Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-05-04

/ pStIy pllIS1iuS. uOli l1hS Cliete WV -
thieves" I think it is too harsh. l
like the other word better, they are
good finders, for they never buy any
thing they can find. If they come
across your truck patch and they
wanted something for dinner, well,
they would take it, but they would
not take very much. They wouldn't
bother carrying it, they know there
is plenty more further down the road.
They are like their ancestors, they
gather their mama daily. Occasional
ly they find an old piece of rope with
a horse on the end. They worst habit
is their lying when they profess to tell
fortunes. A Gypsy girl knows that she
cannot tell you anything of tomor-
row, but she is not averse to making
money by it. Formerly when we ap-
preached the saloon keeper and asked
him to give his heart to Jesus Christ
he would say "well, what about my
business, this is the only thing I know
and if ! give it up what is to become
of my wife and child" The Gypsy
girl says eff r accept your message
of Christianity, what am l to do about
my fortune telling" for she can make
more money in one morning telling
fortunes than she can make in legiti-
mate trading in a week; but when
you cross a Gypsy girls palm with
silver to tell you your fortune, let
me tell you just what you do: You, a
cultured, educated, refined woman
pay an ignorant woman to lie, fand
you make it just that much harder
for that girl ever to become Chris
tian.
A Change Comes.
Now, let me tell you something of
the change that came into our family.
My father was born the fourth of a
family of five children, on March 81,
1860, in Epting Forest, which is just
outside the city of London. He grew
up just as wild as the birds and the
rabbits, and as sweet as the flowers,
for I think my father lives closer to
Jesus Christ than any man / ever
knew. He lives on the street and in his
home the religion that he teaches
from the pulpit, so that men believe
in him and love him, and his children
are trying to follow in his footsteps.
The Gypsies are what you call in this
country "peddlers," and we call them
in England "hawkers." They make
clothes pins of the willows, they re-
cane chairs, they make baskets out
of underbrush, they do an odd job
of tinkering. Tie girls carry on their
arms as a blind a basket filled with
notions, which she can sell to house
wives if she cannot tell fortunes, for
while the English law allows you to
put out a sign of palmistry, it forbids
a Gypsy girl telling fortunes, and SO
if she is approached by the officer of
the law she says she is selling her
wares. My grandfather and grand
mother, with their five children, were
travelling in the southern counties
of England in this way when the eld-
est girl of the family was taken sick.
The Gypsy women are skilled in the
use of herbs, for they are children of
nature, and my grandmother gave her
what local remedies she knew of, but
instead of the girl getting better she
gradually got worse, until one day she
said to her husband "we must go in
to a village and see physician for
our girl is getting worse" They pull
ed into a little town by the name of
Boldock in Hertfordshire, and stop
ped opposite doctors house. My
grandfather went up to the door of
the house and asked for the doctor,
and when the doctor came he said
"what can l do for you, .sir?" Ny
grandfather said 81 would like for
you to come into our wagon and see
our sick child" The doctor climbed
up the steps to the wagon and looked
in over the half open door.
Only Gypsy Home.
He could not go into the home, for
it was only Gypsy home, and ne
beckoned to the girl to come from her
bed. She got out as we'll as she could
and crawled across the floor, and
standing at the half open door in her
night robe, while the March biting
winds. hummed around her. When
the doctor had examined her he turn
ed to my grandfather and said "get