lady," and "the duchess," and bore the title of queen, among her tribe.
She presided at the celebration of their barbarous marriages, and
assisted at their equally singular ceremonies of divorce. What the
custom of this queen of the Gipsies was, when in full dress, in her
youth, on gala days, cannot now be easily known; but the following is a
description of her masculine figure, and _public_ travelling apparel,
when advanced in years. It was taken from the mouth of an aged and very
respectable gentleman, the late Mr. David Stoddart, at Bankhead, near
Queensferry, who had often seen her in his youth: She was fully six feet
in stature, stout made in her person, with very strongly-marked and
harsh features; and had, altogether, a very imposing aspect and manner.
She wore a large black beaver-hat, tied down over her ears with a
handkerchief, knotted below her chin, in the Gipsy fashion. Her upper
garment was a dark-blue short cloak, somewhat after the Spanish fashion,
made of substantial woollen cloth, approaching to superfine in quality.
The greater part of her other apparel was made of dark-blue camlet
cloth, with petticoats so short that they scarcely reached to the calves
of her well-set legs. [Indeed, all the females among the Baillies wore
petticoats of the same length.] Her stockings were of dark-blue worsted,
flowered and ornamented at the ankles with scarlet thread; and in her
shoes she displayed large, massy, silver buckles. The whole of her
habiliments were very substantial, with not a rag or rent to be seen
about her person. [She was sometimes dressed in a green gown, trimmed
with red ribbons.] Her outer petticoat was folded up round her haunches,
for a lap, with a large pocket dangling at each side; and below her
cloak she carried, between her shoulders, a small flat pack, or pad,
which contained her most valuable articles. About her person she
generally kept a large clasp-knife, with a long, broad blade, resembling
a dagger or carving-knife; and carried in her hand a long pole or
pike-staff, that reached about a foot above her head.
It was a common practice, about the middle of last century, for old
female Gipsies of authority to strip, without hesitation, defenceless
individuals of their wearing-apparel when they met them in sequestered
places. Mary Yorkston chanced, on one occasion, to meet a shepherd's
wife, among the wild hills in the parish of Stobo, and stripped her of
the whole of her clothes. The shepherd was horrified at beholding his
wife approaching his house in a state of perfect nakedness. A Jean
Gordon was once detected, by a shepherd, stripping a female of her
wearing-apparel. He at once assisted the helpless woman; but Jean drew
from below her garments a dagger, and threw it at him. Evading the blow,
the shepherd closed in upon her, and struck her over the head with his
staff, knocking her to the ground. Another Gipsy of the old fashion, of
the name of Esther Grant, was also celebrated for the practice of
stripping people of their clothing. The Arabian principle, expressed in
these words, on meeting a stranger in the desert, "Undress thyself--my
wife, (thy aunt,) is in want of a garment," is truly applicable to the
disposition of the old female Gipsies.
Nothing was more common, in the counties of Peebles and Lanark, when the
country-people lost their purses at fairs, than to have recourse to the
chief Gipsy females, to get their property returned to them. Mary
Yorkston, having a sovereign influence and power among her tribe, was
often applied to, in such cases of distress, of which the following is a
good specimen:--On one of these occasions, in a market in the South of
Scotland, a farmer lost his purse, containing a considerable sum of
money, which greatly perplexed and distressed him. He immediately went
to Mary Yorkston, to try if she would exert her wonderful influence to
recover his property. Being a favourite of Mary's, she, without the
least hesitation, took him along with her to the place in the fair where
her husband kept his temporary depôt, or rather his office, in which he
exercised his extraordinary calling during the continuance of the
market. The presence of Mary was a sufficient assurance that all was
right; and, upon the matter being explained, Matthew Baillie instantly
produced, and spread out before the astonished farmer, from twenty to
thirty purses, and desired him to pick out his own from amongst them.
The countryman soon recognized his own, and grasped at it without
ceremony. "Hold on," said Baillie, "let us count its contents first."
The Gipsy chief, with the greatest coolness and deliberation, as if he
had been an honest banker or money-changer, counted over the money in
the purse, when not a farthing was found wanting. "There is your purse,
sir," continued Baillie; "you see what it is, when honest people meet!"
The following incident, that occurred one night after a fair, in a barn
belonging to one of my relatives, will strikingly illustrate the
character of the Gipsies in the matter of stealing purses:--A band of
superior Gipsies were quartered in the barn, after several of them had
attended the fair, in their usual manner. The principal female, whom I
shall not name, had also been at the market; but the old chief had
thought proper to remain at home, in the barn. My relative, as was
sometimes his custom, chanced to take a turn about his premises that
night, when it was pretty late. He heard the voice of a female weeping
in the barn, and, being curious to know the cause of the disturbance
among the Tinklers, stepped softly up, close to the back of the door, to
listen to what they were doing, as the woman was crying bitterly. He was
greatly astonished at hearing, and never could forget, the following
expressions: "Oh, cruel man, to beat me in this way. I have had my hands
in as good as twenty pockets, but the honest people had it not to
themselves." The chieftain was, in fact, chastising his wife, in the
presence of his family, for her want of diligence or success, in not
obtaining enough of booty at the fair. And yet this individual bore,
among the country-people, the character of an honest man.
Another story is told of Mary Yorkston and the Goodman of Coulter-park.
It differs in its nature from the above anecdote, yet is very
characteristic of the Gipsies. Mary and her band were lurking one night
at a place in Clydesdale, called Raggingill. As a man on horseback
approached the spot where they were concealed, some of the tribe
immediately laid hold of the horse, and, without ceremony, commenced to
plunder the rider. But Mary, stepping forth to superintend the
operation, was astonished to find that the horseman was her particular
friend, the Goodman of Coulter-park. She instantly exclaimed, with all
her might: "It's Mr. Lindsay, the Gudeman o' Couter-park--let him
gang--let him gang--God bless him, honest man!" It is needless to add
that Mr. Lindsay had always given Mary and her horde the use of an
out-house when they required it.
Mary Yorkston despised to ask what is properly understood to be alms.
She sold horn spoons and other articles; and, when she made a bargain,
she would take, almost by force, what she called her "boontith," which
is a present of victuals, exclusive of the cash paid; a practice which
I will explain further on in the chapter.
Matthew Baillie had, by Mary Yorkston, among other children, a son,
named James Baillie, who, along with his brothers, as we have seen,
threatened with destruction the people assembled in Biggar fair, in
consequence of an affront offered to his mother by a gardener of that
town. He was condemned, in 1771, to be hung, for the murder of his wife,
by beating her with a horse-whip, and tumbling her over a steep; but he
"obtained a pardon from the king, on condition that he transported
himself beyond seas within a limited time, otherwise the pardon was to
have no effect." Baillie, paying little regard to the serious conditions
of this pardon, did not "transport himself beyond seas," but continued
his former practices, as appears by the following extract from the
Weekly Magazine of the 8th October, 1772:--"James Baillie, who was last
summer condemned for the murder of a woman, and afterwards obtained his
majesty's pardon, on condition of transporting himself to America, for
life, was lately apprehended at Falkirk, on suspicion of robbery. On the
1st October he was brought to town, and committed to the Tolbooth, by a
warrant of Lord Auchinleck. This warrant was granted upon the petition
of the procurator fiscal of Stirling, in which he set forth that, as
Baillie was a very daring fellow, and suspected of being concerned with
a gang equally so with himself, there was great reason to apprehend a
rescue might be attempted, by breaking the prison; and therefore praying
that he might be removed to Edinburgh, where a scheme of that nature
could not so easily be effected." On the 18th December, 1773, and 27th
February, 1774, the "Lords, in terms of the said former sentence, decree
and adjudge the said James Baillie to be hanged on the 30th March then
next." He thus appears to have remained in prison from October, 1772,
till March, 1774. "Soon after this sentence, he got another pardon," and
was again discharged from prison, in order to his transporting himself;
but he remained at home, and again relapsed into his former way of life.
He was, some time afterwards, committed to Newcastle gaol, but made his
escape. A short time after that, he was committed to Carlisle gaol, on
suspicion of having stolen some plate. On the 4th December, 1776, three
sheriff-officers set out from Edinburgh, to bring him hither; but
before they reached Carlisle, he had again broken prison and
escaped.[140]
[140] Scot's Magazine, vol xxxviii., page 675.
During one of the periods of Baillie's imprisonment, he escaped from
jail, attired as a female; having been assisted by some of his tribe,
residing in the Grass-market of Edinburgh. Tradition states that the
then Mistress Baillie, of Lamington, and her family, used all their
interest in obtaining these pardons for James Baillie; who, like his
fathers before him, pretended to be a bastard relative of the family of
Lamington, and thereby escaped the punishment of death. McLaurin justly
remarks that "few cases have occurred in which there has been such an
expenditure of mercy."[141]
[141] McLaurin's Trials, page 555. [See note at page 205.--ED.]
I have already mentioned how handsomely the superior order of Gipsies
dressed at the period of which we are speaking. The male head of the
Ruthvens--a man six feet some inches in height--who, according to the
newspapers of the day, lived to the advanced age of 115 years, when in
full dress, in his youth, wore a white wig, a ruffled shirt, a blue
Scottish bonnet, scarlet breeches and waistcoat, a long blue superfine
coat, white stockings, with silver buckles in his shoes. Others wore
silver brooches in their breasts, and gold rings on their fingers. The
male Gipsies in Scotland were often dressed in green coats, black
breeches, and leathern aprons. The females were very partial to green
clothes. At the same time, the following anecdote will show how artful
they were at all times, by means of dress and other equipments, to
transform themselves, like actors on the stage, into various characters,
whenever it suited their purposes.[142]
[142] It appears, from Vidocq's memoirs, that the Gipsies on the
continent changed their apparel, so as they could not again be
recognized: "At break of day everybody was on foot, and the general
toilet was made. But for their (the Gipsies') prominent features,
their raven-black tresses, and oily and tanned skins, I should
scarcely have recognized my companions of the preceding evening. The
men, clad in rich jockey Holland vests, with leathern sashes like
those worn by the men of Poirsy, and the women, covered with ornaments
of gold and silver, assumed the costume of Zealand peasants; even the
children, whom I had seen covered with rags, were neatly clothed, and
had an entirely different appearance. All soon left the house, and
took different directions, that they might not reach the market place
together, where the country-people were assembled in crowds."--Vidocq
had lodged all night in a ruinous house, with a band of Gipsies.
My father, when a young lad, noticed a large band of Gipsies taking up
their quarters one night in an old out-house on a farm occupied by his
father. The band had never been observed on the farm before, and seemed
all to be strangers, with, altogether, a very ragged and miserable
appearance. Next morning, a little after breakfast, as the band began to
pack up their baggage, and load their asses, preparatory to proceeding
on their journey, the youth, out of curiosity, went forward to see the
horde decamp. Among other articles of luggage, he observed a large and
heavy sack put upon one of the asses; and, as the Gipsies were fastening
it upon the back of the animal, the mouth of it burst open, and the
greater part of its contents fell upon the ground. He was not a little
surprised when he beheld a great many excellent cocked hats, suits of
fine green clothes, great-coats, &c.; with several handsome saddles and
bridles, tumble out of the bag. At this unexpected accident, the Gipsies
were much disconcerted. By some strange expressions and odd
man[oe]uvres, they endeavoured to drive the boy from their presence, and
otherwise engage his attention, to prevent him observing the singular
furniture contained in the unlucky sack. By thus carrying along with
them these superior articles, so unlike their ordinary wretched
habiliments, the ingenious Gipsies had it always in their power to
disguise themselves, whenever circumstances called for it. The following
anecdote will, in some measure, illustrate the "gallant guise" in which
these wanderers, at one time, rode through Scotland:
About the year 1768, early in the morning of the day of a fair, held
annually at Peebles, in the month of May, two gentlemen were observed
riding along the only road that led to my grandfather's farm. One of the
servant girls was immediately told to put the parlour in order, to
receive the strangers, as, from their respectable appearance, at a
distance, it was supposed they were friends, coming to breakfast, before
going to the market; a custom common enough in the country. This
preparation, however, proved unnecessary, as the strangers rode rapidly
past the dwelling-house, and alighted at the door of an old
smearing-house, nearly roofless, situated near some alder trees, about
three hundred yards further up a small mountain stream. In passing, they
were observed to be neatly dressed in long green coats, cocked hats,
riding-boots and spurs, armed with broad-swords, and mounted on
handsome grey ponies, saddled and bridled; everything, in short, in
style, and of the best quality. The people about the farm were extremely
curious to know who these handsomely-attired gentlemen could be, who,
without taking the least notice of any one, dismounted at the wretched
hovel of a sheep-smearing house, where nothing but a band of Tinklers
were quartered. Their curiosity, however, was soon satisfied, and not a
little mirth was excited, on it being ascertained that the gallant
horsemen were none other than James and William Baillie, sons of old
Matthew Baillie, who, with part of his tribe, were, at the moment, in
the old house, making horn spoons. But greater was their surprise, when
several of the female Gipsies set out, immediately afterwards, for the
fair, attired in very superior dresses, with the air of ladies in the
middle ranks of society.[143]
[143] The females of this tribe also rode to the fairs at Moffat and
Biggar, on horses, with side-saddles and bridles, the ladies
themselves being very gaily dressed. The males wore scarlet cloaks,
reaching to their knees, and resembling exactly the Spanish fashion of
the present day.
Besides the large hordes that traversed the south of Scotland, parties
of twos and threes also passed through the country, apparently not at
all connected, nor in communication, at the time, with the large bands.
When a single Gipsy and his wife, or other female, were observed to take
up their quarters by themselves, it was supposed they had either fallen
out with their clan, or had the officers of the law in pursuit of them.
Sometimes the chiefs would enquire of the country people, if such and
such a one of their tribe had passed by, this or that day, lately. Under
any circumstances, the presence of a female does not excite so much
suspicion as a single male. In following their profession, as tinkers,
the Gipsies seldom, or never, travel without a female in their company,
and, I believe, they sometimes hire them to accompany them, to hawk
their wares through the country. The tinker keeps himself snug in an
out-house, at his work, while the female vends his articles of sale, and
forages for him, in the adjoining country.
One of these straggling Gipsies, of the name of William Keith, was
apprehended in an old smearing-house, on a farm occupied by my
grandfather, in Tweed-dale. William had been concerned, with his brother
Robert, in the murder of one of their clan, of the name of Charles
Anderson, at a small public-house among the Lammermoor hills, called
Lourie's Den. Robert Keith and Anderson had fallen out, and had followed
each other for some time, for the purpose of fighting out their quarrel.
They at last met at Lourie's Den, when a terrible combat ensued. The two
antagonists were brothers-in-law; Anderson being married to Keith's
sister. Anderson proved an over-match for Keith; and William Keith, to
save his brother, laid hold of Anderson; but Mage Greig, Robert's wife,
handed her husband a knife, and called on him to despatch him, while
unable to defend himself. Robert repeatedly struck with the knife, but
it rebounded from the ribs of the unhappy man, without much effect.
Impatient at the delay, Mage called out to him, "strike laigh, strike
laigh in;" and, following her directions, he stabbed Anderson to the
heart. The only remark made by any of the gang was this exclamation from
one of them: "Gude faith, Rob, ye have done for him noo!" But William
Keith was astonished when he found that Anderson was stabbed in his
arms, as his interference was only to save the life of his brother from
the overwhelming strength of Anderson. Robert Keith instantly fled, but
was immediately pursued by people armed with pitchforks and muskets. He
was apprehended in a braken-bush, in which he had concealed himself, and
was executed at Jedburgh, on the 24th November, 1772.
Sir Walter Scott, and the Ettrick Shepherd, slightly notice this murder
at Lourie's Den, in their communications to Blackwood's Magazine. One of
the individuals who assisted at the apprehension of Keith was the father
of Sir Walter Scott. The following notice of this bloody scene appeared
in one of the periodical publications at the time it occurred: "By a
letter from Lauder, we are informed of the following murder: On
Wednesday se'night, three men, with a boy, supposed to be tinkers, put
up at a little public-house near Soutra. From the after conduct of
two of the men, it would appear that a difference had subsisted
between them, before they came into the house, for they had drunk
but very little when the quarrel was renewed with great vehemence,
and, in the dispute, one of the fellows drew a knife, and stabbed the
other in the body no less than seven different times, of which wounds
he soon after expired. The gang then immediately made off; but upon the
country-people being alarmed, the murderer himself and one of the women
were apprehended."[144]
[144] Weekly Magazine, 10th September, 1772, page 354.
Long after this battle took place, James Bartram and Robert Brydon,
messengers-at-arms in Peebles, were dispatched to apprehend William
Keith, in the ruinous house already mentioned. As they entered the
building, early in the morning, with cocked pistols in their hands,
Keith, a powerful man, rose up, half naked, from his _shake-down_, and,
holding out a pistol, dared them to advance. Bartram, the chief officer,
with the utmost coolness and bravery, advanced close up to the muzzle of
the Gipsy's pistol, and, clapping his own to the head of the desperate
Tinkler, threatened him with instant death if he did not surrender. A
Gipsy, who had informed against Keith, was with the officers, as their
guide; but the moment he saw Keith's pistol, he artfully threw himself,
upon his back, to the ground. He immediately rose to his feet, but, in
great terror, sprang, like a greyhound, over a _fauld dyke_, to escape
the shot which Keith threatened. The intrepid conduct of the officers
completely daunted the Gipsy. He yielded, and allowed himself to be
hand-cuffed, thinking that the messengers were strongly supported by the
servants on the farm; for, on perceiving only the two officers, he
became desperate, but he was now fast in irons. In great bitterness he
exclaimed, "Had I not, on Saturday night, observed five stout men on Mr.
Simson's turf-hill, ye wadna a' hae ta'en me." The five individuals were
all remarkably strong men. It was on Monday morning the Gipsy was
apprehended, and it would appear he had been reconnoitering on Saturday,
before risking to take up his quarters, which he did without asking
permission from any one. He imagined that the five turf-casters were
ready to assist the officers in the execution of their duty, and that it
would have been in vain for him to make any resistance. The frantic
Gipsy now leaped and tossed about in the most violent manner imaginable.
He struck with so much vigour, with his hands bound in irons, and kicked
so powerfully with his feet, that it was with the greatest difficulty
the officers could get him carried to the jail at Peebles. His wife came
into the kitchen of the farm-house, weeping and wailing excessively; and
on some of the servant-girls endeavouring to calm her grief, she, among
other bitter expressions, exclaimed, "Had a decent, honest man, like the
master, informed, I would not have cared; but for a blackguard like
ourselves to inform, is unsufferable." Keith was tried, condemned, and
banished to the plantations, for the part he acted at the slaughter at
Lourie's Den.
Here we have seen the melancholy fate of two, if not three, of the then
_Gipsy constabulary force_ in Peebles-shire; one murdered, another
hanged, and the third banished. However strange it may appear at the
present day, it is nevertheless true, that the magistrates of this
county, about this period, (1772,) actually appointed and employed a
number of the principal Gipsies as peace officers, constables, or
country-keepers, as they were called, of whom I will speak again in
another place.
The nomadic Gipsies in general, like the Baillies in particular, have
gradually declined in appearance, till, at the present day, the greater
part of them have become little better than beggars, when compared to
what they were in former times. Among those who frequented the south of
Scotland were to be found various grades of rank, as in all other
communities of men. There were then wretched and ruffian-looking gangs,
in whose company the superior Gipsies would not have been seen.
The reader will have observed the complete protection which William
Baillie's token afforded Robert McVitie, when two men were about to rob
him, while travelling with his packs, between Elvanfoot and Moffat. This
system of tokens made part of the general internal polity of the
Gipsies. These curious people stated to me that Scotland was at one time
divided into districts, and that each district was assigned to a
particular tribe. The chieftains of these tribes issued tokens to the
members of their respective hordes, "when they scattered themselves over
the face of the country." The token of a local chieftain protected its
bearer only while within his own district. If found without this token,
or detected travelling in a district for which the token was not issued,
the individual was liable to be plundered, beaten, and driven back into
his own proper territory, by those Gipsies on whose rights and
privileges he had infringed. These tokens were, at certain periods,
called in and renewed, to prevent any one from forging them. They were
generally made of tin, with certain characters impressed upon them; and
the token of each tribe had its own particular mark, and was well known
to all the Gipsies in Scotland. But while these passes of the provincial
chieftains were issued only for particular districts, a token of the
Baillie family protected its bearer throughout the kingdom of Scotland;
a fact which clearly proves the superiority of that ancient clan.
Several Gipsies have assured me that "a token from a Baillie was good
over all Scotland, and that kings and queens had come of that family."
And an old Gipsy also declared to me that the tribes would get into
utter confusion, were the country not divided into districts, under the
regulations of tokens. It sometimes happened, as in the case of Robert
McVitie and others, that the Gipsies gave passes or tokens to some of
their particular favourites who were not of their own race.
This system of Gipsy polity establishes a curious fact, namely, the
double division and occupation of the kingdom of Scotland; by ourselves
as a civilized people, and by a barbarous community existing in our
midst, each subject to its own customs, laws and government; and that,
while the Gipsies were preying upon the vitals of the civilized society
which harboured them, and were amenable to its laws, they were, at the
same time, governed by the customs of their own fraternity.
The surnames most common among the old Tweed-dale bands of Gipsies were
Baillie, Ruthven, Kennedy, Wilson, Keith, Anderson, Robertson, Stewart,
Tait, Geddes, Grey, Wilkie and Halliday. The three principal clans were
the Baillies, Ruthvens and Kennedys; but, as I have already mentioned,
the tribe of Baillie were superior to all others, in point of authority
as well as in external appearance.[145]
[145] According to Hoyland, the most common names among the English
tented Gipsies are Smith, Cooper, Draper, Taylor, Boswell, Lee, Lovel,
Loversedge, Allen, Mansfield, Glover, Williams, Carew, Martin,
Stanley, Berkley, Plunket, and Corrie. Mr. Borrow says: "The clans
Young and Smith, or Curraple, still haunt two of the eastern counties.
The name Curraple is a favourite among the English Gipsies. It means a
smith--a name very appropriate to a Gipsy. The root is _Curaw_, to
strike, hammer, &c." Among the English and Scottish Gipsies in
America, I have found a great variety of surnames.--ED.
Besides the christian and surnames common to them in Scotland, the
Gipsies have names in their own language;[146] and, while travelling
through the country, assume new names every morning, before commencing
the day's journey, and retain them till money is received, in one way or
other, by each individual of the company; but if no money is received
before twelve o'clock, they all, at noon-tide, resume their permanent
Scottish names. They consider it unlucky to set out on a journey, in the
morning, under their own proper names; and if they are, by any chance,
called back, by any of their neighbours, they will not again stir from
home for that day. The Gipsies also frequently change their British
names when from home: in one part of the country they have one name, and
in another part they appear under a different one, and so on.
[146] In the "Gipsies in Spain," Mr. Borrow says: "Every family in
England has two names; one by which they are known to the Gentiles,
and another which they use among themselves."--ED.
* * * * *
I will now describe the appearance of the Gipsies in Tweed-dale during
the generation immediately following the one in which we have considered
them; and would make this remark, that this account applies to them of
late years, with this exception, that the numbers in which the nomadic
class are to be met with are greatly reduced, their condition greatly
fallen, and the circumstances attending their reception, countenance and
toleration, much modified, and in some instances totally changed.
Within the memories of my father and grandfather, which take in about
the last hundred years, none of the Gipsies who traversed Tweed-dale
carried tents with them for their accommodation. The whole of them
occupied the kilns and out-houses in the country; and so thoroughly did
they know the country, and where these were to be found, and the
disposition of the owners of them, that they were never at a loss for
shelter in their wanderings.
Some idea may be formed of the number of Gipsies who would sometimes be
collected together, from the following extract from the Clydesdale
Magazine, for May, 1818: "Mr. Steel, of Kilbucho Mill, bore a good name
among 'tanderal gangerals.' His kiln was commodious, and some hardwood
trees, which surrounded his house, bid defiance to the plough, and
formed a fine pasture-sward for the cuddies, on a green of considerable
extent. On a summer Saturday night, Mary came to the door, asking
quarters, pretty late. She had only a single ass, and a little boy
swung in the panniers. She got possession of the kiln, as usual, and the
ass was sent to graze on the green; but Mary was only the avant-garde.
Next morning, when the family rose, they counted no less than forty
cuddies on the grass, and a man for each of them in the kiln, besides
women and children." Considering the large families the Gipsies
generally have, and allowing at this meeting two asses for carrying the
infants and luggage of each family, there could not have been less than
one hundred Gipsies on the spot.
My parents recollect the Gipsies, about the year 1775, traversing the
county of Tweed-dale, and parts of the surrounding shires, in bands
varying in numbers from ten to upwards of thirty in each horde.
Sometimes ten or twelve horses and asses were attached to one large
horde, for the purpose of carrying the children, baggage, &c. In the
summer of 1784, forty Gipsies, in one band, requested permission of my
father to occupy one of his out-houses. It was good-humouredly observed
to them that, when such numbers of them came in one body, they should
send their quarter-master in advance, to mark out their camp. The
Gipsies only smiled at the remark. One half of them got the house
requested; the other half occupied an old, ruinous mill, a mile distant.
There were above seven of these large bands which frequented the farms
of my relatives in Tweed-dale down to about the year 1790. A few years
after this period, when a boy, I assisted to count from twenty-four to
thirty Gipsies who took up their quarters in an old smearing-house on
one of these farms. The children, and the young folks generally, were
running about the old house like bees flying about a hive. Their horses,
asses, dogs, cats, poultry, and tamed birds were numerous.
These bands did not repeat their visits above twice a year, but in many
instances the principal families remained for three or four weeks at a
time. From their manner and conduct generally, they seemed to think that
they had a right to receive, from the family on whose grounds they
halted, food gratis for twenty-four hours; for, at the end of that
period, they almost always provided victuals for themselves, however
long they might remain on the farm. The servants of my grandfather, when
these large bands arrived, frequently put on the kitchen fire the large
family _kail-pot_, of the capacity of thirty-two Scotch pints, or about
sixteen gallons, to cook victuals for these wanderers.
The first announcement of the approach of a Gipsy band was the chief
female, with, perhaps, a child on her back, and another walking at her
feet. The chieftain himself, with his asses and baggage, which he seldom
quits, is, perhaps, a mile and a half in the rear, baiting his beasts of
burden, near the side of the road, waiting the return and report of his
quarter-mistress. This chief female requests permission for her
_gude-man_ and _weary bairns_ to take up their quarters for the night,
in an old out-house. Knowing perfectly the disposition of the individual
from whom she asks lodgings, she is seldom refused. A farmer's wife,
whom I knew, on granting this indulgence to a female in advance of her
band, added, by way of caution, "but ye must not steal anything from me,
then." "We'll no' play ony tricks on you, mistress; but others will pay
for that," was the Gipsy's reply.
Instead, however, of the chief couple and a child or two, the out-house,
before nightfall, or next morning, will perhaps contain from twenty to
thirty individuals of all ages and sexes. The different members of the
horde are observed to arrive at head-quarters as single individuals, in
twos, and in threes; some of the females with baskets on their arms,
some of the males with fishing-rods in their hands, trout creels on
their backs, and large dogs at their heels. The same rule is observed
when the camp breaks up. The old chief and two or three of his family
generally take the van. The other members of the band linger about the
old house in which they have been quartered, for several days after the
chiefs are gone; they, however, move off, in small parties of twos or as
single individuals, on different days, till the whole horde gradually
disappear. Above three grown-up Gipsies are seldom seen travelling
together. In this manner have the Gipsies traversed the kingdom,
concealing their numbers from public observation, and only appearing in
large bands on the grounds of those individuals of the community who
were not disposed to molest them. On such occasions, when the chief
Gipsies continued encamped, they would be visited by small parties of
their friends, arriving and departing almost daily.
Excepting that of sometimes allowing their asses to go, under night,
into the barn-yard, as if it were by accident, to draw the stacks of
corn, it is but fair and just to state, that I am not aware of a single
Gipsy ever having injured the property of any of my relatives in
Tweed-dale, although their opportunities were many and tempting. My
ancestor's extensive business required him, almost daily, to travel, on
horseback, over the greater part of the south of Scotland; and he was
often under the necessity of exposing himself, by riding at night, yet
he never received the slightest molestation, to his knowledge, from the
Gipsies. They were as inoffensive and harmless as lambs to him, and to
every one connected with his family. Whenever they beheld him, every
head was uncovered, while they would exclaim, "There is Mr. Simson; God
bless him, honest man!" And woe would have been to that man who would
have dared to treat him badly, had these determined wanderers been
present.
The Gipsies may be compared to the raven of the rock, as a complete
emblem of their disposition. Allow the _corbie_ shelter, and to build
her nest in your cliffs and wastes, and she will not touch your
property; but harass her, and destroy her brood, and she will
immediately avenge herself upon your young lambs, with terrible
fury.[147] Washings of clothes, of great value, were often left out in
the fields, under night, and were as safe as if they had been within the
dwelling-house, under lock and key, when the Gipsies happened to be
quartered on the premises. If any of their children had dared to lay its
hands upon the most trifling article, its parents would have given it a
severe beating. On one occasion, when a Gipsy was beating one of his
children, for some trifling offence it had committed, my relative
observed to him that the boy had done no harm. "If he has not been in
fault just now, sir, it will not be long till he be in one; so the
beating he has got will not be thrown away on him," was the Tinkler's
reply.
[147] It is known that the rock-raven, or _corbie_, seldom preys upon
the flocks around her nest; but the moment she is deprived of her
young, she will, to the utmost of her power, wreak her vengeance on
the young lambs in her immediate neighborhood. I have known the
corbie, when bereaved of her brood, tear, with her beak, the very
foggage from the earth, and toss it about; and before twenty-four
hours elapsed, several lambs would fall a sacrifice to her fury. I
have also observed that grouse, where the ground suits their breeding,
are generally very plentiful close around the eyrie of the relentless
falcon.
When the Gipsies took up their residence on the cold earthen floor of an
old out-house, the males and females of the different families had
always beds by themselves, made of straw and blankets, and called
shake-downs. The younger branches also slept by themselves, in separate
beds, the males apart from the females. When the band consisted of more
families than one, each family occupied a separate part of the floor of
the house, distinct from their neighbours; kindled a separate fire, at
which they cooked their victuals; and made horn spoons and other
articles for themselves, for sale in the way of their calling. They
formed, as it were, a camp on the ground-floor of the ruinous house, in
which would sometimes be observed five mothers of families, some of whom
would be such before they were seventeen years of age. The principal
Gipsies who, about this period, travelled Tweed-dale, were never known
to have had more than one wife at a time, or to have put away their
wives for trifling causes.
On such occasions, the chief and the grown-up males of the band seldom
or never set foot within the door of the farm-house, but generally kept
themselves quite aloof and retired; exposing themselves to observation
as little as possible. They employed themselves in repairing broken
china, utensils made of copper, brass and pewter, pots, pans and
kettles, and white-iron articles generally; and in making horn spoons,
smoothing-irons, and sole-clouts for ploughs. But working in horn is
considered by them as their favourite and most ancient occupation. It
would certainly be one of the first employments of man, at a very early
stage of human society--that of converting the horns of animals for the
use of the human race: and such has been the regard which the Gipsies
have had for it, that every clan knows the spoons which are made by
another. The females also assisted in polishing, and otherwise
finishing, the spoons. However early the farm-servants rose to their
ordinary employments, they always found the Tinklers at work.
A considerable portion of the time of the males was occupied in athletic
amusements. They were constantly exercising themselves in leaping,
cudgel-playing, throwing the hammer, casting the putting-stone, playing
at golf, quoits, and other games; and while they were much given, on
other occasions, to keep themselves from view, the extraordinary
ambition which they all possessed, of beating every one they met with,
at these exercises, brought them sometimes in contact with the men about
the farm, master as well as servants. They were fond of getting the
latter to engage with them, for the purpose of laughing at their
inferiority in these healthy and manly amusements; but when any of the
country-people chanced to beat them at these exercises, as was sometimes
the case, they could not conceal their indignation at the affront. Their
haughty scowl plainly told that they were ready to wipe out the insult
in a different and more serious manner. Indeed, they were always much
disposed to treat farm-servants with contempt, as quite their inferiors
in the scale of society; and always boasted of their own high birth, and
the antiquity of their family. They were extremely fond of the athletic
amusement of "o'erending the tree," which was performed in this way: The
end of a spar or beam, above six feet long, and of a considerable
thickness and weight, is placed upon the upper part of the right foot,
and held about the middle, in a perpendicular position, by the right
hand. Standing upon the left foot, and raising the right a little from
the ground, and drawing it as far back as possible, and then bringing
the foot forward quickly to the front, the spar is thrown forward into
the air, from off the foot, with great force. And he who "overends the
tree" the greatest number of times in the air, before it reaches the
ground, is considered the most expert, and the strongest man. A great
many of these Gipsies had a saucy military gesture in their walk, and
generally carried in their hands short, thick cudgels, about three feet
in length. While they travelled, they generally unbuttoned the knees of
their breeches, and rolled down the heads of their stockings, so as to
leave the joints of their knees bare, and unincumbered by their clothes.
During the periods they occupied the out-houses of the farms, the owners
of which were kind to them, the Gipsies were very orderly in their
deportment, and temperate in the use of spirituous liquors, being seldom
seen intoxicated; and were very courteous and polite to all the members
of the family. Their behaviour was altogether very orderly, peaceable,
quiet, and inoffensive. In gratitude for their free-quarters, they
frequently made, from old metal, smoothing-irons for the mistress, and
sole-clouts for the ploughs of the master, and spoons for the family,
from the horns of rams, or other horns that happened to be about the
house; for all of which they would take nothing. They, however, did not
attend the church, while encamped on the premises; at the same time,
they took especial care to give no molestation, or cause of offence, to
any about the farm, on Sunday; being, indeed, seldom seen on that day
out-side of the door of the house in which they were quartered, saving
an individual to look after their horses or asses, while grazing in the
neighbouring fields. Their religious sentiments were confined entirely
within their own breasts; and it was impossible to know what were their
real opinions on the score of religion. However, within the last ten
years, I enquired, very particularly, of an intelligent Gipsy, what
religion his forefathers professed, and his answer was, that "the
Gipsies had no religious sentiments at all; that they worshipped no sort
of thing whatever."
Many practised music; and the violin and bag-pipes were the instruments
they commonly used. This musical talent of the Gipsies delighted the
country-people; it operated like a charm upon their feelings, and
contributed much to procure the wanderers a night's quarters. Many of
the families of the farmers looked forward to the expected visits of the
merry Gipsies with pleasure, and regretted their departure. Some of the
old women sold salves and drugs, while some of the males had pretensions
to a little surgery. One of them, of the name of Campbell, well known by
the title of Dr. Duds, traversed the south of Scotland, accompanied by a
number of women. He prescribed, and sold medicines to the inhabitants;
and several odd stories are told of the very unusual, but successful,
cures performed by him.
As in arranging for, and taking up, their quarters, the principal female
Gipsy almost always negotiates the transactions which the horde have
with the farmer's family, during their abode on his premises. Indeed,
the females are the most active, if not the principal, members of the
tribe, in vending their articles of merchandise. The time at which, on
such occasions, they present these for sale, is the day after their
arrival on the farm, and immediately after the breakfast of the farmer's
family is over. When there are more families than one in the band, but
all of one horde, the chief female of the whole gets the first chance
of selling her wares; but every head female of the respective families
bargains for her own merchandise, for the behoof of her own family. When
the farmer's family is in want of any of their articles, an
extraordinary higgling and chaffering takes place in making the bargain.
Besides money, the Gipsy woman insists upon having what she calls her
"boontith"--that is, a present in victuals, as she is fond of bartering
her articles for provisions. If the mistress of the house agrees, and
goes to her larder or milk-house for the purpose of giving her this
boontith, the Gipsy is sure to follow close at her heels. Admitted into
the larder, the voracious Tinkler will have part of everything she
sees--flesh, meal, butter, cheese, &c., &c. Her fiery and penetrating
eye darts, with rapidity, from one object to another. She makes use of
every argument she can think of to induce the farmer's wife to comply
with her unreasonable demands. "I'm wi' bairn, mistress," she will say;
"I'm greenin'; God bless ye, gie me a wee bit flesh to taste my mouth,
if it should no' be the book o' a robin-red-breast."[148] If the
farmer's wife still disregards her importunities, the Gipsy will, in the
end, snatch up a piece of flesh, and put it into her lap, in a
twinkling; for out of the larder she will not go, without something or
other. The farmer's wife, ever on the alert, now takes hold of the
_sorner_, to wrest the flesh from her clutches, when a serious personal
struggle ensues. She will frequently be under the necessity of calling
for the assistance of her servants, to thrust the intruder out of the
apartment; but the cautious Gipsy takes care not to let matters go too
far: she yields the contest, and, laughing heartily at the good-wife
losing her temper, immediately assumes her ordinary polite manner. And
notwithstanding all that has taken place, both parties generally part on
good terms.
[148] After recovery from child-birth, the Gipsy woman recommences her
course of begging or stealing, with her child in her arms; and then
she is more rapacious than at other times, taking whatever she can lay
her hands upon. For she calculates upon escaping without a beating, by
holding up her child to receive the blows aimed at her; which she
knows will have the effect of making the aggrieved person desist, till
she finds an opportunity of getting out of the way.--_Grellmann on the
Hungarian Gipsies._--ED.
On one of these bargain-making occasions, as the wife of the farmer of
Glencotha, in Tweed-dale, went to give a boontith to Mary Yorkston, the
harpy thrust, unobserved, about four pounds weight of tallow into her
lap. On the return of the good-wife, the tallow was missed. She charged
Mary with the theft, but Mary, with much gravity of countenance,
exclaimed: "God bless ye, mistress, I wad steal from mony a one before I
wad steal from you." The good-wife, however, took hold of Mary, to
search her person. A struggle ensued, when the tallow fell out of Mary's
lap, on the kitchen-floor. At this exposure, in the very act of
stealing, the Gipsy burst into a fit of laughter, exclaiming: "The Lord
hae a care o' me, mistress; ye hae surely little to spare, whan ye winna
let a body take a bit tauch for a candle, to light her to bed." At
another time, this Gipsy gravely told the good-wife of Rachan-mill, that
she must give her a pound of butter for her boontith, that time, as it
would be the last she would ever give her. Astonished at the
extraordinary saying, the good-wife demanded, with impatience, what she
meant. "You will," rejoined the Gipsy, "be in eternity (by a certain
day, which she named,) and I will never see you again; and this will be
the last boontith you will ever give me." The good-wife of Rachan-mill,
however, survived the terrible prediction for several years.[149]
[149] The following facts will show what a Scottish Tinkler, at the
present day, will sometimes do in the way of "sorning," or masterful
begging.
One of the race paid a visit to the house of a country ale-wife, and,
in a crowded shop, vaulted the counter, and applied his bottle to her
whiskey-tap. Immediately a cry, with up-lifted hands, was raised for
the police, but the prudent ale-wife treated the circumstance with
indifference, and exclaimed: "Hout, tout, tout! _let_ the deil tak' a
wee drappie."
On another occasion, a Gipsy woman entered a country public-house,
leaving her partner at a short distance from the door. Espying a drawn
bottle of porter, standing on a table, in a room in which were two
females sitting, she, without the least ceremony, filled a glass, and
drank it off; but before she could decant another, the other Gipsy,
feeling sure of the luck of his mate, from her being admitted into the
premises, immediately proceeded to share it with her. But he had
hardly drank off the remainder of the porter, ere a son of the
mistress of the house made his appearance, and demanded what was
wanted. "Want--_want?_" replied the Gipsy, with a leering eye towards
the empty bottle; "we want nothing--we've got all that we want!" On
being ordered to "walk out of that," they left, with a smile of
satisfaction playing on their weather-beaten countenances.
Such displays of Gipsy impudence sometimes call forth only a hearty
laugh from the people affected by them.--ED.
The female Gipsies also derived considerable profits from their trade of
fortune-telling. The art of telling fortunes was not, however, general
among the Gipsies; it was only certain old females who pretended to be
inspired with the gift of prophecy. The method which they adopted to
get at the information which often enabled them to tell, if not
fortunes, at least the history, and condition of mind, of individuals,
with great accuracy, was somewhat this:
The inferior Gipsies generally attended our large country
"penny-weddings", in former times, both as musicians and for the purpose
of receiving the fragments of the entertainments. At the wedding in the
parish of Corstorphine, to which I have alluded, under the chapter of
Fife and Stirlingshire Gipsies, Charles Stewart entered into familiar
conversation with individuals present; joking with them about their
sweet-hearts, and love-matters generally; telling them he had noticed
such a one at such a place; and observing to another that he had seen
him at such a fair, and so on. He always enquired about their masters,
and places of abode, with other particulars relative to their various
connections and circumstances in life. Here, the Gipsy character
displays itself; here, we see Stewart, while he seems a mere
merry-andrew, to the heedless, merry-making people at these weddings,
actually reading, with deep sagacity, their characters and dispositions;
and ascertaining the places of residence, and connexions, of many of the
individuals of the country through which he travelled. In this manner,
by continually roaming up and down the kingdom, now as individuals in
disguise, at other times in bands--not passing a house in their
route--observing everything taking place in partial assemblies, at large
weddings, and general gatherings of the people at fairs--scanning, with
the eye of a hawk, both males and females, for the purpose of robbing
them--did the Gipsies, with their great knowledge of human character,
become thoroughly acquainted with particular incidents concerning many
individuals of the population. Hence proceed, in a great measure, the
warlockry and fortune-telling abilities of the shrewd and sagacious
Gipsies.
Or, suppose an old Gipsy female, who traverses the kingdom, has a
relative a lady's maid in a family of rank, and another a musician in a
band, playing to the first classes of society, in public or private
assemblies, the travelling _spae-wife_ would not be without materials
for carrying on her trade of fortune-telling. The observant handmaid,
and the acute, penetrating fiddler would, of course, communicate to
their wandering relative every incident and circumstance that came
under their notice, which would, at an after and suitable period, enable
the cunning fortune-teller to astonish some of the parties who had been
at these meetings, when in another part of the country, remote in time,
and distant in place, from the spot where the occurrences happened.
In order that they might not lessen the importance and value of their
art, these Gipsies pretended they could tell no one's fortune for
anything less than silver, or articles of wearing-apparel, or other
things of value. Besides telling fortunes by palmistry,[150] they
foretold destinies by divination of the cup, their method of doing which
appears to be nearly the same as that practised among the ancient
Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, perhaps, about the time of Joseph.
The Gipsy method was, and I may say is, this: The divining cup, which is
made of tin, or pewter, and about three inches in diameter, was filled
with water, and sometimes with spirits. Into the cup a certain quantity
of a melted substance, resembling tin, was dropped from a crucible,
which immediately formed itself, in the liquid, into curious figures,
resembling frost-work, seen on windows in winter. The compound was then
emptied into a trencher, and from the arrangements or constructions of
the figures, the destiny of the enquiring individual was predicted.[151]
While performing the ceremony, the Gipsies muttered, in their own
language, certain incantations, totally unintelligible to the spectator.
The following fact, however, will, more particularly, show the manner in
which these Gipsy sorceresses imposed on the credulous.
[150] The Kamtachadales, says Dr. Grieve, in his translation of a
Russian account of Kamtachatka, pretend to chiromancy, and tell a
man's good or bad fortune by the lines of his hand; but the rules
which they follow are kept a great secret. _Page 206._
[151] Julius Serenus, says Stackhouse, tells us, that the method among
the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians was to fill the cup with
water, then throw into it thin plates of gold and silver, together
with some precious stones, whereon were engraven certain characters,
and, after that, the person who came to consult the oracle used
certain forms of incantation, and, so calling upon the devil, were
wont to receive their answer several ways: sometimes by particular
sounds; sometimes by the characters which were in the cup rising upon
the surface of the water, and by their arrangement forming the answer;
and many times by the visible appearance of the persons themselves,
about whom the oracle was consulted. Cornelius Agrippa (De Occult.
Philos. LI, c. 57,) tells as, likewise, that the manner of some was to
pour melted wax into the cup wherein was water; which wax would range
itself in order, and so form answers, according to the questions
proposed.--_Saurin's Dissertation, 38, and Heidegger's His. patriar.
exercit. 20._
Fortune-telling is punishable by the 9th Geo. II, chap. 5th. In June,
1805, a woman, of the name of Maxwell, commonly called the Galloway
sorceress, was tried for this offence, by a jury, before the Stewart
of Kirkcudbright, and was sentenced to imprisonment and the
pillory.--_Burnet on Criminal Law, page 178._
A relative of mine had several servant-girls who would, one day, have
their fortunes told. The old Gipsy took them, one at a time, into an
apartment of the house, and locked the door after her. My relative,
feeling a curiosity in the matter, observed their operations, and
overheard their conversation, through a chink in the partition of the
room. A bottle of whiskey, and a wine glass, were produced by the girl,
and the sorceress filled the glass, nearly full, with the spirits. Into
the liquor she dropped part of the white of a raw egg, and taking out of
her pocket something like chalk, scraped part of it into the mixture.
Certain figures now appeared in the glass, and, muttering some jargon,
unintelligible to the girl, she held it up between her eyes and the
window. "There is your sweetheart now--look at him--do you not see him?"
exclaimed the Gipsy to the trembling girl; and, after telling her a
number of events which were to befall her, in her journey through life,
she held out the glass, and told her to "cast that in her mouth"--"Me
drink that? The Lord forbid that I should drink a drap o't." "E'ens ye
like, my woman; I can tak' it mysel," quoth the Gipsy, and, suiting the
action to the word, "cast" the whiskey, eggs and chalk[152] down her
throat, in an instant. Knowing well that the idea of swallowing the
glass in which their future husbands were seen, and their own fortunes
told, in so mysterious a manner, would make the girls shudder, the
cunning Gipsy gave each of them, in succession, the order to drink, and,
the moment they refused, threw the contents of the "divining cup" into
her own mouth. In this manner did the Gipsy procure, at one time, no
less than four glasses of ardent spirits, and sixpence from each of the
credulous girls.
[152] It is not unlikely that the "something like chalk," here
mentioned, was nothing but a nutmeg, with which, and the eggs and
whiskey, the Gipsy would make, what is called, "egg-nogg."--ED.
The country-girls, however, never could stand out the operations of
telling fortunes by the method of turning a corn-riddle, with scissors
attached, in a solitary out-house. Whenever the Gipsy commenced her
work, and, with her mysterious mutterings, called out: "Turn
riddle--turn--shears and all," the terrified girls fled to the house,
impressed with the belief that the devil himself would appear to them,
on the spot.
The Gipsies in Tweed-dale were never in want of the best of provisions,
having always an abundance of fish, flesh, and fowl. At the stages at
which they halted, in their progress through the country, it was
observed that the principal families, at one time, ate as good victuals,
and drank as good liquors, as any of the inhabitants of the country. A
lady of respectability informed me of her having seen, in her youth, a
band dine on the green-sward, near Douglass-mill, in Lanarkshire, when,
as I have already mentioned, the Gipsies handed about their wine, after
dinner, as if they had been as good a family as any in the land. Those
in Fifeshire, as we have already seen, were in the habit of purchasing
and killing fat cattle, for their winter's provisions. In a
communication to Blackwood's Magazine, to which I will again allude, the
illustrious author of "Waverley" mentions that his grandfather was, in
some respects, forced to accept a dinner from a party of Gipsies,
carousing on a moor, on the Scottish Border. The feast consisted of "all
the varieties of game, poultry, pigs, and so forth." And, according to
the same communication, it would appear that they were in the practice
of stewing game and all kinds of poultry into soup, which is considered
very rich and savoury, and is now termed "Pottage a la Meg Merrilies de
Derncleugh;" a name derived from the singular character in the
celebrated novel of Guy Mannering.
But the ancient method of cooking practised among the Scottish Gipsies,
and which, in all probability, they brought with them, when they arrived
in Europe, upwards of four hundred years ago, is, if I am not mistaken,
new to the world, never having as yet, that I am aware of, been
described.[153] It is very curious, and extremely primitive, and appears
to be of the highest antiquity. It is admirably adapted to the wants of
a rude and barbarous people, travelling over a wild and thinly-inhabited
country, in which cooking utensils could not be procured, or
conveniently carried with them. My facts are from the Gipsies
themselves, and are corroborated by people, not of the tribe, who have
witnessed some of their cooking operations.
[153] I published the greater part of the Gipsy method of cooking, in
the Fife Herald, of the 18th April, 1833.
The Gipsies, on such occasions, make use of neither pot, pan, spit, nor
oven, in cooking fowls. They twist a strong rope of straw, which they
wind very tightly around the fowl, just as it is killed, with the whole
of its feathers on, and its entrails untouched. It is then covered with
hot peat ashes, and a slow fire is kept up around and about the ashes,
till the fowl is sufficiently done. When taken out from beneath the
fire, it is stripped of its hull, or shell, of half-burned straw-rope
and feathers, and presents a very fine appearance. Those who have tasted
poultry, cooked by the Gipsies, in this manner, say that it is very
palatable and good. In this invisible way, these ingenious people could
cook stolen poultry, at the very moment, and in the very place, that a
search was going on for the pilfered article.
The art of cooking butcher-meat among the Gipsies is similar to that of
making ready fowls, except that linen and clay are substituted for
feathers and straw. The piece of flesh to be cooked is first carefully
wrapped up in a covering of cloth or linen rags, and covered over with
well wrought clay, and either frequently turned before a strong fire, or
covered over with hot ashes, till it is roasted, or rather stewed. The
covering or crust, of the shape of the article enclosed, and hard with
the fire, is broken, and the meat separated from its inner covering of
burned rags, which, with the juice of the meat, are reduced to a thick
sauce or gravy. Sometimes a little vinegar is poured upon the meat. The
tribe are high in their praise of flesh cooked in this manner, declaring
that it has a particularly fine flavour. These singular people, I am
informed, also boiled the flesh of sheep in the skins of the animals,
like the Scottish soldiers in their wars with the English nation, when
their camp-kettles were nothing but the hides of the oxen, suspended
from poles, driven into the ground.
The only mode of cooking butcher-meat, bearing any resemblance to that
of the Gipsies, is practised by some of the tribes of South America, who
wrap flesh in _leaves_, and, covering it over with clay, cook it like
the Gipsies. Some of the Indians of North America roast deer of a small
size in their skins, among hot ashes. An individual of great
respectability, who had tasted venison cooked in this fashion, said that
it was extremely juicy, and finely flavoured. In the Sandwich Islands,
pigs are baked on hot stones in pits, or in the leaves of the
bread-fruit tree, on hot stones, covered over with earth, during the
operation of cooking. It is probable that the Gipsy art of cooking would
be amongst the first modes of making ready animal food, in the first
stage of human society, in Asia--the cradle of the human race.[154]
Substitute linen rags for the leaves of trees, and what method of
cooking can be more primitive than that of our Scottish Gipsies?
[154] Ponqueville considers the Gipsies contemporary of the first
societies. _Paris_, 1830.
The Gipsy method of smelting iron, for sole-clout for ploughs, and
smoothing-irons, is also simple, rude, and primitive.[155] The tribe
erect, on the open field, a small circle, built of stone, turf, and
clay, for a furnace, of about three feet in height, and eighteen inches
in diameter, and plastered, closely round on the outside, up to the top,
with mortar made of clay. The circle is deepened by part of the earth
being scooped out from the inside. It is then filled with coal or
charred peat; and the iron to be smelted is placed in small pieces upon
the top. Below the fuel an aperture is left open, on one side, for
admitting a large iron ladle, lined inside with clay. The materials in
the furnace are powerfully heated, by the blasts of a large
hand-bellows, (generally wrought by females,) admitted at a small hole,
a little from the ground. When the metal comes to a state of fusion, it
finds its way down to the ladle, and, after being skimmed of its
cinders, is poured into the different sand moulds ready to receive it.
[155] According to Grellmann, working in iron is the most usual
occupation of the Gipsies. In Hungary it is so common, as to have
given rise to the proverb, "So many Gipsies, so many smiths." The same
may be said of those in Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia, and all
Turkey in Europe; at least, Gipsies following that occupation are very
numerous in those countries.
This occupation seems to have been a favourite one with them, from the
most distant period. Uladislaus, King of Hungary, in the year 1496,
ordered: "That every officer and subject, of whatever rank or
condition, do allow Thomas Polgar, leader of twenty-five tents of
wandering Gipsies, free residence everywhere, and on no account to
molest either him or his people, because they prepared musket balls
and other military stores, for the Bishop Sigismund, at Fünf-kirchen."
In the year 1565, when Mustapa, Turkish Regent of Bosnia, besieged
Crupa, the Turks having expended their powder and cannon balls, the
Gipsies were employed to make the latter, part of iron, the rest of
stone, cased with lead.
Observe the Gipsies at whatever employment you may, there always
appear sparks of genius. We cannot, indeed, help wondering, when we
consider the skill they display in preparing and bringing their work
to perfection, from the scarcity of proper tools and
materials.--_Grellmann on the Hungarian Gipsies._--ED.