The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-12-02

half way from Furnivars Inn to Theo
holds row, narrow, dIngy court,
above which a strip of sky could arely
be seen. wriggled 100 feet or more to
the east. To the right and left the ram
shackle vet stout old house fronts
seemed pitching at each other threaten
inCly. From the noisome pavement to
the strip of sky it seemed as though
hundreds of humans were constantly Ill
| a state of existence on trembling balloon
les and tOttering window stills. Inc
destiny of half fed-life behind these
ravenlike beings clinging TO the outer
walls must have been terrible.
The dark court narrowed at the END,
coming to sudden stop against black
| dead wall, which rose thirty or forty
feet above the pavement as ii to shut ont
the desperate poverty of Leather Lane
from some better inclosure. Here at the
end of this court, against the dead wall,
my gypsy friends had practically en-
| camped by a system of more than par
| tial suspension. Some twenty-five feet
| from the ground a mass of patched bits
| of sailclOth and blankets formed the
only roof Ingeniously braced bits of
wood-fotsam and jetsam from the mar
kets and the Thames-made three inter
yening stories, or floors, between the
Tapping roof and the pavement of the
court, all of which were open to the
weather and Leather Lane way save
where rags and other sieve-like blankets
and sailcloth answer the place of cur
tanning.
These stories or floors were about six
feet square, except the lower or pave
ment story, which was as long as the
prowess of the gypsies could make it
against the hOrdes of the sitting court.
An aperture had been made in the dead
wall which, with few brick and a little
mud mortar, provided a capital chimney
piece. The draught was perfect. There
was good deal of comfort, too, about
this extraordinary tireside. The cart
was "whortled that is turned bottom
side upward for table. A shelf-like
piece of timber had been fastened
against ore side wall for a lounging
bunk and bench. A ladder ran from
this along the wall to the second story
where cooking utensils and food were
kept
But the most curious of all was the
nightly disposition of donkey what was
left over from the days hawking and
the gypsy family itself. Immediately
on arrival the donkey was hauled up by
!
!, constituted the third story under the
: sailcloth roof. Such vegetables as were
left that the family did not use were
stored on a shelf alongside the donkey
) and on retiring for the night the family
} comprising eleven grown people and
children, ascending into the second
story loft and, in manner, tished al
movable belongings up after them.
YES" admiringly said old man Low
ell, the head of this gypsy house, after
| had just witnessed the sprawling don
kew hoisted into his cage for his rest anC
provender, Illus jess hall goes hup in
ter hour 'ole by night, an pulls the ole
) hup arter husr
The East End district locally called
3 "The Mint" where London's ancien
t mint was located, is another favoritt
haunt of gypsies in winter. From Ian
S street in the Borough to Blackfriar'
road are more than 100 almost impene
t trable lanes and closes. This region
= was the former haunt and home of Jacl
2 Sheppard and Jonathan Wild, and from
t the same locality have sprung many O
. the noted prize fighters of our time.
S Billingsgate porters, the most jaunt,
, and rollcking of all London costermon
gers and class of gypsies who are not
< ed for then fistic proweSs. are the sol'
e inhabitants. Into this savory region ont
2 must come well introduced; but wher
once known as a true friend of any in
habitant, progress through the quarte
g is attended often with more emba ras
! sing greetings and familiarities.
e | found the gypsies of this locality
| who numbtr perhaps fifty families
r which means fully five hundred souls
/ al, I'll, fhAsa "a lA NV fhnip w rinnS
+ tions at country fairs and all huge gath
8 eriugs, such as the Derby and LondOl
Y holiday cuttings at Epping Forest anC
} the like. They are portion of that vas
: horde of least winsome, but mos
picturesque English gypsies who, casu
, ally seen, nearest represent the fakirs o
our American country fairs, Our circus
! ! followers and the brawling nickel win
r nerS of such summer and seaside resorts
t as Coney Island and Nantasket.
But the genuine drom rajahs or gyp
sizes of the road whose vocation of TO-DAY
, are really honorable, thriftful and dis
; tinguished by downright hard work anC
fair dealing, though still full of gypsy
7 traits and hearing in mild form the
gypsy faint of dickering and in their en-
forced winter London tarying, re-
: tain most the manner of the
| summer road life. should
: think there could be found from
10000 to 10000 of these in the suburbs
of London from November until March.
These are entirely exclusive of several
thousand more who never leave London,
but travel in endless circles about the
outer edges of the great city, intermin-
able Bedouins at all outing gatherings
peas and strawberry pickers and laVen.
der gatherers in the summer, hop pick.
ers in the autumn and seavengers in gen
eral the remainder of the year. They
camp where they work, and though
! often reduced to abject wretchedness,
kindly and CHEEKY set of men and
women,
! The ".o,ad gypsies generally retain and
! occupy their vans, carts and tents. Out
! Southwark way, over i'll Surry, are large
communities. Many may be found
: round about Esher and Working. The
Chelsea marshes are another winter
t haunt; while Epping Forest, depths and
edges, are full of them. With these
4 summer thrift is never exchanged fol
. winter idleness. Many of the stout gyp
! sy lads get employment in gentlemen
7 and public stables. The men haunt thu
; horse markets and weekly suburban
, markets and buy, sell and trade horses
and donkeys. Many of the women row
about the poorer districts of the city
telling fortunes for whatever they car
| get. Those too old for these jaunt
t mind the pots, kettles and little one
: against the wanderers nightly return