Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-28
CANNY AND CUNNING.
The Gypsy as he Appears to the
World and to His Own People.
A MOST STEADFAsT, LOYAL FRIEND
Who Displays Only Amiable Traits in His
Secluded Home Life.
EVENING PLEASURES IN THE CAMP

CORRESPONDENTS OF THE DIsPATcH.1
CAMP, NEAR DOVER, n. j., June 26.-
There is something truly remarkable about
the almost unchangeable reserve of the
Gipsy in the presence of any other than his
own people, and of his sin gular shifts and
efforts to be as one dumb. Catch him in a
city or trading in a village or come upon
him in any sort of mixed company. and his
reticence Is SO marked that the ordinary OBJ
server would set him down as inordinately
stupid. This habit is universal among
these people and they break through it only
under great stress of badgering or necessity.
A wagon load of Gipsies once halted IN front
of wagon makers in a small Pennsylvania
town, where frequently make my home,
and while one of them tried to dicker for a
sulky for one-half its value, really intelli-
gent clergyman in the presence of admiring
townspeople put set of stereotyped
| questions to them about their mode of lite
and the state OF their souls, varying the
same with other proddings of like nature in
his line. But the lot of lost heathens were
SO bad as to smile at him, so dumb as to not
answer him, and so downright wicked as to
| give him no chance for an argument; where
upon the good man lost his temper entirely,
| and consigned them to eternal perdition in
| one compact and canonical sentence. Stand
| ing next the team and thinking to have a
| little fun at the parsons expense 1 said
wickedly in an undertone to a particularly
lively old dame in the wagon:
"a shan gaugie-a grye chori Tell him
so and jaw the drom," or, in plain English:
1oo ho1 r IL.
Tell him SO and go away.
A Gypsy IN ANGER.
The woman gave me duick look of half
inquiry and recognition, which 1 returned
with all good assurance. Then she called
the Gipsy from the wagon shop by a word.
He came out nimbly, looked quickly at the
crowd, and sprang into the wagon. Just as
they started rapidly away, she turned full
on the clergyman, who was still forensic
ally disposing OF their souls in different
forms of future torture, and said, quietly:
Hits said ye're no better nor a horsethief
yersel. Howsumdever hus be, mebby We
might be a-tendin' yer own soul wi proftp
Everybody was too astonished to laugh;
and the good man sorely felt that his pow
der had been burned for naught. Ashamed
as was at nv own part in the retort, my
astonlshment was in the unheard-of depart
aiS VI shS DidNS oiPoJ iulC w uCfCT DcLTdy
spirit or the brightness ofindignation under
the most exasperating circumstances. Full
retributlon came in a learned disQuisitiou
from the clergyman on Glpsies, the burden
OF which was that Gipsy writers and stu
dents were in league to give the race place
as the most canny and cunning of men,
when everything proved them the most
brainless and stupid people on earth.
Nor was his idea uncommon one.
Thof
when it is remembered that their whole life
motive seems to be to appear to all but them
selves just that sort of people. 1t is only
with the most ignorant countryside folk, !
or among those. not of their race who are |
thoroughly known and have been unquali- |
fedly tested. that they relax from this sod |
den manner and pretense OF brainlessness. |
Test this at any time and in any way and |
you will find it to be true.
A CUNNING RUsE.
had been generously entertained by sew. |
eral families of Gipsy friends in the spring
of 1878 near Chicago, in the little village Of
Lyons, on the Desplaines river. a sleepy,
old, and nest-like place which the Gipsies
much frequent. Thinking to return their
goodness proposed a trip to the theater
They consented only after great urging;
and, looking forward to rare treat in the |
enjoyment of their enjoyment and wonder
ment, on returning to the city I bought
and mailed them 20 seats for a Wednesday
evenings performance at the Haverly Thea
ter, then occupying the site of the present
First National Bank. Full of delighted
expectancy I arrived at the theater, only to
lind that the seats had purchased for my
Gipsy friends entirely filled with ordinary
city iolk. After sitting>out part of the
play, lett the place disappointed and dis
fah nn xr.kh \
glimpse of one of the Gipsies lurking near
the entrance, who, as soon as he was SEEM
lngly sure OF having seen me in nv discom-
future, skulked away in the darkness.
Business called me away from the city for
a few days, but this desertion by my GIpsy
proteges worried me. Hoping for some ciew
to their action, when returned applied to
the box office, where I learned, and with
some asperity from the management, that
my Gipsies, who had kept the audience in
on uproar the entire evening of their visit
Oh receiving the tickets by mail at Lyons
had Immediately sent one OF their number to
the city and secured an exchange of seats
from Wednesday evenings performance to
that for Friday evening. I could thus see
that their natural and unchangeable race
suspicion and caution of one not of their
people, though tried friend, prompted the
cunning ruse to first defeat my entire plan.
shen to set watch upon me to observe
whether my action was consistent with
genuinely disappointed friendly interest.
md then to deceive me as to the true motive
,f such action.
A REMARKABLE EPIsTLE
The latter was attended to on their part in
the following epistle taken from my Gipsy
relics, which is now before me as make its
,1act copy:
LYONS, IL 9Th May, 1878
tax the tim to adres you theas
fu lins and Thanks for the Tic1ts welcomIy
resefd we cudn cum wensdy For the old Folks
1idn git IL Hoam, and the rivIrSide rodes was Bad ,
we Cum trldy and was Loken al Oaver for you {
And had a Hi old Tim that Acten was wunfuI
where was you
hopln this Fids you in God
,elt Cloas and best Regars from Al {
your Fren {
George w. Carpenter :
This George Carpenter is a wonderful fell 1
ow in his way; verltable American Gipsy r
John Bunyan; and anthor OF many goodly
Iipsy rhymes in my possession. The letter r
bore every evidence o. serious effort, and I J
wisely let it stand as a friendly regret rather r
han an unpleasant deception. The entire .
natter was simplya true expression of a r
Universal Gipsy trait. Had they met me at
he theater according to agreement in a
L Al