New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-05-31

llBQkCU pcfSOAS OF gent q DiOOus c'HiN Va
remarkably beautiful They marry very young seldom
remaining single after the Gge Of 20. They are said
to DO one of tho most prolific races in the
world The ceremonies Of marriage are very singular.
Divorce is common is performed over the body OF
borse which sacrificed for the OCCASION The ceremony
must take place. If possible '"when tie sun Is at Its
height All the parties concerned in it carry long slaves
in their hands horse without blemish is led FORTH and
member Of the company chosen by lot to act priest
On the OCCASION lie walks round the animal several tmes
repeating the of all the persons in whose possession
has BEEN and exolng its qualities 1t is then let
loose and several Gpsies set of in pursuit Of it, IL
wild and intncabe, leaps dtches kicks and will not
allow itself TO be easily caught the guilt of tho woman Is
looked upon as enormous but if it is tame and docile,
her crimes thought to be less honou and the death Of
the horse sufficient to wash them away But sometimes
both woman and horse used to be sacrificed together
Theindvdnas WHO catch the horse bring before the priest
LAYING tie whole of the crimes Of which the supposed
been guilty It's charges and upbGiduR ana soold-
ing dumb creature al angry for it's conduct
They bring. accusation against It, and plead Tor
Its condemnation When als part OF the ti hhLed we
priest takes large kne and tgs it into the heart of The
horse its blood is allowed TO flow upon the ground I'LL
life is extinct The dead animal Is now stretched Ouon te
ground The husband then takes his stand side Of
and the wife the other and. holding each other by the
hand repeat certain appropriate sentences IN the Gypsy Ian
guage They then quit hold of each other and walk three
times round the body the horse cOntranise passing aud
crossing each other at certain points, hey proceed in
poste directions At certain parts Of the animal he
Of the horse was the psys cxpressop such the hind and
fore feet the shoulders and launches the head ana ta he
parties halt and face each oiher 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 inc
tail At the head they again face each othe and
SPEAK and lastly at the tail they again confront eachIther
utter more Gpsy expressions shake hands ana nna
part the going NORTH the other SOUTH never AGAIN oe
united in this life. Immediately after the separation takes
place the receives token which made OF cast IRON
abont inch and half square with marx upon IL resemD
ling the Roman character. f. After the mar age has been
dissolved tho dismissed from the sacrifice the
heart Of the horse lie taken out and roasted with he he
sprnked vinegar brandy and by the husband
and friends then present. tne female not being allowed 70 JON
III tbis part OF the ceremony The body OF he morse
everything about it, except the heart is buried on te po
and years after the ceremony mas lKen m "v bs has
been disturbed At these visits taey walk round spou' tne
grave. with much glief and mourning =, .,..... ,u,
the female permitted 70 marry again The token or
about her person II sho loses IT, or attempts 20 pass hese
before married she becomes liable to the
punishment Of DEATH In the event of her breaking this law
council Of the chiefs held upon her conduct and her fate
decided by majority OF the members and II so Is to
suffer DEATH her must be confirmed by the king or
principal leader The cuprit Is then tied to stake with an
ohain and there cudgeed TO death The executones
do exnguish life at beating but leave he unhappy
for little WHILE and return to her, and at last oo-
plete their work by dispatehing her on the spot,
have been informed of instance Of Gypsy falling out
with his WIFE, and In the heat Of bis passion shooting his own
horse dead the spot with his pistol aud forthwith perform
ing the ceremony Of divorce the animal without allowing
himself moments time for reflection on the subject Some
Of the country people observed the Transaction and were hor
rlneQ at extraordinary
them merely mao froc of enraged Tinker. 1t took
place many years ago, in Wild sequeseTed spot between
Galloway and Ayrshire.
Tho Gispsies especially those of Scotland extremely
unwilling to divulgo any words Of their language and
whenever they are spoken the subject they exhibit
an extraordinary degree of fear caution and suspicion
Rather than give information about it they will submit to
almost any self-denal This partly because the tradi
tiona accounts of tho banishmonts and
lions which many of their underwent for merely being
"by habit and reputo GipSes ore still fresh in their
memories They entertain tho idea that they
deSpised and prosecuted people, and consequently
take all pains to conceal their origin. They also
value their language means of secretly COM
muncang with each other at fairs and markets. After
several years perseverance Mr.. Walter Smson succeeded
in collecting few Gypsy words which wonderfully rosem
bic Hindosanee but his vocabulary is short TO throw
much light on the history of the people They have
word for devil (Bing) but it is remarkable that they have
no religious belief whatever that old proyerb says
"The Gypsy church built Of bacon and the dogs ate
it."
With regard to the present number Of the Gpses Mr.
simson the editor affords information which
feel disposed TO trust large part Of his rambling dis
QUESTION Is devoted to the effort TO convince that the
race amounts 10 100 in Scotland 900 in the British
Isles and 1000 900 in Europe and America bat as he
counts tNefl NllO udo ol biptl
in bis veins evident that he can have data upon
which to fix his estimate and that the estimate would be
worth nothing if he had Gpses he says have been in
America almost from the time of its settlement great
many banshed to this country from Great Britain
and Ireland during the colonial times Tented Gpsies
have been seen Baltimore for the last 20 years.
In New.Engiond colony known which has existed for
about hundred years and has always been looked upon with
lesceudaufs Gf did
in the common Of the word with The other
settlers and judging from their exterior. poor and
miserable whatever their circumstances may be- They follow
y FSro Ie % g Tu o S me ~ % bnp
Of them leave the homestead for length Of me scatter In
different directions and reune periodically at their quarters
which left In charge OF some Of TIE feeble members OF Che
Perhaps the foundation OF the American broom manufacture
ried the present day business they pretty much mo-
nopoze ia rough way Britin We viii doubtless
nd among the fraternity whiting. meddng
Sick peddler often desc-bed have seen some OF
those tnerant vendors Of knesapeners ana such
notions with dark gstening that would pass for the
article" Some OF them would live by less legitimate business
entertain DO doubt what RON ice general nlnss o. tng
the appearance OF Of The men, that we VIII n1 some
the descendants Of the old British mixed Gpses members
Of the various establishments OF Mess feter funks ana
Company of the City Of NewYork as well as elsewhere And
entertain little doubt thst many OF those American women
who tel fortunes and engage IN those many curious DTS OF
business that often at trials are descendants CT the
There are many Munesrah and German Gipsies
lea; Of them long settled in and
where they own laimh some OF
charge hired hands during the summer and proceed south
with their tents In tie state of Pennsylvania there is
settle nent OF tbem. the j. River. little way above
IL where they have bswmlls. About the Allegheny
Mounar many VI the tribe following somewhat
the orr ways Of the In the United states generally
there any Gypsy pedders British well continental
There d., good many Gpsiss 10 New.fok-Englsh Irish
and Of whom keep D cFockey and basket
stores but these oil mixed Gpes aud many OF them OF
fair complexion. The nwsre winch they make Is generally
of plain coarse kind much 3d. that Gipsy tin store
easily known They frequently exhibit their n-ware ana
baskets the streets and cary them about tne Guy
all not all Of those tnera cutters ard thinkers 10 DC mel
with In New-York. and other AmericeH cities are Uipses,
principally German Hungarian, and french. There are
good many Gypsy musicians IN America. What SAID 10
an English Gipsy those org grinders 'Nothng 80 low