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 b.a.l.l.s 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 ill.u.s.trate. 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 a.s.sailants--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 G.o.d 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 circ.u.mstances. Gipsies have not only served much in the capacity of spies, but their garb and manner of life have been a.s.sumed 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 a.s.sociations between those in the opposite ranks would be merely those of interest, friendship, a.s.sistance, 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 grat.i.tude 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 grat.i.tude are derived from a respectable farmer, to whom one of the tribe offered a.s.sistance 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 grat.i.tude is still a prominent feature in the character of the Scottish Gipsy.
The farmer became embarra.s.sed in his circ.u.mstances, 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 quant.i.ty 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 d.y.k.e, 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 circ.u.mstances 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 grat.i.tude 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 princ.i.p.al 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 sc.r.a.pes. 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 cla.s.ses, 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 cla.s.ses; 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 cla.s.ses 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 G.o.d, King of the Universe, who hast not made me a woman!" And the woman returns thanks for having been "created according to G.o.d"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 G.o.d 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 "G.o.d 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 a.s.sembled 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 circ.u.mcised 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 G.o.d 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 cla.s.ses, 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 cla.s.ses 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 n.o.bleman 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 n.o.bleman 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 cla.s.s will send their wives and young ones to the "gra.s.s," 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 a.s.sist 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 a.s.sociation 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 a.s.sociation, 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 circ.u.mstances 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 a.s.sociations, 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, a.s.ses, dogs, cats, birds, or pets of any kind; these, and other relative circ.u.mstances, 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 cla.s.s of mechanic Gipsies are difficult of detection; so are the better cla.s.ses, 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."