Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-12-29

HE N1PSIESs w HO ARE AHEY - ne
following extracts are taken from long ar
t:ce in the London Christian Examiner !;
they are from gentleman Of great literary
research. Whoever has read Barrow's BIZ
Bile in Spain will at once recognize the char
acter of the Gypsies, Gitanas. or Romans
all of which are synonymous terms.
And whom have we seen, with the mark
of fugitive imprinted on his brow? yea, with
that more infamous brand mark of vagabond
also !; but one who strongly resembles, while
vet he widely differs from, the descendant of
the patriarch Judah He who has travel
ed on the continent OF Europe, has met with
him in every European land. He who has
visited Asia has met with him there. He
who has visited Africa and America has met
with him there. And what British, or Scot
fish, or Welsh, or Irish child knows not the
swathv hue, remember not the dark and
,;-. cling eye of the ever restless, wandering
tribes of the Gi;ana, or, as they are called
in this country, the Gypsy race race
~ hose or.'yoin none can tel! you, and OF which
none more ntrrant than themselves.
Ask then; whence they come They
know not From whom they sprang' They
know not. What is their re- 'sion p! They
have none. What do they WORSHIP They
are without God in the world. What Is thelr
languagel That oflhe nations among ". 'o',,
they sojourn. Are they Jews? They t...'
you they are not. Are they Gentesl No.
Like the Jews, they are wanderers, without
IA home. Like The Jews, they are mingled
among all people, and yet distinct from all
despiscd, suspected, prosecuted and hated
without country without king !; with ma
tionality unbroken either by time, persecu-
ton, or admixture of blood; with spirit of
clanship or brotherhood that nothing can
quench; with distrust of the Gentles that
nothing can overcome.
But the Jew is worshipper OF jehovah
the Gtana, or Rhoma, knows him not The
Jew processes, and venerates, and studies
the ancient oracles of revealed truth-the
Rhoma scarcely knows that such oracles ex-
ist. The Jew would rather die than defile
himself with what 10 him is ceremonial!y un-
clean-the Rhoma will feed on the most
loalhsome food, even that which is torn, or
which hath died of itself, eating his dcfled
bread among tie Gen,es. fain to fill his bell
" with the husks that swine do eat. How,
then, can these wanderers be of common or
ign? The Jew, though cursed, has been still
entrusted with the oracle of God, and has
therefore retained a knowledge Of his name
and a zeal for his worship; knowledge OF
the language of his forefathers, Of the hisio-
ry of the country from whence he has been
driven; and a hope, an undying, unquench-
able hope of one day returning to that land.
around which hover all his thoughts, and
whose very dust is dear to him as the gold OF
Ophir.
But the Israelto was sent forth to wander
without the written word, and consequently
he has, and must have, lost all trace Of the
name and character of the God Of his faith
ers; all knowledge of the country from
whence he came; of the parental source
from whence he sprang; of the language in
which his father spoke; oflhe meaning of
his Judicial wanderngs; and of the glorious
hopes that the world, the promise, and the
oath of the God of Abraham, Isaac and ia.
cob, hold out to the scattered tribes, wheth-
er Of the house of Judah or of Israel.
Of these mysterious wanderers, be they
whom they may, land who they are l pre-
sumo not 10 say, although | firmly believe
that they represent the house of Israe) there
are not fewer than three millions, scattered
oyer the face Of the earth, and Of the we'll
known tribes of Judah and BENJAMIN about
ten millions more-each tes,ifyng, though
in different ways, to the truth of faithful
but offended God.