The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-08-19
A Gypsy Beauty.

Under the above title, in the August
Century. Charles G. Leland writes of
Charlotte Cooper, one of the oldest and
most famous of the Romantics:
Fifty or sixty years ago the gypsies
in England were much more remark
able race than they are at present.
The railway had not come to break up
their habits. there were hundreds of
lonely places in dell and dingle where
they could hatch the tan, or pitch the
tent, their blood had been little mixed
with that of the GOrgiO, or Gentle;
they spoke their language with greater
purity than ut present, and still kept
their old characteristics unchanged. Ii
they had the faults of the Arabs, they
had also many of their good qualities.
If they stole horses and foraged on
farmers, if their women told fortunes,
lied, and sometimes cheated man out
of all his ready money by pretending to
find Il treasure in his cellar, on the
other hand they were extremely CRATE
full and honest to those who befriended
them, and manifested in many ways a
rough manliness which partially re-
deemed their petty vices. They were
all, rs are many of their sons at present,
indomitable rough riders of the
horse horsey,' and to man boxers, so
that many of them were distinguished
in the prize-ring, the last of these being
Jem Mace. AT this time there prevail
ed among the English Romany a strong
mutual faith, a tribal honesty, which
was limited, but all the stronger for
that. even as the arms of man grow
stronger when he loses the use of his
legs. They We're people of powerful
frames. passions, and traditional princi-
pies. Their weak children soon died
from the hardships of nOmadic life, the
remainder illustrated selection by suf-
fering, and the survival of the fittest-
to fight.
''Wlth such characteristics there could
not fail among the gypsies many strik-
ing instances of warm friendship, in
tense love, and the fidelity which en-
dures even till death. This was known
of them when little else was known
beyond their most apparent and repul-
sive traits. Walter Scott indulged in
no romantic license when he depicted
Hayraddin Mangrabin as devoted to
Quentin Durward; even at present the
incident of a thoughtful gift or any like
act of kindness to them will be remem-
bered with gratitude out of all proper
ton to its value, and 90 the rounds of
all the Romany in the United States.
And therefore when men fell in love
with women there often resulted those
instances of intense passion and steady
faith, which at the present day are real
ly becoming mythical. The gypsy in
this, as in everything else, has been a
continuation of the middle ages, or of
the romance era.
''Such u passion was inspired more
than half century ago by Jack Cooper,
the Ku'umengro Rom, or Fighting
Gypsy, ina girl of his own tribe. Her
name was Charlotte Lee, and it was
about 1880 that Leslie, the Royal Aca-
demican, led by the fame of her beau
ty, painted the picture, now in New
York in the possession OF his sister,
Miss Emma Leslie, from which the en-
craving here given was taken. The
fame of her charms still survives among
her people, and when Il few days ago as
| write, | was talking of Charlotte to
some gypsies of her kin near Philadel-
phia. l was asked if | meant the RinEe-
nj; that is, the Beautiful one"