Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-03-05
Where Do the Gypsies Come Front

The people of Boston have an oppor-
iunity OF hearing gypsy band, and in
the suburbs one has chance Of meeting
gypsies, who play cards, are without
visible means Of living and deal some
what in soothsaying Where do the
gypsies come from, and what are theyp
The word gypsy means Egyptian,
and has suggested the old story that
the gypsics came from the land of the
Pharaohs, either because the Egyptians
failed to entertain the Israelites hospita-
bly,, or because the Holy Child and the
Virgin Mary were treated rudely when
they took refuge in Egypt from the per.
secutions of Hcrod. The French call
the gypsies Bohemians, but this name
Is not significant, as the real Bohemians
are people of high intelligence. In
fact, the Bohemans are the Frenchmen
among the Slavs. The German name of
the gypsies, Zigeuncr, has puzzled the
etymologists, and German crudition has
invoked Herodotus, Turkish and Eth
opic to explain the W. |. But were the
word explained, the gypsies themselves
might remain n mystery, for there is
wide gulf between words and the things
of which words are but symbols or
names.
There are about 100000 gypsies in
Europe, and 10000 in Hungary alone.
Poetry, operas and music have been
partial to gypsies. Sir Walter Scott,
the opera of Carmen" and scores of
German productions have dealt in gyp-
sizes, and Franz Listz has immortalized
their music. The gloomy, melancholy
eye of the gypsy has been explained as
the result of persecution, or as the
yearning for happier lot. Gypsy girls
have been admired for their charms.
But the sober truth is that the melan-
choly eye of the gypsy indicates stupid
ity, sensuality and lazy brooding. Gypsy
girls may have 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-decayed meats of
any kind. Most gypsies are dirty, lazy,
thievish, cowardly, malicious and strict
" unpoctical. They abominate police
men; they like people who are romantic.
They are nomadic in the fullest mean
ing of the term, and they like to be re-
cognzed as such.
More than a century ago scholar in
vestigated the language of the gypsies
and decided it to be Indian in origin
and Aryan in character The greatest
ctymologist of this century, Prof. Pott,
studied the gypsy dialects of all Europe
and concluded them to be nearer the
original Sanskrit than are most lam
guages now spoken. More recently 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 began TO make Greece their home
about 1850; they entered Rourlania
about 1900, Hungary about 1850, Bo-
hemia about 14l0. Germany in 1417,
Spain in 1440. Later on they invaded
Scotland. Sweden, Russia and Siberia.
When did they enter America? We do
not know But il is quite certain that
the gypsies occur in Egypt, in the
Soudan, throughout Northern Africa,
and even in China. Only the Jews
surpass the persistency of these
nomads. But the jew adapts him
self to civilization as he finds it; the
gypses have common dialect.
Prof. Miklosich has destroyed the
belief that the gypsies are Aryans, OK
cept in their dialect. Modern anthro-
pology is disposed to question the
Aryan character of the people in
British India the lower classes, the
dark people and the gypsies are now
thought to be Dravidians. that is to
say, neither Caucasian, nor Mongolian.
They occupied India before the i'm nigra-
ton of the Sanskrit people, and still
survive, especially near Madras and in
Southern India. The pariahs of North
ern India are called Domes, but the ID
is cerebral, and sounds somewhat like
r. Our gypsies call themselves Rom;
they think themselves Kdlo black, or
netcdo, brown, in opposition to the
white Europeans, whom the gypsy calls
parn0. Prof. Nliklosich traces the
word Zigeuner to Atsingant or Athins
ami. which is the Byzantine name for
abandoned heretics. The Roms, or
gypsies, have no religion. The Byzan-
tines, like some other people, measure
the value of strangers on the score OF
religion-by the degree to which
strangers share our own religious pre-
ferences and customs. Viewed in
that light, or by our statute-book, the
gypsy is not good citizen. In fact, he
Is not citizen at all His best art is
his music, and that art has the advan-
tage of not requiring human speech or
national institutions rs an interpreter