _Rai_, a gentleman, A chief. + _Rajah_, Governor. + _Baurie_, _Bare_, Good. + _Sherro_, _Shero_, Head. + _Yak_, _Yack_, Eye. + _Yaka_, Eyes. + _Nak_, _Nak_, Nose. + _Mooie_, _Moi_, Mouth. + _Vast_, _Vastie_, Hand. + _Grye_, _Gr[=a][=i]_, Horse. + _Bashanie_, _Basne_, Cock. + _Caunie_, _Kanne_, Hen. + _Drom_, _Drone_, Road. + _Gave_, _Gaave_, Village. + _Graunagie_, Barn. + _Graunzie_, _Granse_, Barn. + _Kair_, _Keir_, House. + _Outhrie_, Window. + _Yag_, _Yag_, Fire. + _Thood_, _Thud_, Milk. + _Mass_, _Mass_, Flesh. + _Peerie_, (or + _blawkie_,) _Blakie_, Pot. + _Paunie_, _Pawne_, Water. + _Paurie_, Water. + _Molzie_, _Mul_, Wine. + _Roy_, _Roy_, Spoon. + _Nab_, Horn. + _Chorie_, Knife. + _Chowrie_, _Choure_, Knife. + _Shuha_, _Shohe_, Coat. + _Scaf_, (or _gogle_,) _Gogel_, Hat. + _Harro_, Sword. + _Beerie_, Ship. + _Bumie_, _Peevan_, drinking, To drink. + _Choar_, To steal. + _Chor_, _Tschor_, Thief. + _Staurdie_, _Starde_, a jail, Prison. + _Moolie_, _Moulian_, dying, Death. + _Moolie_, _Moule_, 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 | + || ||[221] | | | | | | + ||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 || + ++------++--------+--------+-------+---------+---------+-------+-------++ + + [221] 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.[222] 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,[223] 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.[224] + + [222] 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, 1840._--ED. + + [223] 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. + + [224] "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 7th volume of the Asiatic +Researches, page 451. 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, (1839,) 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.[225] + + [225] 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 1775, 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.[226] + + [226] The following extract from the Fife Herald, for the 18th June, + 1829, 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[227] 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. + + [227] 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.[228] + + [228] 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.[229] + + [229] "When Paris was garrisoned by the allied troops, in the year + 1815, 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.[230] 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.[231] 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. + + [230] 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. + + [231] 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.[232] 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.[233] 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. + + [232] 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. + + [233] 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.[234] + + [234] 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 1836. + [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."--_22d August, 1829._ + +"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."--_3d October, 1829._[235] + + [235] 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 1841, 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.[236] + + [236] 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.[237] + + [237] 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.[238] +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. + + [238] 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 25 or 30 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.[239] 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. + + [239] 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.[240] 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.[241] + + [240] 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.] + + [241] 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 1836, a very respectable and wealthy master-tradesman +informed me that the whole of the individuals employed in his +manufactory, in Edinburgh, were Irish Gipsies.[242] + + [242] 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.[243] 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.[244] + + [243] 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. + + [244] The _Ross-shire Advertiser_, for April, 1842, 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 +1793, 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.[245] 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.[246] + + [245] 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 1686. 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. + + [246] 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,[247] 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.[248] + + [247] 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. + + [248] 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.[249] 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.[250] + + [249] 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. + + [250] 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.[251] 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.[252] + + [251] 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. + + [252] 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.[253] + + [253] 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.[254] + + [254] 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 5,000 Gipsies in Scotland, there are, as I have already said, + nearer 100,000, 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.[255] 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.[256] 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. + + [255] 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. + + [256] 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 25th December, + 1841. 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.[257] 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." + + [257] 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.[258] + + [258] 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 _expose_ 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;[259] 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, 1841, 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.[260] + + [259] 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. + + [260] 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.[261] 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. + + [261] 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 450 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.[262] + + [262] 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 +"_Biene rate, 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.[263] + + [263] 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.[264] 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. + + [264] 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 1540, 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.[265] + + [265] 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.[266] + + [266] 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 1783, 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.[267] + + [267] 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.[268] + + [268] 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.[269] + + [269] 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.[270] + + [270] 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.[271] + + [271] 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 Busne. We have kept together, + and like true Calore, 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 1783; 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 23d Geo. III., c. 54. 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 350 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.[272] +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_." + + [272] 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 92.) 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 1619, 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 8th May, 1633, 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 1783; +his proclamation having been in formal keeping with previous ones, +whether of his own country, or, as in Scotland, in 1603, "recommended by +the example of some other realm," (page 111.) 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 71 and 114.) + +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 Encyclopaedia 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.[273] + + [273] 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 1780, 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 1827, 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. 2, page 32, when, in reference to the Act of +Queen Elizabeth, in 1563, 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.[274] 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. + + [274] "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?[275] + + [275] "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.[276] 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?[277] + + [276] 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, (1835,) 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. + + [277] _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.[278] + + [278] 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.[279] + + [279] 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.[280] + + [280] 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."[281] 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. + + [281] See page 202. + +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."[282] +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. + + [282] 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 532.] + +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.[283] 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., +5,000, must be vastly below the real number. If I were to say 100,000, 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 100,000; and those in all +the British Isles at 300,000. 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.[284] + + [283] I very abruptly addressed a French Gipsy, in the streets of New + York, thus: "Vous etes 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. + + [284] 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 140 years had elapsed; and 174 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 1506. 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 1506. From + 1506 till 1579, with the exception of about one year, during the reign + of James V., the tribe, as I have already said, (page 109,) 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 50 years from + that time, (1624,) there is no trial of an Egyptian;" although our + author shows that an execution of a band of them took place in 1636. + 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 100,000 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,[285] 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. + + [285] _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.[286] + + [286] 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.[287] + + [287] 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?[288] 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?" + + [288] 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, chachipe_,' (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.[289] + + [289] 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 + 1818, says: "Scattered among the Joloffs, we find a people not unlike + our Gipsies, and known by the name of Laaubes. 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 Laaube females + are in request among the Negroes. + + "The Laaubes 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 Laaubes 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 Laaubes 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.[290] +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. + + [290] Bell, in an account of his journey to Pekin, [1721.] 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.[291] 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. + + [291] 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 297.) "So long as there existed +two Gipsies in Scotland, it would never be lost," (page 316.) 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.[292] 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 361-363,) 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 324.) 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. + + [292] 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.[293] + + [293] 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 420 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.[294] 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. + + [294] 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.[295] + + [295] 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.[296] 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. + + [296] 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 1680, from 100,000 to 500, 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.[297] + + [297] A writer in the Penny Cyclopaedia 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?[298] + + [298] 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, + 1,500 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 1540, 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 1600, 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 1600. 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.[299] 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. + + [299] 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.[300] + + [300] 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 +429, 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 1540, 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 +1540. In 1840, 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 1506, 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.[301] "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 1506, 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 1540, +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 1496, the Gipsies made +musket-balls for the king of Hungary; and, in 1565, 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.[302] + + [301] 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._ + + [302] 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 1506, and John Faw, in 1540, 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 +108.)[303] 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. + + [303] The following is a description of a superior Spanish Gipsy, in + 1584, 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 1540, and influence the +courts of the regency, and of Queen Mary, to reinstate them in their old +position, after the severe order of 1541, 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 1714, 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 1772, 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."[304] + + [304] I should suppose that this was Captain Gordon who behaved + himself like a prince, at the North Queensferry. _See page 172._ + +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 250 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.[305] 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." + + [305] 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. + 10-14.) 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. 14, 15.) + +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. 12 and 13,) +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.[306] 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. + + [306] 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 1540; 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.[307] + + [307] 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 Cyclopaedia, 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. 9.) 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. 14.) 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.[308] + + [308] It would almost seem that the Gipsies are the people mentioned + in Deut. xxxii. 21, and Rom. x. 19, 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 394,) 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 114,) 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 1609, 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 114). 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 1545, 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 1545, the natural encrease, in +whatever position in life it might be, must have been very great during +the following 235 years. I have learned, from the best of authority, +that there are many Gipsies in Flanders.[309] 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? + + [309] 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: 1850. pp. + viii. and 160." + + 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 +700,000 to 800,000, and the race must be very numerous to-day. Since his +time, the Negroes in the United States have encreased from 500,000 to +4,000,000, 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 +4,000,000. It embraces, for certainty, as in Scotland, men ranging in +character and position from a pillar of the Church down to a common +tinker.[310] + + [310] There are, probably, 12,000,000 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.[311] 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." + + [311] 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. 17-40.) 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. 6-10.) 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.[312] After entering India, they +would, in all probability, become a wandering people, and, for a +certainty, live aloof from all others. + + [312] 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 1540, 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, preeminently 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 19th October, 1860, 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."[313] + + [313] The following extract from "Leaves from the Diary of a Jewish + Minister," published in the above-mentioned journal, on the 4th April, + 1862, 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.[314] 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_,[315] 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.[316] + + [314] See pages 111 and 121. + + [315] _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. + + [316] 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."[317] 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 309-318.) 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! + + [317] 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.[318] 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.[319] + + [318] 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. + + [319] 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 375. + + 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."[320] 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. + + [320] 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.[321] 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." + + [321] 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?[322] + + [322] 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."[323] + + [323] 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 1723, 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.[324] + + [324] 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 386._ + +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."[325] 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.[326] + + [325] 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. + + [326] 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 413.) 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 381,) 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 459,) did, with his shut--gamble away both +law and gospel.[327] He might give his attention, however, to a prophecy +of Moses, quoted by St. Paul, in Rom. x. 19, from Deut. xxxii. 21, +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.[328] 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.[329] 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. + + [327] 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, 1stly: what is + the idea which he has of a Gipsy? 2ndly: what are the feelings which + he entertains for him personally? And 3dly: 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 369._) + + [328] 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. + + [329] 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, _1stly_: What was that particular +family, or tribe, of which Bunyan said he was a member? _2ndly_: Who are +the tinkers? _3dly_: 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? _4thly_: 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 55-67), printed, and circulated among some +acquaintances in Canada, for subscribers.[330] 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! + + [330] 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 400 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 50, 493 + How they lost their language and superstitions in America 50 + The prejudice against Africans in America 54, 441 + AFRICAN GIPSIES 428, _n_429 + AMERICAN GIPSIES. + Many arrived during the Revolution, as impressed soldiers, and + volunteers 345 + English Gipsies married to native Americans 377 + A Gitano has a cigar store in Virginia. Egyptians in + Louisiana _n_389 + _See Disquisition on the Gipsies_ 418-425 + Meeting between English and American Gipsies, in Maryland 430 + The Zincali Society in the city of New York, _n_438--Address to + the American Gipsies 440 + There should be no prejudices against Gipsies in America 441, 524 + AMERICAN INDIANS. + Comparison between them and the Gipsies generally 53, 55, 446 + AMERICAN READER, to the 6, 7, 440, 524, 525 + AMUSEMENTS OF GIPSIES 124, 126, 179, 182, 224 + ANTIQUARIES. + Prejudices of, against the Gipsies _n_7 + The profession of, 56, zeal in the calling of _n_57 + ARABS. + English Gipsies say they are a cross between Arabs and + Egyptians 14, 467 + How Arabs protect shipwrecked Christians _n_203 + They strip people of their clothes in the desert 210 + BAILLIES OF LAMINGTON. + Their influence of great service to the Scottish Gipsies + 121, 205, 213, 470 + The connexion between them and the Gipsy tribe of Baillie 185 + BAIRD, REV. JOHN. + His report on the Gipsy mission to the Church of Scotland 64 + His collection of Gipsy words, collated with those of the author 334 + On the absence of slang in the Gipsy language _n_338 + His plan for improving the Gipsies 368, _n_369 + BATTLES, GIPSY. + At Stirling, 147, Romanno, 188, Hawick, 190, Eskdale moor, 193, + Dumblane 194 + BIGGAR. + The face of the country about Biggar 141 + Gipsy turbulence in Biggar fair 196 + BIRTH OF THE ORIGINAL KIND OF GIPSIES 356, _n_357 + BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. + The author's articles in, 8, 56, 64--Poetical notice of them 66 + Hints at a philosophical account of the Gipsies 25 + Extracts of Scottish public records, taken from 113 + Unintentional attempt of a Gipsy to rob his own clergyman _n_124 + Chase after John Young, a Gipsy, resembling a fox hunt _n_144 + The unabashed hardihood of Gipsies under suspicion _n_155 + Old Will of Phaup's five years' warfare with the Gipsies _n_179 + Assault of the Gipsies on Pennicuik House _n_195 + The slaughter of William Baillie, a Gipsy chief 206 + How the Gipsies acquired a foothold in Yetholm _n_252 + Will Faa's twenty-four children, and pompous christenings _n_252 + The language spoken by the Gipsies in the Highlands _n_338 + The Nuts or Bazegurs of India supposed to be the parent stock of + the Gipsies 339 + The purity of Gipsy blood, and child stealing--Mr. Borrow's + "Gipsies in Spain" 375 + The numberless descendants of Billy Marshall, a Gipsy chief _n_388 + The Duchess of Gordon saves two Gipsies from the gallows 470 + BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM. + His four letters to the author 56 + He originates the idea of a history of the Gipsies _n_59 + Letter to him, describing the escapes and execution of Peter + Young, a Gipsy 145 + His contribution on the Gipsies in Tweed-dale 196, on the + Border 251 + BORDER GIPSIES. + The district in which the Faas travelled 236 + The tribes of Faa and Baillie in a state of hostility 236 + Quarrel in an English Gipsy family, in America: "the Faas and + Baillies over again" _n_237 + Henry Faa sits at the tables of people in public office, and + receives blackmail from men of considerable fortune 237 + The mercantile house of Fall, of Dunbar, founded by Gipsies 237 + Captain Fall a member of parliament--the family rule the + political interests of Dunbar 237 + Mrs. Fall works, in tapestry, a group of the founders of the + family, with their asses, &c. 237 + Anecdotes of the Falls with reference to their tribe and + origin _n_238 + The extensive nature of the Fall firm, and the cause of its + ruin 233 + Miss Fall marries Sir John Anstruther, of Elie, baronet 238 + The rabble insult her at an election, in which Sir John is a + candidate 239 + The song of "Johnny Faa, the Gipsy Laddie" 239 + The Earl of Cassilis the husband of her who absconded with the + "Gipsy Laddie" 241 + Adventure of a relative of Sir Walter Scott among the Gipsies 241 + The original of Meg Merrilies, 242--The execution of her sons, + 243--She is drowned by the rabble, at Carlisle, for being a + jacobite 244 + The grandfather of Sir Walter Scott is feasted by the Gipsies, + on Charter-house moor 244 + Contribution of Baillie Smith, of Kelso, to Hoyland's "Survey of + the Gipsies" 245 + 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, 245--Their employment + given to hunting and fishing, 246--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, + 247--Their physical peculiarities, occasional migrations, + burials, education, church attendance and baptism, 248--un- + steadiness of disposition, they will pay their rents only when + it suits themselves, 248--They resent an interference with the + Debatable Lands, 249--Sir Walter Scott points out a Gipsy, + 250--Will Faa, the Gipsy king, claims kin with the Messrs. + Fall, merchants, of Dunbar, Will's death and burial, 251-- + Report on the Gipsies by the sheriffs _n_251 + Contribution from Mr. Blackwood, towards a history of the + Gipsies 251 + Yetholm first occupied by the Faas and the Youngs, tradition + of their first settlement, _n_252--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 300 + asses, 252--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, 253--The Walker + family, and civilized Gipsies about Yetholm, Gipsy + connexions, education, no female Gipsy educated, the colony + free of imputed crime for fifty years 254 + The author's visit to Yetholm--Handling the cudgel 254 + A smuggling adventure of Will Faa--His appearance--A lament on + his death 255 + His relations in New York--A great many of the tribe scattered + over the world _n_255 + BORROW, GEORGE. + His publications on the Gipsies, since this work was written 6, 64 + In error on the subject of Gipsies stealing children _n_9, _n_342 + On the Gipsy language, 23, _n_281, _n_298, _n_338, _n_431--On + Timour overrunning India 38 + In error in saying that the Gipsies obtained the name of + Egyptians from others 39 + Description of English Gipsies, and the English dialect spoken by + them _n_93 + Spanish Gipsy counts, _n_107, 397, _n_468--Act of Charles II. + against Spaniards, for protecting the Gipsies _n_114 + Gipsies poison swine, and eat their flesh _n_186 + English Gipsy surnames--Travelling Gipsies have two names _n_219 + Chastity among young Spanish Gipsy females, _n_257--Spanish + Gipsy marriage ceremony _n_262 + The character of Spanish Gipsy women _n_285 + On the Law of Charles III., ameliorating the condition of the + Spanish Gipsies _n_313, 392 + Song of a female Gipsy, at Moscow, _n_317--On the Sclavonic in + the Gipsy language _n_338 + He meets with a rich Gipsy in Spain, _n_347--How Gipsies resist + cold weather _n_354 + Meeting between a French and Spanish Gipsy, in the heat of a + battle _n_360 + On the education of the Spanish Gipsies _n_365 + Religion among the Moscow Gipsies--He preaches to the tribe in + Spain _n_366 + A half-blood Spanish Gipsy captain, 372, _n_373, 377--Civilized + Gipsies in Moscow 374, 399, _n_408 + Shuffling of the Gipsies regarding marriage with ordinary + natives _n_375 + Characters in Lavengro and the Romany Rye _n_375, 508, _n_509 + The Spanish Gipsies generally; _See Disquisition on the + Gipsies_ 385-397 + The natural capacity of Gipsies--different classes in Spain, + Turkey, and Russia 398 + No washing will turn the Gipsy white, 413--Moorish Gipsies in + Africa 428 + He is taken for a Gipsy in Spain, 397, and at Moscow 430 + On the grammatical peculiarities of the Gipsy language _n_431 + On the hatred entertained by the Gipsies for other people _n_433 + On Gipsy ingratitude--lawlessness in Spain 435 + Mr. Borrow as an authority on the Gipsies 448, 450, 523 + On the Russian Gipsies owning flocks and herds 466 + Description of a superior Spanish Gipsy, in 1584 _n_468 + BRIGHT, DR. (TRAVELS IN HUNGARY.) + The phenomenon of the existence of the Gipsies 7 + The existence of the Gipsy language little short of the + miraculous 24 + He hopes to see a satisfactory account of the Gipsies 25 + Description of Gipsy life in England 30 + Description of Gipsy dwellings, and their locations, in + Hungary _n_141 + Spanish Gipsy marriage ceremony, _n_261--Spanish Gipsy + widows _n_274 + The difficulties in acquiring the Gipsy language _n_281 + He suggests that the Gipsy language should be collated with + vulgar Hindostanee 330 + An Hungarian nobleman's opinion on the civilization of the + Gipsies 367 + BRUCE, JAMES, (TRAVELS IN AFRICA.) + Account of the Arabs protecting shipwrecked Christians _n_203 + Method of selling cargoes, at Jedda, to the Turks _n_312 + His discoveries discredited 537 + BUNSEN, CHEVALIER, ON SOUND JUDGMENT AND SHALLOW MINDS _n_518 + BUNYAN, JOHN. + He alludes to Gipsy women stealing children, _n_80--He is bred + to the business of a brazier _n_206 + His family history illustrated by the author's visit to a Gipsy, + met with at St. Boswell's 309 + His wife before Judge Hale, _n_313, 517--His description of his + early habits, or "youthful vanities" _n_402 + His nationality, and that of his tribe; _See Disquisition on the + Gipsies._ 507-523 + The name of Bunyan calculated to raise up that of the Gipsies 530 + He is still unacknowledged, though his fame will be as lasting + as the pyramids 535 + Some people imagine it would degrade Bunyan, to say he was a + Gipsy 536 + BURNS, ROBERT. + His "Jolly Beggars;" "My bonny lass, I work in brass" _n_346 + He alludes to the Falls, of Dunbar, in his tour _n_406 + CANADA. + A Scottish Gipsy family in, 18--Gipsies in 424 + A criticism on this work, while in prospect, by a Scotch editor + in 537 + CAPPADOCE FAMILY, VICISSITUDES IN THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF THE 497 + CARLYLE, DR. ALEXANDER. + Execution of Jock Johnstone, _n_201--Jenny Fall, afterwards Lady + Anstruther _n_239 + CASSILIS, THE COUNTESS OF. + Elopes with John Faa, a Gipsy chief, 108--The song of "Johnny + Faa, the Gipsy Laddie," composed thereon 239 + CASTE. + In India, 28--In Great Britain, 52, 54, 440, 443, 516, 522--In + America 54, 441, 525 + CHAMBERS' GAZETTEER. + Description of Yetholm, _n_141--Gipsy scenes at St. Boswell's + fair _n_353 + CHAMBERS' JOURNAL--On the disappearance of the Gipsies _n_449 + CHAMBERS' MISCELLANY--An account of Peter Young, a Gipsy _n_146 + CHILD STEALING BY THE GIPSIES 9, 45, _n_80, 342, 375 + CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. + Mission among the Scottish Gipsies 6, 55, 64, _n_369 + A Gipsy one of the committee of the missionary society 6 + Gipsies clergymen in the Scottish Church 6, 412 + Mission of enquiry to the Jews; the Gipsies of Wallachia _n_73 + CHURCH, THE. + Religious journals decline entertaining the question, "Was John + Bunyan a Gipsy?", 522, 525--The Church should do its duty to the + Gipsy race generally 440, 443, 533, 535, 536 + CLARKE, DR., (TRAVELS IN RUSSIA, &c.) + Characters or the Gipsies in Wallachia, 74--Gipsy dances in + Moscow 180 + COLLIERS, GIPSY--In the Lothians, _n_111--In the English mines 401 + COLLIERS, SCOTCH, SLAVES _n_111, _n_121, 506 + CONSTABLES. + A Gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and a third + banished 215-218 + Gipsies formerly employed as county constables--Their + peculiarities 343 + Gipsy constables at the present day 348 + A mixed Gipsy makes a good constable and thief-catcher _n_348 + CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. + The times at which the tribe appeared in the different countries + in Europe 69 + The appellations given to them, in various countries 69 + Notice of the Gipsies, as they appeared at Paris, in 1427 70 + Their original country unknown--At first, they receive passports + as pilgrims 70 + Persecutions in Spain, France, and Italy, in Denmark, Sweden, + the Netherlands, and Germany 71 + A general extermination never took place 72 + Theft and robbery, and "sorning," or masterful begging, the + causes of these persecutions 72 + The habits of the Gipsies everywhere the same, 72--They have no + religion peculiar to themselves 73 + The condition and classes of the Gipsies in the Danubian + Principalities 73 + Allusion to these Gipsies, in a mission of enquiry to the Jews, + in 1839 _n_73 + Remarks on the slavery of these Gipsies--Gipsies as spies, in + the late Russian war _n_74 + The Gipsies in the Turkish empire, in Italy, Poland, Lithuania, + Germany, and France 75 + Remarks on Grellmann's alleged disappearance of the Gipsies from + France _n_76 + The Gipsies in Spain, according to Dr. Bright 76 + The Gipsies of Syria, the Crimea, Persia, and India 77 + The population of the Gipsies in Europe, and the world generally 77 + The imposing titles and equipage of the leaders of the Gipsies, + on their arrival in Europe 77 + The nature and form of government among the Continental Gipsies 78 + An account of German Gipsy bands, translated by Sir Walter + Scott, for Blackwood's Magazine 78 + Baron Trenck, in his wanderings, falls in with a German Gipsy + band 86 + The Gipsies of the Pyrenees--Their resemblance to the inferior + class of Scottish Gipsies 86 + COOKING AMONG THE GIPSIES 88, 187, 232 + COUNTERFEITING AMONG THE GIPSIES 174, 204 + CRABB, REV. JAMES. + The Gipsies, as they become civilized, avoid the barbarous part + of the tribe _n_283 + The Hindostanee and the Gipsy languages, _n_334--His plan for + improving the Gipsies 368 + CRITICS. + A word or two to--A criticism on this work, while in prospect, + by a Scotch editor in Canada 537 + DANCING AMONG THE GIPSIES 179, 180, 182 + DEAD, THE BURIAL OF THE, AMONG THE GIPSIES _n_128 + DISGUISES OF THE GIPSIES 129, 150, 162, 169, 177, 213, 222, 320, + _n_323, 349, 355 + DISQUISITION ON THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF GIPSYDOM. + Points omitted by the author--The philosophy of the Gipsy + subject 371 + Gipsydom a _terra incognita_--Its origin, language, and habits + strange to other people 371 + Natural perpetuation of the tribe--Mixed Gipsies hold by the + connexion 372 + The prejudice of caste--A half-blood Spanish Gipsy captain 372 + An iron-master marries a Cinderella, 373--Civilized Gipsies in + Moscow, and Scotland 374 + The Gipsies mix their blood--No full-blood Gipsies in Scotland 374 + The Edinburgh Review and Blackwood's Magazine on the purity of + Gipsy blood 374 + How Gipsies shuffle on the point--The case of Ursula, in the + Romany Rye _n_375 + The physical peculiarities of mixed Gipsies 375, and other mixed + races 376 + Appearance of the half-blood captain--The Gipsies partial to + fair hair 377 + Mixed Gipsies common everywhere--Grellmann on the colour of + Gipsies _n_377 + American mixed Gipsies, 377--The Gipsies receive males rather + than females into their tribe 378 + How female Gipsies "manage" natives, when they marry them 378 + How Gipsies are brought up to adhere to their race 379 + Remarks of Mr. George Offor on young female Gipsies generally _n_380 + Little difference if the father is a native--Town Gipsies visit + the tent in their youth _n_380 + Fair-haired Gipsies, 381--They are superior to the others--the + two kinds will readily marry _n_382 + The peculiarities of black and fair Gipsies--The _pons + assinorum_ of the Gipsy question 383 + The destiny of European-like Gipsies, and of the tribe generally 383 + The philosophy of the mixture of Gipsy blood--The issue always + Gipsy 384 + Mr. Borrow on the Spanish Gipsies generally. + If no laws are passed against them 385 + Their social position, intermarriages, the law of Charles III. + on the prejudice against the tribe 386 + Gipsyism like Freemasonry, _n_387--Mrs. Fall's ancestral group + of Gipsies 387 + A Scotchman on the destiny of the Gipsies, 387--Nothing + interferes with the question of tribe 388 + Scottish _literati_ on the destiny of the Gipsies--A cloud of + ignorance protects the tribe _n_388 + The Gipsies "declining," according to Mr. Borrow, 388--His + singular inconsistencies 389 + Change in the habits of Gitanos--They are to be found in Cuba, + Mexico, and the United States 389 + Mr. Borrow leaves the question of the Spanish Gipsies where he + found it 390 + The Gipsies "decreasing," by changing their habits, and + intermarriages 390 + Gipsies ashamed of the name before the world--Two kinds of + Gipsies in Badajoz 391 + The law of Charles III., 392--Its real meaning--Causes of + Spanish Gipsy civilization 393 + The law of Charles III. little more than nominal, 394--The + Church did not annoy the Gitanos 395 + Mr. Borrow's Spanish Gipsy authorities--The tribe the same in + Spain as in Great Britain 395 + "Strangers" among English Gipsies, "foreign tinkers" among + those in Spain 396 + Mixed Gipsies in Spain--Persecutions against the Spanish and + Scottish Gipsies 397 + The tinkers and Rothwelsh in the Austrian dominions 397 + The natural capacity of Gipsies--Opinions of Grellmann, + Bischoff, Borrow 398 + Various classes of Gipsies, according to Mr. Borrow, Spanish, + Turkish, and Russian 399 + The original Scottish Gipsies, how they encreased, mixed their + blood, and spread 399 + Their internal polity and numbers, style of life, 400--How + English Gipsies leave the tent 401 + The natural vicissitudes of an English Gipsy, after leaving the + tent 401 + Gipsy ambition, 401--John Bunyan's early habits as described by + himself _n_402 + The character of Scottish Gipsies, and their opinion of + themselves and tribe 402 + Phases of history through which the Scottish Gipsies have passed 402 + The vicissitudes in the history of a respectable Scottish Gipsy + family, settling in a town 404 + Gipsies among the best Edinburgh families--An eminent Scottish + Gipsy clergyman 405 + The Falls, of Dunbar, Gipsies--Burns visits them, _n_406, they + are noticed in the Statistical Account of Scotland _n_406 + They divulge their tribe, over their cups--Will Faa their + relative--The Scottish Gipsies claim them 406 + Their ancestors Gipsy kings--The Gipsy language in the family 407 + Miss Fall, afterwards Lady Anstruther, her feelings--The other + connexions of the Falls 408 + Mr. Borrow's visit to, and description of, the Gipsies of + Moscow _n_408 + The Gipsies proud of their ancestors, though thieves and + robbers 409 + Border and Highland thieves and robbers, 409--Sir Walter Scott's + ancestors _n_410 + Gipsy and Highland thieving--The McGregors and the Gipsies 411 + Fitz-James' address to Roderick Dhu, in the "Lady of the + Lake" _n_411 + A Gipsy is a Gipsy, whether barbarous, civilized, educated, or + Christianized 412 + Pritchard on the Hungarian race, past and present 413 + Civilized Scottish Gipsies--What they say of themselves 414 + The Gipsies should be judged by a standard different from that + applicable to ordinary natives 414 + The circumstances attending a wild Gipsy make him only half + responsible 414 + The race, in its development, should be more leniently treated + than others 415 + The antiquity of the Gipsies, they are probably the descendants + of the shepherd kings 415 + The confession of the Scotch clergyman unintelligible, unless + fully explained 415 + What might be expected of the Gipsy tribe, the Scottish Gipsies + especially 415 + Population of the Scottish Gipsies, and the British Gipsies + generally 416 + The Gipsies are afraid of strange Gipsies, when at home--A + French and German Gipsy in New York _n_416 + Scottish vagabonds, noticed by Fletcher of Saltoun, in 1680, + were doubtless Gipsies _n_417 + Scottish Gipsy encrease, since 1506, 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_418 + America, Gipsies banished to, 418--A Gipsy colony in New + England--Colonial Gipsies would not likely take to the + tent--Their occupations 419 + European Gipsies in America, 420--Arrival and modes of life of + English Gipsies 421 + Fortune-tellers: their mode of travelling, tricks, captures, + and escapes 422 + The Slave States naturally suitable to the Gipsies--Travelling + Gipsies in Canada 424 + Scottish Gipsies in the United States and Canada--Gipsies + everywhere 424 + Resemblance between the formation of Gipsydom and that of the + United States 425 + The peculiar feelings of Gipsies--Highland and Lowland + feuds--Gipsy resentment 425 + The prejudice against the Gipsies compels them to hide their + nationality 426 + What is it that frightens the educated Gipsies? The word Gipsy 426 + In what other than a hidden state could we expect to find the + Gipsies? 427 + The difficulty in discovering who are, and who are not, Gipsies, + at the present day 428 + Gipsy blood changed into almost pure black, in Africa, as well + as white, in Europe 428 + Gipsies found near the sources of the Senegal and Gambia _n_429 + The universality of the Gipsies--Meeting between English and + American Gipsies 430 + Language of the Gipsies in England and Scotland--Rivalry in its + pronunciation 431 + The construction of German and Spanish Gipsy, 431--The purity + of Hungarian Gipsy _n_432 + Respectable Scottish Gipsies, and the Gipsy language: "Are ye + a' Tinklers?" 432 + The Gipsy language in America--In Spain _n_432 + The number of words sufficient for every-day use in any + language _n_432 + The Gipsy language in Great Britain mixed, but still serves + the purposes of a speech 432 + The Scottish Gipsies the last to forget the language--The + causes of its perpetuation 433 + Hatred of the Gipsies for other people--Mr. Borrow on that + hatred _n_433 + The treatment of the Gipsies made them worse than they might + have been 434 + Gipsy gratitude, 434--Gipsy law--Borrow and Grellmann on Gipsy + ingratitude 435 + Unreasonableness of expecting much gratitude from Gipsies 435 + Gratitude among mankind generally--The nature of benefits + conferred on Gipsies 435 + Means of improving the Gipsies--The feeling between them and the + ordinary natives 436 + The name of Gipsy should be raised up, and the tribe respected + according to merit 437 + Respectable Scottish Gipsies are Scotch people, and should come + forward, and own themselves up 437 + The Zincali society in the city of New York _n_438 + An appeal to the Scottish Gipsies, 438, and to those in America 440 + The prejudices of British people against Gipsies, 440, and + Americans against Negroes 441 + What is to be the future of the Gipsy race?--Gipsydom immortal 441 + The introduction of the Gipsies to the society of mankind, + 442--The hereditary prejudice of centuries 443 + Missions among heathen and Jews, 443--The Gipsies should, at + least, be countenanced 444 + The Gipsies are Gipsies everywhere, and under all circumstances 444 + The way in which the Gipsies should be received into the society + of other people 445 + The Gipsies are a people that exist, and not such as disappear, + like the American Indians 446 + The popular idea of Gipsies and Jews--Gipsies that preach the + gospel, and argue the law 447 + Erroneous ideas of writers generally as to the Gipsies--Mr. + Borrow 448 + The Gipsies a question of people--Billy Marshall and his + descendants 448 + No distinction has been made between race and habits, + 448--Chambers' Journal _n_449 + The Gipsies compared to a clan, in the olden time--The McGregor + clan 449 + English, American, and Gipsy races mixed, 450--Mixed races + illustrated by individual families, 451 + The mixture of Gipsy blood always leaves the issue Gipsy--Jewish + Gipsies possible 451 + How the subject of the Gipsies has hitherto been treated--It is + necessary to sound the mind of the Gipsy 452 + The life of a superior Gipsy compared to a continual conspiracy + against society 453 + The position occupied by the popular kind of Gipsy--His ideas on + the persecutions of his race 453 + The condition from which all Gipsies have sprung--Popular + prejudices and ideas 454 + The introduction of German blood into Great Britain and America 454 + How the Gipsies have encreased and spread--Native blood has been + lost among them 455 + The introduction of Huguenot blood into Great Britain and + America 455 + The Gipsies have hitherto been "strangers in the land," + unacknowledged by others 456 + The principles of Gipsy nationality--Gipsies like Free-masons 456 + Gipsydom is not a creed, but a work stamped by Providence on the + heart of the tribe 457 + Blood, language, a cast of mind, and signs specially constitute + the Gipsy nationality 457 + The possession of a special religion not necessary to constitute + a people distinct from others 457 + The same principle illustrated in races, clans, families, or + individuals, living in the same community 458 + The existence of the Gipsies is natural, it resembles that of + the Jews; neither is miraculous 458 + Philosophical historians on the existence of the Jews since the + dispersion 458 + By what human means can Jews cease to be Jews, individually or + nationally? 459 + A writer on the Christian Evidences, in describing the existence + of the Jews, gambles away revelation 459 + His language on the subject of the Jews very applicable to the + existence of the Gipsies 459 + No outward difference between many Gipsy and native Scotch 460 + How Scottish Gipsies deport themselves on meeting--Civilised and + _bush_ Gipsies 460 + The general difference between Gipsy and native Scotch people 461 + A mixed Gipsy has sometimes "various bloods" to contend for 461 + What Scottish Gipsies think of their ancestors and language 462 + The Scottish Gipsies, as they acquire education, become superior + in character 462 + The children of civilised and barbarous Gipsies compared 463 + The singular position of the Gipsies, from generation to + generation, and century to century 464 + How the gulf between the Gipsies and the native race is to be + bridged 465 + The Gipsies, on their arrival in Europe, were barbarous, like + other races 465 + A superior Scottish Gipsy in 1540, and 1840 466 + The Gipsies never were a nomadic race, in the ordinary sense of + the word 466 + General description of the occupations and characters of the + original Gipsies 467 + The superior characters of the early Scottish Gipsy chiefs--Their + treatment by the natives 467 + The character of a superior Spanish Gipsy, in 1584, _n_468 + Mixture of "the blood" on arrival, 468--Intermarriages under + certain circumstances 469 + The plans of the Gipsies to secure their position in the + country--Illegitimate children 469 + The attachment of Jewesses and Gipsies to their respective races 470 + The protection of the Baillies, of Lamington, to the Gipsies of + that name 470 + Two Gipsies pardoned through the intercession of the Duchess of + Gordon 470 + Scotland became the home of the tribe, as much as that of the + ordinary natives 471 + Effects of the mixture of Gipsy blood--Intermarriages among + natives of different ranks 472 + The census need not be consulted for the number of the Gipsy + population 472 + How the Jewish race is perpetuated--Their religion of secondary + importance 473 + Christian Jews--Their feelings of nationality--No prejudices + against them, or civilized Gipsies 474 + The rearing of Gipsies and Jews, in what respect they resemble + each other 475 + The Gipsies stand towards religions, as Christianity does towards + races 475 + The purity of Jewish blood a figment, 475--What may be termed a + "pure Jew" 477 + The relative positions of Jews and Gipsies: Gipsies troublesome, + but not scoffers at religion 477 + The want of a religion among the Gipsies--Their feelings in + regard thereto 478 + The ways of Scottish Gipsies and Highland Scotch 478 + Scottish Gipsies are British subjects--Their romantic descent 479 + Tacitus' account of the destruction of the Druids, in the island + of Anglesey _n_479 + The weak position of the Gipsies--Jewish and Gipsy literature 480 + The being a Gipsy, as distinguished from objectionable habits, + immaterial to the world 481 + The probable result of the word Gipsy being as much respected as + it is now despised 481 + The Gipsies originally a wandering, tented tribe, with habits + peculiar to itself 481 + The difficulties in the way of the tribe becoming settled and + civilized 482 + The manner in which the Gipsies gradually acquire honest habits 482 + Public sympathy for the Gipsies, in preference to the Jews 483 + No prejudice should be entertained for well-behaved Gipsies 484 + The Jews are disliked, and are, to a certain extent, strangers + everywhere 484 + They are rebels against Heaven--"Which of the prophets have + they not persecuted?" 484 + The interest of the Christian in their history--Their + crucifixion of the Messiah--How they treat his mission 485 + Their antagonistic position towards every people and religion, + 486--Their personal characters 487 + The destruction of Jerusalem confirmed the Jews in the idea + that theirs was a scattered people 487 + The existence of the Jews, since the dispersion, not in itself + wonderful 488 + The Jew's nationality is everywhere--His aversion to forsake + his own race or community 488 + The Jews are a race--A Christian Jewish church possible--Its + position and aspects 488 + The present position of Christian Jews, 488--The relation of a + Christian Jewish Church to the Mosaic law 489 + The scriptural idea of a Messiah--Christian Jews _incog._--The + conversion of Jews generally 489 + It is no elevated regard for Moses that prevents Jews + entertaining the claims of Jesus Christ 490 + But rather the phenomena connected with the history of their + race 490 + The Jews exist under a spell--The prophecy of Moses regarding + the Gipsies _n_491 + The Jews are not apt to notice the present work _n_491 + The population of the Gipsies scattered over the world 491 + How the laws passed against the Gipsies were generally + rendered nugatory 492 + Grellmann's estimate--The probable number of Gipsies in Europe + and America 493 + The population of the Jews scattered over the world _n_493 + Christians delude the Jews in regard to the existence of their + race being a miracle 493 + The Jew's idea of the existence of his race is the greatest + bar to his conversion to Christianity 494 + The "mixed multitude" of the Exodus was doubtless the origin + of the Gipsies 494 + The meaning of Gamaliel's advice--St. Paul before the Jewish + council _n_494 + The history of the Gipsies and the Jews greatly illustrate + each other 496 + The distinction between an Englishman and an English Jew 496 + Persecutions of races generally--How to prevent a Gipsy being + a Gipsy 496 + Tacitus on the religion of slaves _n_496 + Birth and rearing constitute Jews, Gipsies, and Gentiles 497 + Christian Jews persecuted by their own race--The Disraeli and + Cappadoce families 497 + Christianity was not intended, nor is it capable, to destroy + the nationality of Jews 498 + The Jew may be crossed out by intermarriage--The Gipsy absorbs + other races 498 + Gipsies and Jews have each a peculiarly original and distinct + soul of nationality 499 + Each race maintains its identity in the world, and may be said + to be even eternal 499 + Comparison and contrast between Gipsies and Jews 499 + The existence of the Jews, like that of the Gipsies, rests upon + a question of people 501 + The religion or the Jews, 501--Their idea of a Messiah 502 + Difference between Judaism and Christianity 502 + The position of Jews towards Christianity and other religions 502 + The persecutions of Jews and Gipsies--The extent of a Gipsy's + wants 502 + The Jews show little regard for their religion, when tolerated + and well treated 503 + The prejudice against Jews--Their ideas of their race, as + distinguished from others 503 + The treatment of Christians by Jews 504 + What has the Jew got to say to this subject generally? 504 + The philosophy of the Gipsies--Popular ideas in regard to them--A + mental phenomenon 505 + A regard to facts--The Gipsy language--Two races living on the + same soil 506 + The Gipsies hide their race--The kind of them that should be + despised 506 + John Bunyan a Gipsy, whose blood was mixed 507 + All the Gipsies tinkers, either literally, figuratively, or + representatively 507 + Lord Macaulay on Bunyan: "the tinkers a hereditary caste" 507 + In what respect are the tinkers a _native_ "hereditary caste?" 507 + Characters in Mr. Borrow's Lavengro and Romany Rye--English + Gipsies 508, _n_509 + Prejudice against Gipsies--The legal responsibility--the Act + of Queen Elizabeth 510 + Bunyan's tribe--His great desire to ascertain whether he was + an Israelite 510 + A Gipsy family (809-818) that illustrates that of Bunyan 511 + The reason why Bunyan imagined he was a Jew 511 + The Jews not then tolerated in England--The curiosity of the + Gipsies regarding the Jews 511 + Southey on tinkering and Bunyan's education--Bunyan had + doubtless a Gipsy pass 512 + The Dublin University Magazine on Bunyan's nationality 512 + The philosophy of race, and the prejudice of caste against the + Gipsies 513 + Justice Keeling threatens to have Bunyan hanged for + preaching _n_513 + Bunyan a Gipsy beyond question--Lord Macaulay on the Pilgrim's + Progress 514 + Religious writers averse to it being said that Bunyan was a + Gipsy 514 + Sir Walter Scott and Mr. George Offor on Bunyan's tribe or + nationality 515 + Bunyan's nationality unacknowledged, owing to popular + ignorance and prejudice 515 + Southey on Bunyan's family and fame--The popularity of the + Pilgrim's Progress 516 + Bunyan's reserve--His friends and enemies--He cannot get + justice done to him 517 + Bunyan and the Gipsy language--He was perhaps capable of + writing in it 517 + The prejudice of the present day--Bunsen on sound judgment and + shallow minds _n_518 + The world should feel relieved by it being shown that Bunyan + was a Gipsy 518 + Bunyan's pedigree--He had very probably no English blood in + his veins 518 + The world claims Bunyan as a man; England, the formation of + his character 519 + Bunyan's biographers unjust to his memory--His general as well + as moral character 519 + Though pious and peaceable, he yet repelled slanders with + indignation 520 + The style of Bunyan's language indicates the Gipsy in some + degree 520 + The indignities cast upon Bunyan--The way in which he treated + them 521 + Remarks upon Bunyan's enemies, who professed themselves to be + servants of Christ _n_521 + The prejudice of caste in Great Britain exists against the + Gipsies exclusively 521 + The day is gone by when it cannot be said who John Bunyan was 523 + Scantiness of information in Mr. Borrow's works on the subject + of the Gipsies 523 + American people are not expected to indulge in the popular + prejudice against the Gipsies 524 + American religious journals decline to entertain the question: + "Was John Bunyan a Gipsy?" 525 + The peculiarities of Scottish people unfavourable to the Gipsies + owning themselves up in Scotland 525 + The nature of Scottish quarrelsomeness, 526--The classes + favourable and unfavourable to the Gipsies 527 + A "model Scot," after his kind, 528--No one in particular to + blame for the position occupied by the Gipsies 529 + The Gipsy subject interesting, and not necessarily low or + vulgar, though more or less barbarous 529 + The wild Gipsies should be reached indirectly--Their high + opinion of themselves 529 + John Bunyan's celebrity--His name of great use in raising up + that of the Gipsies 530 + A little judgment is necessary in dealing with wild or any kind + of Gipsies 530 + The peculiar sensations felt in coming in contact with wild + Gipsies 531 + Gipsies are Gipsies to the last drop of the original blood 532 + The history of the Gipsies a singular work of Providence 532 + It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among + mankind 533 + What a miracle is--The existence of the Jews is in exact harmony + with every natural law 533 + A prophecy of Moses regarding a people who are to provoke and + anger the Jews 533 + A thousand years hence the Gipsies will be found existing in the + world 534 + A word or two to the Gipsies, and especially the Scottish + Gipsies 534 + A word or two to the Church, and people generally: "Was John + Bunyan a Gipsy?" 535 + The reason why we know so little about the Gipsies 536 + A word or two to some of the critics 537 + A criticism on the present work, while in prospect 537 + DISRAELI, the present, a Jew, though a Christian 497 + 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 266 + Divorces among the Gipsies are attended with much grief and + mourning 267 + Natural that the Gipsies should have as singular a form of + divorce as that of marriage 267 + The nature of sacrifices--Their universality among mankind 267 + Why was the Gipsy sacrifice of the horse not known in Scotland + before? 267 + The Gipsies have a great affection for the horse--They will not + eat of that animal _n_268 + Writers have made no discovery, among the Gipsies, of a + religious nature 268 + The Gipsy sacrifice of the horse a proof that the people come + from Hindostan 268 + The idea of Gipsies being Tartars strengthened by their sacrifice + of the horse 269 + Other nations who have sacrificed horses--The Jews in the time + of Josiah _n_269 + Popular tradition, among the natives, that Gipsies separated + over dead horses 270 + Instances accidentally and partially noticed by the natives 270 + "Patricos" performed ceremonies over dead horses, in England, + prior to 1674 271 + Preliminary remarks on the sacrifice of horses--"The sun must be + at its height" 271 + A description of the ceremony of sacrifice and divorce 272 + The horse considered in the place of the woman, 272--Sometimes + both are sacrificed 273 + The woman dismissed, with a bill of divorce--The husband and his + friends then eat the heart of the horse 274 + The husband may marry again, but the wife never 274 + Her fate, if she loses her bill of divorce, or passes herself + off as never having been married 274 + Spanish Gipsy widows, according to Dr. Bright _n_274 + A Gipsy, in a passion, shoots his horse, and performs the + ceremony of divorce, forthwith 274 + The sacrifice of the horse observed by the Gipsies in Russia 275 + They do it in the woods, under night, for fear of the police 275 + The Gipsies, of Yetholm, knock down their asses, when they + separate from their wives 276 + The sacrifice of the horse in ancient India, known as the + _Assummeed Jugg_ 276 + The explanation of the mystic meaning contained in that + sacrifice 277 + The very acme and enthusiasm of allegory in an Asiatic genius 279 + The ancient Hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat of + the Jews compared 279 + The Gipsy and ancient Hindoo sacrifice of the horse compared 279 + Both offered to the sun--Travelling Gipsies change their names + at noon 280 + Robert Southey and Colonel Tod on the sacrifice of the horse in + India 280 + The sacrifice of the horse by the Gipsies, a proof that the + people came from India 280 + DRESS OF THE GIPSIES 43, 77, 79, 108, 116, 129, 145, 149, 154, 157, + 162, 171, 177, 182, 186, 197, 202, 209, 213, 214 + DRUIDS, destruction of the, in the Island of Anglesey _n_479 + DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE. + The number of words sufficient for every-day use, in any + language _n_432 + Bunyan's nationality: "Was John Bunyan a Gipsy?" 512 + EDINBURGH REVIEW, The, on the purity of Gipsy blood--Mr. Borrow's + "Gipsies in Spain" 374 + EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. + The discovery and history of barbarous races illustrate the + history of man, and natural and revealed religion 27 + Barbarism within, and barbarism without, the circle of + civilization 27 + The Gipsies an anomaly in the history of civilization, and merit + great consideration 27 + European civilization progressive, and homogeneous in its nature 28 + Asiatic civilization stationary and, in some countries, divided + into castes 28 + The nature of caste in India 28 + The natives of certain parts of Oceanic Asia 29 + The condition of the most original kind of Gipsies, in Great + Britain--Their secrecy 29 + Description of Gipsy life in England, by Dr. Bright 30 + The first appearance of the Gipsies in Europe--Attempts at + elucidating their history 31 + The political state of Europe at the beginning of the fifteenth + century 31 + The great schism in the church--Three Popes reigning at one time 32 + The educational end social condition of Europe about that time 33 + The manner in which the Gipsies stole into Europe 35 + The influx of the Greeks into Europe--The literary pursuits of + the age, 37--English travellers 38 + The Gipsies not Sudras--Timour--The Gipsies at Samarcand previous + to his invasion of India 39 + The Gipsies did not obtain the name of Egyptians from others, as + Mr. Borrow supposes 39 + The Gipsies are not the Egyptians mentioned by the Prophet + Ezekiel 40 + What misleads writers in their ideas that the Gipsies are not + Egyptians 41 + The relative position borne by the early Gipsies to the various + classes of society 41 + The travelling Gipsies much fallen below those of the olden + times 43 + The dread always entertained for the tribe, 44--Fire-raising and + child-stealing 45 + The Gipsies frighten children, 46--And act as police, or scare- + crows, for farmers 47 + The ferocity of Gipsy women, 47--Sir Walter Scott's recollections + of the original of Meg Merrilies 48 + The intercourse between the tribe and the farmers, in pastoral + districts 48 + The timidity of the Gipsies, when accosted under certain + circumstances 49 + Comparison between Africans, in America, and the Gipsy race + generally 50 + Some of the causes of the isolation of the Gipsies from the rest + of the world 51 + The history of the Gipsies somewhat illustrated by that of the + American Indians 53 + The prejudice against Africans and Gipsies contrasted 54 + EDITOR'S PREFACE. + When this work should have been published--It has been brought + down to the present time 5 + Inducements to hazard a publication of it at one time 5 + Sir Walter Scott's judicious advice regarding the publication of + the work 5 + The abuse of reviewers and the ire of wandering Egyptians + deprecated 5 + Mr. Borrow's publications since this work was written 6 + Scottish Church Gipsy mission--Scottish Gipsy clergyman of + eminence 6 + The Gipsies have encreased since the peace of 1815, but have + retired from observation 6 + The reason for this work being published in America--Popular + prejudice against the Gipsies 6 + Scottish antiquaries--Their apathy and contempt for the subject + of the Gipsies _n_7 + The present work illustrates the Gipsies everywhere--The subject + hardly known to the world 7 + Tinkler the name generally applied to the Scottish Gipsies--tinker + a Gipsy word _n_7 + The subject interesting--Observation necessary to solve the + problem 8 + Professor Wilson travels with the Gipsies--The author's + associations with them 8 + The nomadic Gipsies only a part of the race, 8--The blood of the + tribe much mixed--Causes thereof 8 + Persecutions--Children stolen and incorporated with the tribe--Mr. + Borrow's remarks thereon _n_9 + Prejudices against the Gipsies--Their love of race and language 10 + The primitive state of the tribe--Causes and manner of leaving + the tent 10 + Associations after leaving the tent, and feelings towards the + community 11 + Their resentment of the popular prejudice--Their boast of + ancestry 11 + Ideas and feelings of the natives, 12--The Gipsy's love of + language--His associations 13 + Speculations on the origin of the Gipsies, 13--They are the + "mixed multitude" of the Exodus 14 + Mode of escape from Egypt, 17--Entrance into India, and formation + of their character as s people 21 + Their present language acquired in India--Mr. Borrow's remarks + on its antiquity 23 + The philosophy of the preservation of the Gipsy language in + Europe till now 23 + Sir Walter Scott's intended account of the Gipsies--The difficulty + as to their language 25 + He urges the publication of the present work--Its character as a + history of the tribe 25 + It is a contribution towards the filling up of a void in + literature 25 + EDUCATION AMONG THE GIPSIES 65, 125, 248, 254, 303, 364, 369 + EGYPT. + The Gipsies originated in, 14, 39--They are the "mixed multitude" + of the Exodus 14, 494 + ENGLISH GIPSIES. + Their arrival about the year 1512--A description of them in a + work, published in 1612 90 + Act of 22d Henry VIII.--Burnet's allusion to English Gipsies, + in 1549, 91 + Act of 27th Henry VIII.--A fine of forty pounds for every Gipsy + imported 91 + Act of Queen Elizabeth--Felony for strangers to associate with + the Gipsies 92 + Last of the executions under Charles II.--The Gipsies still + liable under the Vagrant Act 92 + Number of Gipsies in England during the time of Queen Elizabeth 92 + Estimate of their present number, by Mr. Hoyland, and a member + of parliament 92 + Author's remarks, and editor's comments thereon _n_93 + Mr. Borrow's description of the English Gipsies, and the English + dialect spoken by them _n_93 + English Gipsies travel in Scotland--A description of a camp of + them 93 + Adventure of a Scotchman among the Gipsies in England 95 + Crime among the English Gipsies--Report on the prisons in + Northumberland 96 + Sketch of an English Gipsy family arriving in Scotland, by Sir + Walter Scott 96 + EXECUTIONS AMONG THE GIPSIES 85, 119, 133, 143, 201, 513 + FALLS, Merchants, of Dunbar, Gipsies 108, 237-241, 251, 252, 406 + Will Faa, the Gipsy king, claims them as his relatives _n_238, 251 + FARMERS. + Their property protected by the Gipsies 47, 363, 434 + How they sometimes treat the Gipsies 48, 55, 56, 187, _n_179, 220, + 221, 226, 242, 361 + FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. + The county of Fife contained, at one time, a great many nomadic + Gipsies 140 + The tribe, at one time, possessed a foundry near St. Andrews, + called "Little Carron" 140 + Lochgellie Gipsies more particularly described 140 + Description of Lochgellie and other places, illustrative of + Gipsy quarters, in olden times 140 + Description of Falkland "scrapies" _n_140 + Principal names of Lochgellie Gipsies and their connexions 141 + The tribe feared all over the shires of Fife, Kinross, Perth, + Angus, and Aberdeen 141 + Old Charles Graham--"The auld thing again, my lord, but nae + proof" 142 + His wife banished to Botany Bay--Marries a Gipsy there, and + returns rich 142 + 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, 142--Robs a factor, + and gives the money to a needy widow--He is apparently penitent + at the gallows, 143--But kicks off his shoes, and addresses the + people 144 + Hugh Graham stabbed by John Young, who is hunted like a fox, + before he is apprehended 145 + Jenny Graham leaves her protector, to follow the gang, and take + care of its stolen articles 145 + Margaret Graham, a woman of uncommon bodily strength 145 + John Young, who stabbed Hugh Graham, although five feet ten + inches in height, is called by his mother, "The dwarf o' a' my + bairns" 145 + Peter Young, a generous man--He breaks out of many prisons + before he is hanged 145 + Old John Young, on being asked where his sons were, replied, + "They are all hanged" 145 + Charles Brown, killed in a Gipsy battle at Raploch, near + Stirling 147 + Alexander Brown steals and carries off an ox in disguise 148 + Billy Marshall robs the Laird of Bargally, and saves an innocent + man from the gallows _n_148 + He is nearly frightened out of his wits, under very ludicrous + circumstances _n_148 + Alexander Brown's capture and audacious escape--His style when + in full dress, 149--His disguise as a mounted man of quality, + 150--His capture by Highlanders, and desperate resistance, and + execution 151 + Martha, mother of Alexander Brown, steals sheets while attending + his execution 152 + 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 152 + Lizzie Brown, in a Gipsy fray--"In the middle o' the meantime, + where's my nose?" 153 + The connexions of the Gipsies, and the ramifications of their + society 153 + Charles Stewart--His royal blood, style of dress, and audacity + of conduct 153 + Grellmann's description of the attire of a Gipsy _n_154 + The unabashed hardihood of Gipsies in the face of suspicion _n_155 + Jamie Robertson, a great musician--He resents an imagined + affront to an absent friend 155 + His wife sentenced to Botany Bay, but, owing to her advanced + age, set at liberty 156 + Joyce Robertson's daring robbery while in prison--His deliberate + escape--He steals a watch, and has the crowd at his heels 156 + Charles Wilson, very respectable in his appearance and + character, as a horse-dealer, 157--Received and vended stolen + goods through the country--Was chief of his tribe, and, as such, + issued passes, 158--He returns money stolen from a young + countryman--Becomes reduced to poverty in his old age, and dies + in full communion with the church 161 + Charles Wilson's daughters--One of them kept by an Adjutant--Their + disguises and pilferings--The Brae Laird of Kinross-shire 162 + Stirlingshire Gipsies contributed their full share to the + gallows 163 + The Gipsies a predatory tribe originally--Two kinds of them at + the present day 164 + Other people robbers besides the Gipsies--Spartans, Abyssinians, + Moors, East Indians, Coords, Kamtschadales, Scotch _n_164 + Training of the Gipsies to theft by the women, 167--A Gipsy + picks a countryman's pocket with great dexterity 168 + Thieves formed into bands--Modes of operation, and division of + the spoil 169 + Vidocq on the pilfering habits of the Continental Gipsies _n_169 + Male Gipsies cut purses with palms, the females with rings 170 + Mode of thieving among the Gipsies in Hungary 171 + A magistrate, in the West of Fife, locks up the Gipsies during + the fair 171 + Stylish habits of the Gipsies at the inn or the North + Queensferry 171 + Fashionable cavalcade of female Gipsies departing from the ferry 173 + Intimacy between the boatmen and their friends--"The lads that + take the purses" 173 + Trick of a gillie of a Gipsy horse-dealer, played upon an + Highlander 173 + Counterfeiting--An audacious Gipsy counterfeiter 174 + The Gipsies not murderers--They are accurate in their journeys + and halting places 175 + Pursuit, capture, escape, and recapture of a Gipsy murderer 176 + Indecent trick of a Gipsy woman to obtain clothes from the + natives 177 + A handsomely dressed female Gipsy, from gratitude, saves a + native from destruction 177 + Old Will of Phaup's five years' war with the Gipsies _n_179 + Gipsy Dances--Charles Stewart, 179--George Drummond--Gipsy dance + at Moscow 180 + Afghan dance _n_181--George Drummond a singular Gipsy 181 + James Robertson, his wife, and sisters dance like bacchanalians 182 + Occupations, amusements, cock-fighting, dress, and generous + habits of the Gipsies 182 + The Gipsies sometimes attend church, and baptize their own + children 183 + Their disputes with clergymen on points of morals--Government-- + division of property 183 + A landed gentleman went off with the Gipsies, 183--His daughters + common Gipsies 184 + FIGHTING AMONG THE GIPSIES--(_See also Battles._) 125, 144, 188, + _n_193, _n_195, 206, 215, 253 + FLETCHER OF SALTOUN on Scottish vagabonds, in 1680 _n_111, _n_417 + FORTUNE-TELLING. + Fortune-telling women frighten the natives of the other sex 47 + _See Tweed-dale Gipsies_ 228-231 + Fortune-telling in America--_See Disquisition on the Gipsies_ 422 + FREEMASONRY AND THE GIPSIES 12, _n_360, _n_387, 456 + GENTOO CODE OF LAWS IN ANCIENT INDIA. + Division of plunder among thieves 165 + The elder married before the younger, 259--Sacrifice of the + horse, 268--The scape-goat among the Jews 279 + GERMANS, how they become lost in the population of Great Britain + and America 454 + GERMANY, Gipsy bands in 79 + GITANO, modification of the term _n_115 + GORDON, THE DUCHESS OF, saves two Gipsies from the gallows 470 + GOVERNMENT AMONG THE GIPSIES 78, _n_103, 183, 187, 216, 253, _n_256, + 422 + GRATITUDE OF THE GIPSIES FOR OTHER PEOPLE 68, 130, 138, 155, 164, + 177, 187, 198, 211, 222, 225, 241, 360, 434, 483 + GRELLMANN. + Children frightened by the Gipsies _n_46, 75 + On the destiny of the French Gipsies 76, 492 + He divides the Gipsies in Transylvania into four classes, 74--The + population of the Gipsies 77, 493 + Gipsy government, 78--Attire, _n_154--Plundering, 171--Fighting + _n_193 + Gipsies under and after punishment _n_204 + The habit of Gipsy women after childbirth _n_227 + Gipsy working in iron--Gipsy smiths in Hungary _n_234 + The Gipsies will eat of any animal but a horse _n_268 + The secrecy of the Gipsies in the matter of their language _n_281 + The Gipsy language unintelligible to the common natives _n_298 + On the education of Hungarian Gipsies _n_303 + The origin of the idea that the Gipsies came from India 329 + On the variations in the Gipsy language in different + countries _n_339 + How the Gipsies resist the extremes of the weather _n_354 + The circumstances under which Gipsy women are confined _n_357 + The physical properties of the Gipsy race _n_358 + Gipsies as soldiers, _n_359--As spies _n_360 + The religion of the Gipsies, _n_366--Their civilization _n_367 + On the colour and appearance of Gipsies who change their + habits _n_377 + The natural capacity of Gipsies, 398--Gipsy ingratitude 435 + Gipsies "always merry and blithe" 483 + HALE, SIR MATTHEW. + His touching interview with Bunyan's wife _n_313 + He mentions the execution of thirteen Gipsies, at the Suffolk + assizes _n_513 + HATRED OF THE GIPSIES FOR OTHER PEOPLE 63, 130, 164, 177 + _See Disquisition_ 433-436 + HEBER, BISHOP, notices the Gipsies in India, Persia, Russia, and + England. 77 + HINDOSTAN, the Gipsies supposed to originate in 18, 38, 40, 65, 268, + 280, 329, 339 + HOGG, JAMES. + Motto--_Title page._ + He notices a Gipsy scuffle and murder in Blackwood's Magazine 216 + He says that Lochmaben is "stocked" with Gipsies _n_381 + HOYLAND, JOHN. + The religious character of the Gipsies 73 + The capacity of the early Gipsies, _n_99--English Gipsy + surnames _n_219 + Baillie Smith, of Kelso--Report on the Yetholm Gipsies 245 + The difficulty in Gipsies acquiring settled habits _n_368 + Mr. George Offor says he was led captive by a Gipsy girl _n_380 + HUGUENOTS introduced into England and America 455 + HUME, BARON. + Scots acts of 1608, and 1609, against the Gipsies 111 + Executions among the Gipsies, under these sanguinary + laws 117, _n_418 + Trial of two Gipsies, in 1786, 189--Baillie, in 1714, 204--And + Pinkerton, in 1726 207 + He would make the black eyes evidence against the Gipsies 341 + HUNGARIANS, past and present, 413--They know nothing of their + origin 495 + HURD, DR. + The appearance of the Gipsies when they first arrived in Paris 70 + The Gipsies called spies of the Turks _n_72 + Marriage customs among the Russians, and Christians of + Mesopotamia and Chaldea _n_262 + IMPROVEMENT OF THE GIPSIES 364, 367, 415, 436, 440, 443, 445, 529, 534 + INTRODUCTION. + Attention directed towards the Gipsies by the publication of Guy + Mannering 55 + The classes interested--A mission founded by the Scottish Church + among the Gipsies 55 + Articles sent to Blackwood's Magazine--Letters from Mr. + Blackwood 56 + Article by Sir Walter Scott on the Buckhaven fishermen--The zeal + of an antiquary _n_57 + Letters from Sir Walter Scott, and William Laidlaw 58-61 + The Scottish Gipsies a branch of the same tribe to be found in + every country 61 + Comparisons between the Gipsies and Jews--The Jews' letters to + Voltaire 61 + Discontinuation of articles in Blackwood's Magazine--The author's + authorities 64 + The difficulties in the way of a research into the subject of + the Gipsies 65 + A "Blowing up" from a Gipsy chief 65 + Notice from Professor Wilson, in Blackwood's Magazine, and Sir + Walter Scott, in Quentin Durward 66 + INVERKEITHING, GIPSY SCENES AT 284, 288, 292, 293, 298, 302, 304, + 326, 328, 348, 353, 355 + IRISH GIPSIES IN SCOTLAND 6, 98, 324-329, 356, 493 + JEWS, THE. + The Gipsies the "mixed multitude" that left Egypt with the + Jews 14, 494 + Circumstances under which the Jews left Egypt 14-21 + They were separated from the Egyptians by the prejudice of + caste 15 + They termed Jesus Christ "Beelzebub"--the prince of devils 16 + Their reception of Christ as the Messiah 16 + Their condition while in Egypt 17 + Their contemptuous description of the "mixed multitude" that + followed them 19 + Their circumstances after leaving Egypt, 20--The destiny that + awaited them 21 + Comparisons between the Jews and the Gipsies 55, 61, 62 + Letters of the Jews to Voltaire--The universality and + differences in the Jews _n_61 + They change their names in various countries _n_117 + The elder sister married before the younger, 259--Jewish + marriages 260 + When they blow rams' horns in September, they imagine they drive + away the devil _n_265 + They dedicated horses to the sun, in the time of Josiah _n_269 + Hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat in Leviticus + compared 279 + The language of the Jews during the seventy years' captivity _n_318 + The Gipsies dislike the Jews, _n_358, 459--Jews during time + of war _n_360 + Neglect of women among Jews--A Jew's morning prayer _n_365 + Jews and Gipsies compared in a sermon by Mr. Borrow _n_366 + They marry among themselves, like the Gipsies 369 + The money that is squandered on the conversion of Jews 443 + The subject of the Jews more or less familiar to people from + infancy 447 + The Gipsies, without any necessary outward peculiarities, have + yet a nationality, like the Jews 447, 457 + The mixture of Gipsy and Jewish blood--A Jewish Gipsy possible 451 + In what respect the existence of the Gipsies differs from that + of the Jews 458 + Philosophical historians on the existence of the Jews since the + dispersion 458 + No analogy between the Jews and any other people but the Gipsies 459 + A Christian writer on the existence of the Jews since the + dispersion 459 + His description thereof, though erroneous, very applicable to + the Gipsies 460 + The attachment of Jewesses and Gipsies to their respective races 470 + How the Jewish race is perpetuated--Religion of secondary + importance 473 + Jewish Christians--Their feelings of nationality, and social + position 474 + The rearing of Gipsies resembles that of Jews--The purity of + Jewish blood a figment 475 + Half-blood Jews sometimes follow the synagogue, and sometimes + the Christian church 476 + Many Jews who are not known to the world as such 477 + Jewish physiognomy--What may be termed a "pure Jew" 477 + The relative position of Jews and Gipsies 477-480 + The Jews have a church, a history, and a literature 480 + Public sympathy for the Gipsies, in preference to the Jews 483 + The philosophy of the existence of the Jews since the dispersion + _See Disquisition on the Gipsies_ 484-505 + John Bunyan asked himself whether he was of the Israelites 511 + The Jews readmitted into England, under Cromwell--Manasseh Ben + Israel 511 + The natural curiosity of the Gipsies regarding the Jews 511 + The Gipsies have existed, in Europe, a greater length of time + than the Jews dwelt in Egypt 532 + It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among + mankind 533 + A prophecy of Moses regarding a people who are to provoke and + anger the Jews _n_491, 533 + LAIDLAW, WILLIAM. + His letter to the author, 58--A Gipsy "blowing up," alluded to + by him 65, 309 + LANGUAGE OF THE GIPSIES. + The love of Gipsies for their language, 10, 13--They keep it a + profound secret 12, 13, 25 + It is for the most part Hindostanee--Mr. Borrow's remarks on its + antiquity 23 + The philosophy of the preservation of the Gipsy language 24, 406, + 433 + The Scottish Gipsies very reserved and tenacious in the matter + of their language 281 + Its existence, but as slang, scarcely credited by people of the + greatest intelligence 281 + Grellmann, Bright, and Borrow on the difficulties in acquiring + the Gipsy language _n_281 + The Gipsies have excellent memories, but shuffle when bored by + people of whom they expect money _n_282 + The causes of the reserve among the Scottish Gipsies: 1st. The + sanguinary laws. 2d. The popular prejudice. 3d. Their natural + secrecy 282 + A Scottish Gipsy works all his life in a shop, and no one + discovers him to be a Gipsy 283 + Two Gipsy women nearly killed by colliers, for not explaining + the meaning of two Gipsy words 283 + As the Gipsies become civilized, they avoid intercourse with the + barbarous part of the race _n_283 + The Scottish peasantry, in some places, do not greatly despise + the Gipsies _n_284 + The use of the Gipsy language in markets--The pride of the + people as linguists 284 + Seven years' trouble in getting a Gipsy woman to own up to her + language 284 + She is afraid the public would treat her with horror and + contempt, for knowing the language 285 + The character of Spanish Gipsy women, according to Mr. Borrow _n_285 + A Gipsy woman maintains she was speaking Latin, when discovered + conversing in Gipsy 285 + The general difficulties in the way of acquiring the Gipsy + language 286 + The way in which the author learned what he knew of the Gipsy + language 286 + How the use of Gipsy affected the tribe--Ludicrous scenes 287 + How old Gipsy women were affected--"You are no gentleman, sir, + otherwise you would not insult us in that way" 288 + 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) 288 + A female Gipsy "blabs" with the author, but expresses great + surprise, when addressed in Gipsy, before a third party 288 + These people afraid of the sanguinary laws passed against the + tribe 290 + Sir Walter Scott's advice in prosecuting an enquiry into the + Gipsy language 291 + The Scottish Gipsies a branch of the tribe to be found + everywhere 291 + A Gipsy as distinguished from his language--The race comes + before the speech _n_292 + An old woman and her two daughters--"No harm in the least, sir, + in speaking the Gipsy language" _specimens_ 292 + Two girls, of the name of Jamieson--"You gentlemen understand + all languages now-a-days" _specimens_ 292 + Four or five children--"You are a Gipsy, yourself, sir, or you + never could have got these words" _specimens_ 293 + 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" 293 + The threats of the tribe against those teaching the language to + "strangers" _n_294 + 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 294 + Young Andrew Steedman, of Lochgellie, communicative--Old Andrew + shakes and trembles in his stable--"Rob that person" _specimens_ 295 + 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_ 296 + 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_ 298 + 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" 301 + Gipsy-hunting like deer-stalking--Modern Gipsy-hunting 302 + 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_ 304 + The songs composed by the Gipsies illustrate their plunderings, + robberies and sufferings, and quarrels among themselves 306 + The Gipsies very fond of the Border marauding songs--"Hughie the + Graeme," as a specimen 308 + Sophia Scott, afterwards Mrs. Lockhart, sings "Hughie the Graeme" + to the author, at Abbotsford _n_308 + Sir Walter Scott interested in the Gipsies--He is afraid they + might injure his plantations _n_309 + The author visits St. Boswell's fair, and becomes acquainted + with a Gipsy family there 309 + He introduces himself by saying who his ancestors were--"God + bless you! Ay, those days are gone; Christian charity has now + left the land" 309 + The head of the family a very superior man; merry and jocular, + like many of his race 309 + Their language--"The Tinklers have no language of their own, + except a few cant words" 310 + The author addresses them in Gipsy--"Preserve me, he kens a' + about us!" 310 + He enumerates their clan--"Say not another word, but call + at ----" 310 + The surprise among the natives--"Yon was queer looking wark + wi' the Tinklers" 310 + An innkeeper ashamed, or afraid, of a customer that is a + gentleman 311 + A little factory of horn-spoons--"No such language exists, + except a few cant words" 311 + Gipsy obstinacy--The word "Gipsy" a terror to the tribe--The + Gipsy forfeits his promise 311 + 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" 311 + Revisit to the factory of horn-spoons--The Gipsy ashamed to + give his language 312 + A promise or secrecy--The Gipsy cheerful, he hesitates, but at + last fulfills his oath _specimens_ 312 + Circumstances illustrative of the history of the family of + John Bunyan _n_313 + The Gipsies a tribe of Ethiopian thieves and robbers, 315--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" 316 + Gipsy horse-dealers--"Several thousand in Scotland acquainted + with the Gipsy tongue" 316 + The children of Gipsies instructed in Gipsy, from their + infancy--Their pride in their language 316 + The character of an intelligent Gipsy chief 316 + The Gipsy sings a song in Gipsy--The Gipsies have doubtless an + oral literature _n_317 + A great alarm in the family, 317--"Give to the world what had + been theirs for 350 years" 318 + Smith on the language of the Jews during the captivity--How the + Gipsy tribe will relish the present work _n_318 + A tinker at Grangemouth--"Yes, the dog is not bad"--"What do you + mean? I don't understand you--Yes, the dog is hairy" 319 + Thimbling Gipsies--"_Chee, chee,_" (hold your tongue)--"But, + sir, what was that you said to them, for they seem afraid?" 319 + The author taken for a Thimbler--"I tell ye, woman, the man you + spoke to was nothing but one of these villains" _n_321 + 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_321 + Thimblers' traps, 321--A victim drowns himself 322 + Thimblers' conversation--"Bloody swells"--"I will require three + men to take care of that boat" 323 + Is that man a Gipsy?--"Ask himself, sir" 323 + An old thimbling Gipsy attempts to inveigle some youths on + Arthur's Seat--"Wasn't he a slippery old serpent, after all?" _n_323 + The science of thimbling, _n_324--Thimble-riggers, and their + ancestry--Ancient Egyptian thimbling _n_325 + English, Scottish, and Irish Gipsies speak the same language, + and assist each other, when they meet 324 + An Irish Gipsy family--An ass bearing a "bundle of bones"-- + "Good-day, sir, God bless you" 326 + Two Irish Gipsies in court--"Three days, and be banished the + town" 326 + A Gipsy wife a go-between--"The scoundrel shall lie in prison + till the last hour of his sentence" 327 + An escape, and a "banishing the town," 327--"A fight for the + sake of friendship" _specimens_ 328 + A horde of Irish Gipsies--The town-clerk ashamed of his company 328 + A Gipsy quizzes his friend--"You will put me out, by speaking to + me in that language" _specimens_ 329 + Irish Gipsies in Scotland--Their number, appearance, and + occupations 329 + The origin of the idea that the Gipsies came from India 329 + Scottish Gipsy words collated with vulgar Hindostanee 330 + John Lobbs, a low caste native of Bombay, examined _specimens_ 330 + Rev. Mr. Crabb's annual Gipsy festival--The Hindostanee and + Gipsy languages _n_334 + Gipsy words sent to Sir Walter Scott, collated with the Rev. Mr. + Baird's collection 334 + Scottish Gipsy words that bear a relation to Sanscrit 336 + A comparison between Gipsy and various oriental languages 337 + The language of the Gipsies mixed--How it has got corrupted 338 + Rev. Mr. Baird's remarks thereon--The language of the Gipsies in + the Scottish Highlands _n_338 + The Sclavonic in the Gipsy language--Variations in the Gipsy of + different countries _n_338 + The Gipsies supposed to originate in India--The tribe originally + thieves and robbers 339 + The Nuts, or Bazegurs, supposed to be the parent stock of the + Gipsies 339 + _See Disquisition on the Gipsies_ 431-433 + LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. + The Gipsies of this county more daring than the other bands in + Scotland 123 + They take up their quarters near the Bridge of Linlithgow 123 + Their sagacity--The district populous--Much business passes + through it 124 + The names of the tribe--They have no connection with native + vagrants 124 + Their occupations--Horses, music, feasting, and dancing 124 + The Gipsies very civil and honest with their neighbours, but + plunder others at a distance 124 + A Gipsy unintentionally attempts to rob his own clergyman _n_124 + The tribe form strong attachments to individuals of the + community 125 + Terrific fighting among themselves, on dividing their spoil 125 + Their children attend school--None dare taunt them, or their + parents, though thieves and robbers 125 + The magistrates of Linlithgow dare not interfere with the tribe 126 + They play with them at golf, and admit them to social meetings + and dinner parties 126 + The authorities being passive, the Gipsies plunder at pleasure 127 + The chief of the tribe taken off, when attempting highway + robbery 127 + His funeral attended by the magistrates, and other people of + respectability 128 + The Gipsy mode of burying the dead 128 + The deceased chieftain succeeded by his son, who exceeds him in + audacity and daring 129 + The band very numerous, having lieutenants, like a military + company 129 + Appearance, acquirements, and habits of the new chieftain, and + his brother-in-law 129 + By means of trained horses, the chief plays many tricks 129 + Description of his wife, and for what she was greatly respected 130, + 137 + The Gipsies protect their friends, but vindictively torment + their enemies 130 + Peculiarities of the Gipsies in the matter of robbing people-- + Gipsy passports 131 + The chief and his brother-in-law condemned to be hung 133 + Threatened rescue by the tribe--Precautions taken, 133--Execution + of the criminals 135 + The chief's wife before, and after, the execution--Touching and + terrible scenes 135, 136 + Attempted resuscitation of the bodies--They are interred in the + church-yard of Linlithgow 137 + They are torn up by the populace, and buried in a moor, in the + neighbourhood 137 + The chief divorced from his first wife, over a horse, sacrificed + for the occasion 137 + Her character, and that of her successor, who continues her old + practices 137 + She returns to a friend a purse, stolen by the tribe in a fair 138 + Her two nephews pursued, tried, and executed for robbing the + mail 139 + Sizes of these two Gipsies--Mixed Gipsies a strong race of + men _n_139 + LOCHGELLIE once the headquarters of Gipsies, 140--Description of + the neighbourhood, 141--Scenes among the Lochgellie Gipsies 159, 167, + 295 + LOCHMABEN is said, by James Hogg, to be stocked with Gipsies _n_381 + MACAULAY, LORD. + John Bunyan's tribe and nationality, 507, 516--The Pilgrim's + Progress 514 + McLAURIN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. + He speaks of John Faw, "Earl of Little Egypt," as "this peer" 107 + On the trial of William Baillie, in 1714, 204--On the mercy + shown to James Baillie 213 + MARRIAGE CEREMONIES OF THE GIPSIES. + The Gipsies all marry young--Few or no illegitimate children + among them 257 + A Gipsy stabs another, for seducing his sister, who is afterwards + married to him 257 + The virtue of young Spanish Gipsy females--They are dressed in a + kind of drapery _n_257 + Gipsy courtships--The younger sister not married before the + elder 258 + The Gipsy multiplication table--The Gipsies obey one of the + divine laws at least _n_258 + A parallel between the ancient Hindoos and the Jews during the + time of Laban 259 + The nuptial ceremony of the Gipsies of great antiquity, and one + the longest to be observed 259 + Marriage customs generally--Those of the Gipsies should be made + public 260 + Sir Walter Scott not squeamish about delicacies, when knowledge + is to be acquired 260 + The ideas of prudes and snobs on this chapter _n_260 + The Scottish Gipsy marriage ceremony described 260-263 + The Spanish Gipsy marriage ceremony, according to Bright, + _n_261--and Borrow _n_262 + Singular marriage customs among other tribes--"Hand-fasting" + among Scottish Highland chiefs _n_262 + Recent instances of Scottish Gipsy marriages, 263--A Gipsy on + the Presbyterian form of marriage _n_264 + Description of Peter Robertson, a famous celebrator of Gipsy + marriages 264 + In his will, he gives away, during his life, more than a county, + but reserves to himself a "pendicle," and the town of + Dunfermline 265 + Remarks on rams and rams' horns _n_265 + The Gipsy priest given to good ale, and chastising his tribe + without mercy 266 + MILLER, HUGH, on the slavery of Scotch colliers and salters _n_121 + MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER. + The Scott clan agree to give up all friendship with common + thieves, &c. 113 + Song of "Johnny Faa, the Gipsy Laddie,"[331] 289--Of "Hughie the + Graeme" 307 + MIRACLES. + There is no miracle in the existence of the Jews since the + dispersion 458, 459, 494, 533 + They are to be found in the Old and New Testaments only 494 + They are things that are contrary to natural laws 533 + It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among + mankind 533 + MIXTURE OF GIPSY BLOOD 9, _n_80, _n_92, 341, 342, 374, 377-379, + 399, 468 + MIXED GIPSIES, PECULIARITIES OF 10, _n_195, 372, 373, 375, 377, + 381-385, 391, 395, 397, 403, 412, 414, 427, 451, 455, 460-462, 470, + 472, 498, 499, 508, _n_509, 532 + MOSES. + His difficulties in inducing the Jews to undertake the Exodus 16 + The difference between his rank and that of Jesus Christ 16, 486 + The character of Moses, 18--His troubles after leaving Egypt 20 + How he apparently got rid of the "mixed multitude" that followed + him 20 + OCCUPATIONS OF THE GIPSIES GENERALLY 124, 182, 215, 225, 226, 228, + 234, 246, 347, 353, 401, 467 + 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_380 + What he says about John Bunyan 515 + OWEN, JOHN, how he respected and appreciated John Bunyan 521 + PARK, MUNGO, Marriage customs among the natives of Africa _n_260 + PASSES. + The system of Passes among the Gipsies 218 + The use of passes granted to the friends of the Gipsies among the + community 130, 131, 158, 159, 199 + PENNECUIK, DR. ALEXANDER. + He alludes to the Gipsies in his poems and history of + Tweed-dale 185 + He gives a description of a Gipsy battle, at Romanno 188 + He erects a dove-cot on the spot, to commemorate the battle 189 + PHILOLOGISTS AND THE GIPSY LANGUAGE 25, 56, 60, 291, 337, 338 + PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, THE. + What Lord Macaulay says of it, 514--What Bunyan himself wrote of + it 517 + PONS ASSINORUM, THE, OF THE GIPSY QUESTION _n_383 + POPULATION OF THE GIPSIES 61, 77, 93, 297, 316, 367, 416, 493 + PRESENT CONDITION AND NUMBER OF THE GIPSIES IN SCOTLAND. + Every author represents the Gipsies as all remarkably dark in + their appearance 341 + The Scottish Gipsies of all colours--Fair-haired Gipsies in + Finland and Arabia 341 + Children stolen and incorporated with the tribe--How its + appearance has been changed 342 + Peculiarity of mixing "the blood" with native, in England _n_342 + Gipsies formerly employed in Scotland as constables, peace- + officers, and "country-keepers" 343 + The peculiarities of the tribe in such capacities--They make + matters a great deal worse 344 + Impressments during the American and French wars greatly break + up the Gipsy bands 344 + The tribe desert the ranks on landing in America _n_345 + The Gipsies prefer self-mutilation to impressment 345 + Sir Walter Scott meets a Prussian Gipsy soldier, a sentinel in + Paris _n_346 + The Gipsies accept the bounty and desert--Burns' "Jolly Beggars:" + "My bonny lass, I work in brass." _n_346 + 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, 347--constables in large and small towns, female + servants, lady's maids and housekeepers; ginger-bread dealers, + crockery, japan, and white-iron hawkers, &c., 348 + English Gipsy constables--A Scottish clergyman married to a + Gipsy _n_348 + 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 348 + Thimble-riggers, tinkers, dealers in horn spoons--"Did you ever + make horn spoons?" 350 + Popular ideas of Gipsies, and their numbers--Sir Walter Scott's + opinion 350 + "Tinklers and vagabonds," since the peace of 1815 350 + The Gipsies at St. Boswell's, 352--An Asiatic camp to be seen + after the fair 353 + Description of the _tinkering_ Gipsies, at present in Scotland 353 + The hardy constitution of the Gipsy race in resisting the + elements _n_354 + Itinerant Gipsies--difficulty in pleasing them with hot rolls-- + Gipsy beggars in towns 355 + Travelling singing Gipsy impostors, 355--Gipsy mock country + labourers 356 + Irish Gipsies in Scotland--A Gipsy woman gives birth to a child + in the open fields 356 + Irish Gipsies in England--They are disliked by their English and + Scottish brethren _n_357 + Irish Gipsy mechanics in Edinburgh, England, and the Untied + States 358 + Infanticide among the Gipsies--The tribe physically, _n_358-- + Female Gipsy recklessness _n_359 + The Gipsies charged with cowardice--The Scottish Gipsies make + excellent soldiers 359 + The Gipsies employed by European governments, as soldiers, + _n_359,--and spies _n_360 + An interesting meeting between a French and Spanish Gipsy, in + the heat of a battle _n_360 + Supposed danger from Gipsies in time of war equally applicable + to Jews and Freemasons _n_360 + Scottish Gipsies distinguished for gratitude, in return for + civility and kindness 360 + "Terrible," a Gipsy chief, offers to sell his all, to get a + farmer out of prison 361 + Terrible's opinion of "writers" and lairds, but especially of + the writers 362 + The feelings of the Gipsies in regard to the prejudice that + exists against them _n_362 + Terrible's character--His mother a witch--He believed she could + have set the farmer free 363 + The character of Gipsy chiefs generally--Education among the + Scottish Gipsies 364 + How a Gipsy child became "spoiled," 364--Education among the + Spanish Gipsies, _n_365--Female Gipsies _n_365 + Neglect of females among the Jews--A Jew's morning prayer _n_365 + Religion among the Scottish Gipsies, 365--Their general political + sentiments 366 + Grellmann on the religion of the Gipsies--Mr. Borrow preaches to + them in Spain _n_366 + The number of the Gipsies in Scotland--Gipsies in all the towns, + and many of the villages 367 + Few Gipsies now hanged--Their present punishment--They cannot + fail to encrease _n_367 + The civilization and improvement of the Gipsies--An Hungarian + nobleman's opinion 367 + The restless nature of the Gipsies--How it is manifested _n_368 + The language of the Gipsies should be published, and the tribe + encouraged to speak it openly 369 + The plan of the Rev. Mr. Crabb, _n_368, and the Rev. Mr. Baird + for the civilization of the Gipsies _n_369 + The difficulty in distinguishing some of the tribe from common + natives _n_369 + The Gipsies marry among themselves, like the Jews, and "stick to + each other." 369 + PRINCIPAL GIPSY FAMILIES IN SCOTLAND. + Faw 101, _n_103, 106, 107, 108, _n_113, 118, 121, 188, 236, 250, + 252, 255, 406 + Baillie 101, _n_103, 118, 119, 120, 121, 185, 186, 188, 196, 197, + 202-208, 212, 213, 215, 219, 236, 411 + PRITCHARD on the Hungarian race, past and present 413 + PROPHECIES. + "Scattering of the Egyptians," Ezek. xxix. 12-14, and xxx. 10, + 23 and 26 40 + "A people that are to provoke and anger the Jews," Deut. xxxii. + 21, and Rom. x. 19 _n_491, 533 + PYRENEES, The Gipsies of the, resemble the inferior class of + Scottish Gipsies 86 + QUAKERS. + Gipsy-Quakers, or Quaker-Gipsies _n_380 + The result of their society being dissolved 448 + The nature of the perpetuation of their existence 494 + QUEENSFERRY, NORTH. + Stylish habits of Gipsy plunderers at the inn at 171 + Fashionable cavalcade of female Gipsies departing from 173 + The boatmen and their friends--"the lads that take the purses" 173 + Gipsy scenes at 288, 294 + QUEENSFERRY, SOUTH. + Adventure of a Gipsy with an ox at 148 + Gipsy scenes at 356 + RELIGION AMONG THE GIPSIES 52, 73, _n_74, 87, _n_89, 161, 183, 226, + 248, 365, _n_366, 475, 477, 478, 502 + ROME, THE CHURCH OF. + The seventy years schism--Three Popes anathematizing each other 32 + The Gipsies tolerated in the dominions of the Church, for the + sake of gain 75 + The Gipsies despised and tolerated by the Church, in Spain 395 + The attempted conversion of the Jews to the superstitions and + impostures of Rome 502 + ST. BOSWELL'S, The author's visits to the fairs at--Gipsy scenes 93, + 309, 352 + ST. JAMES on the gratitude of wild animals 435 + ST. PAUL before the Jewish Council--Gamaliel's advice on the + persecution of Christians _n_494 + "SCOTSMAN" NEWSPAPER, Lament on the death of Will Faa, king of the + Scottish Gipsies, in October, 1847 255 + SCOTT, SIR WALTER. + His judicious advice to the author regarding this work 5, 59, 60, + 67, 291 + The Gipsy language a "great mystery," 24, 58--His intended + publication on the Gipsies 25 + He urges an enquiry into the subject of the Gipsies 25, 59 + The original of Meg Merrilies, in Guy Mannering 44, 48, 242 + An article on the Buckhaven fishermen--The zeal of an + antiquary _n_57 + His three letters to the author, 58-61--His opinion of the Gipsy + language 58, 60 + In a note to Quentin Durward, he urges a publication of the + present work 66 + His translated article, in Blackwood's Magazine, on the Gipsies + in Germany 79 + His article in Blackwood's Magazine--An English Gipsy family + arriving in Scotland 96 + Billy Marshall the Gallowayshire Gipsy chief _n_148 + In a letter to Captain Adam Ferguson, he alludes to the trial of + Kennedy, a tinker _n_192 + He notices a scuffle and a murder among Gipsies 216 + His description of a Gipsy feast 232 + Adventure of a relative among Gipsies--The original of Meg + Merrilies 242 + His grandfather feasted by the Gipsies on Charter-house moor 244 + He discovers a Gipsy, when in the company of Baillie Smith, of + Kelso 250 + He is not squeamish about delicacies when knowledge is to be + acquired 59, 260 + His idea of the Scottish Gipsy population greatly erroneous _n_301, + 350, _n_417 + He causes his eldest daughter to sing "Hughie the Graeme" to the + author _n_308 + He is interested in the Gipsies, but afraid they might injure + his plantations _n_309 + A list of Gipsy words sent to him for inspection 59, 334 + He meets a Prussian Gipsy soldier, in Paris _n_346 + Feudal robbers--Extract from his life by Lockhart _n_410 + Highland robbers--Fitz-James and Roderick Dhu, in the "Lady of + the Lake," _n_411 + On the disappearance of the Scottish Gipsies _n_417 + What he says about John Bunyan 515 + SCOTTISH GIPSIES, DOWN TO THE YEAR 1715. + Gipsies supposed to be in Scotland before the year 1460 98 + McLellan of Bombie kills a Gipsy chief, and recovers the Barony + of Bombie 98 + The Gipsies enter Scotland, from Spain, by way of Ireland _n_98 + Armorial bearings--Act of James II. against vagabonds 99 + Letter of James IV., in 1506, to the king of Denmark, in favour + of Anthonius Gawino, Earl of Little Egypt 99 + Capacity of the early Gipsies in passing for pilgrims and men of + consequence _n_99 + Treaty between James V. and John Faw, "Lord and Earl of Little + Egypt," in 1540 101 + Policy of the Gipsies--The act of James V. the starting point in + the history of the Scoto-Egyptians _n_103 + The Gipsies insult James V., and, for that reason, are ordered + to leave Scotland, in 1541 104 + Faw's diplomacy on the occasion _n_106 + Death of James V.--The Gipsies recover their position with his + successors 107 + Remission of Gipsies for the slaughter of Ninian Small 107 + Scottish Gipsy captains, and Spanish Gipsy counts _n_107 + The Gipsies, at that time, men of importance, and allowed to + live under their own laws 107 + The Countess of Cassilis elopes with John Faa 108 + The Gipsies tolerated from 1506 till 1579, when James VI. + assumes the government 109 + Act of James VI. against vagabonds in general, and the Gipsies + in particular 109 + Mode prescribed for punishing the Gipsies and the other + vagabonds mentioned 110 + Statute confirmed in 1592, when the Gipsies are again referred + to 110 + Act of 1597 against "strong beggars, vagabonds, and Egyptians" 110 + Coal and salt masters might apprehend and put such to labour _n_111 + Origin of the slavery in Scotland which was abolished during + last century _n_111 + Gipsies now colliers in the Lothians _n_111 + Fletcher of Saltoun's estimate of the beggars and vagabonds in + Scotland, in 1680 _n_111 + Act of 1600 declares previous ones ineffectual 111 + Acts of 1608 and 1609 banish the Gipsies forever, on pain of + death 112 + Act of 1617 directs the authorities how to proceed against the + Gipsies 113 + Condition of the Scottish people generally, at this time 113 + Acts against "famous and unspotted gentlemen" for protecting the + Gipsies 114 + Similar acts passed against the nobility and commonalty in + Spain _n_114 + Gipsy policy and cunning--Modifications of the term Gitano _n_115 + Great outward change in the Gipsies at that time--Surnames and + general policy 116 + English and German Gipsy and Jewish surnames _n_117 + The Gipsies claim bastard kindred with the Scottish aristocracy + and gentry 117 + They have a profound regard for aristocracy _n_117 + Trials and executions of the Gipsies in Scotland--Baron Hume's + account 117 + The Faas and Baillies the principal Gipsy tribes in Scotland 121 + The influence of the Baillies, of Lamington, of great service to + the Scottish Gipsies 121 + Proscription of Gipsies, and enslavement of colliers and + salters, in Scotland _n_121 + SHEPHERD KINGS, Gipsies probably the descendants of the 20, 415 + SHERIFFS OF SCOTLAND, their reports on the Gipsies in Scotland _n_251 + SKENE, WM. F. + "Hand-fasting," previous to marriage, practised among Scottish + Highland chiefs _n_263 + The plundering principles and habits of Scottish Highlanders 410 + SLANG, in connexion with the Gipsy language 58, _n_59, 60, 281, 302, + _n_338, 506 + SLAVES, the religion of 20, 21, 51, 496, _n_496 + SMITH, ADAM, author of the "Wealth of Nations," carried off by the + Gipsies, when a child 45 + SMITH, BAILLIE, OF KELSO. + His contribution to Hoyland's "Survey of the Gipsies," 245 + SMITH'S HEBREW PEOPLE. + History of their language during the seventy years' captivity _n_318 + SOLDIERS, Gipsies as 80, 182, 208, 253, 344, 345, _n_346, 359 + SOUTHEY, ROBERT. + He says Bunyan was bred to the business of a brazier _n_265 + On tinkering and Bunyan's education 512 + Bunyan's family history and fame 516 + He is unreasonable in styling Bunyan a "blackguard," 519 + SPIES, Gipsies as _n_74, _n_360 + STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND. + Description of Lochgellie, Fifeshire, and the Gipsies settled + there 141 + Description of the Gipsies at Middleton, Mid-Lothian 341 + Allusion to the Falls, merchants, at Dunbar _n_406 + STEALING AMONG THE GIPSIES 52, 63, 72, 148, _n_155, 163, 164, 166-174, + 177, 197, 210, 211, 228, 315, 339, 364, 482 + SURNAMES AMONG THE GIPSIES 99, 101, 107, 117, 121, 124, 141, 153, 219, + 252, _n_358 + TACITUS on the destruction of the Druids, _n_479--On the religion + of slaves _n_496 + THIMBLE-RIGGERS AND THIMBLE-RIGGING 319-325 + TIMOUR'S CRUELTIES on over-running India 38 + TITLES AMONG THE GIPSIES 77, 78, 79, 90, 99, 101, 107, _n_155, 169, + 187, 190, 218, 253, _n_256 + TRENCK, BARON. + In his wanderings, comes in contact with a band of German + Gipsies 86 + TWISS, RICHARD, on the religious character of the Gipsies 73 + On the virtue of Gipsy females, and honesty of Gipsy innkeepers, + in Spain 524 + TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. + Description of Tweed-dale, in the time of Queen Mary 185 + Dr. Pennecuik's works--The Gipsies never had a permanent + habitation in the county 185 + The tribe attached to the district for three reasons: 1st, the + Baillies claimed it as their own, 185--2d, plenty of provisions-- + 3d, freedom from the laws 186 + Alleged relation of the Gipsies to the Baillies of Lamington _n_185 + Braxy--Mr. Borrow on the Gipsies poisoning and eating swine _n_186 + Fashionable appearance and mounting of the Baillie tribe--Their + children left in huts 186 + The Gipsies well treated by the tenantry, who accept dinners + from them 187 + The Baillies specially mentioned--They give kings and queens to + the tribe 187 + The quarrelsome disposition of the Gipsies--"A shower of horns, + hammers, knives, files, and fiery peats," 188 + Dr. Pennecuik's account of a Gipsy battle at Romanno 188 + He erects a dove-cot on the spot, to illustrate, by contrast, + the nature of the Gipsy 189 + The same battle noticed by Lord Fountainhall, in his MS 189 + A Gipsy battle at Hawick--Terrific wounds, but no slain 190 + Sir Walter Scott's allusion to this battle _n_192 + Another and decisive battle between the hostile tribes, at + Eskdale moor 193 + The country people horrified at the sight of the wounded Gipsies 193 + Grellmann's description of Hungarian Gipsies fighting _n_193 + Female Gipsies fight as well as males--'Becca Keith, the heroine + of Dumblane 194 + The trifling occasions of Gipsies fighting, and agreeing among + themselves _n_195 + The fencibles and the clergy called out to quell and disperse + the Gipsies _n_195 + Assault of the Gipsies on Pennicuik House _n_195 + An insult offered to the mother of the Baillies resented, with + drawn swords 196 + Contribution from Mr. Blackwood towards a history of the Gipsies 196 + Pickpockets at Dumfries, headed by Will Baillie--How he and + his tribe travelled to fairs--He returns a farmer his purse, + 197--The farmer, when intoxicated, goes to visit him--Baillie + pays a widow's rent, and saves her from ruin, 198--He borrows + money, and gives the lender a pass of protection, 199--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, 200--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 201 + Jock's execution, as described by Dr. Alexander Carlyle _n_201 + William Baillie, a handsome, well-dressed, good-looking, well- + bred man, and an excellent swordsman 202 + Like a wild Arab, he distributes the wares of a trembling + packman, who extols, wherever he goes, "the extraordinary + liberality of Captain Baillie," 203 + Bruce on the protection given by Arabs to shipwrecked + Christians _n_203 + In indulging his sarcastic wit, Baillie insults the judge on the + bench 203 + The deportment of Hungarian Gipsies during and after + punishment _n_204 + Baillie's numerous crimes and sentences 204 + The nature of "sorning," _n_204--Gipsies carried arms in the + olden times _n_205 + Baillie's policy in claiming kin with honourable families 205 + He is slain by one of the tribe while in the arms of his wife 206 + His murderer pursued by the tribe over the British Isles, till + he is apprehended and executed 206 + Legal enquiry regarding the slaughter of Baillie, 206--The + trial of his murderers 208 + William Baillie succeeded by Matthew Baillie--His descendants 208 + Mary Yorkston, wife of Matthew Baillie, a Gipsy queen and + priestess 208 + Her appearance and costume, on gala days, when advanced in years 209 + Old Gipsy women strip people of their clothes, like the Arabs of + the desert 209 + 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!" 210 + A Gipsy chief chastises his wife for want of diligence or + success at a fair 211 + Mary Yorkston and her particular friend, the good-man of + Coulter-park 211 + She scorns alms, but demands and takes by force a "boontith," 211 + Her son, James Baillie, condemned and pardoned again and again 212 + The Baillies of Lamington's influence successful in his case 213 + Stylish dress of the male head of the Ruthvens--The Gipsy + costume generally 213 + Disguises of the tribe when plundering in fairs 213 + Vidocq on the disguises of the Continental Gipsies, on a similar + occasion _n_213 + A couple of mounted Gipsies taken for men almost of the first + quality 214 + Straggling Gipsies--Their suspicious characters--A tinker and a + tinker's wife 215 + A quarrel among three Gipsy constables, 216--A murder, a + capture, and a lamentation 217 + One Gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and the third + banished 218 + Great falling off in the condition of the Scottish nomadic + Gipsies 218 + The internal polity of the Gipsies--Their general system of + passes 218 + The country divided into districts, under a king and provincial + chieftains--The pass of a Baillie conducts its bearer over all + Scotland 219 + Surnames among the Tweed-dale Gipsies--Surnames among the + English Gipsies _n_219 + Travelling Gipsies possess two and sometimes several names-- + Superstitious ideas when travelling 219 + Present condition of the Tweed-dale Gipsies--They dispense with + tents, but occupy kilns and outhouses 220 + The number of the tribe sometimes collected together, 220--How + they are sometimes treated 221 + How the Gipsies approach the farmers' premises, 222--How they + disguise their numbers 222 + Their honesty, while on the farm--The resemblance between + Gipsies and ravens _n_223 + Personal habits of the tribe while in their encampment 224 + The males remain aloof, tinkering and manufacturing--The women + vend the goods 224 + Athletic amusements of the Gipsies, 224--They despise the + peasantry, but boast of their own tribe 225 + Their peaceable behaviour, 225--They do not attend church, or + worship any thing whatever 226 + The musical talents of the Gipsies--Their pretensions to surgery + --Dr. Duds 226 + How Gipsy women vend their wares, 225--They sometimes take, by + force, a "boontith," 227 + Habits of the Hungarian Gipsy after child-birth _n_227 + Mary Yorkston and her "boontith," 227--Her terrible prediction 228 + Recent instances of "sorning," or masterful begging, among the + Scottish Gipsies _n_228 + Gipsy fortune-tellers, 228--How they frequently obtain important + information 229 + Travelling Gipsies--Gipsy fiddlers at parties--Gipsy lady's + maids 229 + Fortune-telling by palmistry and the divining cup, 230--By the + corn riddle and scissors 231 + Fortune-telling in Kamtachatka and the ancient Eastern + nations _n_230 + Fortune-telling punishable by Act of Parliament _n_230 + Anecdote of a Gipsy woman telling fortunes by the divining cup 231 + Gipsies' meals--Sir Walter Scott's description of a Gipsy feast 232 + The Gipsy mode of cooking poultry and butcher-meat 233 + The Gipsy mode of working in iron--Its antiquity--Hungarian + Gipsy smiths _n_234 + VIDOCQ. + On the disguises and plundering habits of the Continental + Gipsies _n_169, _n_213 + WILKINSON, SIR J. GARDNER. + Thimble-rigging among the ancient Egyptians _n_325 + The appearance of the Jews in the East differs from that in + Europe 477 + WILSON, PROFESSOR. + He strolls with the Gipsies in his youth, 8--Was he then looking + at the "old thing?" 471 + He notices the articles of the author in Blackwood's Magazine 66 + YETHOLM. + Description of its situation _n_141 + The Gipsies of Yetholm--Baillie Smith's account, 245--Mr. + Blackwood's contribution 251 + Tradition of the first settlement of the Gipsies at Yetholm _n_252 + The author's visit to Yetholm 254 + The Gipsies at Yetholm knock down their asses, when they + separate from their wives 276 + Yetholm the metropolis of Scottish Gipsydom, 426--"I come from + Yetholm" 443 + + [331] 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), | + | 22d/22nd, clannish/clanishness/clanism, Couter-park/Coulter-park, | + | Tschingenes/Tschengenes, depot/depot, 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 [9]: Abbe changed to Abbe; | + | Page 76: Tereros changed to Toreros; | + | Footnote [40]: Annals changed to Annales; | + | Page 161: young laid changed to young lad; | + | Footnote [148]: the Gipsy women changed to the Gipsy woman; | + | Footnote [151]: Hudegger changed to Heidegger; | + | Page 337 (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 Graeme; | + | 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 33 changed to | + | 23; | + | MIXED GIPSIES ...: page number 391 moved to proper place. | + +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A History of the Gipsies, by Walter Simson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES *** + +***** This file should be named 39665.txt or 39665.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/6/6/39665/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Harry Lame and the Distributed +Proofreaders Team at pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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