Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-06
Gypsies in Europe.

Inc gypsy IS thorough and ire
claimable vagabond. but he has man,
good points about him. His notions o
honesty, especially when fowl or
horse IS in question, do not exactly cor
respond with our own, and he canno
be brought 10 understand the gam,
laws; but he compares favorably in mos
of these respects with the tramps ant
beggars, and even with the rustic labo.
rerS and the lower classes in towns
The road is literally his walk in life. and
he practiSeS such trades rs tinkerinp
chair-mending, cutting clothes-pegS.
and the like, with aSSiduity and indus
try. When the weather makes Out-of-
door life rmbearable the gypsieS settle
| down after fashion; those who have
covered wagons. with the sight of which
we are SO familiar, halt with them in
some convenient spot and live in small
communities; Others hire an empty cot
tage and simply camp down in il. re-
quiring no furniture but the few arti-
cleS of bedding and cooking utensils
which served them in their tents. But
the English Romantics do not affect a
town life; they keep strictly to their old
nOmad traditions. Xix YethOlm, in
Scotland, is the place in the British
Isles where a settled colony of gypsieS
exists, for even their hamts in the west
of London are deserted as the summer
comes round and the country holds
forth its irresistible charms. Else
where, especially in Turkey and the
Danubian principalitieS, there are many
villages inhabited by gypSies.
Strange to say, these people are very
little understood, and among other
iictiOns i'll vogue concerning them, the
most popular one, that they have king.
Is totally without foundation. \ MEM
Der of the tribe who has reached an adj
Vanced age, and become the head of a
numerous family of children, grand
children and at-grandchildTen, is. of
course, visited by them at any spot
where he or She may have settled down,
and as the travels of the clan are regu-
lated by the seasons, fairs. markets. and
SO on, the gatherings naturally become
periodical, and greatly exercise the
Gentle mind. OF the curiosity thus
excited the gypsies themselves are not
slow to take advantage, and the ancient
one IS dubbed gypsy king OF queen for
no other purpose than to attract visits
and offerings from the gyilsieS.
GypSies are not by any means the out
casts of society; they lead a rowing life
because their instincts and traditions
induce them TO do 81. The sterneSt
laws are promulgated against them
without bringing about the least sign of
reform in their habits, and they are
now only slowly yielding to the inhu-
ence of the enclosure acts, which crowd
them out and force them, not to become
absorbed III the rest of the population,
but to seek the free space and fresh air
in the far West. Since MIR. Barrow
first told how interesting race they
were, with a language, traditions, and
customs of their own, differing 50 en-
tlrtlI from the pe,gsantry among whom
they live, many nave made them their
study, and some very amusing and
learned works have been written upon
their habits and speech; among the
most recent of such books those of Hans
Breitmann and Dr. Bath Smart are
the best. The gypsy language Is very
quaint and expressive. and. although IN !
this country, at least, they have but Il
limited vocabulary left, they manage ,
by ingenious compounds to say all they /
want IN it. The origin of the gypsies
Is problem which las never been ell /
tiTely solved.
The appearance of the gypsies in
Western Europe was in the year l4l7, |
when band Of three hundred, under /
the guidance of three shrewd and III |
telligent leaders. asked and obtained |
from the Emperor SigiSmund, the pope, !
and other sOvereigns, leave to travel in !
their domains. They gave out that |
they were eIuigrdutS from Little /
Egypt" that they had relapSed from |
into heathenism, and had !
been conquered by the king of Hun
gary, who imposed upon them Il pen
.tnce of fifty years wandering rs pill |
gTlmS before returning To their native |
land. 1t Is needless tO say that the |
story had not a word of truth in it, but !
the name Egyptians has clung to !
them ever since IN this country, though |
they are elsewhere known to GentIleS |
rs IOtiuglane, ZInguri, or some modi- |
iicaliOn of the name. They first made |
an appearance in England about the |
year liS0 in bands consisting of from |
thirty to one hundred families, travel !
ing in light carts and camping by night !
wherever a convenient spot presented |
itself. The women told fortunes, pill |
fered coins from tradesmen'S counters |
and ''drabbed baulOrs" THAT is, pOis-
Dned pigs just Us they do al the present |
day, while the men worked at tinker !
ing, basket-making, and tbs like, and |
varied the mOnOtOuy of |
their existence by stealing horse and |
taking to the highway. Their lawleSS,
lOmad life soon brought them under
the suspicion of the authorities, and
they were accused of and punished for
-heSe crimes and for many others which
hey never thought of committing. |
During the reign of Elizabeth they
were prosecuted with exceptional rigor,
md nothing but their persistent nation
ility and healthy vagTant habits could |
have saved them from determination. |