The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-11-17

day. They were long Gue ~ IL n
they always are, and a. much fun AZ
food was taken. Then with ths CHEEKY
camp fires brightly burning. here and
there a lantern hung from elevated
cartthill or sWayinS eopsewood branch
and with blazing cressets in honor oil
the stranger, came children's games and
all manner Of canpside jollity. These
were followed by singing and dancing
OF marvellous iigS aud reels, until At last
sleep aud silence settled upon the Dale.
park camp aud the one Georgia ehal"
within il, with that amplitude OF rest
which so comes with loving touch to
no other people on earth as 70 this wan.
dering Romany race.
The immediate outcome OF my visit
among the Dalepark Gipsies was max
ing the acquaintance Of curious aud
interesting corner OF ENGLAND. It is
variously known as the Norfolk aud
Suffolk Fens," the "Broads OF East
Anglia" and, proyincially and by fowl
ers and sportsmen, rs "The Breads"
One Of the families OF this Dalepark
community annually visited the Breads,
they told me puatboat as floating
camp.home; and while the women
dickered and dukkered among the lowly
peasant families, the men, often with
the womens' and childreus' assistance,
added TO their hoard by weaving and
selling all manner Of rush and osier
bags, pouches, crates and baskets re-.
quired by fenmen. marshmen, eel and
mussel catchers and the nnmberless
sportsmen and yachting parties that
frequent the region.
This family hospitality asked me to
be their guest. .
Our party comprised "or Gran pop"
Wharton, tinker, fiddler and what-not;
his son, Uriah Wharton, a splendid
type OF tho shaggy. huge, manly, kind.
hearted English Gipsy; the tatter's wife.
little, sharp.taced, sharp-eyed and
sharp-Longued; number OF Gypsy
chauyieu OF both sexes; and three as
pretty and interesting Gypsy maidens
as one would wish to find for poem,
romance or idyllic company.
These were Fashion, Melinda aud
Bess. Each was a veritable incarnation
OF that fascinating quality OF beauty
among Gipsies where beauty exists at
all; and, more curious and interesting
still, each was a graduate from noted
school tor women in the northern
suburbs Of London.
What with visiting Gypsy friends a
Keighly, Doncaster and Lincoln, we
were three days reaching our destina-
ton, the village Of Hickling, near Hick-
ling Broad, in Norfolk; and a short
tramp from Hickling, accompanied by
village cart well laden with Gypsy be-
longings, brought us to the pleasant
waterside.
Here, hard BY a picturesque old daub.
aud waffle cottage, whose peasant own
er roared out an alarming welcome, we
found our waiting punt. 1t was already
in fine order for the season, the cottager
having cared for 1t In winter and got 1t
in readiness against the Gipses' COM
ing; aud in an hour more, our floating
sumner homo was launched, the even
ing meal in preparation, and snug quar-
tore for all our motley crow provided.
Altogether there are nearly fifty OF
these Norfolk and Suffolk breads or fens,
all communicating with each other by
law currents called "dykes," or with
tho rivers which they feed; and their
total water surface is several thousand
acros. They teen with hsh-the roach,
Dream, perch and pike; and are the sort
OF countless waterfowl.
In their unusual diversity, in their
drowsy, droneful quiet. in the character.
full folk who live beside them, the al
most countless miles of river and dy Ike
waterway for small boating aud yacht
ing, the quaintand sunny old-time inns.
of.call dotting here and there their silent
shores, they no doubt possess sweeter
and subtler charms than any other
known resort in England to the sports
man and naturalist.
MY tawny friends belonged to neither
class, but our house.boat possessed as
ample provision for necessary comfort
as many OF the hundreds OF aristocratic
yachts which haunt the region, aud ita
crew and passengers were quite US care.
free and merry as the sunniest-hearted
OF them all.
The boat itself was perhaps thirty
feet in length and possibly eight in
breadth. Al one end was little COM
partment, having at Its own extreme
end comfortable bod for Gypsy Wharf
ton and his wife, with a capacious door.
closed "locker" beneath, in which all
our provisions and valuables were
stored.
Extending toward the middle Of the
boat, were four hunks, two on either
side, with sliding windows above. ln
these slept Fashion, Melinda, Bess and
q couple of the lesser progeny. Still be-
yond this, was the most curious COM
partment Of all. In It's center, on the
bottom OF the punt whore there had
been made solid bed OF baked clay,
shaped like gigantic saucer, was the
Gipsy fire that is never allowed to go
out, aud above 1t, tho real Gypsy crook.
ed iron kettle.stick, firmly embedded in
the clay.
Here is who're our kettles sung. and
where the sweet perch and luscious
pike we're broiled; while tho smoke
escaped where it listed. 1t vas kitchen
and parlor in our boat.house. Neces-
sary utensils hung against tho walls.
but not quite hide many efforts at decor
ative art, from the illustrated papers,
pasted solidly in their places and given
rich and generous coloring from the
smoke OF burning showers" OF peat.
Amidship was our salon. 1t was not
large but, rs "Gran'pop" Wharton al
ways remarked:
"II'it as good prospects, an airy ones
asidcw
II was covered by IN old soil that had
once done duty with the Yarmouth
herring fleet. Here our hearty meals
wore taken; and this place was also the
work room where the ntmble fingers OF
tho Gipsies wrought tho pouches aud
baskets of flag and osier.
Beyond this, and extending to the
end Of the boa. opposite that occupied