The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-11-13
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
TIE GYPsIEs o. LONDON AND
ROUNDABOUF-II.

/ of Englsnd-Gra and Glasses.
/ Curious HAb!tations but No Idlers
Among rhem-Their Hauuts and
Hendicraft in London.
(CoDurI0htA
| LONDON, Oct 3l.-To me there IA some
thing inexpressihly pathetic in the unvary-
ing good humor and d-heartedness of
English gypsies when their hard and bitter,
| though self.ohosen. mode Of life is oonsid-
cred. And this is nowhere on earth made
SO plain and emphatic as when you find
them in and about London, all the bright
ness OF the summer roads aud lanes but a
memory, and the cruel deprivatious of win
ter-Renerally a winters battle for existence
with million other lowly-staring them
squarely in their stoical faces.
Crafty, wary, hard, unworthy vaga-
oond Tn ugh you deem him. as he confronts
you and mankind in this battle for life and
those he loves, he truly has an another side
a CHEEKY, good and manly one, too, that,
without one lota of the prompting to which
all modern society stands indebted. often
glows with klndn. s., generosity, helpful
ness, good cheer, aud spirit Of positive
loneliness
An ugly word is never heard in a pvpsv
/
The eternal goading Of a mean woman, the
| brutal ohscenity Of bad man, the hateful
! Jealousies of neighbors, the contemptible
rlValrles OF pretended friends each and all
are as unknown as poison in the pure air of
heaven they breathe in tent or upon the
road.
| There is a quality of sincerity and ten
derness in their doings with each other that
Is ever simple, childlike and beautiful.
Their mlrth, merriment and jollity are all
| considerable. Raillery is tolerant; wit never
| murderOus weapon. With them good
! cheer is seldom license; merrv-making
leaves little sting; liberty never knows lewd.
ness.
Ignorant as they may be Of your books:
| obstlnately as they refuse the "civilizationn
| OF which we boast; secretly proud as they
are OF the ostraclsm " hich brands them
| as an outlaw race; heathenish as Won
! must consistently call them because they
hold your creeds in contempt; they are
| yet more than the peers of any living
! people in everything tender and true and
! loyal growing into aud out of the domestic
relation, and in all tuat which Yields, with
| out law or force, ana as if unconsciously.
| the helpful goodness which ever prompts
ami always exceeds exact justice to ones
| fellows.
There are undoubtedly hundreds of To-
calities which may be termed gypsy
| btOhit- III I4OnuOu duu lUS IdE-reaC0lnR
suburbs. have visited nearly three score
of these places within the past few years.
In some instances they are in the m st
| densely and forlornly populated sections
of the metropolis. Here In perhaps the
stab yard OF some ancient historic inn.
among the sheds and outbuildings of
an abandoned warehouse or mandatory =,
IN the moldy, oobwebbed precincts of some
| habltltlon wnicn has got into chancery and
inevitable decay, and even in Whitechapel
| purlleus, and upon the roofs Of houses at
| the edge of the huge masonry sustaining
some OF the railways, many of which pass
out of the city above instead Of through
or beneath it, will be found single families
| or lutte communities of the Romano folk
All are working in their way as if for dear
| lif to sustain life until the springtime
exodus shall free them from their hateful
| prlsonmenu; and contrary to general belief,
| or what any one may say, none of them are
| idle
| Following up the trail and traits of
| gypsieS while in their London winter quar-
| ters brought me originally among the al
| most as curious costermonger folk; and
| found that there were hundreds of pypsv
families owning kindred ties to costers who
| sought quarters among this class and at
| once fell into their manner of work and
| ways. Acquaintance and confidence soon
brought me to many of these almost IN
| huO"h gypsy anu COSl6FCOnnuQltleS In the
| very heart of London
Two of them are very interesting and
historic. II you were wa derng about
| London up Holborn way and should come
TO ancient Furnivaps inn, you might note
| that its decrePit back hangs over the ell
trance TO a narrow lane. This is Leather
| la e. Scarcely wide enough beneath the
BACK windows OF Furnivaps inn to permit
| the entrance OF a donkey and cart IL
| gradually widens toward Theobolds row.
| aud to the cas- and west is itself entered by
| almost numberless closes aud courts No
| cas- al freouenter " HDlbern would no ice
! it, but the locality is one of the densest in
| London III point Of population. Among the
| tho lsands OF io"ly humans living here, are
| fully 800 ostermongers. and in the winter
| time half as many gypsies. The great
resort of all these folk IL the Leather
| Bottle" public house within the shadowy
precinct.
There are many odd places and studies
here. The former class rather pride them
| selves on their utter reckessness in the mat
| ter of gambling, carousng and drinking.
| While they live In entire harmony with
their Romany friends and possess certain
respect for their winter companions which
| permits of no trihnG, it was easy to see
that from the coster standD int of ethics
| the taHny folk are not considered fairly
progressive. They are 90 quiet. They at
Cenu Glossy 10 WORK anu minimize the Ill
| effects of poverty in London.
"Gor bli me, =" said a friendly coster, "'ow
can We ave comfort bout % yer neighbors,
less We can 'elp carry 'em 'ome now an
| ag a from the Leather Bottlen' Strike me
| lucky, If Hi doan'b believe they'd rather
heat whites than lick pewter! Clicking
pewter" it must be known, is coster for
| guiding -four aleu- Gods truth, but We
| awsk one on em for the loan o. bob
(shillingl for few pots at th' Bottle an
their bloody heyes stick bout like bleedin'
muscles. G bli me, so they dol"
Most of the gypsies in this locality live
from a half dozen to a score in a room.
They possess the scantiest array of house
hold utensils. Their native ability to make
the most of little enables them to patch I'D
a few seats and they sleep comfortably and
cheerily packed together like behring's.
Some of their abodes are wretched beyond
description g. one who is unable to com
prehend their own gladness at getting on at
all. They work hard and long, being
first at the great markets and last to
leave the streets. Handbarrows are
used by most Of these. The
mother, father and the grown sons and
daughters all share in the severe work of
pus ing the barrow or cart. Many will
cover tive ty and thirty miles day in
their rounds.
The little folks left at home work on bas-