The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-01-17 00:00:00

ORIGIA OF GYPSIES.

They were a collection of strange people, to whom the
French have given the name of Bohemians. lit other
countries they are called Egyptians, Gypsies, or Syrians,
and in Italy, Zingani, or Ziapri. They wandered in troops
from one end of Europe to the other, with tabors and cas-
tanets, dancing, singing, telling fortunes, shelving tricks of
legerdemain, curing diseases with certain cant words, and
stealing everything that came in their way; and observed
certain religious ceremonies amon themselves, which nei-
ther they nor any one else knew the meaning or origin of.
These people have dwindled away considerably of late,
since mankind have begun to throw off the infatuated no-
tions of witchcraft, talismans, predictions, and possessions
by evil spirits ; there are still a few of them to be met
with, but they are become very scarce. Nothing appears
more probable than that those people were a remnant of
the ancient Priests and Priestesses of Isis, intermxied
with those of the Goddcss of Syria. These tribes, as
much despised by the Romans as their ancestors had for-
merly been reverenced, carried their ceremonies and mer-
cenary superstitions with them all over the world. Wan-
dering missionaries of the faith they professed, they ran from
province to province, to make converts of those whom mere
chance had continued their predictions, or who, having
recovered by the course of nature from alight disorders,
imagined they owed their cure to the miraculous efficacy of
certain mysterious words and signs of these false prophets.
The description that Apuleius gives us of these vaga-
bond prophets and prophetesses, is the very picture of
what these wandering tribes, called Gypsies, have for a
long time been in every country in Europe. The casta-
nets and tabors arc the cymbals and crotals of the Ism)
and Syrian priests. . _

ApUlvius: who spent most of his life in searching 3tfters,
religious and magic secrets, speaks of the prediction
talismans, ceremonies, dances, and songs of these pilgrim
priests, and in particular remarks their very great skill in
stealing whatever Caine in their way, either in the court-
yards or houses where they were athnitteil. When Chris-
tianity took place of the religion of Numa, and Theodosius
bad destroyed the fatuous temple of Serapis, in Egypt,
some of the •Egyptian Priests joined themselves to those
of the Goddess Cybele and the Goddess of Syria, and
went about begging alms in the same manner as hath
' been practised by onr mendicant friars ; but as they could
not expect any counteusncc front the Christiana, they
found it necessary to add the trade of quack electors to
that of pilgrims, and practised chiromancy, or palmistry,
and invented several singular dances.
Mankind love 'o be deceived and amused, and therefore
this offspring of the ancient priests have continued even
to the present time.
Such has been the end of the ancient religion of Isis
and Osiris, whose very names still itupiess respect. I his
rekion,:which in its origin was altogether emblematical
AIM venerable, began so early as the days of Cyrus, to de-
generate into a medley of ridiculous and superstitious cus-
toms. It fell into still greater disrepute under the l'tole-
mies. In the time of the Itonnuts, it was reduced to the
most abject state ; and at length we see it wholly left to
a set of wandering thieves an') pick-pockets.