The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-08-30
rings, trinkets. and all kinds Of orna-
ments, and freq ently adorn them
selves in the most heterogeneous man

ner.
Their domestic utensils are few, CON
sisting usually OF pan, dish and
silver cup. Every gypsy camp has a.
donkey or a horse for the conveyance OF
their effects. They are fond Of brandy,
and both sexes are addicted to the use
Of tobacco, which they regard as q, great
luxury
The only N echanical pursuit for which
they show any aptitude is that OF q
smith. In this they sometimes excel
IN Persia they have been known as
skilled workers in gold and silver.
Usually they are horse-jockeys or traders
or dealers in livestock, and in rare
cases they have been known to till the
soil. In some countries they have ac-
cumulat ted wealth, but most Of them are
worthless, poverty-stricken yagabonds.
The Old women tell fortunes and the
young sing love-songs.
They have no religion, and most
writer's place them below the heather,
ascribing to them no principles, and
charging them with serving no god but
the god Of gain and fraud. They have
no word in their language for God or
for immortality. But outwardly, and
tor their own advantage. they are ready
to adopt any religion, as circumstances
may require.
Their music is wild and weird, and in
some countries it is proficient with
power and beauty Some Of the great
est masters of the violin known are
found among the gypsies OF Hungary
and Bohemia
The gypsy language is termed Ro-
mani, has no alphabet and no literature,
except few miserable songs and some
folklore, which are passed from mouth
20 mouth. Altogether, the entire stock
of Romani words does not exceed five
thousand, though the number known to
any individual is small
The Romani tribes consider it curse
If one OF their race marries any one not
of their own people. A common feat
ure in the form of marriage is the
breaking OF q flower-covered pitcher by
the chief who from the fragments, be
they many or few, argues the future OF
the bridal pair.
There are many curious gypsy prac-
tees, especially those relating to death
and burial, such as waking the corpse,
burning the decedent's effects, the fast
ing of the kinsfolk, and many others.
A most interesting form is the custom
complied with when a gypsy wife or
child forever renounces the favorite del
icacy of a dead husband Or father. Like
motives prompt the dropping OF the
1P
and the survivors who happen TO bear
the name change it to another. Another
practice is the leaving at a cross-road of
handful Of grass or leaves, or heap OF
stones, a stick or some such mark to
guide the stragglers of the band.
Many attempts have been made to
educate them, but they appear to have
failed. They are content to live in tents
or in holes in the ground, and wander
in companies from place to place as
fugitives or vagabonds, yet in Transyl-
vania they have form of constitution,
being governed by chiefs TO this dig
nifty every one is eligible who is Of a
family descended from a former chief;
but the preference is usually given to
those who have the most wealth, or who
! are Of large stature and not past the
meridian OF life.
Scott, in his introduction to 'Guy
Mannering," describes the habits and
life of the Scottish gyps!es, and his
famous character OF Meg Merrilies is
founded upon no less parsonage than
the noted gypsy named Jean Gordon,
whose granddaughter, Madge Gordon,
became the queen of the gypsy clans.
In 1850 there were supposed to be
about five million gypsies in tie world,
though of later years they have greatly
diminished. OF che seven or eight
hundred Thousand now believed to be
scattered over Europe, more than half
are found in the valleys Of the Danube,
and here they are most civilized, and
for four hundred years have been an inn
portant element of the population.
They have been condemned, and in
some countries the laws were SO strin-
gent that If they remained one month
they were executed without even a form
of trial. In the reigns of Henry VIII.
and Elizabeth the gypsy tribes were
marked out for general persecution II
England.
In 1929 four gypsies confessed. unden
| torture, to having eaten friar, pill
grim and a woman of their tribe; and
in 17s2 forty-fve Hungarian gypsies
were beheaded, quartered or hanged on
like monstrous charge. First racked
till they confessed the crime Of muir
der, they were then brought to the spot
where their victims were said to be
buried, but when no bodies appeared
they were racked again. "We ate
them, !" was the despairing cry. But in
very rare instances has it been known
that they have eaten human flesh.
The destinies of this wonderful people
we know not, but can we not say with
Dean Milmen:
..As of all mankind. they are in the
hands of the ,All-Wise Ruler Of the uni
! verse. His DEGREES will be accomp lished
| His goodness and His wisdom vindi-
Gated. "-Jo Joseph B. Willis, in N. K.
Ledger.
Little Hattie, years old, had, for
some misdemeanor, been told by her
| mother nnt to 90 ont Of the ward Hay-