The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-05-21
LONDON WITNESSES
STRANGE SPECTACLE

Inn. afterwards Lord Acton, first to
cardinal Wiseman and afterwards To
me celebrated Dr. Dollingcr. at Mu-
itch' the founder of the denomination
hhown as the Old Catholics. His oupi.,
xJ},hs SIR John Acton, became imbued
with his Ideas and distinguished him
seit IN 1853 and 1870 by his hostility
40 thc doctrine of papal Infullibility.
ms SIR John. who in 1859. was elevat :
rE inc pecrage as Baron Acton. mar
req the German Countess Marie Arco-
Naiiey. lie was lord in waiting To
queen Victoria and great fayorito
VI Impress Frederick of Germany His
NJ, the second baron, is in the diplo-
..aic service. and has been attached.
secretary, to the British Legations
az berlin. Vienna. Madrid ana The
az lie Is married to the daughter
Cheshire and S' ha, s SCI ApP cn,, Hui
'aNniiy name is Dalberg-Acton.
L9ndoners Witnessed a strange sight
or tnutIuay, iast: y tribe OF zinEarls.
Inc Sharlns Cross Station. dressed in
NC bright colored and curiously cur
sast''en en- that their kind in the South
t,,,n, europe anect. and laden with
h" mrHished copper pots and pans and
bn nnnies OF various shapes and sizes.
oodrded the train for Dover. Their, To
sanS,, .ne gust OF England from their
udiS ana embark for hindlier skins.
iof the customs of Great britain ,vcrn
WrItcioeuly uncongenial to these nomads
heE could not understand why the
tbau. authorities should insist upon
anu ciean-up and obeying even the
'iost fud!mentary rules OF hygiene
ic6uihuons against unrest rict ed
al.t became irksoine To them. so they
n 1880 hcir best barburic finery.
packed up their belongings and made
III ior cline where thew can do
rs they please and not be interfcr,o
with. animated, possibly, by that spirit
81 their race which in early times gave
rs! rise TO their name or Athingano. or
ROUGH me nots." However this may
ps' / VIII not venture into discussion
or the origin Of these peculiar people.
VINO have dclvcd into ancient history
10 have come from India. and after
wandering through Persia. Asia Minor.
EEgypt. Turkey and tho Southeast of
country. the bulk of them. however.
remaining in Hungary and adjacent
territories where they seem to feel
'"Gte az home than anywhere else
II VIII be remembered that in 1907
Germany, at the instance of the Kuis-
or: made determined effort to get
Ild or them. the Prussiau Prime Min
sster Ewing special instructions TO
seems pity that the Kaiser did not
nave the Knowledge gained from re
cent events In England. If nc had
insisted upon the Glpsies washing
IN themselves regularly. and had appoint
ed a Prussian bureaucrat to sec that
they carried out the law to the let :
ter. all the Zingari would quickly
nave LETT tho country, bag and bag
gage. of their own accord
In Roumania they enjoyed exception
any good treatment, although a large
proportion of them were tied down
TO the land. prevented from wandering.
and reduced to the condition of scrfs.
1t Is from this class that the Gipsy
bands and ZinGari orchcstras that
attract so much attention in Amcr.c;,
arc derived.
Their treatment by the Kaiser's gov
eminent as "undesirabl aliens" and
the British regulations regarding soap
and-water. may seem harsh in these
days But they are Kindness itself
compared to the treatment these wan
derers received in the Middle Ages.
wherever found: In Scotland their mere
presence In the kingdom was n cnpital
crime, while under an old English
stasutc. which was repealed only
without benefit of clergy" merely Ia
associate with Gipsies. Wherever they
60 they seem TO be regarded with DIS
like and suspicion. In the Middle Ages
practitioners OF withcraft-a reputa-
ton which in some country DISTRICTS
survives to this day-whilc In town
and country both the name Gypsy at
once suggests that of fortune-telier.
The Spanish Inquisition. as might
have been expected was especially
vigorous In prosecuting them on
charges of witchcraft and cannibalism.
too, extracting confessions under tor
turc. AS late as 1882. in Hungary. no
less than forty-iivc Gipsies We're charg
ed with murder that had never hap
pened. AS the body of the supposed
victim could not be found. all these
Gipsies were tortured. While on the
rack and tormentcd beyond human
endurance they. in order to get a
lions as to what they had done with
the body. replied. I'VE ate it," where
upon they were Immediately decapi-
tutcd.
Emperor Joseph II. afterwards or
dered an inquiry into the matter, when
IT was found that there had been no
murder mt all except by those who
had put these forty-iive innocent per-
sons 10 death. This Emperor was the
first to modify the cruel laws against
the Zingarl.
Those who have made particular
study OF tho history. morals and GUS
toms OF the Gipsics seem to DO pretty
well agreed that they do MOI add ma
tcrially to the honor or profit OF the
community wherein they may tenn
therefore be n source OF satisfaction u
the immi grafton authorities of the
United States to learn that although
the tribe which has just left England
Is crossing the Atlantic. 1t Is not com
ing TO this country or Canada. but
intends seeking camping ground
somewhere in South America, where
the health department. is not over .
inquisitivc. and more happy go
lucky lack OF system is in vogue re-
Earding the observance OF laws and
regulations. If there are any.
Copyright, 1912, by the Brentwood