The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-18 00:00:00

THE GIPSIES.

The following account is abridged from a work entitled
The Gipsies' Advocate, written by Mr. Crabb, who has
been long active in promoting an establishment at South-
ampton fur improving the condition of those extraordi-
nary people. The profits of that book being appropriated
to the funds of the institution, it is hoped that the extracts
here given may induce some of our readers to purchase
a publication in which they will find so many interesting
details of this long-neglected people, and of an establish-
ment which has alrea4 been productive of much good.
Of the origin of these wanderers of the human race the
learned are not agreed in their opinions; for we have no
authentic records of their first emigrations. Some sup-
pose them to be the descendants of Israel, and many others
that they are of Egyptian origin. But the evidence ad-
duced in confirmation of these opinions appears very in-
conclusive. Those who suppose them to be of Hindostanee
or Suder origin have much the best proof on their side ; a
gipsy has a countenance, and quickness of manner, which
bear a strong resemblance to these people ; nor is this
mere assertion. The testimony of the most intelligent
travellers, many of whom have long resided in India, fully,
supports this opinion. But the strongest evidence of their,
Hindoo origin is the great resemblance their own language,
bears to the Hindostanee. Grellman, that respectable
author, declares, that twelve out of thirty words of the
gipsies' language are either purely Hindostanee, or near-
ly
related to it. Brand, in his, Observations on Popular
Antiquities, is of opinion that the first gipsies fled from
Asia in the years 1408 and 1409, when the cruel Timur
Beg ravaged India, with a view to proselytize the heathen
to the Mohammedan religion ; at which time about
500.000 human beings were butchered by him. Some
suppose that, soon after this time, many who escaped the
sword of this human fury came into Europe through Egypt,
and on this account were called, in English, gipsies.
The Suder caste of Asiatic Indians were a degraded
people—a people looked on as the lowest of the human
race; and with an army seeking their destruction they had
every motive to leave, and none to stay in Hindustan.
The gipsies are very numerous ; amounting to about
700,000. It is supposed that there are about 18,000 in
this kingdom. But be they less or more, we ought never
to forget that they are branches of the same family with
'onireives—thet.they are capable of being fittedio,LalLthe
duties and enjoyments of life.
There are many genuine features of humanity in the
character of this degraded and despised people. Their
constantly retaining an affectionate remembrance of their
deceased relatives affords a striking proof of this state-
ment ; and their attachment to the horse, donkey, rings,
snuff-box, silver spoons, and all things, except the clothes,
of the deceased, is very strong. With such articles they
will never part, except in the greatest distress ; and then
they only pledge some of them, which are redeemed aS
soon as they possess the means. They have a singular
custom of burning all the clothes belonging to any one
among them deceased, with the straw, litter, &c., of his
tent. Most families visit the graves of their near relatives,
once in the year ; generally about the time of Christmas.
It is not often that a gipsy is seen well dressed, even
when they possess costly apparel ; but their women are
fond of finery. They are much delighted with broad lace,
large ear-drops, a variety of rings, and glaring colours;
and, when they possess the means, show how great a
share they have of that foolish vanity which leads many,
destitute of the faith, and hope, and love, and humility of
the Gospel, into utter ruin. A remarkable instance ,of
the love of costly attire in a female gipsy is well known to
the writer. The woman alluded to obtained a very large
sum of money from three maiden ladies, pledging that it
should be doubled by her art in conjuration. She then
decamped to another district, where she bought a blood..
horse, a black beaver hat, a new side-saddle and bridle, a
silver-mounted whip, and figured away
.in her ill-obtained
finery at the fairs. It is not easy to imagine the disap-
pointment and resentment of the covetous and credulous
ladies whom she had so easily duped. Nor indeed are the
males of this people less addicted to the love of gay cloth-
ing' if it suited their interest to exhibit it. Some gipsies
try to excel others in the possession of silver buttons.—
They will sometimes give as much as fifteen pounds for a
set. The author has by him, belonging to a gipsy, three
massive rings soldered together, and with a half:sovereign
on the top, which serves instead of a brilliant stone.
The anxiety of a gipsy parent to preserve the purity or
the morals of a daughter, is strongly portrayed in the ful-
' lowing fact.' The author wished to engage, as a servant,
the daughter of a gipsy, who was desirous of' quitting her
vagrant life • but her mother strongly objected for some
time ; and ;hen pressed for the reason of such objection,
• she named the danger she would be exposed to in a town,
far from a mother's eve. After having promised that the
morals of the child slio-tld be watched over, she was con-

tided to his care. It is worthy of remark, that all the bet-
ter sort of gipsies teach their children the Lord's Prayer.
The trades they follow are generally chair-mending,
knife-grinding, tinkering, and basket-making, the wood
for which they mostly steal, but in general, neither old
nor young among them do much that can be called labour;
and it is lamentable that the greatest part of the little they
do earn, is laid by to spend at their festivals; for like
many tribes of uncivilized Indians, they- mostly make
their women support their families, who generally do it
by swindling and fortune-telling. Their baskets intro
duce them to the servants of families, of whom they beg
victuals, to whom they sell trifling wares, and tell their
fortunes, which indeed is their principal aim, as it is their
greatest source of gain. Many of these idle soothsayers
endeavour to persuade the people whom they delude that
the power to foretel future events is granted to them from
heaven, to enable them to get bread for their families.
It would be well, were the prognostications of these wo-
men encouraged only among servants; but this is not
the case. They are often consulted by those who ought
to know and teach them better • and it is astonishing how
-many respectable people are led away with the artful flat-
tery of such visitors. They forget that the gipsy fortune-
teller has often made herself acquainted with their con-
nexions, business, and future piospects, and do not
consider that God commits not his secrets to the wicked
and profane, and that the power of foretelling future
events can come from Him alone, when, for some wise
and great purpose, He is pleased to grant it.
Although the gipsies, on account of their unsettled
habits, their disposition to evil practices, and their igno-
rance of true religion, may be said to be in a most la-
mentably wretched state, yet is their condition not
desperate. They are rational beings, and have many
feelings honourable to human nature. They are not as
the heathens of other countries, addicted to any system
of idolatry, and, what is of infinite encouragement, they
inhabit a land of Bibles and Christian ministers; and
although, at present, they derive so little benefit from
these advantages, there are many of them willing to
receive instruction.
Some circumstances which occurred in 1827, gave rise
to the idea of forming a society for the improvement of
this people ; and the promoters of it have to rejoice over
the success that has attended its efforts, though it has also
experienced great and manifold disappointments.
Sixteen reformed gipsies are now living at Southamp-
ton, and in addition to these, who have retired from a
wandering life, and are pursuing habits of honest industry,
three other families, whose united number is sixteen,
begged the privilege of wintering under the care of the
society, in the beginning of 1831. These gipsies regu-
Arly attended divine service twice on a Sunday, and on
lie other evenings of the week the adults went to school
;o learn to read. The children were placed at one of the
infants schools.

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
AT MANSFIELD.

A poor woman named Mary Holland (whose husband
deserted from her about three weeks ago), from distress
of mind, or from other circumstances, came to the dread-
ful resolution of poisoning herself and three infant chil-
dren. On Tuesday evening last, she left her three
children at a neighbour's, while she went on an errand,
and, it is supposed, that she then procured the laudanum
necessary to effect her purpose. The little boy who
.survives, states that his mother took something out of a
bottle that evening, and sweetened it, and persuaded him
and his sisters to take it to cure their lips, which were
then very sore, and drank some of it herself, she after-
wards laid them out clean night-caps, and they went to
bed; in the night the two elder children awoke with
violent vomiting and incessant thirst, and tried to awake
their mother, but in vain; the little girl, in extreme thirst,
took up a cup and eagerly swallowed the contents, and it
unfortunately proved that she drank what remained of the
laudanutn, which soon after caused her death. She was four
years old. On the following morning (Wednesday),
Mary Holland not arising at her usual time, and not
answering to repeated knockings at the door, the house
was entered by the neighbours, when the unfortunate
woman and helpless children were found to all appearance
lifeless. Proper measures were speedily resorted to, by
which the effects of the poison on the unhappy woman,
and two of the children, were in part counteracted. On
Thursday, an inquest was held on the body of the little
girl, at the Black Bull inn, when the Jury, after carefully
investigating all the circumstances of this painful case,
returned a verdict of " wilful murder," against the mother,
who is committed to the county jail, to take her trial at
the Lent Assizes.