Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-10-20
THE GYPslES.
Their origin and Their Language.

There are about 600, 900 gypsies
in Europe, and 10000 in Hungary
alone. Poetry, opera and music
must have been partial to the gyp-
sizes. Sir Walter Scott, the opera of
Carmen, aud scores of German pro-
ductions have dealt in gypsies, and
Franz List has immortalized their
music. The gloomy, melancholy
eye of the gypsy has been explained
as the result of persecution, or as
the yearning for a happier lot.
Gypsy girls have been admired for
their charms. But the sober truth
is that the melancholy eye of the
gypsy indicates stupidity, sensual
ity and lazy brooding. Gypsy girls
may have a certain charm-young
people generally have; but gypsy
women are ugly, in the fullest sense
of the word. And romance itself
comes TO an end when people are on
bad terms with soap and water,
and revel in roasted cats or half de-
cayed meats of any kind. Most
gypsies are dirty, lazy, thievish,
cowardly, malicious and strictly
unpoetical. They abominate po-
licemen; they like people who are
romantic. They are nomadic in
the fullest meaning of the term,
and they like to be recognized as
such. More than a century ago a
scholar Investigated the language
of the gypsies, and decided it to be
Indian in origin and Aryan in char
acter. The greatest etymologist in
this century, Prof. Pott, studied
the gypsy dialects of all Europe,
and concluded them to be nearer
the original Sanskrit than are most
languages now spoken. More re-
Gently the eminent MiklOsich, the
illustrious Slav scholar, has traced
the migrations of the gypsies from
the upper Indus, through Syria and
Asia Minor, to Greece. They left
India about the year 1000; they be-
gan to make Greece their home
about 1850; they entered ROuma-
mia about 1900, Hungary about 1850,
Bohemia about 141O, Germany in
14I7, Spain in 1440. Later on they
invaded Scotland, Sweden, Russia
and Siberia. When did they enter
America We do not know. But
it is quite certain that the gypsies
occur in Egypt, in the SOudan,
throughout Northern Africa, and
even in China. Prof. Mikiosich
has destroyed the belief that the
gypsies are Aryans, except in their
dialect. Modern anthrOpology is
disposed TO question the Aryan char;
acterof the people in British India
the lower classes, the dark people,
and the gypsies are now thought to
be Dravidians, that is to say, nei-
ther Caucasian nor Monaghan.
They occupied India before the inn
migration of the Sanskrit people,
and still survive, especially near |
Madras and in Southern India. |
The pariaths of Northern India are
called Domas, but the ID is cerebral,
and sounds somewhat like r. Our |
gypsies call themselves Rom they
think themselves kaLO, black, or
meIelo, brown, in opposition to the
white Europeans, whom the gypsy
calls DaTnO. Prof. MiklOsich traces
the word Zigeuner to Atsingani or
which is the Byzantine
name for abandoned heretics. The
ROms, or gypsies, have no religion.
The ByZantines, like some other
people, measure the value of stran
gers on the score of religiOn-by the
degree to which strangers share our
own religious preferences and Gus
toms. Viewed in that light, or by
our statue-book, the gypsy is not a
good citizen.