New-York tribune., 1907-09-07
THE GYPSIES.
Story of Their Origin and Distr1bu-
tiOn an Europe.

Il
Europeans have generally regarded gypsies as
foreigners, yet Europe is their chief home at the
present day writes the president of the Gypsy
Lore Society. In THE Manchester Guardian"
There gypsies unquestionably in other lands.
Asia Minor and Major Northern Africa, the Amer
icas and Australasia. Their advent in the New
World of the West and the Antipodes is. Of course.
comparatively modern affair. due to their
forced voluntary exile from Europe In spite or
their Orentalism. however. of speech and feature.
cypsies mostly European by residence. and
.heir numbers preponderate in the Danube region,
between Vienna and the Black Sea. in which the
gypsy population reaches n total OF nearly Goo go.
That their forefathers occupied the same region
In 1922 clear from reference Of a traveller
Egypt at that date. who speaks of Dauubau
captives in Alexandria and Cairo who were as
swarthy Indians and who tattooed their faces
In the way the gypsies described in
France century later The gypsies scattered
throughout other parts OF Europe at The present
tlav may he estimated about 3n0.010 Visitors To
Spain are familiar with the Gitanos q. =. EEipti-
anos) Seville and Granada. and elsewhere In the
Peninsula there many Of the race. Al one time
OF another all the countries Of Europe appear TO
have possessed gypsy populations. but their mum
bers have been greatly reduced. especially III
Northwestern Europe, by the severe ehactinehtS
passed against them in recent centuries. In Eng
la.id and Wales they still by no means infr'-
opent and they muster strong a and fairs,
where they carry their favorite trades OF horse
dealing and fortune telling. In Scotland the pure
gypsy is almost quite extinct. but share or
his blood, and certainly OF his language Is trace
able among the wandering 'unklers' and mug
gers" ireland. whatever ne the reason. there
even less sign of the gypsy than In Scotland
The problem OF the origin OF the Eypsles ana the
study of their language may seem To many TO be
themes that have been worn threadbare long ago
Everybo knows. or is supposed To know that the
Romani Chib. the gypsy tongue is a KIND OF flhdu-
stanf as shown by the numerals and by many
words common to both Of these languages As for
the origin of the gyspes. is II not pretty wen
ascertained THAI they drfted westward from India
and Persia somewhere about a thousand years
ago? Such. at any rate, is the opinion SET l"r.1
I,v the learned Orientalist Professor de HoeJe, Oh
Uevdep who rortifes his position by evidence which
seems 20 irrefragable The late Paul Bataiiiard'
however who devoted the spare hours OF lohs
and busv life TO the elucdatiOn OF gypsy history
came to the conclusion that these immigrants Oh
thousand years ago merely formed an accession 10
n previous gypsy population in Europe IN I'M, ms
aJmportation of Bronze into the North ana WeS,
of Furope by the-Tsiganes paris lS7S) Batlliiaru
advances the theory that the Zotars OF o","
Galfcia an existing gypsy caste VINO WIN y, NJ
hronze 10 the exclusion of iron, are racaIy as wen
as nrofessonalIy the representatives, or the ptopie
,vbo introduced bronze into Europe. In 1850 boFo
Avehurv then Sir John Lubbock, was ieu 70 PC
1iave from a study of their implements that the
first bronze workers IN Europe were an Eastoiii ls
neople small handed and nomadlc, IKE ue Esyp
tians or the Hndus. 1t Will be seen t .msl,, ., 80
there is abundance of room Tor ulscussi0 % .,a
enecuation as to the date OF the au'cn. Va -;
,yvnsies in Europe. Far from oelnS eAnau9', ~ &c
tfon &c only now beginning to receive sclenthc
Vel Tho view of studying the language his.
~ md - characteristics of the Romani race ana
fI1l
of obtaining fresh knowledge from every aValldpIe
source my colleagues and instituted 'ne -; ;1,
- c.ocietv In 1888 and published its quarterly
i,urnaI during the four years from jury, iooo' 70
anril 1892 Most of the leading Tslfaholo6u'9 Vi
t.irone contributed to its pages hungary SO ont
chief seat of the race, supplied US WIN E1tteu
Incarnation The ATchduke JOSEF, OF Ausuid ~ IN
earv gas a member of the society put ne olu ~ hol
eand anv article the journal although itS pdec9
contained n careful analysis of his gypsy gram
,,ar Perhaps the most fascinating feature oI Ihe
iournal was the study made by Professor huiio
Never and Mr. John Sampson OF the Jargoh hno"h
90 I.SbeIta" which is in use among tile hoilaui'
caetes of the British Isles at the present DAY Inc
resut of this examination was TO snow th'L' oheita
is an artificial form of speech fabricated from ou
Gaelic and that ii was Manufactured py inc On
cient bards of ireland. The work Oh the socie'y
came TO a close for time in lS9Z since tneh d
mass of new information has accumulated ana the
number of gypsy scholars has greatly ihereaseo
Accordingly in the beginning of this year the oid
.rard of the society realized that the Tune was
now ripe for its resuscitation and TINS mas peeh
accononI;sbed Death has made sad havoc among
tho former members of the society, but happiiy
there are a good many veterans sui ready TOT
,ctive service Among these is MI Henry l. CroI-
ton yice-president of the old society, VINO IS sup
nIementing his previous Annals of the Gypsles III
EngIand' by a paper containing many adoltohsii
facts Mr. Crofton's earliest paper on TINS SUD-
,act IL NAV be noted, read before the Man
chester Literary Club in iSSj