Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-26
The Peculiarities of These PICTURESQUE
Nomads.
THEY hate THE IDEA OF WORK
All Possess a Love of Half-Savace
Music.
DWELL FOREVER IN TENTS

classes-those who go bareheaded and
barefooted, the wandering gypsies: those
who wear headgear and shoes on Sundays,
the semi-nomads. and those who always
wear hats and shoes, and who have to a
great extent abandoned the nomadic lives
of their ancestors. These latter are the
most civilized. and are generally mus-
clans, who excel in the playing OF Hun
garian tunes. When the Tziganes arrived
in Hungary they were not trained musi-
cally. but they soon appropriated Magyar
music. and out Of It have made a crude
and weird art of their own. Their favorite
instrument is the bias ALA as they term
| the violin. Some play the harp but they
have a marked aversion for the piano, for
the reason that il cannot be easily moved
about In Hungary no fete or festival takes
place without Tzgane orchestra At cleo
| ton times Tzigane band always heads
| the electoral professions, and no wedding
| is considered complete without their music
| for the dance. The Tziganes have become
natural musicians, playing from inspira-
| ton and generally being unable to read
music. Liszt, who made a study of the
Tziganes, says that music is to them a
sublime language. mystic song. which
they often make use OF instead of CONVEX
| sation, and that they have, in fact. invent
ed a music of their own. One of the IA
vorite abcdes of these strange people is
Ol 1TOdtld- Is lntfe
| that the typical Bohemans are seen at
| their best Their camps are always set
up at some distance from the nearest town
| or village, often in close proximity to some
| forest. The Tzigane huts-for they are
nothing more-consist of a single room, un-
| less the owner is extremely well-to-do. and
| generally devoid OF furniture.
Rude Life.
The Tziganes eat and sleep on the bare
boards. At all times of the day there is
a smoldering fire in the hut. over which
hangs a sandstone pot for the Tzigane has
no fixed hour for his meals but eats when
ever he feels hungry. The ordinary bill
of fare consists of potatoes, stews, milk
and lard. on festive occasions such tit
bits are INDUCED in as hedgehogs foxes
and squirrels. Cats considered by the
Tziganes princey diet. Dogs trained
to hunt hedgehogs and foxes. They have
peculiar manner of cooking foxes. They
are placed in running water for a couple
of days and then cooked under hot Goals
in hole in the ground. The Tziganes
have Partially for the flesh of dead ami
mails. and whenever farm or stable
takes fire they rush to the scene in the
hope of finding the carcass of some dead
animal. Like certain oriental races, they
| use their fingers only in eating.
Tzigane women, as a rule. go about half
naked, the young girls wearing nothing but
| small apron, excepting when they go to
the neighboring town. The men wear but
| little clothing. and until the time Of their
marriage. at between twelve and fifteen
years, they go about almost naked. After
marriage, however, they attire themselves
| in the gaudy Hungarian national costume,
or which they are very proud. CASTOR
garments of some Magyar nobeman they
have a great weakness for and when they
| are able to obtain a bright red coat their
| satisfaction is complete
The Tziganes have horror of work or
restraint of any kind. Even those who
have a fixed residence like to roam about
| when they feel so inclined. So firm is this
wandering instinct with them that they
have no word in their language to signify
remain" Most of the trades they adopt
| are suitable for nomadic life. They are
either horse dealers, blacksmiths, sheep
shearers or. and above all, beggars. IL is
| quite impossible to take a country drive
| through some provinces of Hungary with
out coming across band OF Tziganes,
some one of whom will surely follow a
| carriage for a half hour more until he
has received coin.
Beggars All.
The Tziganes have given themselves the
| nickname of poor men," and the habit of
begging is SO thoroughly rooted In them
| that even well-to-do members of their
| race whom one occasionally meets in
| Budapesth driving pure-booded horses and
wearing costly jewels, cannot resist the
| temptation of asking for money.
Many unsuccessful attempts have been
made to restrain the NaRaDcnQ pfOpenslleS
of the TZiganes. The Emperor Joseph Ill
once tried to compel them to have a fixed
residence. and allotted them land, distrib-
uted agricultural implements among them.
| and ordered then to cultivate their land.
But, Instead of taking up their residences
in the comfortable houses they had been
presented with, the Tziganes turned the
| houses into stables for their horses and
COWS and set UP tents near by for their
own use. To prevent the corn given them
for seed from sprouting they boiled il. But
the emperor was not discouraged. He abol-
| ished the Tzigane language, as he had AL
ready done away with the Magyar Ian
guage:> did away with the very name of
Tzigane. ana finally took their children
from them to be educated by German and
Hungarian farmers. who were to bring
| them up according TO a strict code of dis
| cipline. But the little TZiganes grew up
| with all the instincts of their race. and al
| the first opportunity they escaped and re-
joined their parents.
few years ago a Tzigane who had been
adopted as a child in an Austrian family
| entered the army and rose to the rank Of
captain. One day, without any warning.
| he disappeared, and six months later
found among a band of wandering Tzig-
anes. LsZt, the great pianist, once tried
| to tame young Tzigane. He took the
| boy to Paris, gave him teachers and tried
to bring him up in a conventional manner,
| but the effort was useless, and the young
Bohemian was sent back to his native land.
Choosing n Chief.
Tzigane tribes In Hungary elect their
| chiefs every seven years The election of
these "volvodes," as they are termed, takes
place by universal suffrage. As soon as
the name Of the successful candidate is
proclaimed he is applauded: the musicians
Of the tribe play and sing and a silver
crown. the insignia of his office. is placed
en- the chiefs forehead. Then he is pre-
scented with a plate of meat ornamented
with flowers, and a bottle Of wine, which
he drinks at once, after which he breaks
the bottle. Then the new chief delivers
a long speech TO his tribe, and recommends
them to respect the laws Of their nation.
sitter which every member of the tribe
shakes hanos with the new king" and
promises obedience to his orders. The cleo
ton winds up with an elaborate feast and
dancing.
Among themselves the Tziganes speak
their native language, which contains O
number of foreign words. AS a race the
Txiganes are one OF the finest examples
Of natural selection to be found anywhere.
Those who are not physically fitted for
their wandering life in every weather and
ut all seasons are left behind to die The
survivors are splendid physical specimens
OF men and women. proof against almost